Origin of Toyman
The basement was massive - far larger than the plain bungalow house that stood above it hinted at. It was a lair, a fortress, a laboratory - but, most of all, it was a playroom. Thousands of gadgets, some might call them toys, were scattered throughout. The walls were lined with plasma screens. Videos running constantly - turning the room into a light show of morphing colors and shapes. Virtual toys almost.
To a young child it would be a fun house but, though there was some truth in that, it was much more. Dangerous, maybe even sinister, in ways first impressions didn't suggest.
This "playroom" was nestled, really hidden, in the Metropolis suburb of Shusterville. Surrounded by lead coated ceiling and walls and insulated further by "the wall of silence", it was ingeniously protected from any external surveillance. The "the wall of silence" was his invention. Having a flair for the theatric and being a fan of Motown's "wall of sound", he had blessed his invention with that name. In simple terms, it was an electronically generated "screen" which prevented any sound from escaping. As loud as he got creating and playing with his toys, neighbors never heard a thing.
Even when the room was empty, the screens played continuously. Some carried cartoons, others old Three Stooges films and still others played personal videos from his "youth" in Capitol City - as he referred to those days, though he was just 24 now.
Banks robberies, museum break-ins, disrupting county fairs and, a favorite, scaring young mothers strolling their babies. The common element was the "toys" used in the "assaults". Small robots, mechanical soldiers, tanks, planes and little missiles - a favorite. Police and guards ran from his toys. Children tried to play with them before themselves running away crying. He got delight from it all. It was more about having fun than stealing money. He never took more than he needed, and always returned what he didn't use.
Of course some of the Capitol City videos included Superboy, the dude of steel, swooping in to save the day.
Skin-tight suit, prominent bulge proudly displayed, all of 6' 4". Superboy was physically everything he wanted to be but, at 5' 4", not well endowed and just 140 lbs, it'd never be more than a dream. Still, he had a glorious head of red hair - unlike a certain Lex Luthor. And he liked bright primary colors - like the bright red, blue and gold of "the suit" as some referred to Superboy's attire. Like Superboy, he prided himself on dressing with a swag - though he eschewed spandex for baggies and Hawaiian shirts. But always the colors were bright and rivaled those Superboy wore. Swag comes in many forms.
Superboy strutted about like a peacock in his tights and briefs, while he used his glorious red hair and bright colors to do his strutting. Oh, he and Superboy were so much alike.
Back to the videos, Superboy usually saved the day. But hundreds of toy missiles and robots could and did slow him down and sting him. Superboy winced in pain at times as specially tipped missles bounced off his firm body. It was so fun to watch!
In one corner lay his pride and joy - well, after his hair that is. Pieces of metal were strewn about. Of Daxam origin - the strongest metal in the universe. He'd found it, determined its origin, and theorized that Superboy wouldn't be able to bend or break out of it. Daxam was a planet with a blue sun. In between the red sun of Krypton and Earth's yellow sun. Take that Lexie-babe!
How to bend a metal such as this and test his theory about Superboy? Use a kryptonite coated pipe-bender of course! And it worked. He had a small cache of kryptonite and used it to bend and shape the metal, he'd named it daxamite in honor kryptonite, into straps and collars custom made to exactly fit around Superboy's arms, chest, thighs, calves and ankles.
He'd never had as much fun as the day he used the restraints to capture Superboy. A screen showed Superboy entangled in the restraints, unable to walk or fly, twisting from side to side and shouting again and again, "You won't get away with this!"
Always one for banter, he'd picked up a huge multi-colored megaphone and shouted, "I'm getting away, Superboy, I'm getting away!"
With that he'd tossed a lead coated pail over Superboy's head. Pulling up a dolly, he tipped Superboy into it and carted him to a van. Superboy safely tucked away in the back, they sped to his hideout.
Another screen showed what came next. A helpless Superboy strapped to a patio chair. Oh, how he hated that chair! He should have built a cool looking hi-tech chair for the event. Still, it served its purpose. A solar extractor stood next to Superboy. It drew power from the nearest source. Superboy, and transferred it to him. Superboy rocked back and forth and side to side as the energy was drawn out of him. The dude of steel's power transferred until the device exploded. Just in time too - the human body could only absorb a fraction of a Kryptonians power without literally exploding.
