Urania Blackwell was a US secret agent who purposefully exposed herself to the same radioactive meteorite that turned Rex Mason into Metamorpho. Like him, she gained the ability to totally control the elements in her body, and likewise turned into a monstrous-looking freak in the process.

No one in her right mind would “volunteer to change herself into a walking chemistry set” (as Rex put it), and like her namesake element, Urania was a little unstable. When she decided she and Metamorpho were destined to be lovers, it caused more than a little friction between Mason and his fiancé, Sapphire Stagg.

So who won in the catfight for the love of Metamorpho? His comic was cancelled after issue #17 without resolving the matter, so your guess is as good as mine.

Illustrating one playing card a day using characters found between 1957-1967 in DC Comics. Next: It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s SUPERMAN!

Rex Mason was a handsome and famous soldier of fortune (only in comic books, right?), employed by super wealthy scientific genius Simon Stagg. Not a fan of Stagg’s power-hungry ways, Mason agreed to one last job for (wait for it) ONE MILLION DOLLARS so he could quit and marry Stagg’s beautiful daughter Sapphire.

While on his mission to retrieve a rare Egyptian artifact, he was exposed to a radioactive meteorite that transformed him into a repulsive freak—but it also enabled him to control the elements in his body. He could now become a fluorine gas, reshape himself into an iron tank, or turn his fist into cobalt at will. However, he couldn’t change back into his former good-looking self.

Despite Stagg’s brilliance and vast fortune, he couldn’t rectify Mason’s freakish condition but promised to keep trying. In spite of his ugliness, Sapphire still loved and stood by him. She came up with the name Metamorpho for her fiancé and convinced him to use his great powers for good.

The unusual hero who didn’t want his superpowers was produced by an unusual artist. Ramona Fradon, just about the only woman drawing superhero comics at the time, designed Metamorpho and drew his first four stories. She also enjoyed a long run drawing Aquaman and co-created his sidekick Aqualad. She confessed later that she hated drawing superheroes but didn’t mind drawing goofy characters like Plastic Man—and Metamorpho.

Illustrating one playing card a day using characters found between 1957-1967 in DC Comics. Tomorrow: Metamorpho’s female counterpart: Element Girl!

Like all the Metal Men robots created by Doc Magnus, timid and stuttering Tin had a unique personality. Unsure of his abilities, Tin suffered from an inferiority complex, thinking he didn’t measure up to the rest of the team.

But brave Tin was harder than Lead and always did his best to prove himself worthy, even when he thought it was hopeless. He never hesitated to sacrifice himself to help someone in danger, although Doc always found a way to piece his demolished robots back together.

Egotistical Mercury didn’t have much use for Tin but the other members of the team—and the readers—had a soft spot for the small, weak robot as you might for a stray puppy.

Illustrating one playing card a day using characters found between 1957-1967 in DC Comics. Tomorrow: Metamorpho, the Element Man!

The awkwardly named hero Martian Manhunter was accidentally brought to earth by an elderly scientist testing a new invention. The shock of materializing a man from Mars was too much for the scientist’s weak heart and he died, leaving the alien J’onn J’onzz (pronounced John Jones) stranded, unable to return to his home world.

J’onzz got a job as a police detective and used his many Martian powers to fight crime. His ability to change his shape allowed him to take on the appearance of an ordinary earthling and mask his conspicuous green skin. He could also fly, turn invisible, and walk through solid objects. But that’s not all! He also had super strength and x-ray vision. Nearly invulnerable, his only weakness was fire.

J’onn J’onz had his own feature from 1955-1969—first in the back of Detective Comics and then in House of Mystery. About halfway through his run he acquired an alien pet from another dimension named Zook who talked in a kind of broken english/baby talk. Zook had the power to radiate extreme hot or cold, change his size, and use his antennae like a bloodhound to track down anyone he’d encountered. With more powers than even Superman, it’s hard to imagine why the writers thought the Manhunter needed some help—especially from such a goofy character.

Illustrating one playing card a day using characters found between 1957-1967 in DC Comics. Next: Supergirl!