Bouncing Boy (Charles Foster "Chuck" Taine) is a superhero appearing in
American comic books by
DC Comics
DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
, usually as a member of the
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of t ...
. Born on
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
, Bouncing Boy has the power to inflate like a giant ball and bounce around. This combination of invulnerability and velocity makes him a surprisingly useful combatant. Born without any powers, he received his abilities from a super-plastic formula he believed was soda. Bouncing Boy is known for sharing a long-term romantic relationship with fellow Legionnaire
Triplicate Girl, whom he eventually marries. In the reboot Legion continuity, he is the Legion's mechanic.
Bouncing Boy has appeared in various media outside comics, primarily in association with the Legion. He is voiced by
Michael Cornacchia in ''
Legion of Super Heroes'' (2006) and Googy Gress in ''
Justice League Unlimited
''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...
''.
Publication history
Bouncing Boy first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #276 (May 1961),
and was created by
Jerry Siegel
Jerome "Jerry" Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/ Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./ Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He was the co-creator of ...
and
Jim Mooney
James Noel Mooney (August 13, 1919 – March 30, 2008) was an Americans, American comics artist best known for his long tenure at DC Comics and as the signature artist of Supergirl, as well as a Marvel Comics inker and Spider-Man artist, both ...
. His addition to the Legion of Super-Heroes reflected Siegel's interest in comedy and provided a vehicle for humor.
Fictional character biography
Silver Age
Bouncing Boy is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes who gained his abilities after accidentally drinking a super plastic formula which he believes to be soda. He later becomes a teacher at the Legion Academy and marries
Luornu Durgo
Triplicate Girl (Luornu Durgo) is a superhero appearing in DC Comics, primarily as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. She has also had the aliases Duo Damsel, Triad, Una, Duplicate Damsel, and Duplicate Girl.
...
. However, the two leave the Legion due to a rule that prohibits members from being married and remaining in active duty at the same time.
Post-Zero Hour
In post-''
Zero Hour'' continuity, Chuck lacks powers and is the Legion's resident architect and engineer, having gone to school using his parents' money after they were killed by
Daxamites. He designs the Legion Outpost space station and builds a specialty vehicle called the "Bouncing Boy" which acts as a bouncing juggernaut, smashing everything in its way.
Retroboot / New Earth
''
Infinite Crisis
"Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...
'' restores a close analogue of the original Legion to continuity. Bouncing Boy is depicted as an instructor at the Legion Academy and a reserve member of the Legion.
In ''
Doomsday Clock'', Bouncing Boy is among the Legion of Super-Heroes members who are erased from existence after
Doctor Manhattan
Doctor Manhattan (Dr. Jonathan "Jon" Osterman) is a fictional DC Comics character created by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons. He debuted in the graphic novel, limited Limited series (comics), series graphic novel, ''Watchmen.''
Follo ...
alters the timeline. However, he is resurrected when
Superman
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
convinces Manhattan to restore the timeline.
Powers and abilities
Bouncing Boy is a metahuman with the ability to inflate into an elastic, spherical form, enabling him to bounce at high speeds. This also provides him with a limited degree of invulnerability and resistant to electric shocks. Unlike an inanimate rubber ball, which loses kinetic energy due to friction and gravity, Bouncing Boy maintains velocity as he bounces.
The reboot incarnation of Chuck Taine has no powers, but is a skilled engineer and architect. He built and pilots his own spaceship known as the Bouncing Boy.
As a Legion of Super-Heroes member, Bouncing Boy possesses his own Legion Flight Ring. It enables him to fly and survive in space, and acts as a long-range communicator and navigator.
In other media
Television
* Bouncing Boy makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the ''
Superman: The Animated Series'' episode "New Kids in Town".
* Bouncing Boy appears in the ''
Justice League Unlimited
''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...
'' episode "Far From Home", voiced by Googy Gress.
[ A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.]
* Bouncing Boy appears in ''
Legion of Super Heroes'' (2006), voiced by
Michael Cornacchia.
This version temporarily replaced
Cosmic Boy
Cosmic Boy (Rokk Krinn) is a superhero appearing in comics published by DC Comics. He is from the 31st century, and is a founding member and original leader of the Legion of Super-Heroes.
Cosmic Boy has appeared in various media outside comics, p ...
as leader of the Legion during the first season, and inspired a group of discouraged Legion applicants to form the
Legion of Substitute Heroes.
* Bouncing Boy appears in the ''
Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, PhD) is a fictional American character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for ''Batman: The Animated Series'' as a henchwoman for the ...
'' episode "Icons Only", voiced by
Eric Bauza. This version is a contemporary
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
performer.
Film
Bouncing Boy appears in ''
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of t ...
'' (2023), voiced by
Ely Henry
Ely Henry is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles in ''Smallfoot'' and ''Some Freaks''.
Career
Henry worked on the television series ''Roadies (TV series), Roadies'', created by Cameron Crowe.
After working as ...
.
This version is a student of
the Legion Academy.
Video games
Bouncing Boy appears as a character summon in ''
Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''.
Miscellaneous
* Bouncing Boy appears in ''
Adventures in the DC Universe'' #10.
* Bouncing Boy appears in ''
Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century''.
* Bouncing Boy appears in ''
Smallville Season 11''.
* Bouncing Boy appears in the one-shot comic ''
Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes''.
References
{{Superman characters
Characters created by Jerry Siegel
Characters created by Jim Mooney
Comics characters introduced in 1961
DC Comics superheroes
DC Comics shapeshifters
DC Comics male superheroes
DC Comics metahumans
Fictional architects
Fictional engineers
Fictional mechanics
Fictional characters who can stretch themselves
Fictional orphans
Legion of Super-Heroes members