No points for guessing that since their debut appearance in the third issue of The New Teen Titans in January 1981, when they were first created by George Pérez and Marv Wolfman, the Fearsome Five have been a regular foe of the Teen Titans.
While there is no doubting that this collection of supervillains is fairly strong, there is a certain lack of sophistication among them, particularly as criminal organizers, which frequently categorizes them as “filler villains.” It is only reasonable to refer to them as a group that is more prone to breaking up, internal strife, and betrayal.
Prepare for today’s video, in which we will discuss their beginnings, comic book appearances, and some extremely intriguing knowledge about them. Have you prepared? Do this now!
History Of The Fearsome Five Explored
Criminal physicist Arthur Light turned his focus to the Teen Titans after numerous fruitless meetings with the Justice League. He invited criminals to join him in ambushing the Teen Titans by placing an advertisement in the Underworld Star, a newsletter for the criminal underworld. The Fearsome Five was initially formed with Arthur Light as its captain, and there were four of them who returned to him: Psimon, Shimmer, Mammoth, and Gizmo.
Call it pure coincidence, but after Light was brutally beaten by the Teen Titans once more, his gang also viciously kicked him out. If you are curious about what happened to the group after that, Psimon took over and ambushed a S.T.A.R. Labs research center where Jinx and Neutron were being detained. Jinx stayed around even after Neutron eventually left the group after the pair made the decision to join.
With the Multiversal catastrophe of Crisis marking the apparent death of Psimon, Fearsome Five came across Superman and this time with an addition of new members. The team had Mammoth, Gizmo, Shimmer along with Charger and Deuce. However, the group broke up and went separate ways. Of course, the group did not see Psimon coming back or the vengeance that he had planned for his former squad members especially Shimmer, Mammoth and Gizmo.
Psimon tracked down Shimmer, who had relinquished her past life along with her brother Mammoth, and was then living an untroubled, undisturbed life at a Tibetan monastery. Psimon, making use of his psychic powers, transformed the body of Shimmer into glass and then simply smashed it. Speaking of Mammoth, he had a spear pierced through his head by Psimon and made it alive by the narrowest margin possible.
As for Gizmo, he was shrunk down to a subatomic size by Psimon but he managed to come back to his usual size later. In due course, Doctor Thaddeus Sivana assembled the members – Psimon, Mammoth, Gizmo, Jinx and even went to the extent of reviving Shimmer back to life. Mind you, the reconstructed villainous team is pretty dangerous and all is well if they can hold themselves back from eliminating each other!
Team Evolution
Here, let us help you understand the evolution of the group through ages. We will begin with the Bronze Age, which saw quite a bit of changes. For starters, the leadership usually fluctuated between Arthur Light and Psimon and the duo was seen getting ousted from the group at several circumstances. Jinx along with Neutron is seen joining the Fearsome Five in their villainous activities and while the latter is seen leaving, she chose to stay.
Next, we have the Modern Age, where one got to see Charger and Deuce instead of Arthur Light and Psimon. We have already mentioned this before and we are saying it again that the group was eventually disbanded post their encounter with Superman. Anyway, the team was assembled back together by Doctor Thaddeus Sivana and the lineup comprised of Shimmer, Mammoth, Psimon, Gizmo, Jinx and also Sabbac. Even after the death of Gizmo, the group hung on to the name Fearsome Five. It was only post the Final Crisis that the team was reconstructed with new members such as Calculator, Nano and Rumble besides Shimmer, Mammoth and Jinx.
Then came New 52, one where the original members of the group gave the impression of being enlisted in the Secret Society of Super Villains. But to be honest, it is still a bit uncertain whether they retained themselves as the Fearsome Five within that group, or they had their origin altered because the group consisted of Psimon, Shimmer, Mammoth, Gizmo and Jinx.
The First Appearance Of Fearsome Five In New Teen Titans Vol 1 #3
The Teen Titans are seen unwinding themselves at Wonder Girl’s new apartment and the readers learn that she and Starfire are going to be roommates. Starfire is seen reminiscing about her planet Tamaran and sighs at the fact that it has been so long since she has had a real home.
