Born in the late 19th century with superhuman abilities via prenatal chemical experimentation, Danner tries to use his powers for good, making him a precursor of the superhero.

He next appeared in DC's standard color comic book Young All-Stars in 1988 and 1989, as the estranged father of an illegitimate son named Iron Munro.

The rest was adventure and perhaps more of the book derives from the unliterary excitement of imagining such a life than from a studious juxtaposition of incidents to a theme"[4]The novel begins during the closing years of the 19th century, as Colorado science Professor Abednego Danner searches for a way to improve the innate weaknesses of human biology and create a new "race that doesn't know fear — because it cannot know harm".

[6] Following very successful animal testing, which yields super-strong tadpoles and a bulletproof kitten capable of taking down cattle as prey, he injects this super-serum into the womb of his pregnant wife, Matilda.

Because they treat him with such abhorrence, his only solace comes in the form of unleashing his powers within the Colorado wilderness (uprooting trees, throwing huge boulders, leaping to the mountain tops, etc.).

He eventually reveals his powers to his Legionnaire superiors, who believe him to be a devil or supernatural Native American, and he is given free rein to roam the battlefield and kill as many German soldiers as he possibly can.

After a short stint in an American Legionnaire unit, Danner grows weary of war and devises a plan with an airplane: He would drive it far into Germany.

There, crashing through the petty human barriers, he would perform his last feat, strangling the Emperor, slaying the generals, pulling buildings apart with his Samsonian arms, and disrupting the control of the war.

He returns to the United States and works in a number of professions — steel mill worker, bank teller, farm hand, and disarmament lobbyist — but his unique stature among mortal men forever brings him grief.

He eventually offers his services to a noted history professor preparing a Mayan archaeological dig and travels with the group to the Yucatan Peninsula.

During the trip, Danner wonders if the Mayans and Egyptians had discovered the same formula as his father, "which could be poured into the veins of the slaves [who built the pyramids], making them stronger than engines".

But when a mishap reveals his great strength to the professor, the elderly man suggests Danner use his father's formula to create a new race of men known as the "Sons of Dawn",[9] who will use their powers to right the world's wrongs.

He demolishes his wooden crib as a newborn,[10] saves a man's life by lifting a two-ton supply wagon at 6 years old,[11] and uproots entire trees at 10.

[29] Danner was portrayed by comedic actor Joe E. Brown in the 1938 film The Gladiator, which loosely adapted science-fiction drama as a comedy, and, among the many changes, renamed the protagonist "Hugo Kipp".

But after a Professor Danner (Lucien Littlefield) injects Kipp with a serum that gives him superhuman strength, he becomes an unstoppable player and wins the heart of the self-centered quarterback's girlfriend (June Travis).

Munro was not a character or even a possibility in the original novel, where, as Danner's ailing scientist father explained, "the effect of the process is not inherited by the future generations.

[31] After having read the diary, Munro turns to the government's secret Project M, demanding to know the location of the "Dinosaur Island" mentioned by Danner.

Danner apparently faked his death in the Yucatan and briefly returned home to have a one-night stand with his former high school sweetheart Anna Blake.

[35] Danner starred in the four-issue miniseries Legend (April–July 2005) by writer Howard Chaykin and artist Russ Heath, published by the DC imprint Wildstorm.

As Siegel described them: "When maturity was reached, he discovered he could easily: leap 1⁄8th of a mile; hurdle a twenty-story building...raise tremendous weights...run faster than an express train...and that nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin!

"[41] Other examples of similarities include both of their biological fathers are scientists (Jor-El and Abednego), both grow up in rural settings (Smallville and Indian Creek, Colorado), both are imbued with a strong moral compass from a young age[42] both lift cars over their heads,[16][43] and both hide their powers from the world.

One critic noted that Danner's "creation and upbringing by a scientist father recall Doc Savage's origins" and a "prototype for the famous scene in which the fledgling Spider-Man defeats a hulking wrestler to make money is found in Wylie's novel; Hugo's bout in the ring is similar to that in the Spider-Man's origin story in 1962's Amazing Fantasy #15.