Hugo Danner

Hugo Danner(1894-1948) is one of the earliest examples of a Superhuman, granted abilities by a serum created by his father. Hugo grew up an outcast but by the 1930's. Ironically he would meet his end at the hands of the Superhumans he himself heralded the arrival of.

## **Biography**

### **Origins(1894-1921)**

Hugo Danner was born on Christmas Day, 1894 to Abednego(born in 1852) and Matilda Danner in the town of Indian Creek in Ambarino(Fictional State which is a stand in for Colorado from *Red Dead Redemption 2*). Abednego had experimented on the pregnant Matilda. Before that he had experimented on a pregnant cat, but the offspring went wild and kills a cow, forcing Abednego to poison it. Growing up, Hugo received a religious upbringing. He was bullied in school and unable to fight back or risking harming his aggressors. A group of bullies regularly harassed Hugo but due to he did not fight back due to a young Anna Blake watching. One day when she wasn't there he did fight back and sent the bully flying and knocked out. He only felt ashamed at how easy it was. Hugo would find solace in the remote wilderness near his home(*Gladiator,* Philip Wyle). Some professors saw rocks Hugo had carved with his abilities into what he called his fortress. They believed them to be far more ancient and carved by Indians until Hugo scared them off while destroying the rocks with his strength, leaving him to destroy and abandon his old fortress. Hugo was forbidden by his father from using his abilities to aid against the 1898 Mollusc Invasion(*War of the Worlds,* H.G.Wells), though it is speculated given how Superman was nearly killed by then in their 1938 invasion(*Superman and the War of the Worlds, Roy Thomas)*, that Hugo Danner would have been killed had he tried as his invulnerability took longer to develop than his strength. He was also forbidden from interfering in the Airship Wars(*The War in the Air,* H.G.Wells).

Hugo grew quickly and physically resembled a short adult at a young age. Unsatisfied with his father forbidding his interference he left home, only for the Airship Wars to end fairly quickly. Not wanting to return home, he took traveling, during which he performed extraordinary feats at the strong man Hugo Hercules(*Hugo Hercules,* Wilhelm Korner*)* (The connection to Hugo Hercules was also made by Peter Coogan and Dennis Power in the Wold Newton Superman Family Chronology, however unlike there, Hugo Tanner is not Superman). Abednego Danner eventually found him and brought him home. This time Danner would remain. In High School, he became a famous football player but quit school after accidentally killing another player(*Gladiator,* Philip Wyle)

In 1912, Hugo turned 18 and began a relationship with Anna Blake(DC Comics, *Young All Stars Volume 1 #10*,Peter Coogan and Dennis Power's *Wold Newton Superman Chronology*), a member of the famous Blake family which included the Scarlet Pimpernel, Edward Blake, Daphne Blake and Anita Blake among others. Hugo attended Webster University(analogous to Princeton University according to Wold Newton Researchers Dennis Power and Peter Coogan). While there, Danner met and had a brief relationship with Iris Carraway. A cousin of his friend and football teammate Lefty Foresman. The Carraways were a family from the American midwest who had owned a hardware store in 1851 and had built it into a prominent business. The Carraway children were therefore warned against passing judgement on those less fortunate than them, having worked from poor living to earn their fortune. Two of the Carraway children were Iris Carraway and Nick Carraway, both sent to different prestige universities. Iris Carraway was sent to Webster University, which had been renamed in honor of Daniel Webster, whose lawyer prowess had once led him to outsmart the Devil himself(*The Devil and Daniel Webster,* Stephen Benet). Nick Carraway would be sent to Yale and would later become best known for his interactions with Billionaire Jay Gatsby(*The Great Gatsby*, F.Scott Fitzgerald), which he would chronicle in his novel *The Great Gatsby*.

