History: Vandal Savage and Symbolix conducted experiments on Mary Pratt's unborn fetus, instilling DNA from the greatest heroes of the 1940s' into it. The child was taken from Mary at birth and given to Symbolix employee John Emerson to raise.

(Damage #1, 2) - Grant Emerson felt he was losing control over his life because he’d had to move eight times in four years because of his parents job at Symbolix. Grant started manifesting superhuman powers, and on his first day at Nathan B. Forest High bully Brad Fetter embarrassed him in front of Manda Darrow, a girl he had a crush on. Grant totaled a car with one punch in anger and told his parents what he’d done. John Emerson called Symbolix to let them know Subject Telemachus was now active. The next day at school Symbolix sent Metallo to attack Grant. Grant defeated Metallo, shattering his robot body and destroying a good part of the school after he lost control of his newfound powers and exploded. He was worried about losing control again, and fled home, only to be greeted by Megafire, Flak and Dr Dathan Wahrman of Symbolix. Wahrman tried to inject him with nanites to temporarily block Grant’s powers, but he broke free and fled. Flak and Megafire pursued ad he battled them until Wahrman called them off because they were attracting too much attention in the neighborhood. Grant broke into Symbolix to find his parents, but when he released them from a cell they attached a device that neutralized his powers onto his back. He learned the Emersons were not his real parents right before Dr. Wahrman killed them to cover his trail. He left Grant with Flak and Megafire, and Grant once again lost control of his powers, exploding and destroying the Symbolix building.

(Damage #3-6) - Grant fled from Symbolix, and started calling himself Damage because that was all he caused. The destruction of Symbolix freed genetic mutate Troll, who cut a path of destruction through Georgia and asked Damage to help him kill Dr. Wahrman. Damage refused and the two of them fought. Troll got the upper hand until Wyldheart arrived to take them back to the Wahrmans. The fights raged across town and they ended up in a warehouse where Iron Munro was busting up Baron’s drug ring. Damage smashed a bagful of Stardust vials, drugs made from nanites, into Troll’s face, and the monster died. The Baron and his men then turned their guns on Damage. In the ensuing fight the warehouse exploded. Damage and Wyldheart were blown clear and had some time to talk. Damage told her that her adoptive family the Wahrmans were killers and mad scientists but she refused to believe him. Damage was again forced to rejoin the fight against Baron, who was now aided by his henchman Steelhawk. The New Titans interrupted the battle and told Damage they were there to stop his rampage across Georgia. They didn’t realize he was new to his destructive powers and had been forced to use them to defend himself against supervillains. Iron Munro convinced them he was a hero and they all turned their attention to Steelhawk. The fight ended when Munro, Damage and Steelhawk were caused in a temporal distortion field caused by Zero Hour. Damage saw past events in his life replayed before they landed in 1964 and saw a pregnant Phantom Lady being pursued by the Baron. Damage suspected that Munro and Phantom Lady were his real parents, but before he got an answer he and Munro returned to the present. Damage once again disappeared into the timestream.

(Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #0) –

(Damage #0) - Damage returned from saving the universe from Parallax and Extant and was in a rage that Waverider briefly gave him control over his powers, and then took them away. Munro tried to calm him down, but Damage attacked him. Their battle raged, and Damage wanted Munro to tell him if he was his father because Phantom Lady hinted as such during their time jaunt. Munro assured him he wasn’t, and Damage exploded, sending Munro into cardiac arrest. Damage’s friend Mandra appeared alongside the authorities and asked him to give himself up. Damage let himself be taken into police custody.

(Damage #18) - After being kicked off the Titans Damage decided to take time off, going to Miami with Megan Darrow. He fell asleep during the flight and dreamed of the mystery man he’d met before. The man told him he wasn’t living up to his full potential, and that he needed to face his problems, not run away from them. Damage woke up, and when the flight landed in Miami International fellow passengers recognized him. He quickly left the plane, only to see Copperhead attacking the control tower. They battle, and Copperhead beat on Damage until he lost control of his powers. Damage ran as far as he could so no one would be hurt when he exploded, but the release of his power still ruined Miami International.

