Combo Man #1

[vanhornluke]

Combo Man #1 (1996)
By Mark Gruenwald

Appearances:
Combo Man (Rick Wilder, also in fb), AIM agents (also in fb), high school students (fb), Professor Boyd (also in fb), Super-Adaptoid

Flashback:
Some high school students use peer pressure to convince Rick Wilder to sneak into Professor Boyd's office on campus and steal a copy of the mid-term exam. He's nervous, so he eats a combo snack to settle his stomach. Peering into the office, he sees AIM guys in their weird yellow suits threatening Boyd over his "device for expanding human potential," which they want. Rick gets scared and is accidentally walks into the device, zapping him. Apparently the combination of the device's ray, the combo snacks, and the comics in Rick's bag turn him into Combo Man, granting him the abilities of all of the superheroes in those comics (like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Daredevil, etc.).
Synopsis:
Combo Man quickly takes out the AIM guys, but then they send the Super-Adaptoid after him. He gets scared and changes back into Rick, but when he eats another combo, he becomes Combo Man again, figuring out that the combos are the key to turning him into Combo Man. Rick quickly realizes that he can't simply use one power or another against the adaptoid, so instead he uses all at once, which overwhelms the adaptoid. After webbing all of the bad guys to the floor, Combo Man flies off, having learned his lesson about peer pressure.

Note:
I'm not that familiar with the Super-Adaptoid stories, so I made my best guess as to placement for him, but I'm open to correction if there's a better spot.

Chronologies:

For the key:
COMBO = Combo Man
ZIGPIGC = Ziggy Pig Silly Seal Comics

COMBO MAN/RICK WILDER
COMBO 1
[ZIGPIGC2 1]

SUPER-ADAPTOID/"ALESSANDRO BRANNEX"
...
CA 413
IM 296
IM 297
M/CP 174/4
FFOR 4
CA 440
A 387
CA 441
*COMBO 1 (add)
HFH 10-FB
HFH 7
...

[dimadick]

SUPER-ADAPTOID/"ALESSANDRO BRANNEX"
...
CA 413
IM 296
IM 297
M/CP 174/4
FFOR 4
*COMBO 1 (add)
CA 440
A 387
CA 441
HFH 10-FB
HFH 7
...

Between Quasar #9 (April, 1990) and Avengers #388 (July, 1995), the Super-Adaptoid uses his human identity of Alessandro Brannex to lead AIM and turn them into a more typical business corporation. In this period he poses as a human in nearly all appearances, and develops other Adaptoids to serve as combatants.

[vanhornluke]

SUPER-ADAPTOID/"ALESSANDRO BRANNEX"
...
CA 413
IM 296
IM 297
M/CP 174/4
FFOR 4
*COMBO 1 (add)
CA 440
A 387
CA 441
HFH 10-FB
HFH 7
...

Between Quasar #9 (April, 1990) and Avengers #388 (July, 1995), the Super-Adaptoid uses his human identity of Alessandro Brannex to lead AIM and turn them into a more typical business corporation. In this period he poses as a human in nearly all appearances, and develops other Adaptoids to serve as combatants.

So would you suggest putting Combo Man #1 after CA 441?

[StrayLamb]

SUPER-ADAPTOID/"ALESSANDRO BRANNEX"
...
CA 413
IM 296
IM 297
M/CP 174/4
FFOR 4
*COMBO 1 (add)
CA 440
A 387
CA 441
HFH 10-FB
HFH 7
...

Between Quasar #9 (April, 1990) and Avengers #388 (July, 1995), the Super-Adaptoid uses his human identity of Alessandro Brannex to lead AIM and turn them into a more typical business corporation. In this period he poses as a human in nearly all appearances, and develops other Adaptoids to serve as combatants.

So would you suggest putting Combo Man #1 after CA 441?

I would. There's a nice gap between CA 441 & HFH 7, and certainly enough room in the overall chronology at this point for mid-term exams.

[vanhornluke]

Okay, edited the chronology above.