Johny Hardball
Johny Hardball is an intermittent comic book series about the eponymous side character within The Sanitizer comic book universe. The main character, a hero by the name of Johny Hardball, is a collegiate terraceball player who had to quit the league after, due to a bargain with some dark power, he gained the fastest pitch in the whole league - unintentionally endangering the lives of other players in the process. Johny's mentor-student relationship with The Sanitizer helps the younger hero come to grips with his powers and use them in the name of fighting evil in the world.
Historical Details
Background
Gershom Sinclair came up with Johny Hardball in 9946 AR after a whirlwind brainstorming session to create new characters for the then as-of yet not taglined The Sanitizer Annual #17. The hero, later named Johny Hardball, was to have the incredible power to through a ball faster than sound itself could propagate through the air; this would also mark the first use of the term 'mach cone' in any pieced of published fiction in the Manifold Sky setting.
The next morning, when the whiskey had worn off, Sinclair realized that the destructive force of such a power would make it difficult for such a character to use it to help others. After all, Johny's terraceballs - let alone other balls made of harder materials - would penetrate anything short of metal armor plate; if he threw a steel ball, on the other hand, even tank could be holed. Sinclair then realized that the struggle to control such a power could be as much a source of drama as any individual villain could be, and he went with this premise for Johny's first appearance in The Sanitizer Annual #17: The Elevator Pitch.
Public Reaction
After The Sanitizer Annual #17, the character of Johny Hardball would prove popular enough to justify his own comic miniseries simply entitled Johny Hardball. Though he never had the same level of success as a spinoff property as characters like Kid Citrus he did make several appearances in the context of Manifold Sky R, both directly and in refference to sports-related activities.
The Main Character
Johny Harball is the alter ego of John Ardin, a college-level Vale Verdial terraceball player native to Petalcap Vale. John had big dreams of becoming a professional player, but his statistics were slipping in relation to other players on the team and he was beginning to give up hope of catching the eye of talent scouts should trends continue. As a Forgist, John offered his prayers up to the Creator in the hopes of some sort of divine intervention. The Creator that answered, however, was not what John expects. Stern, morally ambivalent, and keen to see something 'interesting' come of his creation, The Creator offered to help John realize his dream of terraceball success in enchange for some unspecified service at some point in the future. Thinking he was dreaming, John agrees, and the deal is struck.John then went on to become an excellent terraceball player, improving a little every day and even being feted for inclusion in the then-ascendant East Vale Shroomherds at the start of the 9944 AR season. What John didn't expect, though, was that his power never stopped improving, with his pitches soon becoming so strong that his teammate were complaining during practice. Eventually, thinking the young man was intentionally throwing without control or had some sort of vendetta against other players, his team removed him from the roster. Nevertheless this didn't stop the constant increase in speed that John experienced whenever the threw with intent. Soon, John couldn't even practice in his own backyard for fear of punching holes in the walls of neighbors' houses, and the ball was beginning to make the telltale crack of a sonic boom as it left his hand.
IPTL Insignia by BCGR_Wurth
Historically Important Issues
The Sanitizer #17: The Elevator Pitch
In The Sanitizer Annual #17: The Elevator Pitch, Johny Hardball is fresh out of college, fresh out of the International Professional Terraceball League - and fresh out of hope for the future. He struggles to make the best of his power, believing himself cursed with the power of a weapon when he only every wanted to reach his dreams. Johny encounters The Sanitizer during his fight against a group of Tasker Hobbes' goons trying to break into the City State University laboratories to steal experimental dieseltech. After helping The Sanitizer subdue the goons, he beseeches the older hero for help in controlling his powers, as he knew from rumors around campus that The Sanitizer's power derived somehow from his stoic philosophy and self-discipline. The Sanitizer agrees, taking the younger hero under his wing in an attempt to help him control his powers. After a series of battles against an array of The Sanitizer's rogues gallery, The Sanitizer ultimately fails to help Johny Hardball overcome the destructive nature of his power, but he does provide a level of solace to the troubled younger hero and a perspective on how such power might be used for more benificent ends. The two part ways, but the reader is left to understand that the two men remain good friends in the fight against disorder in the aftermath.Johny Hardball #1: The First Rank
Johny Hardball #1: The First Rank is the first in a three-part retrospective miniseries. The title refferences the innermost track on a terraceball field, where play begins during every match. A prequel written after The Sanitizer Annual #17, Johny Hardball #1 explores the hero's origins (see The Main Character for details) and his early adventures in trying to find a worthy opponent to fight while struggling to keep control of his blossoming power.
Type
Imagery, Graphic Novel / Comic Book
Medium
Paper
Authoring Date
9946 AR
Authors
Signatories (Organizations)
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