Feedback (Dark Horse Comics)

Feedback
File:Feedback.PNG Promotional art for Feedback #1. Art by Guilherme Balbi and Ig Barros.
Publication information
Publisher	Dark Horse Comics
First appearance	Who Wants to Be a Superhero?
Created by	Matthew Atherton
In-story information
Alter ego	Matthew Atherton
Abilities	Disrupts electrical equipment; can receive powers from playing a video game.

Feedback is a fictional superhero created and originally portrayed by actor Matthew Atherton on the reality television series Who Wants to Be a Superhero?. As a result of winning the show, his character is the subject of a Dark Horse Comics comic book written by Stan Lee and made a brief guest appearance in an original Sci Fi Channel movie entitled MegaSnake. He also has his own audio series written by and starring him, done in collaboration with amateur audio groups Darker Projects and BrokenSea Productions.

Fictional character history

While working on a bio-organic computer system using organic computing, software engineer Matthew Atherton is caught in a large explosion that bombards his body with hi-tech cellular shrapnel. Atherton discovers that his body is generating a feedback field that shuts down nearby electronic equipment. Atherton creates a dampening suit that keeps the field in check.

Atherton also discovers that by playing video games, he can absorb some attributes of the game. For example, if Feedback plays Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, he temporarily gains the ability to run along walls and do acrobatics, and perhaps rewind time. By using an online community called "Tech Support", Feedback gains enough knowledge to use the limited powers wisely. Each time Feedback uses a power, he loses some of his memory.

However, both the Dark Horse comic and the Sci-Fi Original Movie Mega Snake failed to feature Feedback's ability to use video game powers. This may be due to intellectual property rights surrounding commercial video games. While the comic did feature Feedback's electricity-wielding abilities, Mega Snake did not show any of his powers at all.

File:Cover-3.jpg

Who Wants to Be a Superhero? #1 "Feedback"

Comic book origin

Computer whiz Matthew Atherton is tricked by Ironside--the world's deadliest terrorist--into helping him perfect an unstoppable robot vehicle, little knowing that Ironside intends to use the vehicle to destroy Matthew's hometown! Left for dead by the terrorists, an unexpected event turns Matthew into Feedback, giving him one chance to redeem himself and save the city!

Equipment and powers

Feedback is equipped with many pieces of technology and several superpowers.

Equipment

• Dampening Suit: Made of high-tech fabric and designed by Atherton himself, the suit, when activated, can generate a field that counters the disruptive nature of the feedback field. It also allows Feedback to absorb powers from video games.

• Body Armor: Not being bullet-proof, Feedback's original costume included a layer of body armor. The new costume now incorporates "FlexTek" body armor into the dampening suit.

• Feedback Field Monitor: This wrist device monitors the "feedback field" that gives Feedback his powers. It can be activated by voice-command ("Game on!") to turn off the field inhibitor of the dampening suit, and also indicates the remaining "charge" that exists before the feedback field reverts to its normal disruptive state.

Powers

Matthew Atherton as Feedback at the 2007 New York Comic-Con.

• Force Feedback Power Emulation: Feedback has the ability to absorb special abilities and/or powers by playing certain video games. After "jacking into" a modified game console, the special suit acts as an adapter that transfers the powers of a video-game character directly to him, but only for a limited duration. 1 hour of game play normally equates to 10 minutes of power emulation. There are consequences to using these powers, however (see weaknesses below).

• Feedback Field: Although Feedback perceives this more as a nuisance than a power, this "Feedback Field" can be useful against foes that rely on technological gadgets. The field completely disrupts electronic equipment that is within 15 feet of Feedback. Anything that has a microprocessor will altogether cease to operate within this field. At up to 25 feet, this field will cause computers and electronic devices to malfunction. The field is always on. Feedback has no means of controlling it, other than wearing his dampening suit. The field does shut off, however, when he is "charged" from playing games.

• Feedback blast: Feedback has the ability to generate from his hands a very powerful blast of concentrated electrical energy. This blast is extremely shocking and can be very dangerous to use. Feedback uses his electric powers to shock his enemies and never uses them to harm civilians.

