Mindgrabber Kid

The Mindgrabber Kid a.k.a. Lucian Crawley is a fictional comics superhero (and occasional supervillain) in the DC Universe. He was created by Dennis O'Neil and Dick Dillin and first appeared in Justice League of America (vol. 1) #70 (March 1969), published by DC Comics.

Fictional character biography

Mindgrabber Kid is a powerful mind-controller, but is more often than not portrayed as a nuisance rather than a hero. Except for his original adventure, his role has mostly been reduced to cameo appearances and comic relief. One notable exception is his short career as the brainwashed supervillain called Mind-Eater.

Origin

When he first appears in the JLA comic book, Lucian Crawley enters the scene in a flashy costume, and displays his formidable mutant mind powers to fight crime under the name of Mindgrabber Kid. Upon seeing himself being constantly outshined by the "A-list" heroes in the Justice League of America, he turns jealous and decides to discredit them.

Reaching out with the power of his mind, the Mindgrabber Kid makes contact with a group of alien spacemen, convincing them that the Justice League is a tyrannical super-regime, holding the planet Earth in an iron grip. The good-hearted aliens immediately heads for Earth, determined to save the Earthlings from their super-dictatorship. Mindgrabber Kid then manipulates the aliens and the League into fighting each other, also involving the hero known as the Creeper in the battle. The Kid soon watches the situation grow out of proportions, and after the League has won the fight, he explains the situation and apologizes for his shameful behaviour. Though disturbed, the League and the alien crew both accept his apology.

Conglomerate cameo

Mindgrabber Kid was obviously created as a one-story character, and was not seen again until more than twenty years later. In Justice League Quarterly #8 (Fall 1992), he appears applying for membership in the hero team known as the Conglomerate. Having gained quite a bit of weight, his costume looks even less impressive than before, and team funder Claire Montgomery questions him still calling himself a "kid" at his age. Crawley is only seen in one panel before being dismissed.

Becoming the Mind-Eater

In Primal Force #10-12 (August-October 1995), Lucian Crawley is fetched from a mental asylum by representatives of the villainous organization called The August. Posing as Crawley's relatives, the August's Alger and Camille kidnap the boy, brainwash him and amplify his powers, making him a tool in their plans to re-shape the world. Now called the Mind-Eater, the former hero wannabee is manipulated to battle the group called the Leymen (a.k.a. the Primal Force), and defeats them. After the Leymen escape imprisonment with the help of Nightmaster, they destroy the August's new world order, and the Mindgrabber Kid is missing after the cataclysm.

Return to not-so-greatness

Writer Grant Morrison brought Mindgrabber Kid back from obscurity in 2005 in his Seven Soldiers project. In the Zatanna and Bulleteer installments, the Mindgrabber Kid is once again a hero wannabee, calling himself "Mind-Grabber Man"; he receives tutelage from World War Two heroine the Human Bullet while secretly visiting hero therapy, appears on superhero conventions to boost his career, and entertains dreams of being "more popular than Superman" or even just teaming up with another super-powered being. He has come to realize that he will never reach the A-league of superheroes he desired to be part of all his life. After an alcohol-affected pity rant in the superhero convention bathroom, he strikes up a friendly relationship with the female Bulleteer and a bullet-proof bodyguard also attending the convention. A confused assassination attempt by I, Spyder has a diamon-tipped arrow passing within a few inches of his head. Spyder had been attempting to slay Bulleteer to prevent her propheciesed attempts to stop an apocalypse.

During the storyline, Mindgrabber Kid reveals that despite public perception, he is not gay, he only pretends to be so to avoid the romantic attentions of an older benefactor.

In the series 52 (2006), he returns with a bunch of other less popular heroes to carry the coffin at the (fake) funeral of Booster Gold. There are also Yellow Peri, Abraham Lincoln, the Blimp, the Odd Man and The Beefeater. This is because Booster had sunk so low in popularity few had even wanted to be associated with his seeming death.

In all his recent appearances, he vainly tries to make contact with female superheroes. After the funeral, Yellow Peri refuses his offer of his agent's contact information

He returns in the sixth issue of Morrison's Final Crisis as part of a group of telepaths (including Miss Martian) attempting to purge Darkseid from the consciousness of the human race. His last appearance was during the 2010 Superman Celebration.

Appearances

• Justice League of America #70 (March 1969): "Versus the Creeper"
• Justice League Quarterly #8 (fall 1992): "Double Trouble!"
• Primal Force #10 (August 1995): "The Inside"
• Primal Force #11 (September 1995): "Siege"
• Primal Force #12 (October 1995): "Virtues"
• Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #1 (June 2005): "Talking Backwards Sdrawkcab Gniklat"
• Seven Soldiers: Bulleteer #3 (April 2006): "21st Century Schizoid Supermen"
• 52 #18 (September 2006): "Dismantled"
• Final Crisis #6 (January 2009): "How to Murder the Earth"
• Super Friends #19 (November 2009): "Head of the Class"

External links

• DCU Guide: Mindgrabber Kid