WHO IS SUPERCHUM?
Over two decades ago, Shmitty Atkinson
was born hairless and jaundiced to two loving parents in a Cleveland suburb. While growing up, his parents always felt he was different. Despite his sickly nature, he made friends easily. He had an innate charisma able to overcome the horrors of the rigid adolescent social structure.
By the time he graduated from school, he realized that there was more to this "talent" of his that he could really quantify. He knew that he had a different calling in life; Shmitty's goal became to help people.
So he packed his bags and moved to the big city to become a social worker. It was as a young, crusading social worker that he met Edith Arbuckle, an equally talented social worker with an innate desire to work for the cause of good and also help people. Together, the tandem teamed up for many successful adventures.
But Shmitty felt amiss. He felt he hadn't fully realized his calling. He felt incomplete. At the same time, Edith was presented with her toughest case ever ... that of Howdy Dudley.
Shmitty's life was forever changed the day Edith called Shmitty in to help with Howdy. Shmitty's natural charisma started working immediately on Howdy, and Howdy opened up more to Shmitty than anyone else. Then came the breakthrough; during a typical free-form discussion session, Howdy drew Shmitty a picture of a smiley face. That lone act stirred something in Shmitty, and the drawing acted as a catalyst, releasing Shmitty's latent mutant superpowers.
Shmitty donned a cape and costume, and dubbed himself "Superchum, the bastion of brotherhood." From that day on, he dedicated his life to the Paths of Chumliness
and vowed to use his powers and gifts to make friends with every living thing.
WHAT ARE HIS POWERS?
Superchum
has an amazing array of super powers related to his mutation.
- He can fly.
- He can also achieve super speeds
while running on the ground. His reflexes are amazingly quick as well.
- His body is highly impervious to pain. This resistance, however, is tied into his "friendly factor" power, meaning that as long as his intentions are friendly, nothing can harm him.
- He has super strength, the full extent of which is quite unknown. What is known is he can lift cars and trucks with ease.
- He has superior willpower, allowing him to rarely entertain defeatist attitudes like "giving up" on anything.
- He can produce concussive eye beams. But rarely has a chance to utilize this power as well, due to its unfriendly nature.
His primary power is The Friendly Factor. Basically, it's a sort of infinite well of pure friendliness. It produces this overwhelming level of charisma, that allows Superchum to make friends with almost any living being in the cosmos. With his winning smile
and firm handshake, Superchum can win over even the orneriest of enemies.
The Mighty Befrienders
are the world's first super hero group dedicated to making friends and spreading kindness throughout the world.
Founded by Superchum, the world's friendliest superhero, they follow the Paths of Chumliness. Their mission statement is that a firm handshake, a smile that never quits, and true friendship are what wins the day!
Their goal is to make friends with the entire world, one person at a time. While there are those that stand against the ideals of friendship, the Befrienders are not deterred.
Based in The Hall of Friendship, the Befrienders make their home in the quaint, town of Suburbs, an almost ideal replica of the "American Dream."
The group's reach is both local and global. Their membership has swelled over the years as they've made new friends
during each and every adventure.
MEMBERS OF THE TEAM
SUPERCHUM
FOUNDING MEMBER
Superchum is the founder and leader of the Mighty Befrienders. He created the paths of chumliness.
FRIEND
FOUNDING MEMBER
Friend is a founding member of the team and one of the first to follow the paths of chumliness.
GIRLFRIEND
FOUNDING MEMBER
Girlfriend is a founding member of the team. She is also the hardest working member of the team.
WHO ARE THE VILLAINS?
Believe it or not, there are actually quite a few people who oppose the purpose of the Mighty Befrienders. The reality of the situation is that Suburbs is not as it seems.
Beneath it's chumly facade lurks a jaded, decaying spirit. This decay gnaws at the roots of Suburbs' bright sunny foundation, seeking to turn it into another blight of cold, lonely humanity in a world that's filled with towns populated by disillusionment
and disenfranchisement.
In that environment, evil and avarice have festered, giving rise to a menagerie of malevolence.
From the fully funded organization Not Nice People, to the callous avarice of Freezie Freeze the Ice Cream Crook, there are many who stand in direct opposition to Superchum and all who would heed the humble call of friendship to walk the Paths of Chumliness.
The most notorious on the list of rogues and villains are:
- Baron Bad Guy and his Killer Robots
- Freezie Freeze the Ice Cream Crook
- Moonbeam the Lunar Lunatic
- The Anti-Chum
- Not Nice People
- Mike the One True Cosmic Friend
- El Nino and La Nina the Gulfstream Gremlins
- Big Brother and Little Sister
But every year the list keeps growing as more and more give in to the darkness in their hearts and find ways to oppose the ideals and goals of pure friendship.
THE ROGUES GALLERY
BARON BAD GUY
ARCH-NEMESIS
Baron Bad Guy runs Bad Guy Incorporated, a leading robotics and tech firm. He is Superchum's arch-nemesis.
THE ANTI-CHUM
COSMIC DOPPLEGANGER
The Anti-Chum is the yin to Superchum's yang, an exponentially scaled polar opposite to the Chumly one.
FREEZIE FREEZE
THE ICE CREAM CROOK
Armed with his Cosmic Ice Cream Cone, Freezie Freeze has been the Befrienders' most aggressive antagonist.
HOW CAN I READ MORE?
The Adventures of Superchum and the Mighty Befrienders
began in 1995, at the University of Delaware. The comic strip has gone on to be featured in the Lansdale Reporter
as well as online in a variety of iterations. Superchum has also been published as an independent comic book twice.
SUPERCHUM AT THE DUCK
But Superchum's most successful run in terms of publication would be the time it was published at The Duck Webcomics. The three chapters you see here on the site are collected from its time on The Duck.
Each version of Superchum
has stuck to the core of the character's concept and philosophy. Be it the mid-1990s version that ran in a college newspaper or the most recent version that ran on The Duck, Superchum has always stood for making friends and bringing a smile to each and every reader.
