History

Philip Hanover (born 1939) had a normal American childhood and teenage life, except for one thing: he was exposed to power as a teenager, and became known as the young hero PowerTeen.

After high school, Philip went to college at the University of California in Berkeley. He stayed after graduation, and rose to prominence as a freelance chemist and seeker-of-enlightenment in the counter-culture of the 1960s. In 1968, he discovered a link to power not quite like that of any previous or subsequent Powernaut. Still, the power was sufficient to allow him to take the role of the Powernaut. The previous Powernaut had disappeared two years earlier.

Phil adventured as the Powernaut (and briefly the Power Rider) until 1979, then went into semi-retirement. He reappeared in 1985 to help deal with a reality crisis, then disappeared until 2011. He has now joined other Powernauts on the staff of the Power School in 2012.

Personality

Phil Hanover is a pacifist. He is also the smartest, most observant, and most inquisitive of the Powernauts. He's conducted extensive research into the nature of reality.

Powers and Abilities

As the Powernaut, Phil Hanover has near-total control of energy. He is not known to have ever used the power as an energy blast of any sort, but he has done almost every conceivable power stunt with it. A partial list includes:

• Fly.
• Enhance his strength and resilience.
• Enhance his senses.
• Project force fields.
• Neutralize powers in others.
• Open teleportals.
• Summon dream-like creatures.
• Induce hallucinations.
• Create images of himself, and presumably of anything.
• Create, transmute, and/or summon complex forms of matter, such as plants and edible food.

Though he has gotten into brawls, he is not known to have ever raised his fist. He's basically the wizard in any group of adventurers or Powernauts. He can be affected by magic, but is nearly immune to mental attack; he's altered his own mind so much, no one else can touch it.

Like every Powernaut, Phil Hanover understands every superhuman power he is exposed to. He does not absorb these powers, but he instinctively knows their abilities and limitations. He's very analytical and effective at using such powers when available, or countering them.

Appearance

Phil Hanover's typical street clothes have been sandals, loose pants, a tunic, a Nehru jacket, and a bandana. In the early 1970s he wore biker gear. From 1976 onward, when appearing as the Powernaut he wore a yellow cape. His hairstyle has also changed over the years, but his hair is always long. He always has a mustache and some kind of partial beard.

Publications

• Earliest Appearance (as PowerTeen): Powernaut 1955
• Earliest Appearance (as the Powernaut): Powernaut 1968
• First Published: Powernaut (the Wyatt Ferguson Discussion Board), March 2005
• Most Recent Publication and Latest Appearance: Power School 2013 #2

Author's Notes

In a very real sense, this is the original Powernaut. He is neither the first Powernaut to adventure in text stories or comics - yet, his story came before any other. That was ten years ago in 2005, as a precursor to the Powernaut of that era. It's fitting that this one is getting most of the feature time in the Powernaut comics now, as a precursor to that same Powernaut of the 2005 era.

(signed) Scott Eiler, 29 October 2015.