The DC Comics universe is no stranger to bizarre and outlandish characters. From peculiarly-themed rogues like The Condiment King or mind-bending heroes like Matter Eater Lad or Bouncing Boy, saying comics breed outlandish, even ridiculous characters would be an understatement of Galactus-sized proportions. But one of DC’s most bizarre heroes ever created has returned. And he's brought company.
First appearing in 1989 in Secret Origins Vol 2 #46, Arm-Fall-Off Boy's powers are fairly self explanatory. He can remove his appendages and use them as melee weapons against his foes. He'd hoped to use these "abilities" to prove his worth to The Legion of Super-Heroes and join the team. Considering the Legion frequently would clash with potentially universe ending threats, they saw little use for a man who could simply remove his arm and swing it like a club. Unimpressed, the Legion declined his request to join. Now going by the less descriptive, but also less laughable name "Splitter," the hero has made an appearance in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #9 to provide the intrepid reporter with an interview... bringing his whole family with him.
It seems most of Arm-Fall-Off Boy's (real name Floyd Belkin) family share similarly uninspired monikers and strange abilities. We meet his parents, Legs-Fall-Apart-In Segments Dad and Head Fall Off Mom; Belkin's sister, Fingers Fall Off Gal; and his grandmother, Butt-Fall-Off Geema Deb-Deb. We also meet Belkin's Step-Grandfather Glen, who doesn't seem to possess any superpowers of his own, as well as the family dog, Elmer.
The source of Arm-Fall-Off Boy's "powers" have been alluded to in the comics, with Matter Eater Lad claiming he got them through exposure to a dangerous anti-gravity element, though this was never canonically confirmed. The original version of the Arm-Fall-Off Boy was wiped from DC continuity in the Crisis on Infinite Earths and Zero Hour sagas, so it will be interesting to see how this modern incarnation will play into the universe at large, assuming the character sticks around and this wasn't just a cheeky wink and nod to die hard fans who would recognize the obscure character.
Will we be seeing more of his family? It could probably be pretty interesting to see how Legs-Fall-Apart-In Segments Dad and Head Fall Off Mom fare in a face off with the likes of Darkseid. And it makes you wonder, if Arm-Fall-Off Boy was too underwhelming to The Legion of Super-Heroes, how would they have reacted to Butt-Fall-Off Geema Deb-Deb?
Maybe some of these questions and more will be answered when Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #10 hits store shelves in April.