Dynamo 5

Dynamo 5 is a spin-off of Noble Causes, a previous comic book series created by Faerber set in the Image Universe, which also explores the dynamics of a superhero family.

Faerber explained that his inspiration for the series came from a conversation with editor Andy Helfer, in which he was asked what made the Teen Titans unique.

Although Warner initially does not know this, she does suspect that the condition and setting in which his body was found was not natural, but arranged by whoever murdered him in order to further tarnish his image.

Although devastated by the extent of her late husband's indiscretions, Warner is faced with the problem of Dynamo's numerous enemies, who will now take advantage of Tower City in his absence.

[1] Scouring through the information she gleaned from her husband's belongings, she locates five young people she believes could be his illegitimate children: Vancouver, British Columbia high school geek Hector Chang, Washington DC law student and activist Olivia "Livvie" Lewis, aimless ne'er do well and ladies' man Spencer Bridges, Hollywood, California theater employee and NYU Film School graduate Bridget Flynn, and Eastbridge, Texas high school football star Gage Reinhart.

Donning costumes, the five of them carry on his legacy as the superhero team the Dynamo 5, while coming to terms with learning about the father they never knew, and the four new half-siblings they each now have.

Although the five are unaware that Warner is a former agent of F.L.A.G., she is determined to mold them not only into a team, but into a family as well, and functions as their mentor and "unofficial sixth member", calling the shots from the same headquarters once used by Captain Dynamo, and keeping in constant remote contact with them during their missions.

[9] They assemble the rest of the team, and come to the rescue of Scrap and the replacement teammates, one of whom, Vigil, is revealed to be Myriad in disguise.

However, when he killed the third son, who had impaled Emily, even after that man had surrendered, he shocked bystanders and television viewers watching the battle and caused much consternation among his teammates.

[13] In the one-shot Dynamo 5 Holiday Special 2010, the team confronted Lumina, the daughter of escaped supervillain convict Luminex.

The story also established that Gage Reinhart and the Primary member War Chest were involved in a romantic relationship, and featured four epilogues depicting the aftereffects of Sins of the Father pertaining to the Firebirds, Sandy Colvin, and the villains Synergy and Voltage.

Spencer led an unhappy life in a series of foster homes,[17][19] and grew into a promiscuous womanizer who has never held a job for more than two weeks, though he never seems to be without financial means.

A loner who has grown up in various foster homes, Faerber has indicated that his shapeshifting ability will tie into his lack of direction in life, saying, "He inherited Cap's shape-shifting powers, and he can now become anyone he chooses.

[20] Having wondered his entire life who his father was, he is especially disappointed to learn it is Captain Dynamo, who he views as "an enormous hypocrite and a horrible husband.

"[1] He and reformed criminal turned government agent War Chest enter into a romantic relationship by Dynamo 5 Holiday Special 2010.

She assembled his five children, and acts as their leader, mentor, and "unofficial sixth member",[6] keeping in constant radio contact with them during missions from their headquarters.

She is a former agent of the government superhuman-monitoring agency known as F.L.A.G., which she has not disclosed to the team, adding ominously in Dynamo 5 #1, "Kind of makes you wonder what else I never told them, doesn't it?"

He first appears in Dynamo 5 #2, in which he pays her a visit to ask her if she is associated with this new team using her late husband's name, but she denies it.

Ford has continued to aid the team when possible, as when he contacted the Noble Family after Dynamo 5 rescued Warner from a hostage situation, during which she had fallen into a comatose state.

Although Warner's former partner, Augie Ford, is more sympathetic to the fact that the young members of Dynamo 5 are valiantly risking their lives to protect Tower City from threats that no one else is confronting, Colvin has F.L.A.G.

[32] Following Dynamo 5's defeat of Widowmaker, Slaughterhouse, Dr. Chimera, Firebreak and Optima, Scatterbrain telepathically learned the identity of the mysterious, tattooed man who had hired her, but by the time F.L.A.G.

arrived at this man's office to arrest him, he had committed suicide, and although his face is still unrevealed, the tattoo on the back of his neck had disappeared, and is now sported by Augie Ford's superior, Sandy Colvin.

[8] They are vulnerable to the pyrokinetic Firebreak, who can "steal" their fire, and Zero, who inflicted a life-threatening stomach wound to Rebecca during their time as members of Dynamo 5,[35] but she managed to survive.

[36] Whiptail Bernard Dempsey used to transform himself into a large humanoid lizard through the use of a serum he developed, and was a formidable enemy of Captain Dynamo.

During a stakeout one night, the team confronts this new Whiptail, and after knocking the creature unconscious, it reverts to its human form, that of Nicole Nakamura, Augie's current partner.

The team escapes before the arrival of the authorities, including Ford, who confiscates the stash of serum found on the rogue agent.

This event was inadvertently triggered when Voltage electrocuted him, and was the first time Scatterbrain discovered that his telepathy could be used as an offensive weapon.

[27] Voltage joins a crew assembled by Widowmaker that take Maddie Warner and Visionary's mother hostage, but which are defeated by Dynamo 5.

Although he had never been encountered by Captain Dynamo, Scrap and Slingshot confronted him after investigating the deaths of Yaeger's former criminal associates, whom Bonechill killed for betraying him to the authorities after they were captured following a bank robbery.

After the Noble family foiled a Crowne Pointe bank robbery by the two, wounding Brains in the process, the duo fled to Tower City, where Brawn is confronted by Scrap and Slingshot.

Dynamo 5 in action against The Veil. From Dynamo 5 #1 (January 2007). Art by Mahmud A. Asrar.
The five members of Dynamo 5 are brought together by Maddie Warner, who unlocks their powers. From Dynamo 5 #1. Art by Mahmud A. Asrar.