It worked. He was strong, powerful. What to do next?! Go on a wild ride in his Knick-mobile of course. Leaving behind an unconscious Superboy.
The video then showed his partner Missy, left alone and to her own devices, talking to Superboy as he slowly revived. Superboy, too cute by half, sweet talked Missy into releasing the restraints and, in short order, came after him. Despite having lost 25% of his power, Superboy vanquished him. But oh, it was a fun fight!
"Women!" he thought. Missy let Superboy go. He'd wanted to keep Superboy restrained for a while longer. Oh well, he was going to let the dude of steel go eventually, but still! He had long since dismissed Missy. He wasn't angry that Superboy got away. No, he was angry that the video showed a short, very overweight young lady stroking Superboy's cheek and reaching towards his belt and below as he sat unconscious, rather than showing a thin, sultry woman having her way with the young stud. That video would have made him rich - The Enquirer paying millions for it. All was not lost however, his to-do list included updating the video to edit-in a sinister looking hi-tech chair and a sexy Mercy-like accomplice. Then sell it to the highest bidder.
Sheesh, if a bald Luthor could have a Mercy then he, with all his glorious red hair, could have one too! it was only fair. Besides Luthor had no personality and wouldn't know fun if it burst a balloon in his face. "Girls just wanna have fun," the lyrics repeated in his head - yeah, he'd have his own Mercy and not just one, but maybe two!
He didn't like Luthor. One reason for sealing the playroom was to keep Luthor from learning about it or his toys. Luthor tried to kill Superboy in Capitol City and was trying to do the same in Metropolis. Unlike Luthor, he wanted to have fun with Superman. Boys just wanna have fun too! They called Superman a Boy Scout because of a child-like quality to him. Nothing wrong in that - people called him child-like because of his love of toys. No, he and Superman had a lot in common, and he'd use his toys to draw Superman out so they could "play".
It was on this quiet street, in a quiet suburb, that a not-so-evil genius set up shop. He was ready to introduce himself to Metropolis and re-introduce himself to Superboy - now calling himself Superman. If Superman could change his name, so could he!
Knick Knack was now to be known as Toyman!
He would make his debut atop the Daily Planet tower. He'd threaten to jump off and indeed would - a dozen of his toy hang-gliders built into his suit. A precaution just in case Superman didn't come to save him - he'd safely float to the ground. But Superman would come, he always did. He had a special thank you gift for Superman - he looked at a beaker with yellow dust inside. A few puffs into Superman's face as the Boy Scout brought Toyman to the ground and the fun would begin. Well, he hoped it would - it only caused Superboy's eyes to water the last time he used it on him. But this was a new, improved version with a little extra this and a little extra that for good measure.
And so it was Toyman was born!
...
This story is inspired by the Superboy TV series and dedicated to it. Specifically, it takes off from the Knick Knack episodes. DC/WB would not allow the series to use the name Toyman, so the series created his doppelganger - Knick Knack. The series was not allowed to use Daxam either. The metal that Knick Knack restrained Superboy with was referred to as an "alien metal" in the episode.
The story avatar is a screen cap from the episode from which it flows. Yup, Knick Knack threw a lead coated pail over Superboy's head. BTW, most episodes were quite serious, but the series never took itself too seriously and included a few "fun" eps like this.
In the TV series Clark made his debut as Superboy during his first year in college. Capitol City was the locale of the series and it introduced, among others, Professor Peterson who was a precursor to Dr. Emil Hamilton. Plus a very savvy Lana Lang who figured out Clark's secret.
And to think DC/WB forced the series to end, despite top ten syndicated ratings, to make room for 'Lois and Clark' (ouch). Everyone else involved with the series was set to go for another 2 years, but DC/WB had veto power. Oh well, not a Cain or Hatcher fan, so shoot me. I'll leave it at that and end my editorializing.
Hope you enjoy. Reviews are, as always, appreciated.