Owen Mercer (DC)

Owen Mercer is a male comic character who features in DC Comics.

Biography

Owen Harkness was a male human born in the 30th century as the son of the time-displaced George 'Digger' Harkness and Meloni Thawne. (Flash v2 #225) While Captain Boomerang was stranded in the 30th Century, he had an affair with Meloni Thawne and they had a son named Owen Mercer. (Flash v2 #224)

The National Inquirer broke the story that Captain Boomerang had a son, and Boomerang tracked down Owen. He parked outside Owen’s apartment, but when the young man came out he was too nervous to tell him who he was. The next night he parked outside Owen’s apartment again, and Owen asked him if he was his father. Boomerang admitted he was, and they had a joyful reunion. His biological father, the washed-up supervillain George "Digger" Harkness, known as the original Captain Boomerang, tracked Owen down with the assistance of an information broker named the Calculator. Harkness initially observed his long-lost son from a vehicle parked outside Owen's residence but was too ashamed of his own criminal status to approach the youth directly. Noticing the suspicious car and already being pursued by intrusive tabloid reporters all week, Owen directly confronted the older man on the street. Upon discovering that Harkness was indeed his real father, Owen immediately forgave him for his lifelong absence rather than showing resentment. The two established an instant emotional connection and drove away together to catch up, setting Owen on a trajectory to inherit his father's villainous legacy. (Identity Crisis v1 #4) Boomerang started training his son in the ways of villainy. Boomerang learned that his son had the power of superspeed, and admitted to Owen that Golden Glider was not his mother. Jean Loring had Calculator hire Boomerang to break into the home of Jack Drake, father of Robin. Jean had killed Sue Dibny, so she wanted to throw the superhero community off her trail by making them think it was Boomerang who was the threat to their loved ones. Jean also sent Jack Drake a gun and a note saying “Protect Yourself” in hopes that he would kill Boomerang. Boomerang told Owen he was on his way to the big time again, and went to kill Jack. Jack Drake shot Boomerang after he entered his house, but with his dying breath Boomerang killed Drake with one of his razor boomerangs. Owen mourned his father, and brought a newspaper with the story of Boomerang’s death to his grave, telling his deceased father he did hit the big time again. Owen designed a costume patterned on Boomerang’s and took on the identity of the new Captain Boomerang. (Identity Crisis v1 #6)

"Digger" Harkness found himself an obsolete villain in the modern world of supervillains. Regularly going up to the supervillain satellite looking for jobs, asking favors from the Calculator, he was at the end of his rope looking for a job to put him on the map again. During this time he felt it was finally time to reach out to the son he never raised, Owen Mercer. Before Harkness's death, the two bonded. Taking up his father's legacy, he became the second Captain Boomerang. Captain Cold, brother to Golden Glider (who was believed to be Owen's mother), took Owen in as one of the Rogues.

Though Owen initially had no real attachment to the Rogues (and even voiced various, albeit short, opinions out loud), he grew to enjoy the purpose and sense of family the team offered after finding that his father's body had been stolen for use in a lab (which was later revealed to be part of a plan to get memories from Harkness). Around this time the Rogue War began, in which the "reformed" Rogues fought the Rogues under Captain Cold. Ashley Zolomon is told by Harkness himself (he's briefly revived by the "reformed" Rogues as part of an experiment) that Golden Glider is not Owen's real mother. Later, it is revealed in Flash #225 (January 2006) that Meloni Thawne is the mother of Owen Harkness, formerly Owen Mercer, the new Captain Boomerang, having conceived him by the original Boomerang while he was trapped in the 30th Century. It is unknown whether she gave birth to Bart Allen or Owen first, or how Owen made it back to our own time.

Overview

Personality and attributes

In appearance, Owen Mercer was a young adult human male of Caucasian descent who possessed a standard, fit, and lean physical build. He had short, light-coloured brown hair that was styled in a slightly unkempt manner, and his facial features were defined by dark eyes and a casual expression. During his initial meeting with his biological father on the street, he completely lacked any form of colorful spandex, armored padding, or villainous costume insignia. Instead, he wore a simple, casual civilian outfit suitable for an ordinary youth, consisting of a standard jacket over a collared shirt. He wore loose-fitting trousers that fell over everyday footwear, presenting a completely unassuming silhouette that gave no visual indication of his latent metahuman genetics or future affiliation with costumed supervillains. (Identity Crisis v1 #4)

Powers and abilities

The original Captain Boomerang began to train Owen before he died. He has exhibited creativity in his boomerangs by creating "razorangs" and an acid-spewing boomerang.

