By Stan Hopewell
The superhero dubbed “Reboot Man” by the press tried to gain entrance to the Atlantis-Peace Force Meetings but was turned away due to lack of clearance.
Ray Denver, known as “Reboot Man” for his numerous identity changes over the past few years, started his superhero career as Star-Man. He gained the powers of flight, super-strength, energy blasts, and energy manipulation from a pulsar while exploring Alpha Centauri. This identity only lasted three months before the original Star-Man, Dan Stewart, spoke out against him using his old moniker.
Denver relinquished his first identity and took up the name of North-Star, a name and costume inspired by the star Polaris. He enjoyed a rather successful career in this guise and joined the Peace Force. But this identity came to an end eight months later when he died fighting the Sparlox in deep space.
Somehow, Denver was resurrected several months later in an explosion above the moon, which no one has been able to fully explain. This time his powers included teleportation, and he became Portal-Man. Unfortunately, one month later, he accidentally teleported himself into the bedrock below the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
Then, Denver absorbed the rocks to become Rock-Man, whose rock-based powers lasted only four months after he was caught in a mudslide in California and dissolved into the Sacramento River. Five months later, he had absorbed the mud and clay from the river and can now apparently shapeshift. He calls himself Clayman, and no one at Peace Force Headquarters recognizes him.
“I’m a member,” he said. “They know me. I’ve fought side-by-side with them. I even shapeshifted into my North-Star body and let them scan my mind. They know I’m telling the truth.”
Denver seemed depressed leaving the building. He expressed how he thought he was dead in the Sacramento River and tried to convey how terrifying it was to become mud and clay. According to him, it was a dark, wet experience that made him feel helpless. Once he gained control of his newfound abilities, he turned into an eagle and flew across the country. Denver acknowledged how often he’s changed identities and powers, holding back mud tears, but said it’s out of his control. “How many of them control how they got their powers?” he said. “How many of them have had reboots? If it weren’t for one dumb thing or another, half of them wouldn’t even be in there.”
Clayman, as he preferred to be called, left PFHQ in disgust. When asked about a former member being turned away, Cloudwalker said, “He’s a shapeshifter. After what happened last year, a creepy shapeshifter is the last thing we need.”
