459 – Waiting to X’Hal (feat. Devin Toohey)

I confess I’ve always pronounced Starfire’s deity as Ex-Hal, since the apostrophe makes the “X” easy to say as an “ex” sound as much as a “zed” sound

As well as Mary Marvel Girl, Amalgam also gave us physically frail Steve Freeman who, whenever he shouts the magic word “Uncle Sam!” becomes Captain America Jr! (Amongst other powers he has the Stategy of Eisenhower, the Wisdom of Lincoln, and the Trickery of Nixon). I just found that one… neat.

As for Niles Cable in the hoverchair (aside from such tech being a staple of certain characters more than capable of walking, such as the New God Metron), well, maybe that’s a reminder that a wheelchair user need not be wheelchair bound, possibly all that heavy technorganic stuff is very tiring to walk around in for any length of time so he uses the chair for when he’s not fighting.

Dial H for H.E.R.O. is perhaps best summarised in modern parlance as “What the entire Ben 10 franchise stole wholesale from (aside from Upgrade, who is super-definitely the New Mutant, Warlock)”, and my favourite version also had much of the story elements (So everything from superheroes and supervillains names, looks and powers, as well as civilian fashions and even furniture, were based on reader submissions used under a licensing agreement which probably was as sturdy as toilet paper)

One of the more recent iterations, 2012’s “Dial H” by author China Miéville, addresses some of the issues you mention with Artemisty Knight, when a new and very white, holder of the H dial discovers he’s become “Chief Mighty Arrow!” a hideously caricatured “Native American” hero, and his mentor reveals she has an entire folder of forms she assumed but never went out in public in unless there was a genuine world threatening emergency level disaster because they were just… unacceptable: heroes like Captain Priapus, Doctor Cloaca, Kid Torture and Golliwog. And how even the non-outdated ones could leave you with chronic self image issues for weeks afterwards. Great series that one.