Owen Mercer possessed a range of latent physical traits and specialized combat capabilities that were just beginning to surface during his initial re-connection with his father. He exhibited a strong psychological capacity for empathy and emotional composure, demonstrating the mental maturity to remain completely calm when confronted by a notorious supervillain and aggressively hounded by tabloid journalists. He possessed an innate, inherited spatial awareness that allowed him to instantly identify an individual watching him from a concealed vehicle on the street. While his precise metahuman speed bursts and master-level projectile accuracy with trick boomerangs would only be formally tested and developed during training sessions later on, his baseline physical coordination and sharp situational awareness allowed him to navigate urban environments and handle highly volatile personal confrontations completely unaided. (Identity Crisis v1 #4)

Owen has also exhibited "speed bursts": short burst of limited super speed over short distances, most notably when throwing boomerangs. These were even possible during the time period that Bart Allen fully contained the Speed Force. However, during Chang Tzu's experiments he claimed he believed Mercer could access the Speed Force, and Mercer denied having super speed at all anymore, but Chang Tzu was able to activate Owen's speed involuntarily, causing him great pain[volume & issue needed]. The exact source of this power remains unrevealed. Regardless, as of Justice Society of America #8, the Speed Force appears to have returned and is accessible to all former speedsters once more.

Notes

• Owen Mercer was created by Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales where he made his first appearance in Identity Crisis v1 #3 (October, 2004).
• In Flash v2 #225 (2006), the revelation of Owen Mercers parentage was revealed by Ashley Zolomon whilst she completed a document listing his parents.

In other media

Television

• In The Flash, Owen Mercer appeared in the setting of the live-action television series set in the Arrowverse where he was portrayed by actor Richard Harmon. At some point, Owen Mercer began a criminal career in Central City, dubbing himself the new Captain Boomerang after the death of Digger Harkness, but at 19 he was locked up in Iron Heights Penitentiary, however, he eventually escaped from prison. At some point after he escaped prison, he encountered Red Death and forged an alliance with her, becoming the first member of her team of Rogues. The two of them would then team up to take down the Flash. As part of their partnership, Owen took it upon himself to steal the battery from a Roemer Accelerator of Kord Industries, before being confronted by Flash and unknowingly, Owen faced his enemy in a time loop until he was defeated by Flash and Iris West-Allen, however, activated the accelerator to blow up the city, before teleporting away with the battery. After Flash stopped the bomb, Owen met with Red Death, handing the battery over and receiving his new boomerangs. Mercer later rescued Andrea Wozzeck from Hartley Rathaway's club. A few days later, Mercer, Wozzeck and a new recruit named Michelle Amar infiltrated Fort L.U.K.I.A. to steal a power source for the Cosmic Treadmill. Entering the base, Mercer fought Goldface who put up a decent fight, surprising him Mercer and leading him to recognize the reformed villain as someone worth killing before throwing his boomerang and incapacitating him. Mercer then joined the Rogues in their escape before from being confronted by the Flash and his Rogue Squad. The Red Death then appeared and rushed Mercer and the others out of the battle along with the power source. After The Flash's capture, Mercer and the Rogues attempted to learn his identity before being interrupted by Mark Blaine. When Mark betrayed Red Death, Mercer and his fellow Rogues, now joined by Roy Bivolo, savagely attacked Mark while Barry and Iris escaped, with Flash's last view of seeing Mercer and the others about to kill Blaine.

Films

• In Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Owen Mercer as Captain Boomerang made a non-voiced appearance in the setting of the animated film adaptation. He was shown as being one of a number of villains that took part in the bounty to capture Batman and Superman following the death of Metallo.

Appearances

• Identity Crisis v1: (2004)
• Flash v2:
• Supergirl:

External Links

• DC Database Entry

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