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Superboy:
Cadmus Connections |
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| Project Cadmus |
| Cadmus Personnel |
| Guardian |
| Dubbilex |
| Serling Roquette |
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Project Cadmus
Project Cadmus is one of the most auspicious government-operated research institutions in the world. The Project was an attempt to better society by learning the intricacies of the human genome.
The Project was founded by the creators of the original Newsboy Legion, with a new scientist, Dr. Dabney Donovan, who believed there should be no limits to experimentation of the human gene. He ultimately created several genetic experiments. The first was the Hairies, a group of mentally enhanced hippies who developed a unique habitat that blended super-science with lush greenery. Another group became known as DNAliens; These were genetically enhanced beings who appeared alien in appearance, but possessed amazing paranormal abilities.
Cadmus' research continued with little interference from the government. They cloned and recreated the Newsboy Legion, as well as the Golden Age hero, Guardian, whom became their head of security. Cadmus' crowning achievement was the successful creation of a Superman clone - the entity that later became known as Superboy.
Cadmus has benefited humanity in countless ways - such as saving genetically altered people from dying of the clone plague. But Cadmus is not without its dark corners and secret cabals; A faction of Cadmus stole Superman's dead body from his tomb to see if they could clone him... a feat that made Superman a bit bitter towards Cadmus in his future dealings.
Formerly a covert, unchecked, nearly out-of-control program that spewed forth monsters, clones, and other such biological troubles, Project Cadmus was later reorganized under Mickey "the Mechanic" Cannon and Colonel Adam Winterbourne. After the reorganization, Cadmus went public and devoted much of its time and resources to help the general public, including discovering the cure for the Hourman virus and recapturing the project's legacy -- genetic monsters and creations of Dabney Donovan that still roamed free. While Cadmus bases were scattered throughout the world, the main facility was located in the hundreds of miles of caverns within the Kirby County mountains north of Metropolis.
Project Cadmus was later shut down by the United States Army, who confiscated all of Cadmus' equipment and cloning technology.
The Cadmus Project Personnel
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Director Paul Westfield
The double-dealing director of Project Cadmus during its darker days, Westfield approved many projects with dubious motives and methods. Westfield bypassed approvals to create his own homegrown Superman. That clone - Superboy - was released by the Newsboy Legion before Westfield could exploit him for his own purposes. Westfield later died, but his legacy lived on; When Superboy discovered the failed clones that preceded him, he also discovered a video recording from Westfield, revealing that his human DNA was used to create Superboy. Superboy later learned this information was false - but his actual human donor was perhaps even more nefarious: Lex Luthor!
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Dabney Donovan
One of the first Cadmus scientists, Donovan was responsible for creating countless beasts and monsters that terrorize the tunnels of Cadmus as well as Metropolis and beyond. Having cloned himself multiple times, Donovan has been reported killed on numerous occasions only to reappear later, deadlier than ever. The one believed to be Donovan-Prime escaped house arrest at Cadmus, when Superboy was under the corrupting influence of a mystical gauntlet.
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Mickey "the Mechanic" Cannon
Active in covert and government operations since the late 1940s, Cannon's reputation as "the fixer" is well founded. Complex problems -- mechanical, organizational, or personal -- all are worked out with Cannon's magic touch. Cannon earned a stellar reputation whether he was rebuilding engines in Suicide Slum, brokering a truce between Metropolis street gangs or preventing international incidents at the behest of the government. The government asked Cannon to head up Cadmus when it went public.
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Colonel Adam Winterbourne
Cadmus' government-appointed military liaison, Winterbourne has recently returned to active duty after being rescued by Superboy from the "Wild Lands," a hidden island populated with human/animal hybrids. As is his duty, Winterbourne makes sure that all Cadmus field operations occur with precision and that sufficient care is taken to protect the civilian population.
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Dr. Helen Angelico [Doc Angel]
Formerly romantically involved with Mickey Cannon, Dr. Helen Angelico made a name for herself as the world's foremost expert in meta-human medicine. Known better to her grateful patients as "Doc Angel," she joined Project Cadmus at the behest of Mickey Cannon himself. Doc Angel has an ongoing rivalry with Dr. Sarah Charles of S.T.A.R. Labs. |
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133: First appearance of Project Cadmus.
Superman Annual (2nd series) #2: First modern appearance Cadmus and of Dubbilex.
