Hero Cruz

Hero Cruz is a fictional character in comic books published by DC Comics. Within the narrative of the fictional DC Universe, Hero is a portrayal of a Latino gay superhero of African descent. He first appeared in Superboy and the Ravers (September 1996), and was created by Karl Kesel and Steve Mattsson.

Fictional character biography

Hero (his actual name, which is Greek) first appeared as a member the superhero team The Ravers founded by Superboy. He was a frequent regular of the Event Horizon, an intergalactic rave that featured hipsters and partiers from all over the galaxy. Though at first it was unclear what, if any, powers he possessed, it became apparent that his vest (later revealed to be the "Achilles Vest") emitted a force field that protected him from most forms of physical assault. He was somehow able to steal this from the lair of the Scavenger, a villainous packrat who stockpiles various items and gadgets from the DC Comics universe.

Hero eventually lost his vest, but found the even more interesting "H-Dial" (of Dial H for Hero fame), and soon realized that by spelling H-E-R-O on its dial, he would be granted the powers of and persona of one of several superheroes, supposedly merging with them using hypertime.