Iris Carraway was reported to be promiscuous during her time at Webster University. She would have a child with Hugo Danner, but did not know who the father was, instead she latched onto the wealthy Christopher Carson and claimed the child was his. He believed it and the child would be raised as Fred Carson, later to become the tragically short lived hero Wonder Man(*Wonder Man,* Will Eisner), who died in the 1938 Mollusc Invasion(This connection is once more from Peter Coogan and Dennis E.Power's *Wold Newton Superman Family Tree*). For more information on the Carson family see: Roy Carson

During his freshman year, Hugo visited Metropolis with some of his friends and learned his family was suffering from financial troubles. His father told him to find a way to raise money. He briefly considered stealing from a jewelry store but decided against it. He instead made money defeating boxers in challenges. There he met Charlotte Linders. He also resumed his Hugo Hercules identity and became. a strongman at Coney Island. Charlotte became pregnant and ran into the arms of the artist Valentine Mitchell, but he would abandon her. Charlotte died in childbirth but the daughter survived, being given the name Leigh Rae Linders. Hugo continued his career as a football player until he accidentally killed another player, an act which haunted him immensely. Hugo in shame left Webster University. He became a pearl diver on a ship known as the Katrina, using his powerful lungs and strength to scare away shark. He was in Marseilles drinking with American Tom Shayne when World War I broke out(*Gladiator, DC Comics*).

Hugo travelled overseas and joined the French Foreign Legion. He discovers he was bulletproof as well as super strong and proved well matched against the Clanker Power mechs (*Leviathan* novels, Scott Westerfeld). He was stationed at Blaisencourt and Aix-au-Dixvaches throughout 1915. Once his abilities became known he was considered for a spot on the first Allied League. The British League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and the French Les Hommes Mystérieux(*League of Extraordinary Gentleme*n, Alan Moore) had essentially merged. While there were masked and capable vigilantes such as the Freedom's Five(*Marvel Comics*), there were very few superhumans and Hugo latched onto those he did find such as the Nycatalope. Among the group was John Steele, who possessed super strength and invulnerability. Steele had been a union spy during the war when he was discovered and brought through a portal to Mars, he would gain abilities while there, clashing with John Carter over their respective differences before he was sent back to Earth in time for the beginning of World War I. During the War, John Steele was subdued by German forces with the deliberate intent to capture him. He was declared missing and a faction within the German government obtained his comatose body, hiding it from the allies post war for study. The facility he was moved to for research by HYDRA was accidentally bombed by the Allies and he awoke to resume fighting the germans 20 years later. He would once more mysteriously disappeared while aiding the Allies on D-Day. He was later discovered to have been abducted and brainwashed by a group known as the Shadow Council(*Marvel Comics*). The Shadow Council's earliest known origins seemed to be from the Westeros age in the land of Ibben and was formed after the Last God King died(*A Song of Ice and Fire*). They expanded through portals to stretch into space, including elements of the Galactic Empire(*The Mandolorian*), and Orc Warlocks on Azeroth(*World of Warcraft*). The entity known as the Abyss has abducted John Steele and several confederate agents including Aloysius Thorndrake. They turned John Steele into their agent for destruction on another Earth. His mind corrupted and his body reconstructed, he retained the identity of Joe Steele. He succeeded in his mission of aiding in corrupting an alternate America by ascending to the Presidency in 1933(*Joe Steele*, Harry Turtledove). He was eventually poisoned and reported to have passed away by his successor Charles Oswald, who was an attempt to create an Antichrist(*What Madness is This?*).

After John Steele disappeared, the Allies feared that the secrets to his abilities could be unlocked once his trail went cold, but could prove nothing. Because of this they held back on sending out Hugo Danner except for certain missions where his safety was guaranteed as he was the strongest among their available superhumans. He would always be accompanied by members of the Leagues into battle. He would form good relations with the likes of Kent Allard and Clark Savage Jr more than anyone else. By the end of 1916 he had won many medals, though some of these may have been for propaganda purposes. His greatest genuine victory came in 1917, when a Mollusc Invasion was easily repelled by Hugo and a group of heroes including Freedom's Five with the only casualty being the enigmatic Man on the Wall(*Marvel Comics*). This event was covered up by the Allies as they feared that knowledge the Molluscs had tried again would have led to the War being put on hold when they were close to victory(There is some justification that this would happen on both Earth One and the Multiverse(the invasion of the Race in 1942 putting World War II on hold(*Worldwar*, Harry turtledove), and the hoax of an alien invasion by Adrian Veidt averting World War III(*Watchmen*), however had the War been put on hold like these conflicts it would have saved many lives and most likely averted the rise of the Nazis, the Soviet Union and prevented the Second World War or at least delayed it). Hugo Danner was angry that the invasion and his role in it was covered up as he feared the Molluscs were planning another attack( and indeed they would invade in 1938) and at least disliked not being recognized for his actions(In one alternate universe, the Molluscs invaded in 1913 before the war and Hugo's actions were more publicly known as a result(*Great Martian War 1913-1917*)). Hugo would eventually grow tired of being largely benched for the war. In 1918, a bomb killed Tom Shayne, causing Hugo to go berserk and kill several germans before passing out from exhaustion. He woke up in a hospital and learned his college friend Lefty Foresman had been blinded by mustard gas. He made a decision to go to Germany to end the war by force, but found it had been diplomatically settled before he got there(*Gladiator,* Phillip Wylie*).*