Superboy #57: Cadmus is put under new management, led by Mickey "the Mechanic" Cannon, a former Suicide Slum resident with a reputation for being able to "fix" anything, a car or a country. The new head of genetics is Dr. Serling Roquette, a teenaged genius with a crush on the Guardian and Superboy. Dabney Donovan is also brought back, under armed guard. Cannon makes Cadmus more open to the public.
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen Special [2008]: Jimmy Olsen, would-be star reporter, doggedly investigates the mystery surrounding Superman's newest foe, Atlas! But the secrets behind the titan of yore lead Olsen across the country and into great danger as he must survive attacks by none other than Codename: Assassin! True origin of Guardian revealed. Death of Dubbilex.
DC Universe Role-Playing Games: Sourcebooks and Manuals [ West End Games], DC Secret Files, supplemented by titanstower.com - Special thanks to Scott Redding for the information on this entry!
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Guardian
Alias: Jim Harper |
The Guardian of Cadmus
Originally a beat cop in Metropolis during World War II, Jim Harper took up the shield and costume of the Guardian to protect the residents of Suicide Slum.... in particular, four orphans known as the Newsboy Legion. Through his connection with the Newsboy Legion, Guardian protected the security of Project Cadmus, and also donated his own cell and tissue samples for scientific research.
Guardian believed he was donating his cell tissue for a cancer cure or some higher purpose. But upon learning his DNA was being utilized for cloning, he was shot dead by Cadmus' Head of Security, Jonathan Drew. Drew later went deep underground and used his telepathic abilities to become a contract killer known as Codename: Assassin.
Meanwhile, the Guardian cloning project became a success, and Jim Harper was cloned many, many times, although only a handful of people were aware of the succession of clones. Even Harper himself was unaware, as the scientists implanted him with false memories at each regeneration. The original Newsboy Legion believed they gave an elderly Guardian a new lease on life by having his consciousness transferred to a new, younger cloned body. But the Guardian they 'saved' was actually just another clone in a long line of duplicates.
Faster, stronger and more agile than ever, the Guardian (and each successive clone) assumed the position of Head of Security at Project Cadmus, answering to Mickey Cannon and Colonel Adam Winterbourne. In this capacity, he often aided Superman against the Cadmus-created threats as well as taking on the role of mentor to Superboy. Additionally, Guardian kept an eye on the "new" Newsboy Legion - clones of the original group. Guardian was also known to patrol his old beat, Suicide Slum.
When the Titans aided Superboy in saving Roxy Leech from an alien who bonded with her, Guardian met Arsenal (Roy Harper) for the first time. Roy revealed that the original Jim Harper was his great-uncle. Often feeling out of place in the world, Guardian was delighted to regard Roy and Lian Harper as his great-nephew and great-great-niece.
Eventually, Project Cadmus was shut down by the United States Army, who confiscated all of their equipment and cloning technology.
True Origins
When Jimmy Olsen investigated a mystery surrounding a meta-human mercenary, it led him directly to the doors of Project Cadmus. There, he learned from a dying Dubbilex that the identity of Codename: Assassin was Jonathan Drew, a former Security Chief at Cadmus who also killed the original Guardian.
Jimmy made contact with the Guardian "prime clone" who retreated into obscurity years ago. Helping guard the sleepy town of Warpath with his classic Guardian shield and helmet, the surviving Guardian clone still strives to uphold justice.
Star-Spangled Comics #7: First appearance of Guardian
Superman Family #191-193 [1978]: Mal and the Newsboy Legion discover the fate of Guardian
Superboy #81: Guardian and Arsenal meet for the first time; Learn they are related
Superboy #82: Roy and Lian Harper have lunch with Guardian - and now regard each other as family
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen Special [2008]: Jimmy Olsen, would-be star reporter, doggedly investigates the mystery surrounding Superman's newest foe, Atlas! But the secrets behind the titan of yore lead Olsen across the country and into great danger as he must survive attacks by none other than Codename: Assassin! True origin of Guardian revealed. Death of Dubbilex.
DC Universe Role-Playing Games: Sourcebooks and Manuals [ West End Games], DC Secret Files, supplemented by titanstower.com - Special thanks to Scott Redding for the information on this entry!
