Balder the Brave
First appearance: Journey Into Mystery 85
Powers: The noblest of the Norse gods, Baldor is extremely strong even by god-ly standards. It is in the best interests of the Asgardians to protect Balder, since his demise is prophesied as the sign of Ragnarok. Thanks to the spells of Frigga, he cannot be harmed by any objects unless they are made out of mistletoe.
History: Companion and best friend of Thor, Balder has shared many of the Thunder God's adventures, and even hankered after Thor's lady friend Sif for a while. That changed when he met Karnilla, the Queen of the Norns. The two have a difficult relationship, complicated by the ancient enmity between Asgard and the Norns and her habit of offing the competition. Seriously wounded through the machinations of Loki, Balder's spirit went to the Norse afterworld, where he was horrified to meet many of those he had slain in battle. When he regained his strength, he was so overwhelmed by seeing what no mortal eye should see he...well, he ate until he became absolutely obese, showing that depressed Norse gods aren't too unlike depressed humans. Convinced by a mystic vision that life was worth living, Balder trimmed down and resumed the warrior's life. Balder became ruler of Asgard when Odin was presumed lost; however, when the throne became vacant a second time, he chose to remain in Karnilla's realm rather than return to Asgard.
Current status: Balder and Karnilla had a major falling out. Since she disappeared screaming in a flash of light, it may take more than roses and chocolates for Balder to get back into her good graces. In any case, Balder, like most of the Asgardians gods, is currently missing.
Battle Star
Real name: Lemar Hoskins
AKA: Bucky, Battlestar
First appearance: Captain America 323
Powers: When he was a wrestler, Lemar was given the Power Broker treatment and achieved super-strength. After a rough start, he and Captain America became friendly enough for Cap to give him some pointers; as a result, Battle Star carries a shield that he uses efficiently in fights.
History: Hoskins was one of a number of hyper-patriotic anti-foreigner types supporting the Super-Patriot (Johnny Walker, who eventually became the U.S. Agent). When Walker stopped being the Super-Patriot and became Captain America, Hoskins was picked by elements in the United States government as Walker's partner. The pairing was supposed to re-create the glory days of Captain America and his young partner Bucky; however, Hoskins changed his original code-name from "Bucky" to "Battle Star" after he decided the title was offensive, perhaps even deliberately so. When Walker was presumed killed, Lemar refused to believe his best friend had perished and tried to track him down. After battling through mis-information and government red tape, Battle Star discovered that Walker had became the new government operative U.S. Agent. Although he and Walker remain good friends, Hoskins has over time adjusted to more middle-of-the-road political stance. No longer able to accept the official line without question, he eventually hooked up with Silver Sable's Wild Pack.
Current status: Battle Star remains with the Wild Pack. He doesn't always like Silver's instructions and has been known to object to her "ends justify the means" policy -- although he's always polite and calls her "ma'am," even during disagreements.
Black Bolt
Real name: Blackagar Boltagon
First appearance: Fantastic Four 45
Powers: Black Bolt has super-human strength and reflexes, can fly at super-sonic speeds, and is a natural attractant of free electrons. He wears special antennae to harness electrons for use in his powerful sonic scream. Unfortunately, even with the antennae, his vocal control is not precise. He cannot speak without dire consequences for those around him. He accidentally killed his parents when his scream caused a spacecraft to crash into the Parliament building, and twice leveled Attilan, once deliberately to destroy the Negative Barrier, once accidentally when he uttered "no" during a torture session orchestrated by his brother, Maximus.
History: Black Bolt's energy-harnessing powers are so dangerous he was kept in isolation until he reached adulthood. After the death of his parents Black Bolt reluctantly became king of the Inhumans, a responsibility which weighs heavily upon him. He has been deposed several times by Maximus, sometimes with outside help, sometimes with Inhumans who fear Black Bolt's uncontrollable powers. When he realized pollution hazardous to the Inhumans couldn't be escaped anywhere on Earth, Black Bolt transported Attilan to the Moon's Blue Area. Despite this, the Inhumans had quite a bit of contact with outsiders, especially the Fantastic Four, who count Black Bolt's wife, Medusa, among their members.
Current status: With Attilan's unexpected return to Earth, Black Bolt once more must deal with leading the Inhumans in a human world.
