8 Completely Implausible Superhero Origin Stories

7. Black Condor

The Origin: Black Condor was a member of the Freedom Fighters, one of D.C€™s earlier superteams. His origin was retconned years back so that he now attributes his powers of flight to exposure to a radioactive meteor €“ which is still pretty implausible. But it€™s better than his original origin, by a damn sight. In the first version of the character, a newly-born Richard Grey, Jr. and his scientist parents were victim of a bandit attack while on an expedition in Mongolia. Grey was the only survivor after being rescued by€erm€by super-intelligent Condors. These€Condors...proceeded to raise the child; as such he developed an innate ability to fly as they do. In Reality: Black Condor was inspired directly by Tarzan and it€™s easy to see the parallels. However, the idea that a boy raised by apes might share some of their racial traits and abilities is at least remotely feasible €“ Chimps are 99.4% genetically similar to humans, for example, and other species of ape aren€™t far that far behind them either. But, forgetting for a moment that the existence of the super intelligent Condor is about as implausible as it€™s likely to get, there€™s no reason that a boy who was raised by these nightmarish creatures would suddenly be able to defy all known laws of physics and actually physically fly. In reality, Richard Grey Jr€™s adoptive parents and siblings would have watched proudly as their ward attempted to take flight for the first time. Before, basically, watching him commit own-goal suicide as a result of his own stupidity. Super intelligent my ass.
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Stuart believes that the pen is mightier than the sword, but still he insists on using a keyboard.