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Superboy, Dubbilex, Rex and Roxy Leech
are Hawaii-bound in SUPERBOY #1 [1994]. |
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Dubbilex was originally created by Dabney Donovan as one of his DNAliens: a human DNA strand altered to create alien looking beings with paranormal abilities. With Dubbilex, he created an extraordinary telepath and telekinetic. Dubbilex was created to be an agent of Cadmus, and had little contact with the human race until he met Superboy.
After Superboy left the Project for Hawaii, Dubbilex was chosen by Cadmus to keep an eye on him and report his status to Cadmus.
Dubbilex became more than a watchful eye to Superboy; he was his tutor and his friend. And while Superboy was a fun-loving and carefree, Dubbilex was quiet and introspective. Nevertheless, the two became friends. Through Superboy, he learned about women, video games, and the outside world. If Superboy was ever in trouble, Dubbilex did everything he could to help him... from brain blasting super-villains to help with his algebra.
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Superboy's first meeting with Dubbilex - as
retold in SUPERBOY #100. |
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When Superboy returned to Cadmus, Dubbilex also returned and became its Head of Genetics. After attending Tana Moon's funeral, Dubbilex partly blamed himself for her death. He eventually found a retreat and learned from a monk that Superboy needed to walk a new path without him. After much meditation, Dubbilex returned to assist Cadmus once again.
Eventually, Project Cadmus was shut down by the United States Army, who confiscated all of their equipment and cloning technology. Only Dubbilex was left to mind the empty caverns of the once sprawling science center.
When Jimmy Olsen investigated a mystery surrounding a meta-human mercenary, it led him directly to the doors of Project Cadmus. Unfortunately for Dubbilex, the mercenary known as Codename: Assassin had reached the DNAlien before Jimmy. Dubbilex was able to share some of Cadmus' darkest secrets with Jimmy before dying.
Gifted with telepathy and telekinesis, Dubbilex is a formidable opponent. The DNAlien is also capable of brain-blasts, which induce powerful pain inside an adversary's head.
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #136: First appearance of Dubbilex.
Superman Annual (2nd series) #2: First modern appearance Cadmus and of Dubbilex.
Superboy #1: Rex begins managing Superboy; Dubbilex accompanies Superboy to Hawaii.
Superboy #100: Dubbilex reflects on his time with Superboy.
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen Special [2008]: Jimmy Olsen, would-be star reporter, doggedly investigates the mystery surrounding Superman's newest foe, Atlas! But the secrets behind the titan of yore lead Olsen across the country and into great danger as he must survive attacks by none other than Codename: Assassin! True origin of Guardian revealed. Death of Dubbilex.
DC Universe Role-Playing Games: Sourcebooks and Manuals [ West End Games], DC Secret Files, supplemented by titanstower.com - Special thanks to Scott Redding for the information on this entry!
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| Serling Roquette from SUPERBOY #75. |
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Serling Roquette
A child prodigy, Roquette is the youngest member of Project Cadmus, and has found a niche for herself in Cadmus's recombinant genetics labs. While her age initially unsettled many Cadmus members, she has since proven herself a competent and serious scientist and a huge asset to the Cadmus team.
Dr. Serling Roquette is a brilliant yet sheltered young girl hired by Project Cadmus who arrived around the same time Superboy decided to live at Cadmus. She has a tremendous understanding of human genetics far beyond most people her age.
Serling was enamored with the music and culture from the 1940s and 1950s. So, naturally, she developed strong feelings for the Guardian based on the idea that he came from World War II era. This crush was unrequited on Guardian's part. Eventually, Serling began to see Superboy in a new light after witnessing his bravery and courage in the most dire of circumstances. But Superboy was still dealing with the loss of his first girlfriend, Tana Moon; their interest in each other never developed into anything more serious.
Upon Cadmus returning to secrecy, Serling also left for parts unknown.
Superboy #57: Cadmus is put under new management, led by Mickey "the Mechanic" Cannon, a former Suicide Slum resident with a reputation for being able to "fix" anything, a car or a country. The new head of genetics is Dr. Serling Roquette, a teenaged genius with a crush on the Guardian and Superboy. Dabney Donovan is also brought back, under armed guard. Cannon makes Cadmus more open to the public.
DC Universe Role-Playing Games: Sourcebooks and Manuals [ West End Games], DC Secret Files, supplemented by titanstower.com - Special thanks to Scott Redding for the information on this entry!
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