New American (Character)

Created by: Georges Jenty, John Ridley

1st appearance: The American Way #2- A New Generation

Name: Jason Fisher

Team Affiliations: U.S. Army, Civil Defense Corp

Relatives: Evan Fisher (brother)

Skills and abilities: Skilled hand to hand combatant, Howard University graduate

Powers: Invulnerability, Super Strength; a flaw was built into the gene therapy Jason received which granted him invulnerability, but his pain receptors were still that of a normal human, so he could still feel pain. It is possible that the pain would kill Jason if it is great enough or if he is exposed to it for a long time

Weapons: Jason uses a jet pack for flight

Biography
In the 1940’s the US government created its own super powered heroes. These heroes formed the CDC; Civil Defense Corps; which fought alien invasions, evil- super-powered villains, and communism. The catch was that all of the action the group saw was staged for the public to strengthen their faith in the country. The members of the group received “gene therapy” which granted an array of powers for each member. By 1961 the CDC was overseen by the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration (FDAA), which was not only the groups handlers, but also responsible for staging the battles. During the course of one of the staged fights, one of the “heroes”, a chain smoker, dies of a heart attack. Wesley Chatham, the director of marketing for the FDAA, suggest that due to the great racial divide, replacing the dead hero with a Negro would go a long way in helping to heal the country’s racial problems. Chatham brings in Howard University graduate Jason Fisher, whose physical and psychological testing indicated that he would make the next great hero. Undergoing the gene therapy, Jason was given super strength and invulnerability, but because they considered him to be an “uppity colored” a flaw was introduced into Jason’s therapy which left his pain receptors that of a normal human. This was done in case Jason needed to be kept in line. In 1962 Jason joined the team as the “New American”, wearing a modified space suit, complete with helmet, in order to hide his identity from the public, whom the FDAA figured would react negatively to having a super-powered colored person. After saving lives and playing the hero, Jason started to learn what it really meant to be heroic, and saw himself as much the hero as the public did. When one of the members of the CDC has a mental breakdown from secretly giving himself the gene therapy, a big battle breaks out among the heroes, who are trying to subdue him. During the course of the battle, Jason’s faceplate cracks, and it is revealed that he is Black! The FDAA, in an effort to draw attention from the racial unrest caused by the unmasking of New American, unleashes one of its super-powered villains. By this time, the team had split in two, with the southern heroes returning to the South under protest of having to work with a Negro. The villain; named Hellbent; goes on a rampage, and kills a bus load of freedom riders on their way to a civil rights rally. Hellbent spares one person, who happens to be Jason’s brother, and tortures him and leaves him paralyzed. Jason, defying a presidential order not to cross the Mason Dixie line as not to anger the Southern Defense Corp, goes after Hellbent. Upon finding him, Hellbent reveals he also raped Jason’s brother, which angers Jason and causes him to kill the villain. The SDC is now angered over the killing of a white, hunt Jason down and tries to kill him. Members of the CDC arrive and a big fight breaks out. Chatham convinces the CDC and SDC to go to a remote area to slug it out, but secretly plans to destroy the heroes with 4 nuclear devices. One of the CDC handlers reveals himself as a Hellbent follower, and redirects three of the nuclear devices toward American cities. Jason is able to call a truce between the heroes and they in turn stop the missiles.