Prodigy

Martin Maddox (a.k.a. Marty)

"I hope you're actually on the cheerleading squad, 'cause if this is what heroes look like these days, I weep for the future."

— Prodigy to Prodigious Girl

Although he didn't have any metahuman powers, Marty Maddox got into the superhero life early, often accompanying the Liberty Squadron on their adventures as a teenage "sidekick." (A situation that many credit as the genesis of the incorporation of Sidekicks into the Superhero Registration System, allowing underage heroes to be mentored by more experienced adult heroes.) But as he became an adult, he started secretly adventuring as a hero himself, taking the name Prodigy and getting by on his wits and his various gadgets that he designed and built.
During that same time, Marty met and fell in love with the superheroine Demetria Valasellis, and the two secretly married and had a daughter named Danica. Unfortunately, Marty's growing dissatisfaction and cynicism regarding superheroes causes him and Demetria to grow apart, putting stress on their marriage. The situation was exacerbated when a teenage Danica announced that she was becoming a superheroine named Starbrite, a situation that Marty was dead set against it, although Demetria was supportive.
Tragedy stuck when Starbrite was killed in the line of duty, which drove an even greater wedge between Marty and Demetria. The two soon divorced, and although they both remained superheroes, they took very different paths. Demetria opened up The Sanctuary, a school for young heroines. Prodigy, however, took on a series of sidekicks who he ruthlessly antagonized under the guise of tutelage, with the intent of getting each of them to quit the superhero life entirely to keep them out of harm's way. A process that worked gangbusters until Prodigious Girl showed up...
Although still deeply cynical, in his civilian life, Marty puts on a show of being a superhero groupie in his role as the owner of AGON Technologies, a high-tech company headquartered in Faraday City.

Jump to:

• Powers and Abilities
• Items and Equipment
• Locations
• Affiliations
• Known Relatives
• Physical Description
• Apparel and Accessories
• Mental Characteristics
• Employment
• Fun Stuff
• Pages to Check Out
• Theme Song

Powers and Abilities

• Although he has no metahuman powers, Prodigy is in excellent physical shape, in peak condition for his age.

Items and Equipment

• IntelliComm ("iComm")
• CosFit (presumably)
• Body Armor
• Prodigy carries a utility belt with a variety of specialized grenades,
  weapons, and equipment, including:
  • Concussion Grenade
  • Electroshock Grenade
  • Explosive Grenade
  • Tangle Grenade with Shrieker
  • Stim Pack
  In addition, his utility belt has a complex voice command function that
  sets off a self-destruct, triggering all of the grenades simultaneously.
  Category: Utility, Weapon
• Prodigy's Car - PG is not allowed to drive it.
• Teleportation Portal?
  
  Show spoiler

  It's implied that Prodigy has (or had) access to this technology. There is a moment in Identity Crisis where Prodigious Girl goes from seeing Marty Maddox at AGON Technologies to seeing Prodigy in his garage hideout. Admittedly, she didn't go there directly, but the fact that he was able to get there first suggests that he may have had a similar portal that allowed him to rapidly get from the office to his hideout.
  
  Significantly, though, that was Prodigy's first garage, which was destroyed by Harridan. Even if he did have this technology, it's unclear if his current garage has similar technology.

Locations

Prodigy's Garage Hideout(s)

Prodigy's secret hide out, maintained in a crappy converted
garage in a sketchy part of the city.

See: Prodigy's Garage(s)

Affiliations

• The Liberty Squadron:
• As Prodigy: Associate Member
• As Marty Madox: Associate Member (publicly known as former kid sidekick)
• Member of the informal hero group, The Faraday Irregulars (although he'd deny it)

Known Relatives

• Demetria Valasellis (ex-wife, deceased)
• Danica Valasellis / Starbrite (daughter, deceased)

Physical Description

Apparel & Accessories

To maintain his secret identity, Marty wears a "fat suit" of sorts under his civilian clothes to give the impression of a doughy middle-aged man who has allowed himself to get out of shape. And he wears a toupee as Prodigy to cover up his visibly balding hair.
He also appears to wear facial prosthetics that make him look significantly older than his actual age. However, since he has been adventuring as Prodigy for many years, it's assumed that he started doing this early, perhaps trying to look more mature when he was in his teens or early 20s. But the reason he felt this was necessary is unknown.

Mental characteristics

Employment

President and CEO of AGON Technologies, headquartered in Faraday City.

Status
Active vigilante

Sidekicks

• Prodigious Girl
• Captain Prodigy (former)
• Kid Prodigy (former)
• Prodigal (former)
• Prodigal Daughter (former)
• Prodigal Son (former)
• Prodigy Boy (former)
• Prodigy Kid (former)
• (Several others unnamed) (former)

Aliases
Candy Scrapper

Sex

Male

Hair

Dark Brown, balding (Marty), White (Prodigy--wig)

Height

6'2"

Weight

180 lbs.

Ruled Locations

• Prodigy's Garage(s)

Appearances

• IC
• IC:Baby
• Char (mentioned, as Marty)

Fun Stuff

Pages to Check Out

• Custom Figure - A custom figure of Prodigy!

Theme Song

"Don't Look Back" feat. Kotomi & Ryan Elder