Colonel Future

Colonel Future
Colonel Future - art by Eduardo Barreto
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Superman #378 (Dec. 1982)
Created by	Paul Kupperberg Curt Swan
In-story information
Alter ego	Edmond Hamilton

Colonel Future is a DC Comics supervillain, inspired by the science fiction series Captain Future and its primary writer, Edmond Hamilton. In the 1940s, Hamilton began working for DC Comics and became a long-running Superman writer under editor Mort Weisinger, who created Captain Future.

Publication history

Colonel Future first appeared in Superman #378, cover-dated December 1982, and was created by Paul Kupperberg and Curt Swan. He appeared once again in Superman #399 in 1984.

Fictional character biography

After discovering he shared a name with a famous science fiction writer, young Edmond Hamilton began reading stories about science-fiction hero "Captain Future." These stories sparked his interest in science, and he learned enough as a child that he built his own television set in 1951.

As an adult, Hamilton was in charge of NASA's Future Planning Section, claiming he had a knack for coming up with advanced designs based on existing technology. Struck by a short-circuiting instrument console, Hamilton suddenly had a vision of a deadly solar flare speeding toward Earth. A coworker knocked Hamilton loose from the circuit, ending the vision, but Hamilton was convinced he saw the end of the world, and that it was exactly two weeks away.

Edmond Hamilton's first future vision. Art by Curt Swan and Dave Hunt from Superman #378.

Hamilton built futuristic devices by placing himself in mortal danger in order to trigger visions of future inventions. Incorporating this technology into a powered suit, he dubbed himself Colonel Future. He began stealing existing electronic components from facilities in the present day in order to build a device to stop the imminent solar flare. Several of his thefts brought him into contact with Superman, but Hamilton managed to escape each time.

Unknown to Hamilton, Superman's computer had alerted him to a rogue asteroid that would eventually collide with Earth. Superman approached the asteroid to destroy it but as driven back by Kryptonite embedded in the rock. Superman molded a large reflector and began drawing energy from the sun toward it in the form of a solar flare.

Hamilton finished constructing his device atop a large radio antenna dish to Collect solar energy and reflect it back into space. The beam targeted the flare accurately but struck superman's reflector, shattering it and leaving the flare untouched. With nothing preventing the flare from hitting Earth, Superman used his invulnerable body to stop the flare.

Tracking the trajectory of the beam from Earth, Superman confronted Colonel Future. Hamilton unmasked and explained that he saw the flare in a vision and was attempting to stop it, unaware that the flare would be under Superman's control.

Some time later, Hamilton was very nearly run down by a reckless driver, triggering his precognitive ability again. He had a vision of Superman being murdered. Hamilton knew that the event he foresaw was due to happen within two days, and that to try warning Superman would insure that the event would occur. He later discovered that he had once again misinterpreted what he saw.

Powers and abilities

Colonel Future would get visions of the future whenever his life was in immediate danger. Eventually he refined this ability to the point where he could summon glimpses of future technology "almost at will." However, seeing future events and situations with potential life-and-death outcomes still required him to trigger his visions by placing himself in jeopardy.

Hamilton had an impressive array of weapons and equipment, including a jetpack, a force field, a teleporter, and a device that materialized mobile spacetime warps that could home in on a target.

Other versions

Colonel Future from Action Comics #484.

Action Comics #484 (June 1978) featured Colonel Edmond H. Future, who engaged in crime sprees using futuristic inventions, but was constantly thwarted by Superman. This version appeared in a retro-style "Golden Age" story set in 1950. He later appeared in Superman Family, and was last seen only months before the modern version debuted. This version was created by Cary Bates and Curt Swan. Note the term "Man of Tomorrow," an appellation given to Captain Future and later applied to Superman.

Both versions of Colonel Future appeared during Julius Schwartz's tenure as editor of the Superman line, which he inherited when Mort Wiesinger retired in 1970. Schwartz, along with his longtime friend Weisinger, had represented Hamilton as a literary agent in the 1930s.