When I was a kid, I created a team of six heroes called "The Doomsters," which included their leader, Gunn. Later I created a whole new team of maybe 20 characters called "Skull Squadron," which was nearly as overpopulated as G.I. Joe. When I saw a TV toy ad that featured villians called "Skull Squadron," I decided to change the name.

I decided to leave "The Doomsters" as part of the history of my comic universe, and even mentioned them (vaguely) in my very first printed comic, Torpedo (2001). Now, Gunn is a high-ranking officer in the U.S. Armed Forces, and is in charge of putting together a new team. His name for the team is "Doom Squad," which combines both of those teams from my childhood.

The leader of the "Skull Squadron" comics from my youth, was a man named "Jack Fizz" (I know that's goofy. I said I was a kid, okay?). I have no idea why I decided to give this poor guy the power of bubbles. Not exactly as cool as fire or lightning, is it? As I got older, I decided to keep that as his power. I thought about Marvel's "Magneto," and how the power of magnetism sounds so lame at first, until you see what he can do with it.

I slightly changed the character's name to "Jack Fitz." I still find the name corny, but it also reminds me of some of those golden-age comic alter egos, who had names suspiciously correlated to their powers. I also decided to change the character from a smiling, friendly leader into someone with a chip on his shoulder. Imagine you are one of the few people in the world gifted with a super-power, and yet the public makes fun of your power. That's the coal that stokes Fitz's fires.

-Jay W. Davis