This week's Thoughtballoons character, as chosen by Ben, is Owen Reece aka the Molecule Man. First appearing in Fantastic Four #20 back in 1963, Reece is a supervillain who can control molecules... which means he can do just about anything, if you think about it. That probably explains why he hasn't been used very much over the years - how do you stop someone with power over everything? Originally, Stan Lee gave him a mental block on using his powers on organic matter, but once he got over that Reece became more unstoppable than ever. Back in the 80s Jim Shooter tried to fix the character by making him a put-upon nerd rather than a genuinely evil man. He was dangerous because he was angry and lonely and scared, but he could usually be talked down from doing anything too drastic... especially when he found love.
I have a bit of a problem with characters who are too powerful - hence why I never really got into Superman. Molecule Man is like Superman x 10 though, and I took that as the starting point of my story. How do you stop a man who can do anything? Maybe you can't.
You can check out my Molecule Man 1-page story by clicking here. Take a few minutes to read the other guys' stories too, particularly Matt's - if you're a They Might Be Giants fan.
