Bouncing Boy

© DC Comics / Used without permission

Origin: Transformed
Real Name: Charles Foster Taine
First Appearance: Action Comics #276 [DC Comics May 1961]
                            Character created by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney

ABILITIES

Prowess 4 {Fair}
Coordination 4 {Fair}
Strength 3 {Average}
Intellect 4 {Fair}
Awareness 4 {Fair}
Willpower 4 {Fair}

Stamina: 7
Determination: 5

SPECIALTIES

Athletics
Pilot
Power ("Bouncing") Master
Teaching

POWERS

Damage Resistance ["Kinetic", Limit: Situational, only when inflated] 7 {Incredible}
Damage Resistance ["Energy", Limit: Situational, only when inflated] 4 {Fair}
Fast Attack 8 [Limit: Situational, only when ricocheting] 8 {Amazing}
Stretching [Limit: Inflating] 8 {Amazing}
       Bouncing (Leaping)
Strike [Limit: Situational, only when ricocheting] 5 {Good}

EQUIPMENT

Legion Flight Ring

QUALITIES

. Quick thinker.
. Jovial, lighthearted man.
. Friends can rely on him. 

Points: 69

ORIGIN STORY

Chuck Taine, a young teenager from Earth, gained his superhuman powers when he accidently drank an experimental super-plastic formula instead of soda pop, thus developing the ability to inflate like a balloon and bounce off walls, floors and ceilings. Taking the name Bouncing Boy, Chuck failed to gain membership in the Legion of Super-Heroes on his first attempt. Later, he helped Saturn Girl defeat an electrically powered super-villain, which resulted in his acceptance into the Legion. 

Bouncing Boy has the ability to expand his body to form that of a spherical ball of sorts. In his normal form, he is overweight to a medium degree, but when he "inflates", while his mass and height remain the same, his overall dimensions increase to resemble that of a human sized ball. Whether his body actually inflates, as in takes in air, or his individual cells expand, decreasing his overall density while increasing his overall dimensions is not known. Also, when he utilizes his power, his body's elasticity and resiliency becomes extremely rubbery allowing him to bounce with great force. Originally thought of as a useless power by his Legionnaire peers, he has adeptly demonstrated many times how he can use his body's shape and rubber-like consistency as an effective ballistic weapon. His "go-to" move is to use surrounding walls to ricochet back and forth and bowling over his opponents as he does. Normally, an inanimate rubber ball will slowly lose its kinetic force due to friction, gravity and bouncing off surrounding objects or walls, but Bouncing Boy can use his own muscles to his maintain velocity and power as he bounces about. His power also allows him a degree of invulnerability since bouncing off walls and nearby objects have yet to injure him as they would a normal human. Bouncing Boy’s powers make him a bouncing dervish in combat and he is extremely difficult to hit while bouncing around. Bouncing Boy has completed LSH personal combat training with above-average results and has been a combat instructor at the Legion Academy.

Another proof of how enjoyably weird the Legionnaires are, Bouncing Boy at first seems a useless character. However, in many Legion of Super Heroes issues he managed, even without powers, to defend himself quite well. His powers somehow remind me of the fun of having them randomly chosen – one of the mainstays of ICONS [rubbery ball body with leaping and high physical resistance? Who would have thought?]. Bouncing Boy can expand his body into a balloon-like shape at will. In this rubbery form, Chuck can bounce and rebound his body off of hard surfaces with ease and can strike his opponents with high-speed impacts, knocking them down. While bouncing, Bouncing Boy is protected from electrical-attacks due to his not being grounded and the natural resistance of rubber to electrical discharges. His rubbery body is also resistant to blunt-force trauma and impacts. He also can act as a soft-cushion for falling characters. Converted characters, most of the times, unavoidably exceeds the 45-point limitation that the ICONS Superpowered Roleplaying Game core book recommends. Character revised according to rules presented in ICONS Great Power book. Streamlined, once again, according to ICONS Superpowered Roleplaying: The Assembled Edition. My warmest thanks to +Max Traver for helping me writing better Chuck's powers.