LIVING LIGHTNING

 

LIVING LIGHTNING

Real Name: Miguel Santos

First Appearance: Avengers West Coast (Vol. 2) #63, October 1990

Powers: Miguel Santos' father, Carlos, was a member of the Legion of the Living Lightning who fought the Hulk. Exploring the abandoned Lightning base, Miguel plugged himself into the Lightning Machine, and absorbed/gained electrical powers. Initially, his body generated a powerful electrical aura that he could manipulate. He could fire lightning bolts from his hands, levitate and fly through the air, and used his aura as a defensive screen to incinerate gas or projectiles. After being caught in an explosion, though, Miguel died and his mass was scattered throughout the atmosphere.

The Living Lightning was revived by Doctor Demonicus, restored to a living human form where he had previously been discorporated electro-plasma. He was given a special costume that allowed Miguel to shift between human and lightning states at will. The costume was also designed so that Demonicus could reverse the binding effect on Miguel's body if he ever betrayed the doctor, scattering his plasma to the four corners of the Earth. The Lightning betrayed Demonicus anyway, and the Avengers later altered his costume for him. The stabilizing circuitry that kept him in human form was reduced to a set of belt pods instead of an entire costume. He was also given special dampening patches that he could wear while sleeping, allowing Miguel to stay in human form through the night without having to wear the belt. Presently, Miguel may now have enough control over his powers that he doesn't need the belt's circuitry any longer.

After his resurrection, Miguel's powers were much more advanced. Even in his human state, Miguel could generate lightning bolts to shock his opponents, or manipulate electrical energy. For instance, he could electrify coins or other metal substances, or remotely change the station on a radio. He could also absorb electricity from outside sources into his body. Miguel's powers dramatically increased when he turned off the power pods on his belt and returned to his Living Lightning state. In this form he was pure energy, capable of surviving in the vacuum of space, traveling at the speed of light, and unaffected by purely physical forms of attack. Only attacks that disrupted energy or drained him of power were really effective. He could generate and absorb a much greater amount of electricity in his lightning state as well.