Parallelly, somewhere in the south and west part of New York City, the duo of Selinda and her brother Baran are seen coming to a particular meeting place based on an Underworld Star ad, one that was on the lookout to recruit a super-mob. But upon reaching the place, they are a bit startled to find the doors locked. With Baran attempting to smash down the door, Selinda stops him and instead uses her power of molecular reconstruction to open the door.
As they go inside, a horde of weapons come sliding out from the walls and start firing at them. This is more than enough to irk Baran and he ends up taking off the cloak that he was wearing all this time and addressing himself as ‘Mammoth’, takes charge at the weapons.
After he is done dealing with the guns, he looks back at his sister, who tells him that they have certainly come at the right place and that whoever is behind was simply testing their capabilities. Of course, she is proven right as Doctor Light greets them from the other room and introduces Psimon and Gizmo to the brother sister duo. With Selinda introducing herself and her brother as Shimmer and Mammoth, Doctor Light addresses his new team as The Fearsome Five and tells them that their first mission would be to destroy The New Teen Titans.
Coming back to Starfire, she is seen telling her gang how she was born into the House of Tykayl and despite being the princess of Tamaran, she was sold by her own father to the blood hungry race, Citadel, as a negotiation to ensure peace amongst both the races.
This shocks the group to the core but before they can ask her further questions, they are interrupted by Raven. Of course, Robin hates the fact that she appears all of a sudden telling them to do things and disappears the minute she is done ordering them so he raises a protest and in other words, snaps at her. Kid Flash tells defends Raven and tells Robin to maintain a distance from her.
Eventually, Raven tells the Titans about the Fearsome Five and their intentions only to have the superheroes end up attacking them. The battle gets pretty intense with the Fearsome Five gaining an upper hand and escaping from there. As the master of illumination wonders what it is that forced him out of there, Psimon smiles to himself. After all, the mind-master is hell bent on being the leader of the group. Raven, on the other hand, is seen going to the powerful demon lord Trigon and telling him that she is quite aware of the fact that he is controlling the Fearsome Five. She further tells him how she has joined the Titans just so she could fight and leaves.
Somewhere else in New York City, Silas Stone is seen paying a visit to his son Victor at his apartment. Victor is clearly not happy about it and blames his father for his mother’s death as well as his present condition. He tells him that he is pretty happy with the Titans and tells his father to leave immediately from his place.
Silas chooses not to tell his son of his deteriorating physical condition and leaves the apartment without saying anything. Victor shortly finds a postcard one that’s addressed to him. He has been invited to the opening of the Titan’s Tower next day at noon. It is soon discovered that he is not the only Titan to have received an invitation; every Titan has received the same postcard.
They have been provided with a new headquarter – a huge T-shaped tower fully equipped with the latest technologies and weapons. The group is skeptical because they have no clue who built the tower in the first place and what was the reason behind it. Kid Flash has already checked the entire place by then and he still hasn’t been able to find anything that would link them to anybody.
Suddenly, Raven appears at the headquarter out of nowhere and tells them that it’s not the place they should pay importance to but to the mission that lies ahead of them. Robin is determined to get some answers and tells her that they would not go anywhere till she gives them the answers that they deserve. While Kid Flash tries to defend Raven again, the latter decides to give Robin as well as the entire group reasons enough to trust her.
She tells them all about the immeasurable power of Trigon, his intentions of enslaving the entire planet and that the only way to prevent this demonic entity from invading their planet is by going against their allies – the Justice League of America. Naturally, this comes as a complete shock to the Titans; they not only have to battle the Justice League but also defeat them. It is safe to say that they could not really make much out of the visions of Raven.
Anyway, back at the headquarters of the Fearsome Five, Light is seen discussing with his team their strategy against the New Teen Titans. It is then that Psimon discloses his real objective openly stating that everything that has happened so far has occurred due to his execution. Using his psychic powers he hits Light and further reveals how he even let Raven know of their current location.