In 1919, Danner returned home. Tom Shayne's father was a banker and sent him money but Hugo sent it to his parents in Ambarino. He then worked at a Steel Mill in New Guernsey but the Union had him fired as he worked too tirelessly. Mr.Shayne then got him a job at his bank. One day in April, a man was trapped in the Bank's vault. Hugo told everyone to leave as he rescued him to conceal his strength, allowing him to break open the vault. While successful, he was accused of being a safe cracker planning to rob the bank himself and while he was interrogated by a Captain McClaren, they could not hurt him and he broke free and escaped (Phillip Coogan and Dennis E Power's *Superman Family Chronology*). Hugo then travelled through Connecticut, doing field work for a couple called the Canes. Hugo returned home to Indian Creek. He learned from his mother that Anna Munro had become Anna Blake. Hugo's father Abednego was dying. Hugo told him about his life, lying about stopping the war and made a spur of the moment promise to enter politics. Abednego told Hugo that there remained the problem that there needed to be more men like him. Hugo told of some of the superhumans he had met that were just men in costume during World War I and that Joe Steele had disappeared. This only convinced Abednego that Hugo needed to ensure more like him survived. Hugo was unaware he had children by this time and thought he must have been sterile. Abednego gave Hugo his books to continue his research and then died in peace(*Young All Stars #10*).

Hugo travelled to Washington to first make good on his promises there. He scared corrupt lobbyist William Melcher into leaving town for good. While Hugo removed many others, he wanted to keep his powers more hidden this time and was limited in when he could act. He also tried to work for a radical named Skorvsky and promise dot free two innocent men that were falsely arrested for murder but lost his temper when Skorvsky wanted them to die and become martyrs. Danner's attempt to break into politics were further hampered by the corruption rampant within the Winthrop and Kane administrations of the time. He was a virtual nobody given his exploits were largely kept secret and had little political experience. He would abandon this pursuit. In 1921, he joined a Mayan expedition led by a Professor Dan Hardin, who was a false identity for Clark Savage Sr(a theory shared by Wold Newton researchers, possibly Al Schroeder's Superman is Hugo Danner article but this is unconfirmed). After arriving at the port of Xantl, the two found the city of Uctotol they were searching for. Hugo liked Savage Sr, who learned of his abilities when a piece of stone nearly fell on Savage Sr and Hugo saved his life, revealing his abilities in the process. Savage believed Danner had a mission in life and referred to him as the first of a new race, using the term "The Sons of Dawn" which would inspire Hugo. Hugo had a nightmare in which superhumans like him destroying humanity in a civil war between them. This gave Danner thought s and he climbed a peak to ask what his mission was. Lightning struck him and he was brought before the wizard Shazam(*DC Comics*). He was considered a potential candidate to receive his power, but failed the test to resist the evils of man. Still Shazam informed him he was indeed the first of a new race. Danner was returned and chose to fake his death, leaving a charred Mayan corpse he found in the storm in his own clothing. Savage did not fall for his ruse but respected him enough to conceal his survival. Savage Sr reported his death on July 18, 1921(*Young All Stars #10*) His mother died a few months later in 1922(*Young All Stars #11*).

