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Magno the Magnetic Man

Created by Paul Gustavson

NAME + ALIASES:
Tom Dalton

KNOWN RELATIVES:
None

GROUP AFFILIATIONS:
Freedom Fighters

FIRST APPEARANCE:
Smash Comics #13 (August 1940)

APPEARANCES:

  • All-Star Squadron #32
  • Secret Origins v.2 #26
  • Smash Comics #13-21 (August 1940–April 1941)

Magno II

NAME + ALIASES:
Unrevealed

KNOWN RELATIVES:
None

GROUP AFFILIATIONS:
The Crusaders, Freedom Fighters

FIRST APPEARANCE:
Uncle Sam & Freedom Fighters v.2 #3 (January 2008)

APPEARANCES:
Uncle Sam & Freedom Fighters v.2 #3-8

SEE ALSO:

NOTE: Because all of my profiles for the Quality Comics characters are still in print in the Quality Companion, this profile contains only the "data" portions and teasers of the profile itself.

Magno demonstrates a dizzying array
of athleticism. From Smash #15 (1940)
Magno II, from Uncle Sam & the Freedom Fighters v.2 #4 (2008). Art by Renato Arlem.
Ace Comics' Magno. From Super-Mystery Comics #2 (1940). Art by Harry Lucey.

Magno was a short-lived hero that debuted during the height of Quality’s super-hero expansion. The stories focused mainly on his costumed adventures, leaving Tom Dalton’s personal life mostly unexplored.

Magno’s amazing powers of magnetism were the result of “having been electrocuted by 10,000 D.C. volts, then being shocked back to life by an equal current of A.C. volts!” With these powers, Tom Dalton became a blue collar man with an extraordinary secret. As a lineman in a coastal town, he often needed to make quick excuses to duck out and fight injustice. (Smash Comics #13)

…
[ Read the full profile in the Quality Companion ]

DC

DC’s use of Magno picks up right where Quality’s left off. In All-Star Squadron #32, Uncle Sam explained how he had recruited Magno and others to form the Freedom Fighters. Sam had received a premonition of the attack on Pearl Harbor and these heroes went to prevent it. After a good rally, they were ambushed and the entire team was left for dead. Magno was the only one who truly died that day (though at the time of this tale’s publication, it was suggested that all of the Freedom Fighters, except for Uncle Sam, had been killed). (All-Star Squadron #32)

…
[ Read the full profile in the Quality Companion ]

Notes

Another hero called Magno debuted just before Quality’s hero debuted, in Ace’s Super-Mystery Comics v1 #1 (July 1940). This character was the cover star and also starred in Ace's Four Favorites. There is no connection between the two, but their powers were somewhat similar.

Powers

Though his name suggests that he wields magnetism, Magno was actually more of a living battery; he channeled electricity. Using the currents inside him, he could create a variety of effects. He had a sort of “super eyes” that would see great distances. He wore metal wristbands that created a powerful electromagnetic field when he applied his powers. The resulting force could propel him at super-speed. He could also create a sort of force field that could repel metallic objects. And naturally, he could manipulate metallic objects as well.