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Spot Conlon. The name strikes fear into the hearts of newsboys all over New York City and beyond. In the words of the Manhattan kid, Boots: "Spot Conlon makes us...a liddle noivous."
To any outsider, Spot Conlon would appear to be just another newsboy, hawking the headlines, making a fair buck. But, the truth is, Spot Conlon is different. Not because he's the leader of Brooklyn's newsies. Not because he's nineteen but looks, well, twelve. Spot Conlon...is an extraterrestrial.
He's the prince of the planet Dude. His parents, King and Queen Bugzapper, dropped him on Earth when he was six years old. They placed him in a bacon-shaped pod and shot him off the mother ship during a diplomatic mission.
Fortunately for Spot, he landed on a nice kid by the nickname of Crutchy. When Crutchy first saw the pod, he thought it was real bacon and tried to eat it. Upon the discovery that it was really metal, he spotted an inscription on the pod that read: "spot conlon", which in the language of the residents of Planet Dude means, "slimy little bugger". No matter, for Crutchy decided that it was the name of the boy that emerged from the pod seconds later. Thankful for Crutchy's kindness, Spot gave him a gift. Sticking his [now rather famous] key into Crutchy's ear, Spot bestowed Crutchy's brain with a mind of its own.
Spot was then introduced to all the Manhattan newsies. They became friends with him quickly, even though he made them "a liddle noivous". He showed them all the things he could do: zap things with his key, hypnotize the boys with his cane, levitate Kloppman. Spot stayed in Manhattan until the age of twelve, until he, being a prince, felt the need for power, the need to rule over something. He moved to Brooklyn.
The Brooklyn newsies were really dumb and really weak... at first. One spin of Spot's magic cane and they were under his influence. He taught them how to fight and forced them to become obsessed with marbles and little wooden slingshots. Spot Conlon was feeling the power.
Spot was always very eager to see himself in photographs. Frequent calls of, "Where's me picha? Where's me picha?" would penetrate the air until he saw it. A common problem with natives of the planet Dude was that, when photographed, they would appear on the negative and the print as a big purple blob. Of course, these were black and white photos, but he still needed to make sure that he didn't look like a blob. The Brooklyn leader needed to keep up a good appearance, you know.
Spot Conlon was also the most sought-after guy in New York City. For years, our beloved newsies wondered why in the world any girl would go after something scrawny like that. The secret lay in Spot's hypnotic cane. "So dat's why 'e carries it around everywheah," Mush Meyers is quoted as observing. Racetrack Higgins is reported to have replied, "Ya t'ink?!"
"He's a good guy, 'long as 'e ain't stealin' yer goil or nothin'," Kid Blink said of Spot. Skittery said, "Spot Conlon? Yeah, he's okay. Most of th' time." So, even though Spot Conlon is not of this planet...he fits in.