### **After "Death"(1921-1948)**

Danner would travel to a Brazilian port. He overheard an American named Willie talking about how he knew the way to Makple White Land. Hugo went with him. Willie tried to rob Hugo but was quickly disarmed and revealed he knew the truth from a man named Zambo who had been with the Challenger expedition in 1911 to Maple White Land. He took Hugo there and then tried to betray him but his bullet ricocheted off him and killed him(*Young All Stars #29*); Hugo did indeed discover Maple White Land(*The Lost World,* Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). The Nautilus was on an expedition there. He was accepted as an assistant to the Nemo family, then led by Jenni Dakkar(*League of Extraordinary Gentlemen*, Allan Moore). Danner explored further into Maple White Land and discovered the Accala Tribe, living among the ruins of Utopia. Using resources provided by the Nautilus and his father's notes, Hugo recreated a version of his father's serum and used it on several pregnant women among the tribe. They would give birth to superhumans like himself. He would dub them the Sons of Dawn. The experience made Hugo homesick and he would elect to return home to Indian Creek, Ambarino in 1924. He would reunite with Anna Blake and have a one night stand with her before her marriage, which would result in the birth of Arn Munro (*Young All-Stars #11)*.

Danner would spend most of his time up raising his army of superhumans in isolation. Meanwhile, Arn Munro would develop abilities and learn his origins from his mother in 1937, while Fred Carson would become a super hero just as Superman had arrived on the scene shortly before his death in 1938. It was not until 1942 that the Sons of Dawn would be tested. The Nazis had began formulating plans to establish bases in Brazil and Maple White Land's jungles, specifically a facility intended to carry out the creation of clones of Hynkel(*The Boys from Brazil,* Ira Levin) but the Sons of Dawn represented their biggest threat in the area. The Nazis were attacked by a T-Rex which Danner killed, allowing a picture to be taken of him(*Young All Stars #30*). The Nazis sent Bingham Harvard(*The Night Wind*, Public Domain Superhero, Frederic van Rennselaer Dey), a superhuman agent of their own and Danner's long lost older brother to seize control of the Sons of Dawn. The two met and fought to an unclear result as the battle left both wounded but this had the desired result of provoking a Civil War between factions of the Accala Tribe which were impressed by Harvard and sided with him. The two sides would war for some time, putting their ambitions on hold in order to deal with the invasion of a Lizardlike race of aliens(*WorldWar,* Harry Turtledove*)*. Among the ruins of the alien ships and dead superhumans, Danner engaged Harvard. Harvard broke Danner's arms but with a powerful headbutt, Danner pulverized Harvard, killing him and cementing himself as the victor.

However, another battle with family awaited Danner. Arn Munro had joined the government project M and was tracking Nazi movement is the area along with his father's old notes from his visit in 1924. With the aid of Georgia Challenger, granddaughter of Professor Edward Challenger, Munro found Maple White Land and the Sons of Dawn. The presence of the two outsiders rallied the children to attack the outside world led by Hugo and they invaded a small town in Olifa. They captured Munro and Challenger and attacked the city of Rioguay. Munro escaped and called the All Star Squadron. Hugo's children began to die from outside diseases. Once all seemed lost, Hugo would take a grenade and leap into a Chimney, the explosion seemingly killing him. The bodies of the Superhumans were taken and the city rebuilt as simply "Rio"(*Young All Stars #31*)(Peter Coogan, Dennis E.Power's *Wold Newton Superman Family Chronology*).

Danner had survived but was injured. A Nazi U-boat discovered him and intended to bring his injured body back for research. It was intercepted by a soviet submarine and captured intact, Danner was brought to the Soviets and experimented on, using HYDRA techniques he was transformed into the Soviet superhuman The Steel Wolf, or Stalnoivolk (Power and Coogan, *Superman Family Chronology*). He would continue to serve as a secret weapon alongside the likes of the Winter Soldier. He was paired up with the KGB agent known as the Parasite in 1948, where Parasite attacked and nearly killed Johnny Thunder. When Housman, Batman and Superman were sent after the two villains, the Parasite ambushed and killed Steel Wold(and thus Hugo Danner). The three heroes found the body of Danner before Parasite attacked them with the newfound strength from the fallen superhuman. Superman(who was actually at the time, General Zod, who had swapped places with Superman and was impersonating him), dropped a German cathedral of Parasite, claiming to have panicked. This killed the monster and in a way avenged Danner as well. Zod was later discovered to be an imposter and defeated wit the real Superman rescued (*JSA: The Unholy Three*).

Officially the Steel Wolf was unidentified at the time of his death and most believe Hugo Danner died in 1942 in battle against his own son. His superhuman ideals would have a profound effect on Khan Noonien Singh, through his relation to the Nemo family, which Danner was shared his ideals with.