Mammoth tries to attack Psimon but Shimmer stops him from doing so and instead asks Psimon his side of the story. Psimon tells them how he was earlier known as the physicist Simon Jones and that he was obsessed when it came to working on experiments that would let him contact other dimensions.
He was successful when Trigon contacted him and the latter blessed him with immense psionic powers so as to serve his goals at the end of the day. So, when Psimon found Light’s ad in the Underworld Star, he joined the group with the only aim of carrying through Trigon’s assignment. As part of his plan, Psimon telepathically summons the New Teen Titans for a rematch.
While Raven chooses to stay behind, Kid Flash decides to be with her too and the rest of the Titans head towards the location of the Fearsome Five. Starfire is able to spot Mammoth from a great distance and as they come closer, Light shoots a solid blast of energy at the group, one that has Robin falling deep into the river below.
Cyborg tries attacking them using his sonic amplifier but before he can make use of the device, Gizmo incapacitates Cyborg with his sonic totalizer. Starfire is already engaged in a fight with Dr. Light and urges Wonder Girl to help out Cyborg. But Gizmo already has plans for Starfire; rather he has a special gizmo that will take lock her hands or in other words, take care of her.
Psimon uses his psionic powers over Wonder Girl making her incapable of moving even the slightest muscle and then tapping her with a touch of his hand, he puts her to a deep sleep. Meanwhile, a drenched Robin who has just managed to get himself up back on the ship is rendered unconscious when he receives a massive blow from Mammoth.
Back at the Titan’s Tower, Raven is seen engaging in a conversation with Kid Flash when it suddenly dawns upon her that leaving for Starfire and Changeling, everybody else has been overpowered. Kid Flash rushes to help his friends out and is exceedingly disappointed to see Robin and Cyborg lying defeated on the ground. As for Starfire, she is finally able to get free herself from the shackles that Gizmo had placed on her.
Changeling is seen to attack the Fearsome Five surprising them in his bull avatar but Psimon puts him to sleep as well. Mammoth grabs Starfire by her hand and smashes her on the ground. With Kid Flash racing towards Mammoth, Psimon takes control of Mammoth’s mind and makes him punch Kid Flash hard enough to knock him down. The Fearsome Five easily prove themselves to be victorious against the New Teen Titans.
The issue ends with Raven on his way to pay a visit to the Justice League of America.
What Makes The Members Of The Fearsome Five Such A Deadly Team?
Arthur Light
Often addressed as the master of Illumination, Arthur Light is a persistent enemy of the Teen Titans and his name already implies the fact that he is categorically capable of influencing light energy for several purposes. Initially, he required to wear his suit for that but later on he managed to use his powers without having his suit on.
Well, if one is to go into the very details, Light is capable of controlling light which allows him to generate powerful blasts of energy, construct force fields, become invisible as well as cast illusions. It’s only natural on his part to charge himself up by absorbing light from the adjoining areas and take charge of anything that shines.
So right from Superman’s laser eyes, the ring of Green Lantern to the light that emits out of Wonder Girl’s lasso, you know what we are talking about! To take things to the next level, Light also has the ability to draw out energy that is not even being used in the first place and then use it as a weapon. Fair to say, he is dangerous!
Mammoth
Also known as Baran Flinders, he happens to be the younger fraternal twin brother of Shimmer aka Selinda Flinders. He specifically falls under the list of the founding members of the Fearsome Five much like his sister and is explicitly known for being in possession of a magnificent amount of physical strength. One thing’s for sure; you don’t want to annoy him because that is precisely when he becomes furiously strong and impervious to injury. He has fought against Superman and has survived so you know what we are dealing with here.
Gizmo
He is a genius, one who is all about science, engineering and gadgets. Gizmo established himself as an inventor at a very early age and was capable of creating lethal weapons from existing household items like vacuum cleaners, spoon and hairdryers amongst many other things. He used to sell his inventions to various criminals and the only reason he joined the Fearsome Five was because he wanted to expand his business.
