Aesop Animation - Apollo (Patreon)

And now we come to the final Solman supporting cast member. This here is Commander Neil "Apollo" Weinstein, an astronaut and scientist who uses technology to emulate the powers of Solman to be a hero just like him!

Origin

Perhaps one of the greatest Solman supporting cast members of the modern age was Commander Neil "Apollo" Weinstein, a lead astronaut and scientist whose life was saved by Solman twice- once when the Beacon of Brotherhood rescued Neil and his crew from a cataclysmic re-entry into Earth's atmosphere gone wrong, and then again not a few weeks later when Solman prevent Neil from committing suicide after blaming himself for the miscalculations that put him and his crew in danger. Inspired by Solman's never-ending hope in the face of every uncertainty, Neil took to his second chances on life by aspiring to become a superhero just like them man who rescued him from himself twice. Using his degree in astrophysics engineering, Neil crafted a suit and staff from advance solar panels he developed that allowed him to emulate the same powers of Solman as the superhero "Apollo". This suit became integral to keeping peace within Beacon City following Solman's apparent demise and disappearance following his battle with his great enemy in the iconic storylines "Dusk for Solman" and "Twilight of Solman". A powerful mainstay in Solman's every-going battle for justice and brotherhood, fans have long loved Apollo as a man who used his brain and second chance to become the hero others were inspired by, his never-ending battle with personal demons and depression, and for being one of the most iconic Jewish superheroes within the Solman universe.

Like all of Solman's supporting cast, Apollo followed the hero in his journey from Toontopia to the human world to aid Solman in his quest to live up to the heroic status humans had long seen him as. Apollo, however, decided it would be best to aid Solman in protecting humans and cartoons in battle only when necessary, instead focusing to use his scientific knowledge to aid humans in caring for their world alongside scientists like Brock Sobek. But as the tensions and relationships between humans and cartoons began putting a sever mental strain on his fellow animated characters, Apollo found yet another new calling to take up- by starting a support group for cartoon characters who have long battled depression or now face it due to tensions from interacting with humans. A support group that Toonman helps him run.

John Henry Irons aka Steel has always been my favorite supporting heroic character of Superman's series, as I loved both how he used technology and science to give himself the same powers as Superman (why Lex Luthor never did this We'll never know) and his own ongoing battles with the guilt he causes for bringing dangerous weapons into the world before being inspired to be better like Superman. So naturally, I wanted someone like that for Solman's supporting cast, being inspired by the Apollo 13 space craft to create an astronaut character who uses science of rocket ships and satellites to emulate powers of Solman. And much like how Steel struggles with the guilt of his creation of weapons that hurt the public, Apollo struggles with depression is something I wanted to give his character; which eventually lead me to decided his role amongst humans would be advocating for mental health for toons and humans by starting a support group for them.

Welp, that's the main supporting cast members of Solman folks! Hope you like this new character, let us know what you think with a comment below!

And I'll tell you now- the next Solman characters we get into are going to be the Justice League Analogs! So expect to see Moonhawk Soon, along with Analogs for Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern!

Toonman: The Animated Ace © NRG Comics

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