The way the serial, "When Walk the Gods", is set up, I don't recommend reading this list until after you've read a few Acts of the serial...but some of you might want to be primed on who these guys are. Just be warned, there are (minor) spoilers. New characters first appearing in "Night of the Mind-Tyrants" are coloured purple.
The
Dreamstalker
Dennis Welbeck, a society dilettante, is secretly
the mysterious Dreamstalker, who brings the group together. Gifted with
strange mental powers, he can walk the dreams of others, guided by the
enigmatic entity he knows as the Sleeper, and learn the plans of evil men.
In the waking world, he can employ his mental abilities thanks to the amplifying
powers of his magic helmet. When that fails, he can fall back on his skills
as an amateur magician and illusionist. A veteran of W.W. I, he still suffers
from the scarring effects of his exposure to mustard gas.
The
Silhouette
The beauteous Silhouette has the ability to transform
into her own, 2-dimensional silhouette. No locked room is closed to her
and, in that form, she is largely impervious to harm...though unable to
effect others, in turn. In reality, she is Dahlia Messensinger.
Mr.
Amazing
Chet Morgan has been dubbed the "Spirit of Decency"
in his guise as Mr. Amazing, the epitomy of heroism. Good luck seems to
follow him everywhere, but is it truly thanks to the magic scarf he received
as a boy?
Blacklight
The featureless mask hides, not just the identity
of Crispin Baker, but his race as well. A black man at a time when racism
was almost accepted, he seeks to prove himself, both as Crispin Baker,
medical school student, and as Blacklight, super-speedster.
Roberta
A robot with a human soul, Roberta is no true
costumed hero, but with her strength and other abilities, she's a welcome
member of this loose fellowship.
The
Man-Fly
The enigmatic Man-Fly prowls the underworld,
a figure of mystery and the macabre with his eerie mask hiding the face
of Artie Trent, W.W. I flying ace. A self-made hero, with his sleeping-dart
gun, his skills as a detective and an escape artist, the Man-Fly is a loner,
reluctantly forced to ally himself with this group of heroes. Though, ironically,
his ties to the group are the closest, being a long time friend of Dennis
Welbeck's.
Kid
Gloves and the Rajah
Though just a teenager, Kid Gloves is a genius
prodigy, whose boundless intellect has invented many astounding tools to
help him in his swashbuckling battle with crime, such as his sonic car,
and the magnetic gloves that lend him his name. But despite his brilliance,
he's still barely a man, and his youthful impulsiveness is therefore tempered
by the more seasoned wisdom of his Sikh Indian partner, the ex-soldier
known as The Rajah.
The
Canticle
Sister Maria Bonnier can not understand why God
has blessed her, or cursed her, with her strange ability to emit a scream
with the force of a sonic boom, but in her guise as the mysterious Canticle,
she prays she is doing God's work by fighting the enemy of men.