Weaknesses

• Energy Weakness: High-energy fields react with the "Feedback Field" and cause incredible pain. Power lines cause headaches, microwaves cause nausea. Energy-beam weapons cause more damage than normal.

• Weakness Emulation: Feedback inherits the weaknesses of the character he is emulating as well as the powers.

• Power Charge: 1 hour of continuous game play is required to emulate powers for 10 minutes, so Feedback must decide in the morning what game to play, which (more often than not) is completely inappropriate for the challenges he'll face that day.

• Memory Loss: Whenever Feedback uses an emulated power, the exertion results in the loss of a random part of his memory.

• Unpredictable Charge: If a foreign game console is used to get an "Immediate Boost", the results are always unpredictable, and often negative.

File:Tech support.jpg

Feedback Tech Support

Tech Support

Tech Support is an elite group that provides reconnaissance and research assistance, as well as field support where required. They often research games that would give Feedback the powers necessary for a given task. Also, they are attempting to discover why he is losing his memory, as well as how to retrieve it. They are officially recognized by Feedback as his sidekicks.

Tech Support is the fictional parallel of Feedback's fan club of the same name, with characters created by his fans. Atherton has expressed public support for the group as a fan club and as a part of his backstory. However, this has not been approved by those who now hold the rights to Feedback.

Appearances

Feedback made his debut public appearance at the Mid-Ohio Comic Con the weekend of November 25-26, 2006 in Columbus, OH. He has also appeared at, among other events Phoenix Cactus Comicon the weekend of January 26-28, 2007 in Phoenix, AZ; Steel City Con on the weekend of March 24th and 25th 2007 in Monroeville, PA at the Pittsburgh Expomart; and Emerald City Comicon on the weekend of March 31st and April 1st in Seattle, WA at the Qwest Expo Hall. He signed autographs and took pictures with fans at each event.

The Feedback comic was released by Dark Horse Comics as a "one-shot" publication under the Who Wants to Be a Superhero? title, officially dated July 4, 2007. The character's story in the comic differs from Feedback's "official" origin (above) in several respects, most notably that "Matt" (the only "civilian" name given for the character in the comic) is struck by lightning while holding a high-tech game controller of his own invention. The character's powers also resemble general electrical powers more than anti-technology "feedback," and no use of "game energy" is ever mentioned.

The Sci-Fi Original Movie Mega Snake, which debuted August 25, 2007 on the Sci-Fi Channel, featured a brief guest appearance by Feedback. Though the movie was advertised on the Sci-Fi Channel as "starring Feedback," he is a minor character. His time on screen is minimal, totaling less than two minutes. The carnival scene with Feedback was reportedly filmed after the original movie was completed.

Feedback is also a scheduled guest at Dragon*Con, America's largest Sci-fi/Fantasy/Horror/Comic/Media Convention, Labor Day weekend 2007 in Atlanta, GA. Scheduled along with him are fellow contestants Major Victory and Fat Momma.

Mega Snake Controversy

Fans of Who Wants to Be a Superhero? have shown uneasiness about Feedback's role in Mega Snake. The first-place winner of the reality show was to star in a comic book and be "featured in" a SciFi original movie, but Feedback is clearly not "featured in" Mega Snake. Many fans have posted on the official SciFi.com forums, Internet Movie Database discussion boards, and elsewhere, stating that they expected more than a two-minute cameo. Some have even gone as far as to participate in a petition calling for SciFi to make a movie with Feedback in a true staring role. [1]

References

• Feedback's official site
• Who Wants to be a Superhero on Sci Fi Channel
• Feedback on MySpace
• Tech Support: The Offical Feedback Fanclub on Yahoo Groups
• Feedback: A Hero's Calling-- An audio drama series created and written by Matthew Atherton and Alan White, and starring Matthew Atherton as his character, Feedback at BrokenSea.com
• Feedback Tech Support MySpace Group