Icon

Gallery

Real Name

Arnus (birth name), Augustus Freeman IV (legal name)

Current Alias

Icon

Aliases

Augustus Freeman I-III, Hero of Dakota, Arnus Prime, presumably many others

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

Partner of Rocket, ally of the Shadow Cabinet, Part of the Justice League [1]and Supermen of the Multiverse. [2] Formerly Underground Railroad, Union Army, U.S. Armed Forces

Base Of Operations

Freeman Estate, Prospect Hills, Dakota City; formerly the planet Terminus, a plantation in the Deep South; Striver's Row in Harlem, New York City; Paris, France

Status

Alignment

Good

Identity

Secret Identity

Race

Terminan

Citizenship

American, Cooperative

Marital Status

Widowed

Occupation

Lawyer, superhero, celebrity; formerly mediator, slave, abolitionist, soldier

Characteristics

Gender

Male

Height

6' 5"

Weight

230

Eyes

Brown

Hair

Black

Origin

Universe

Dakotaverse, New Earth

Place of Birth

Terminus

Created by

Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan

First appearance

Icon #1
(May, 1993)

Justice is either for everyone, or no one.

-- Icon

HistoryEdit

In 1839, an alien starliner malfunctioned and exploded, and a jettisoned lifepod crashed in the middle of a cotton field in the American South.^[1][2] The pod automatically 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 baby boy with her mother's eyes.

In the present, Arnus is still with us. He did not age visibly beyond adulthood; to disguise this fact, he periodically assumed the identity of his own son.^[2] By the late 20th century, he was posing as Augustus Freeman IV, the great-grandson of his original human identity. Still marooned, Augustus waits for Earth's technology to catch up to his lifepod's.^[2] Secretly possessing superpowers that belie his human appearance, he has always performed quiet acts of charity.^[2][3] But one night, Augustus' house is broken into, and he uses his powers for the first time in decades, an action witnessed by Raquel Ervin.^[1]

Raquel is an idealistic teenage girl who was born in Paris Island, the poorest, most gang-ridden neighborhood in Dakota. Her prospects seemed fairly bleak until a chance encounter with Augustus Freeman IV. After seeing him use his powers, Raquel persuaded Augustus to become a superhero named Icon, with herself as his sidekick, Rocket.

Augustus is portrayed as a very intelligent, somewhat stiff kind of person. Due to his upper-class job as a big time lawyer and "proper" way of speaking; is often criticized as being a "sell out" or "white washed". He usually prefers to do everything by the book instead of acting on instinct.^[4] During the majority of his series, Icon mostly fought plain street criminals and those who gained powers from Dakota's Big Bang.

Powers and AbilitiesEdit

Powers

Unique Physiology Icon's lifepod altered his DNA so he would resemble a normal human being, thus enabling him to blend among Earth's natives.^[1] A side effect of this process was the maximization of his now human/alien genetic structure. Thus, Icon possesses a variety of superhuman abilities that are unusual even for a Terminan.^[3]

• Superhuman Strength Icon possess vast physical strength enabling him to lift (press) well over 100 tons. Superman is the only being he has fought who has proven stronger.^[5]
• Superhuman Speed: Icon possesses the ability to move at superhuman speeds, whose exact limits are unknown.
• Superhuman Agility Icon can move from one place to another in a blink of an eye.
• Superhuman Reflexes Icon possesses the ability to think, move, and react at superhuman speeds.
• Superhuman Stamina Icon possesses highly efficient musculature, thus granting him enormous stamina in all physical activities.
• Flight Icon flies by manipulation of gravitons, manipulation of magnetic fields, control of his absolute molecular movement, and utilizing his superhuman speed. His top speed has yet to be determined.
• Enhanced Senses: Icon possesses superhuman senses including:
  • • Enhanced Vision^[6]
    • Enhanced Hearing^[6]
    • Enhanced Sense of Smell^[6]
    • Enhanced Sense of Taste^[6]
    • Enhanced Sense of Touch^[6]
    • Enhanced Mental Perception: Icon possesses the ability to sense & comprehend things on levels that far exceed human capabilities. Icon also possess a super genius intellect.

