Captain Dynamo (comics)

Captain Dynamo
Cover to Dynamo 5 #1, showing the late Captain Dynamo in the upper right, and his five children, the Dynamo 5, in the foreground. Art by Mahmud A. Asrar.
Publication information
Publisher	Image Comics
First appearance	Noble Causes: Extended Family #2 June 2004
Created by	Jay Faerber Fran Bueno
In-story information
Full name	William Warner
Species	Superhuman
Team affiliations	Dynamo 5
Abilities	Superhuman strength Flight Laser/X-Ray/Telescopic vision Telepathy Shapeshifting

Captain Dynamo (real name William Warner) is a fictional comic book superhero, created by writer Jay Faerber and artist Fran Bueno, who first appeared as a supporting character in Noble Causes: Extended Family #2 (June 2004) by Image Comics.

Captain Dynamo was killed by the assassin Widowmaker in Noble Causes #18 (March 2006), and now serves as a posthumous background concept in the monthly series Dynamo 5. Patterned in the vein of the Superman archetype, Captain Dynamo was the powerful primary protector of Tower City, and considered by his peers and benefactors to be “the greatest super-hero in the world.” His death threatened to leave Tower City vulnerable to his legion of super-villain enemies, so his widow, Madeline “Maddie” Warner, tracked down and assembled five illegitimate children fathered by Dynamo to carry on his legacy as the Dynamo 5, as seen in Dynamo 5 #1 (January 2007).

William Warner was born in 1954. Little is known about his origin as a superhero, aside from the fact that he was the much-beloved protector of Tower City for forty years following his exposure to an unidentified form of radiation that granted him superhuman abilities, and husband of Maddie Warner, a former agent of a government superhero monitoring organization known as F.L.A.G., who used the cover of an award-winning investigative journalist, now retired. Dynamo had five superhuman abilities: flight, super strength, telepathy, shapeshifting, and laser/x-ray/telescopic vision, and maintained a secret headquarters beneath an industrial pier.

Dynamo was killed in 2006 by the assassin Widowmaker, who was presumably hired by one of his enemies. Dynamo was eventually found dead, naked in a hotel bed, the cause of death attributed to some type of poison on his lips, though the details of his death were not released to the public. Warner suspected that he did not find himself in that position of his own accord, but was placed in it by his murderer in order to embarrass him. His death caused an outpouring of grief in the Image universe superhero community, all or most of which was in attendance at his funeral, including the Savage Dragon, Shadowhawk II, and Invincible. In sorting through his personal effects, Warner discovered his little black book, which was filled with detailed information on countless incidents of infidelity on his part. Although devastated by the extent of her late husband’s indiscretions, Warner was faced with the problem of Dynamo’s numerous enemies, who would now take advantage of Tower City in his absence. Although other superheroes attempted to pitch in to keep the peace, Warner decided that Tower City needed a permanent protector.