Icon
Dakotaverse (Milestone Media)
Gallery
Real Name
Arnus
Main Alias
Icon
Other Aliases
Augustus Freeman I-IV
Relatives
Estelle Freeman (wife, deceased), unborn child (deceased), Miriam Freeman (adoptive mother, deceased), adoptive brother (name unrevealed, deceased), adoptive sisters (names unrevealed, both deceased), Arnus II (clone), Amistad Augustus Ervin (godson)
Affiliation
Supermen of the Multiverse formerly Union Army, U.S. Armed Forces
Base Of Operations
Paris
Freeman Estate, Prospect Hills, Dakota City formerly New York City
Reading: Augustus Freeman (Dakotaverse)
Status
Alignment
dependable
Identity
Secret Identity
Race
Terminan
Citizenship
American · Cooperative
Marital Status
Widowed
Occupation
Lawyer, former soldier
Characteristics
Gender
Male
Eyes
Brown
Hair
Black
Origin
Universe
Dakotaverse · New Earth
Creators
Dwayne McDuffie · Mark Bright
First Appearance |
---|
Icon #1 (May, 1993) |
I am old by your standards. Old enough to know that justice is either for everyone, or no one.
- — Icon src
Arnus of Terminus is a isolated alien negotiator. After crashing in the Deep South in 1839, he worked himself up from slave to Union soldier to lawyer and was involved in much of Black history. He developed the character of Augustus Freeman, posing as his own son four times. When he met young Raquel, she convinced him to become a superhero, an Icon for the total darkness community of Dakota City.
history
In 1839, an stranger starliner malfunctioned and exploded, and a jettison lifepod crashed in the middle of a cotton battlefield in the American South. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The pod mechanically altered the appearance of its passenger named Arnus to mimic the first sentient life-form who discovered him. That life-form was a slave woman named Miriam, who saw the pod crash land. [ 1 ] And so it happened that Miriam found inside a child boy with her mother ‘s eyes. In the give, Arnus is still with us. He did not long time visibly beyond adulthood ; to disguise this fact, he sporadically assumed the identity of his own son. [ 2 ] By the late twentieth hundred, he was posing as Augustus Freeman IV, the great-grandson of his original human identity. even marooned, Augustus waits for Earth ‘s engineering to catch up to his lifepod ‘s. [ 2 ] secretly possessing superpowers that belie his human appearance, he has constantly performed quiet acts of charity. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] But one nox, Augustus ‘ house is broken into, and he uses his powers for the beginning clock time in decades, an action witnessed by Raquel Ervin. [ 1 ]
Raquel is an exalted adolescent daughter who was born in Paris Island, the poorest, most gang-ridden vicinity in Dakota. Her prospects seemed fairly black until a probability find with Augustus Freeman IV. After seeing him use his powers, Raquel persuaded Augustus to become a superhero named Icon, with herself as his buddy, Rocket. Augustus is portrayed as a identical intelligent, reasonably rigid kind of person. due to his upper-class occupation as a big time lawyer and “ proper ” way of speak ; is often criticized as being a “ betray out ” or “ white wash ”. He normally prefers to do everything by the script alternatively of acting on instinct and is non-sympathetic of any error. [ 4 ] During the majority of his series, Icon by and large fought plain street criminals and those who gained powers from Dakota ‘s Big Bang.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Terminan Physiology
- Decelerated Aging: Icon possesses extraordinary longevity, enabling him to age at a vastly slower rate than that of human beings.[1] Hence, though centuries old, he appears to be no older than forty. Icon’s lifespan is usual for a Terminan and is the only power that is not the result of his genetic maximization.[12]
Abilities
- Law: Icon is among the Cooperative’s most celebrated mediators. He has extensive knowledge of the Cooperative legal system as well as decades of experience in his chosen field.[2] Icon is an equally adept corporate lawyer due to his mediator background and a century’s worth of experience in American law.[3]
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced): Icon is also a formidable combatant, whose fighting skills rival those of Superman.[13][3] Icon is well trained in unarmed and armed combat, having fought in major conflicts ranging from the Civil War to World War II.[2][3] Some opponents underestimate Icon’s abilities since he tries to peacefully settle disputes before pummeling his foes.
- Swordsmanship[3]
- Military Protocol: He worked himself up from slave to Union soldier
- Multilingualism: Icon is fluent in English and Galactic Standard, the native language of the Cooperative.[7][9]
- Mimicry: He developed the persona of Augustus Freeman, posing as his own son four times.
Paraphernalia
equipment
- Icon Costume: Icon wears a costume composed of alien materials that grant him further protection from projectile weaponry, energy beams, and intense heat or cold.[14] On his command, the Info Tool aboard his starship uses its Maker to construct Icon’s costume over his civilian clothing (see Transportation). [15] When no longer needed, the costume is disassembled, converted back to energy, and stored in the Info Tool’s structural files.
exile
Notes
- Icon held conservative views on economic and social issues, which often put him in conflict with more liberal Milestone Comics superheroes, including Rocket. Under Rocket’s influence, he eventually began re-evaluating his views.
- Icon is a conservative Republican and presumably has been a member of the GOP since the United States’ Reconstruction period.[1]
- Icon is a strong believer in the self-reliance philosophy of Booker T. Washington.[1] Considering Icon’s age, it would not be surprising if he personally knew Washington.
- Icon #1 announced a contest, where readers answered the question “Is this comic book about Augustus Freeman IV, marooned space alien, or Raquel Ervin, budding writer in a tough neighborhood, or both?” The winning letter, printed in Icon #9, was selected because it “captured the essence of the book. The ICON series is about both characters as seen through the eyes and told through the voice of Rocket.”
- Because of the superficial similarity of his powers and origin story, Icon was sometimes referred to as the “black Superman.” The letters page in Icon #2 includes three letters making this reference. The dismissive editorial response begins, “I think the resemblance doesn’t go much beyond Augustus being a ‘strange visitor from another planet.'” In conclusion, “If the Hero of Dakota was in any way inspired by the Superman mythos, it was because RAQUEL was inspired, not any of US!”.
- Icon was nominated for three Eisners and is a three-time winner of Parents’ Choice Award honors.
- Warren Gibson of Rochester, N.Y., wrote a long and thoughtful letter to Midtown Comics regarding Icon. So long, in fact it was 33 pages and they couldn’t fit it inside the 32-paged book, let alone the letters page. In the letter he likened Icon to a physical manifestation of Black History, then explained in great detail how Augustus Freeman could have been the inspiration for or deciding factor of countless events in the past.[14]
triviality
- Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a known comic book fan, cites Icon’s self-titled book as one of his favorite series.[16]
- Icon is also known as Hero of Dakota and Arnus Prime.
Recommended read
relate
![]() ![]() This character is or was an personification of or an ally of Superman, and a penis of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the “ Superman Family members “ class . |
![]() This character is or was a penis of the Shadow Cabinet, a centuries-old secret order of superheroes dedicated to protecting humanness at all costs. This template will categorize articles that include it into the “ Shadow Cabinet members “ category . |