TNT is a fictional character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published 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 ...

. TNT and his sidekick Dan the Dyna-Mite were created by

Mort Weisinger Mortimer Weisinger (; April 25, 1915 – May 7, 1978) was an American magazine and comic book editor best known for editing DC Comics' ''Superman'' during the mid-1950s to 1960s, in the Silver Age of comic books. He also co-created such features ...

for DC Comics, and made their debut in '' Star Spangled Comics'' #7 (April 1942). The "human hand grenades" had a short lived career during the

Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and ma ...

, reappearing occasionally in reprint form during the 1970s, returning in ''

Super Friends ''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of Am ...

'' #12, and appearing from time to time in ''

All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League, Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its s ...

'' and its Post-Crisis sequel, ''

Young All-Stars The Young All-Stars are a team of fictional DC Comics superheroes. They were created by Roy Thomas, Dann Thomas, and Michael Bair, and introduced in ''Young All-Stars'' #1, dated June 1987. The team members Tsunami, Neptune Perkins, and Dan th ...

''.

Fictional character biography

Pre-Crisis

TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite are the secret identities of chemistry teacher and track coach Thomas N. "Tex" Thomas and his student Daniel Dunbar. While working with "radioactive salts", they discover they are charged with atomic energy. Thomas is charged with positive energy, while Dunbar is charged with negative energy. Thomas makes a pair of rings which keeps the energy dormant until they are touched together, at which point the pair gains enhanced strength, speed, and resistance to injury, and the ability to generate different forms of energy. Thomas generates heat, while Dan can generate bursts of electricity.''Star-Spangled Comics'' #7. DC Comics. The series ran through ''Star-Spangled Comics'' #23 (August 1943).

Post-Crisis

TNT was revived as part of

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

's ''All-Star Squadron'', and its spin-off, ''The Young All-Stars''. After TNT and Dyna-Mite had been active for a few months, they are summoned by the All-Star Squadron to participate in their first general meeting. Their participation seems to have been limited to attending meetings and little else until April 1942, when Liberty Belle, as chairperson of the All-Stars, asks TNT and Dyna-Mite to look into Axis espionage activity in Colorado. Here, they meet future All-Star member

Iron Munro Iron Munro (Arn Munro) is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Roy Thomas created the character in 1987 for ''Young All-Stars''. He largely served to replace Superman in stories set during World War II af ...

, but TNT is killed by Gudra the Valkyrie, a supernatural agent of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

. TNT is posthumously awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

, leaving Dyna-Mite to work with Munro and other members of the Young All-Stars. Keeping Thomas' ring, Dan finds he can activate his powers by slamming both rings together. In 2010's ''DCU: Legacies'' #2, TNT and Dyna-Mite are revealed to have been founding members of the

Seven Soldiers of Victory The Seven Soldiers of Victory (also known as Law's Legionnaires) is a team of fictional comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe. They first appeared in '' Leading Comics'' #1 (Winter 1941), and were created by Mort Weisinger and Mort M ...

. How this retcon affects their histories, such as the previously established death of TNT and Dyna-Mite's Young All-Stars stint, has not yet been revealed.

Current version

The latest version of the character is featured in

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...

's ''

Seven Soldiers ''Seven Soldiers'' is a 2005–2006 comic book metaseries written by Grant Morrison and published by DC Comics. It was published as seven interrelated mini-series and two bookend issues. The series features a new version of the Seven Soldiers of ...

'' project. Calling himself Dyno-Mite Dan, Harris D. Ledbetter makes an online purchase of what he believes are TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite's rings, and joins five other heroes in ''Seven Soldiers'' #0. Later, he is killed with the rest of his team. His rings are actually working fakes made by

Cassandra Craft The Phantom Stranger is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, of unspecified paranormal origins, who battles mysterious and occult forces, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in an ...

DC Universe

In '' Dark Nights: Death Metal'', TNT is revealed to have died some time prior before

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

resurrects him with a

Black Lantern The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of wikt:corporeal, corporeal revenants (resembling intelligent zombies or jiangshi) appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, related to the emotional spectrum. The group is composed of d ...

ring.

Powers and abilities

When his powers are unleashed, TNT possesses super-strength, enhanced speed, and resistance to injuries. He can also do energy blasts.

Equipment

TNT possesses a special ring that helps contain his powers when in his civilian form. When his ring touches Dan the Dyna-Mite's ring, their powers are unleashed.

Enemies

TNT had his own rogues gallery: * "Brainy" Beggs - a criminal leader. * Aces Keenan - a gambler and criminal. * Blast - a saboteur. * Bruiser Blane - a criminal who was looking for gold in Placer Gulch. * Clumsy Charlie - the leader of a gang who are bad at committing crimes.''Star-Spangled Comics'' #23. DC Comics. * Crime Clown - a clown that led a criminal gang. * Dwarf - a tiny crime lord. * Ebenezer Oglum - a miserly old man who fell in with some gangsters. * Herr Streicher - a Nazi. * Judson Cross - a criminal who stole money for a charity dedicated to helping blind children. * Mother Goose - George Ready is the leader of the Mother Goose Mob. * Mr. Heyler - a Nazi who manipulated Clumsy Charlie and his gang. * Parrot - Harry Hicks is a masked criminal who uses a parrot that has poison on its claws. * Phineas Smythe - an art dealer. * Posey - a bandit leader who was nicknamed the "Blooming Bandit". * Sparkler Rattigan - a criminal who used a special static electricity machine to keep Thomas and Daniel from transforming into TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite. * Test Tube Gang - a criminal gang that uses new types of acids and explosives for their crimes.''Star-Spangled Comics'' #17. DC Comics.

Reception

''American Comic Book Chronicles'' says that the TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite series "had potential, but consistently fell flat, limited space and unimaginative writing its chief problems".

Other versions

TNT is mentioned in the 1993 four issue mini-series '' The Golden Age'', written by James Robinson and drawn by

Paul Smith Paul Smith is the name of: Music * Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer * Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist * Paul Smith (English singer) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of British in ...

. This series is set during the period of

McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...

and, much as he did in ''The Young All-Stars'', TNT is said to have died during World War II.

References

External links

TNT at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
{{GoldenAge DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics male superheroes DC Comics metahumans DC Comics superheroes Fictional characters with fire or heat abilities Golden Age superheroes