I grew up in a small town in Michigan, just north of Detroit.
Town was called Milford Population, hell that was a long time ago, I can't remember.
I was no different than any other kids.
I liked to play all day, running around, sure, yeah once in a while my mom would put a cape
on me and I dreamed of being a superhero, but I really, really what I wanted to be wasn't
counting.
Geez I loved counting, I'd count frogs, rocks, I'd count my fingers, I'd even count
the peas in my plate till my mom would get mad at me.
It wasn't until later in life when I decided to become an Electro Man.
I wasn't always Electro Man, I started out with an old Halloween costume I had, it was
an old cowboy get up.
I called myself the lone wrangler, that didn't last long because everyone thought I was
a banker, then it struck me.
I was outside doing what I loved doing, you got it, counting, I was counting raindrops
in one of the biggest storms of the 70s and it hit me like a bolt of lightning and that's
what it was, a bolt out of the sky, damn near killed me.
Two days later when I woke up, I was in that hospital, I knew I'd be Electro Man.
I had a sidekick once, but it didn't work out.
His name was John Nelson, a.k.a. negative charge.
We were working a case, tracking a theft of over 2.5 tons of premium portobello mushroom.
We were staking out a local grocery store and I decided we need some coffee.
Negative went inside, before he even got the coffee he slipped on a sweet potato, skinned
his knee real bad.
It was right then that I realized having a sidekick was just too much responsibility,
I mean Batman had lost the robin or two in his career and I didn't want anyone's life
in my hands.
33 and a half years into my career, getting up at 6.14 a.m. every single day, being on
call 25-7, 7 days a week, heroes don't get weekends off, let me tell you it begins to
wear on you.
I'm the first one to admit I'm not as young as I used to be, but I'm not a quitter, heroes
don't know the meaning of the word quit.
That's one of the reasons I opened up the Electro Man Training Center.
I'm just not seeing as much action these days, I used to be able to smell a cram a mile away,
but nowadays it just seems like I'm in the wrong place at the right time or the right
place, I don't know, but I think it's time to pass on whatever I've learned to the next
generation of crime fighters.
I'm really proud of the work we're doing here at the DSSA, I've seen a lot of promising
recruits step through these doors, there's Captain Violence, he's a real firecracker,
Wolfboy, he's a little rough around the edges, but with some long hours and hard work, he'll
definitely take a scratch out of crime someday.
Hell, they all got a lot of spark in them, gets me thinking of good ol' negative charge,
man those were the days, just me and him, would sit in hero one and would talk for hours.
I should look John up.
If he wants to help me teach a class or two.
Anyway, we've got a motto here at ESSA, it's something I live by, I think it can inspire
anyone who dreams of living up to their superhero potential.
Superhero doesn't necessarily mean super power, you don't need to rely on brute strength
or flashy magic tricks to make in this business, that's why we say brain's not brawn, the most
important weapon in a superhero's arsenal isn't a gun, or a knife, or a fist, or a claw hammer,
or a pair of nunchucks, or a bear trap, or even a sweet potato.
His most important weapon is his mind, his cunning, he must outsmart his opponent, I'll
thank them, that's what I try to get through the thick skulls of every recruit here in
Electro Man's School for superhero arts.
I've helped a lot of people in my life, and I've worked so hard to get where I am, I'm
really proud of the achievements and this whole project has brought back a lot of memories
to me.
It's made me realize I couldn't have accomplished half the things I have without the support
of my loving wife, and that of every person in this damn fine country we call the US of
me.
You