Shimmer
This metahuman here is capable of transforming matter, an ability that lets her change any element or compound for that matter. All she needs to do is a hand gesture and voila! The job is done. She does not possess any combating skills as such so it’s fair to say that she is reliant on her fraternal twin brother for defence.
Psimon
A founding member of the group indeed, Psimon possesses unbelievable amounts of telepathic and telekinetic powers. He is more than often seen making use of his psionic abilities to influence as well as mind control others. Oh, he is also quite capable of inducing exceeding amounts of genuine fear in them. From reading minds, casting illusions to moving objects, he is also very much capable of levitating himself. He is certainly not the one to be taken lightly.
Jinx
This East Indian elemental sorceress was broken out of a S.T.A.R Labs research facility that the Fearsome Five had ambushed. Jinx was imprisoned there along with Neutron and she later decided to join the group and take part in their nefarious activities. In fact, she stayed back with the group even after Neutron parted ways. Speaking of her powers and abilities, she is primarily seen getting her source of power by being in physical touch with the earth, one she has a psychic connection with. Using magic, she is capable of flying, elemental manipulation, producing energy blasts as well as cast illusions.
Dr. Sivana
Doctor Thaddeus Sivana is predominantly known to be the archenemy of Captain Marvel and in this case, he is also the one to have assembled back the members of the Fearsome Five. We are talking about assembling Psimon, Mammoth, Gizmo, Jinx and also going to the extent of reviving Shimmer back to life.
While it is true that he is in possession of no such powers, there is no denying the fact that he is a highly dangerous scientist, one that is in possession of a genius level intelligence. It is precisely this that gives him an advantage over his enemies because his intellect aids him in creating a plethora of technological weapons as well as interesting gadgets.
Where Else Have They Appeared?
Let’s begin with television; the trio of Gizmo, Jinx and Mammoth has made appearances in the anime-influenced animated superhero television series, Teen Titans, developed by Glen Murakami, David Slack and Sam Register. Shimmer, Mammoth and Psimon are seen joining hands with Icicle Jr. and Wonder Woman villain Devastation in Beneath, the fifth episode of the second season of Young Justice.
Shimmer is also seen making an appearance in the second season of the live-action Teen Titans television series titled Titans, where her character is seen getting thrashed by Donna Troy and Starfire in Chicago. As for Gizmo, his character is seen making an appearance in the third season, where he is seen stealing a biochemical drug at Dayton Labs in San Francisco. Eventually, he is prevented from doing so by Nightwing, Starfire, Connor and Beast Boy.
Speaking of video games, the Fearsome Five have appeared in the free-to-play action combat called DC Universe Online. The game stars Doctor Light, Psimon, Mammoth, Gizmo as well as Jinx. In Lego DC Super Villains, Psimon along with Dr. Light, Jinx, Gizmo and Mammoth have made their appearances.
Things That You Should Know About Fearsome Five
You will be surprised to know that there is an altered version of the Fearsome Five featured in Teen Titans. Here, the characters of Gizmo, Jinx and Mammoth are seen attending H.I.V.E. Academy and also form a group known as the H.I.V.E. Five, when in reality there happens to be six members.
Post the Final Crisis, Fearsome Five was reconstructed with new members Calculator, Nano and Rumble besides Shimmer, Mammoth and Jinx. Our stress is on Calculator, one that was initially a Batman villain and time after time attempted to overpower the Justice League. Calculator, whose real name happens to be Noah Kuttler, decided to join Fearsome Five after he made up his mind to go against the Titans and it goes without saying that he eventually became the leader too.
It is a known thing that the group has time and again proven itself to be incompetent. Over the years, we have also seen members of the group getting killed. So with DC giving it a reboot in New 52, the Fearsome Five appeared revamped with Psimon, Shimmer, Mammoth, Gizmo and Jinx. They are actually seen working with a society of supervillains.