Flex Mentallo
Context
Flex debuted in Grant Morrison’s fantastic run on Doom Patrol. He popped up in #35, in 1990.
One of the angles during that run was to treat the cheap, fly-by-night advertisements in old comic books as if they were part of the story. In Flex’s case, it was based on all these ads promising to turn nerdy boys into muscle men – and how this musculature would open to them the extraordinary, enchanted world of “real men”. Full of respect, swooning women, wealth and domination.
These notes were taken during the 1990s, so they’re a bit creaky and do not take into account later appearances. Because they didn’t exist yet.
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Background
- Real Name: N.A..
- Marital Status: Single.
- Known Relatives: None.
- Group Affiliation: None.
- Base Of Operations: An unnamed city.
- Height: 6’5” Weight: Mid-30s.
- Eyes: Brown Hair: Brown.
History
One day, Wallace Sage would be one of the most powerful psychics in the world. In his youth, however, Wally was like any other adolescent boy fascinated with comic books.
He even created his own comic, My Greenest Adventure . It chronicled the exploits of superheroes like Flex Mentallo, the Fact, Atomic Pile, the Zipper, Mr. 45 and Romantic Rick. They encountered such outré villains as Doctor Saucer, the Origami Man and the Incendiary Baby.
Reverse fictionaut
When a military conspiracy kidnapped the adult Wallace Sage, Sage’s intense desire for a hero to rescue him somehow made Flex real.
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In Sage’s comics, Flex had acquired his strange powers in a scenario oddly reminiscent of the old Charles Atlas body-building ads . You remember. “The insult that made a Man out of Mac.” Well, this Mac sent in the special coupon and got a tingly book called Muscle Mystery for You.
Mac studied these secrets. He gained not only strength and muscle tone, but the knowledge of how to precisely flex each muscle to tap into hidden forces. Flexing would even allow him to read minds and see into the future and other dimensions . Mac changed his name to Flex Mentallo and became a jovial super-hero.
The Pentagon is more than what it seems
Flex’s carefree adventuring days came to an end when he realized the full extent of the Pentagon Horror. He flexed for two straight months, trying to turn the Pentagon into a circle. He knew that this change in geometry would destroy the occult menace that lived beneath it.
(Given Morrison’s interest in magic, this likely is an allusion to the 1967 hippie ritual to levitate the Pentagon .)
Finally, he went down into the strange city beneath the Pentagon and was defeated by the Men from N.O.W.H.E.R.E.. He wandered the Earth as an amnesiac, finally winding up on Danny the Street.
He regained his memory when the Doom Patrol fought the false Men from N.O.W.H.E.R.E.. Then, Flex regained his powers when the real Men from N.O.W.H.E.R.E. took him and Dorothy Spinner hostage beneath the Pentagon. There, he was able to turn the Pentagon into a circle long enough for Dorothy to destroy the Telephone Avatar.
Okay, this might sound confusing but this is how it really happened. Honest.
Description
Flex is as a well-built White male. He seems no older than 35, though strict chronology would make him at least 60. I assume that when Sage brought Flex into the “real” world, it was Flex at his prime.
He stands over six feet tall, with brown hair and eyes.
His usual crime-fighting attire is a leopard-skin patterned pair of bathing trunks, with lace-up thigh-length boots. He often wears an overcoat over this “rather frank” get-up.
Quotes
“It’s time to put a smile on the face of the war against crime.”
DC Universe History
It’s uncertain how Flex fits into the mainstream DC Universe. His final Doom Patrol appearance leaves no doubt that he is now real and a part of the then-contemporary “Vertigo Universe” if not necessarily the “DC Universe”.
But the Flex Mentallo mini-series depicts :
- A Flex who lives in a world with very few super-beings.>/li>
- A Wallace Sage who is a famous rock star in a world with no super-beings.
- Another Wallace Sage who is a super-villain bent on destroying all superheroes in every world.
- And lots and lots of heroes (The Legion of Legions) from lots and lots of parallel worlds.
Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
Flex Mentallo, Hero of the beach
| Dex: 07 | Str: 10 | Bod: 10 | Motivation: Upholding the Good |
| Int: 06 | Wil: 12 | Min: 12 | Occupation: Comic Book Superhero |
| Inf: 10 | Aur: 10 | Spi: 08 | Resources {or Wealth}: 002 |
| Init: 023 | HP: 050 |
Powers:
Matter Manipulation: 20, Mind Probe: 12, Precognition: 06, Remote Sensing: 25, Sonic Beam: 10, Telekinesis: 12
Bonuses and Limitations:
Remote Sensing can be used to see into other dimensions.
Skills:
Acrobatics*: 07, Charisma (Persuasion): 10
Advantages:
Iron Nerves, Scholar (Body Building, “Muscle Mystery”), Misc.: When he uses a Power, Flex can have the words “Hero of the beach” appear in letters of fire above his head (5 pts).
Connections:
The Doom Patrol (Low), Danny the Street (Low).
Drawbacks:
Public Identity.
Source of Character: DC Universe (Doom Patrol, Flex Mentallo).
Helper(s): Sébastien Andrivet.