Air Waves

The first Air Wave was Larry Jordan, a clerk to the local District Attorney and amateur inventor who created several devices based upon radio waves. He created a helmet that monitored police bands, magnetic gloves that could disarm opponents, and magnetized boots that allowed him to skate across electrical wires. He had a successful career as a mystery man, and would eventually become a District Attorney himself. During World War II he joined the ranks of the All-Star Squadron.

After the war, Air Wave retired from adventuring to marry a woman named Helen and raise a family. Years later, a criminal named Joe Parsons gained revenge against the crusading D.A. by breaking into his home. Jordan's costume malfunctioned as he tried to protect his family and he died from a shotgun wound to the chest. Helen sought revenge by donning the costume for one time only, in order to apprehend Parsons. (DC Comics Presents #40)

After Larry was killed, his son Harold ("Hal") inherited his hi-tech super-powered suit and became Air Wave III. (Harold in fact, shared a first name with his cousin Hal Jordan—Green Lantern II). When Harold donned an experimental new helmet which used his father's technology, this equipment presumably triggered his latent metagene, for the young man soon found that he was able to convert his body into electromagnetic energy. Hal was coached in his super-hero career by his cousin and his friends, Black Canary and Green Arrow. (GL vol. 2 #100)

Air Wave was later recruited by the Institute for Metahuman Studies to join a group called the Captains of Industry. At this time, he was changed by Dr. Moon and took the name Maser. (Firestorm #61, 88)

This group was short-lived and he soon went back to calling himself Air Wave. He was next seen alongside the Justice Society, who rescued him when he was captured by Kobra. Kept in a special chamber that siphoned from his electromagnetic powers, Harold unwillingly allowed Kobra to take control of the Whitehorse satellite array and cause massive destruction and chaos. He was eventually freed by the recently-reactivated Justice Society of America. (JSA #11-12) Since that time, Harold has returned to his old Air Wave name and costume and become a reserve member of the JSA, assisting them during the Imperiex War. (JSA: Our Worlds at War #1)

Notes

In the pre-Crisis DC Universe, Air Wave II was born on Earth-1, although his parents were from Earth-2. Air Wave was named after his cousin Hal Jordan (Green Lantern II).

Air Wave's creator, Lee Harris (aka Harris Levy, and subsequently Harris Levey), left DC comics to serve in WWII, where he was trained in photography and served as an aerial and ground photographer. Krazy Kraut was one of his comic character creations, circulated amongst the troops, for a brief period. Following honorable discharge from the army, Harris return to DC for a relatively brief period of time and during this time he went on to create other characters for DC Comics such as Tarantuala Man (who could shoot web-like substance from his fingers to allow him to scale up the sides of building) and "Lando, Man of Magic."

As a teenager, prior to serving in the war, Harris had worked as an assistant to renown magician, Dante). During this post-war period, Lee Harris also did illustration and coloring for several issues of Superman and Batman. It is worthwhile to note that immediately following the war (under the GI Bill), Lee Harris studied illustration and painting at the well-known Arts Students League of New York. Within a few years (circa 1948) Harris Levey left the comic book world and went on to provide illustrations for the long defunct, Journal American Newspaper (NYC), as well as providing cover illustrations for several high-profile magazines. Then between the 1960s–1980 Levey moved on to serve as Creative Arts Director for several major Advertising Agencies based in New York City (DDB, Ted Bates). In the late 1970s Levey completed his Bachelor of Communications degree at Empire State University (NYC). In 1980, Levey worked on a string of television commercials and Print Ads in the role of Creative Art Director for the Bombstein Agency—a Washington, DC (Georgetown) based advertising firm. Harris Levey died of heart failure, survived by his wife, Elinor, and two sons, Theodore and Jonathan. —Thanks to Jonathan Levey