Hugo Danner - Powers and Abilities

Powers and Abilities

Even during his early years, Danner displays superhuman strength. He demolishes his wooden crib as a newborn, saves a man's life by lifting a two-ton supply wagon at 6 years old, and uproots entire trees at 10. He progressively grows stronger as he gets older. During his twenties, he can stop and kill a charging bull with a single punch, bend a railroad rail, lift a seventy-five millimeter howitzer cannon singlehandedly, lift a car and its driver singlehandedly, rip open a 5-foot-thick (1.5 m) bank vault, and easily catch a falling 8,000-pound block of stone.

Danner's physical strength extends to his legs, allowing him to leap great heights and distances. At age 10 he can leap 40 feet into the air and run faster than a train. During his freshman year in college, he easily breaks a world track record, though he actually doesn't run at his full speed. While in the service of the French Foreign Legion in World War I, he traverses thirty-seven miles round trip in just thirty minutes (a speed of about 148 mph); all while carrying 2,000 pounds of food, water, and ammunition for his unit. Despite his great strength, he is still susceptible to fatigue.

He first learns of his body's superior resistance to physical injury during the war. Bullets and bayonets glance off his tough skin. He believes he can even survive a plane crash. The only weaponry capable of penetrating his skin at the time are the largest artillery shells. Although, he still feels the effects of the elements, sweating under the heat of the sun and freezing during winter. Danner's only vulnerability is lightning, which ultimately kills him.

Danner's bodily tissues have a somewhat greater density than those of an ordinary human being. Though he has an athletic build, his strength is far greater than what his frame would naturally allow. People guess him to be 155 pounds, but he actually weighs 211. During his stint as a sailor, he goes pearl diving with the natives of Cristobal and is able to dive deeper and stay under longer because of his density.

His body can heal damaged tissue much faster and more extensively than an ordinary human can. He collapses from exhaustion and wounds sustained from artillery shells after he goes berserk against the Germans to avenge a friend's death. When he wakes up in an army hospital, he finds "his wounds had healed without the necessity of a single stitch". Long periods of comatose sleep (up to 20 hours) and the consuming of huge meals also aid in his regenerative process.