science

TNT (character)

TNT (character) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand TNT (character) rather than just read about it. In short: TNT is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. TNT and his sidekick Dan the Dyna-Mite were created by Mort Weisinger for DC Comics, and made their debut in Star Spangled Comics #7 (April 1942).

Key takeaways

TNT (character) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect TNT (character) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of TNT (character) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

TNT is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. TNT and his sidekick Dan the Dyna-Mite were created by Mort Weisinger for DC Comics, and made their debut in Star Spangled Comics #7 (April 1942). The "human hand grenades" had a short lived career during the Golden Age of Comic Books, reappearing occasionally in reprint form during the 1970s, returning in Super Friends #12, and appearing from time to time in All-Star Squadron and its Post-Crisis sequel, Young All-Stars.

Fictional character biography

Pre-Crisis TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite are the secret identities of chemistry teacher and track coach Thomas N. "Tex" Thomas and his student Daniel Dunbar. While working with "radioactive salts", they discover they are charged with atomic energy. Thomas is charged with positive energy, while Dunbar is charged with negative energy. Thomas makes a pair of rings which keeps the energy dormant until they are touched together, at which point the pair gains enhanced strength, speed, and resistance to injury, and the ability to generate different forms of energy. Thomas generates heat, while Dan can generate bursts of electricity. The series ran through Star-Spangled Comics #23 (August 1943).

Post-Crisis TNT was revived as part of Roy Thomas's All-Star Squadron, and its spin-off, The Young All-Stars. After TNT and Dyna-Mite had been active for a few months, they are summoned by the All-Star Squadron to participate in their first general meeting. Their participation seems to have been limited to attending meetings and little else until April 1942, when Liberty Belle, as chairperson of the All-Stars, asks TNT and Dyna-Mite to look into Axis espionage activity in Colorado. Here, they meet future All-Star member Iron Munro, but TNT is killed by Gudra the Valkyrie, a supernatural agent of Adolf Hitler. TNT is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, leaving Dyna-Mite to work with Munro and other members of the Young All-Stars. Keeping Thomas' ring, Dan finds he can activate his powers by slamming both rings together. In 2010's DCU: Legacies #2, TNT and Dyna-Mite are revealed to have been founding members of the Seven Soldiers of Victory. How this retcon affects their histories, such as the previously established death of TNT and Dyna-Mite's Young All-Stars stint, has not yet been revealed.

Current version The latest version of the character is featured in Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers project. Calling himself Dyno-Mite Dan, Harris D. Ledbetter makes an online purchase of what he believes are TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite's rings, and joins five other heroes in Seven Soldiers #0. Later, he is killed with the rest of his team. His rings are actually working fakes made by Cassandra Craft.

DC Universe In Dark Nights: Death Metal, TNT is revealed to have died some time prior before Batman resurrects him with a Black Lantern ring.

Powers and abilities When his powers are unleashed, TNT possesses super-strength, enhanced speed, and resistance to injuries. He can also do energy blasts.

Equipment TNT possesses a special ring that helps contain his powers when in his civilian form. When his ring touches Dan the Dyna-Mite's ring, their powers are unleashed.

Enemies TNT had his own rogues gallery:

"Brainy" Beggs - a criminal leader. Aces Keenan - a gambler and criminal. Blast - a saboteur. Bruiser Blane - a criminal who was looking for gold in Placer Gulch. Clumsy Charlie - the leader of a gang who are bad at committing crimes. Crime Clown - a clown that led a criminal gang. Dwarf - a tiny crime lord. Ebenezer Oglum - a miserly old man who fell in with some gangsters. Herr Streicher - a Nazi. Judson Cross - a criminal who stole money for a charity dedicated to helping blind children. Mother Goose - George Ready is the leader of the Mother Goose Mob. Mr. Heyler - a Nazi who manipulated Clumsy Charlie and his gang. Parrot - Harry Hicks is a masked criminal who uses a parrot that has poison on its claws. Phineas Smythe - an art dealer. Posey - a bandit leader who was nicknamed the "Blooming Bandit". Sparkler Rattigan - a criminal who used a special static electricity machine to keep Thomas and Daniel from transforming into TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite. Test Tube Gang - a criminal gang that uses new types of acids and explosives for their crimes.

Reception American Comic Book Chronicles says that the TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite series "had potential, but consistently fell flat, limited space and unimaginative writing its chief problems".

Other versions TNT is mentioned in the 1993 four issue mini-series The Golden Age, written by James Robinson and drawn by Paul Smith. This series is set during the period of McCarthyism and, much as he did in The Young All-Stars, TNT is said to have died during World War II.

References

External links TNT at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with TNT (character)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what TNT (character) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to TNT (character) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about TNT (character) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of TNT (character)

In research: TNT (character) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses TNT (character) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: TNT (character) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability, DC Comics characters with superhuman strength, DC Comics male superheroes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for TNT (character) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study TNT (character) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what TNT (character) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain TNT (character) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is TNT (character) in simple terms?

Why does TNT (character) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study TNT (character)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on TNT (character).