Three strange corners of DC's 1990s shelf: a parody hero, a magic team assembled from forgotten characters, and a superpowered slacker with no interest in heroics.
The Heckler
Keith Giffen created The Heckler as a parody superhero, with Tom and Mary Bierbaum scripting the six-issue run over Giffen's plots and pencils. It ran from September 1992 to February 1993, following Stuart "Stu" Mosely as he annoys Delta City's criminal class with sarcasm, tricks, and no superpowers. 1
Canon label: confirmed canon. The character has continued to appear in later DC stories, including One-Star Squadron and Blue Beetle. 2
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Primal Force
Primal Force spun out of Zero Hour and ran for 15 issues from October 1994 to December 1995. Steven Seagle and Ken Hooper built the Leymen from DC's magic and horror deep cuts, including Doctor Mist, Claw, Golem, and Jack O'Lantern. 3 4
Canon label: confirmed canon. Its starting point is a DC Universe crossover, and the title itself treats the Leymen as a team inside that universe.
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Major Bummer
John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke's 15-issue series ran from August 1997 to October 1998. Lou Martin receives an Extreme Enhancement Module meant for someone else, gaining super-strength and super-intelligence while remaining much more interested in cable theft than superhero work. 5
Canon label: fringe / ambiguous. Wikipedia says DC insisted the series be set in the mainstream DC Universe, while DC Database describes it as creator-owned. That split makes a cautious label more useful than a clean canon claim. 6
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