CHEMISTRO I

 

CHEMISTRO I

Real Name: Curtis Carr

First Appearance: Hero for Hire (Vol. 1) #12, August 1973

Powers: Curtis Carr was Chemistro I. He was a self-taught genius who created the first alchemy gun, a weapon which fired a molecular transfiguration beam that would alter the composition of anything it hit. He could convert nearly all forms of matter into rubber, glass, steel, paper, burning phosphorus, ice, molasses, epoxy, mace gas, nitroglycerin, molten rock, etc. He could even transform a single target again and again by shooting it multiple times. The transfiguration process was highly unstable, however, and so anything altered by his beam would eventually disintegrate into dust, regardless of what he had transfigured it into. Chemistro III, the original's brother, used the same style of alchemy gun as his his broher, but Chemistro II's gun exploded in his hands while he was constructing it, and its chemical properties were absorbed into his skin. Therefore, the Chemistro II had the power to alter the molecular composition of anything he laid his hands on. The effect was conductive, as he could transform an entire hospital hallway, ceiling, and floor merely by touching the wall. He made other uses of his power as well, such as turning his gloves to steel in order to increase the damage of his punches. By the time of the third Chemistro (and possibly as early as the second), the alchemy gun's transfigurations became less unstable, and altered objects could remain stable and substantive for hours, even days in their new state without disintegrating. Also Curtis Carr, now reformed, developed a protective chemical spray which would block the alchemy gun's effect, and a method for reversing the transfigurations back to normal so that the person or object would not disintegrate at all.

Carr later reinvented himself as High-Tech, incorporating a large supply of technical widgets into a personal body suit designed primarily for infiltration. The suit created a data-broadcasting web which scrambled various forms of electromagnetic detection to prevent them from tracking his presence. It also included a jetpack for flight and diffractory force field to scatter and disperse energy assaults without harming him. For offensive purposes, he had forearm cannons that could fire electromagnetic force (with both concussive and electro-disruptive properties) and launch a neural-overload net that flashfried his victim's nervous systems, setting their pain centers on overload.

Curtis Carr held graduate degrees in chemistry, physics, and mechanical engineering. A gifted intellect in all three fields, he was also a highly skilled inventor.