• Invulnerability Icon seems to possess nigh-invulnerability, being capable of withstanding tremendous impact forces, high caliber bullets,^[4] exposure to extreme temperatures and pressure,^[7] and powerful energy blasts without sustaining injury.
• Accelerated Healing: Despite his nigh invulnerability to injury, it is possible to injure Icon. If injured, his body is capable of quickly repairing damaged tissue with much greater speed and efficiency than the normal human body.^[6]
• Self-Sustenance Icon can survive in harsh environments without air, food or water. He's also able to survive unaided in the vacuum of space.
• Energy Projection: Icon has the ability to generate and control a radiant energy based on positrons.^[8] He can manipulate this energy for various effects.
  • Concussive Force Bolts: Icon can release positron energy from his hands as bolts of concussive force.^[8] A low power force bolt can flick on a light switch^[9] while a force bolt at maximum power can stagger Superman.^[5]
  • Stun Bolts: Icon can project low-energy bolts that render human beings unconscious by disrupting the electrical impulses in their nervous systems.^[10] Icon can also use these bolts like an electromagnetic pulse to overload electronic devices.^[11]
  • Energy Enhanced Punches: Icon can focus positron energy into his fists, which he can then use to shatter any substance.^[11]
  • Energy Pulse: Icon can release all of his body's positron energy as a massive omnidirectional pulse of devastating power.^[9]
  • Positron Field: Icon can detect the presence of Bang Babies within his vicinity by flooding an area with a field of positrons.^[12] The field interacts with the invisible quantum well surrounding a Bang Baby, who then glows as he or she gives off mild gamma particles. Hence, Icon can use these fields to distinguish Bang Babies from other metahumans as well as normal humans.
  • Force Field: Icon can use positrons to create quasi-solid energy fields to entrap opponents.^[11] Icon can also create very powerful positron energy shields that can deflect energy as well as absorbed energy and turn it back on the person who discharged the energy.

Terminan Physiology

• Decelerated Aging: Icon possesses extraordinary longevity, enabling him to age at a vastly slower rate than that human beings.^[1] Hence, though centuries old, he appears to be no older than forty. Icon's lifespan is typical for a Terminan and the only power that is not the result of his genetic maximization.^[13]

Abilities

• Expert Lawyer: 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. Icon is an equally adept corporate lawyer due to his mediator background and a century’s worth of experience in American law.^[2][3] Due to his high success as a lawyer, Icon has accumulated a lot of wealth(billions); Icon himself is a Billionaire, and uses his wealth to help him build weapons and other tools to help fight crime.
• Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced): Icon is also a formidable combatant, whose fighting skills rival those of Superman.^[5][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] Over the years, Icon has mastered multiple types of fighting styles(armed and unarmed). Some opponents underestimate Icon’s abilities since he tries to peacefully settle disputes before pummeling his foes.
• Bilingual: Icon is fluent in English and Galactic Standard, the native language of the Cooperative.^[8][11]Icon can instantly learn and translate any language perfectly when he hears it, reads it, or sees it.

Strength level

Icon possesses vast superhuman strength enabling him to lift (press) well over 100 tons. His strength has proven second only to that of Superman.^[5].

ParaphernaliaEdit

Equipment

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 can instantly construct his costume over his civilian clothing.^[15] When no longer needed, the costume is disassembled, converted back to energy, and stored in the structural files of the Info Tool.

Transportation

Icon's Starship

NotesEdit

• 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 thoughful 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.^[16]
  

TriviaEdit

• Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a known comic book fan, cites Icon's self-titled book as one of his favorite series. ^[17]
• While he did not appear onscreen, Augustus Freeman was referred to several times in the Static Shock cartoon through the names of various centers and organizations, notably the Dakota-based Freeman Community Centre.
  

Recommended ReadingEdit

• Icon (Volume 1)

Related

• 34 Appearances of Augustus Freeman (Dakotaverse)
• 37 Images featuring Augustus Freeman (Dakotaverse)
• 7 Quotations by or about Augustus Freeman (Dakotaverse)
• Character Gallery: Augustus Freeman (Dakotaverse)

LinksEdit

• Augustus Freeman (Dakotaverse) at Wikipedia.org 
• Icon at International Hero
• Icon at the Museum of Black Superheroes

Discover and Discuss

• Search this site for: Icon · Arnus (birth name), Augustus Freeman IV (legal name) · Augustus Freeman (Dakotaverse)
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Footnotes

Milestone Media This article is related to Milestone Media, a sub-division of DC Comics, that published the self-contained "Dakotaverse" under its own logo. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the "Milestone Media" category. Related Articles Featured Hardware • Blood Syndicate • Icon • Rocket • Static • Shadow Cabinet • Xombi • Kobalt • Heroes Blood Syndicate Tech-9 • Wise Son • Aquamaria • Boogieman • Brickhouse • DMZ • Dogg • Fade • Flashback • Kwai • Masquerade • Third Rail Shadow Cabinet Dharma • Iron Butterfly • Donner • Blitzen • Iota • Sideshow • Twilight • Plus • Starlight • Payback • Mechanic Villains S.Y.S.T.E.M. • Edwin Alva • Holocaust • Harm • Star Chamber • Deathwish Titles Static • Icon • Hardware • Blood Syndicate • Shadow Cabinet • Xombi • Kobalt • Heroes • Deathwish • Long Hot Summer • My Name is Holocaust • Static Shock: Rebirth of the Cool • Wise Son: The White Wolf • Milestone Forever Events Big Bang • Shadow War • Worlds Collide • Long Hot Summer Founders Dwayne McDuffie • Denys Cowan • Michael Davis • Derek T. Dingle • Christopher Priest This box: view • talk • edit