(Damage #19, 20) - The explosion left Damage unconscious, and he dreamt of the mystery man, who told him to harness his powers and fly out of the pit he create, so Damage awoke and did just that. Ike Ballard was still hounding Damage after the Bounty incident, but Damage scared him away by threatening him. Damage was attacked by Shock-Wave Nation, creations of Symbolix. Their leader B.C. was a telepathic virus that quickly burned out his host bodies, and wanted to take over Damage because he thought his body would last longer. They battled as the mystery man looked on, and B.C. possessed Damage., and B.C. tried to meltdown a nuclear power station. Iron Munro showed up to help Damage shake off B.C.’s possession, and Damage managed to absorb the energy from the nuclear plant and dissipate it without exploding. Ike decided to cover the story and put a positive spin on it, finally deciding that Damage was a hero. Damage and Megan arrived in Tampa and spent some quality time together. Damage arranged a meeting with Nuklon to shoot pool and learn more about his father the Atom.

(JLA #5) - Damage showed up for the JLA membership drive at the JLA Watchtower, but he blew his chance at impressing the team after accidentally destroying the Watchtower’s ceiling and landing pad.

(Day of Judgment #1, 5) - On the way to a Titans meeting Damage and Argent were assaulted by demons, and after defeating them they joined the JLA and JSA in battling Asmodel / Spectre, who'd unleashed Hell on Earth. The soul of Green Lantern Hal Jordan who took the Spectre-Force from Asmodel, ending the threat.

(Titans I #15) - Troia and the founding Titans went away on a camping trip to work out their differences. Damage was more than glad to see them leave for a bit, as he was sick of their constant arguing.

(Titans I #17-19) - Damage went to the arraignment of his uncle Dr. Polaris and testified against him. The trial took a lot out of him, and Arsenal brought him on a camping trip in Arizona. Arsenal tried to get him to open up, and he admitted his "father" abused him as a child. The memory of his abuse made his powers go critical, but Arsenal helped talk him down. He vented his pain and anger to Arsenal, who was there to offer him support. Damage didn't know how to deal with his pain, but knew he had to take a leave of absence from the Titans. Arsenal took him to the Oljato reservation where he grew up, and Damage was welcomed to begin his sabbatical there.

(JSA: Our Worlds at War #1) - During the Imperiex War Damage was called in as a JSA reserve on a mission to disrupt Imperiex’s link to his ship’s power supply. The JSA found that Imperiex’s ship was leeching it’s power from the planet Daxam, which Imperiex had pulled out of its’ orbit. Damage was teamed with a group of reservists who dubbed themselves the Freedom Fighters, and they freed the Daxamites from Imperiex control, while the JSA not only cut off Imperiex from his power, but managed to blow up his ship as well.

(JSA #35, 37) - The Ultra-Humanite used Johnny Thunder’s Thunderbolt to conquer the world, and imprisoned Damage and virtually every superhuman on Earth in stasis tubes, only reviving them when he needed mind-controlled slaves to serve in his personal guard the Thunderfront. Damage served as a member of the Thunderfront when they attacked the JSA, the only heroes not under the Humanite’s control. The JSA used a device that disrupted the braincaps Humanite used to control the Thunderfront, leaving them unconscious but freed from Humanite’s mental domination. The JSA later defeated Humanite.

(JSA #49-51) - Damage and the Freedom Fighters aided the JSA in a battle against Eclipso, who’d possessed hundreds of New Yorkers and was tearing the city apart. The Freedom Fighters wrested away Eclipso’s black diamond and gave it to Alex Montez, who used it to make Eclipso manifest in him, and kept Eclipso bound to his will using magic glyphs. The Freedom Fighters then aided the JSA in battling and defeating Eclipso’s ally Mordru.

(JSA #73) - Damage and the Freedom Fighters prepped for a mission, and Atom-Smasher called Damage, since he idolized Damage’s father Atom and was trying to find his way back to the path of heroism. When Damage answered he lost his nerve and hung up.

(Green Lantern IV #24) - The Sinestro Corps invaded Earth, intending to conquer the planet, making it a symbol of the Sinestro Corp’s power and their ability to control any planet. Damage and the Justice Society were among the heroes who helped stave off the invasion. 

(Titans II #2) - Trigon was bent on destroying every Titan, past and present, and the Titans asked their mentors for help. Batman saved Damage from being killed by Trigon’s minions.

Comments: Created by Tom Joyner & Bill Marimon