Dead Ringer Respect Thread

I want to be Captain FREAKING America!

Introduction- One of the most underrated fighters ever?

I'll admit, this dude doesn't have a ton of showings. In fact, he only really has like, 4 or 5 issues or something. But his powers more than make up for it, just in terms of power and how much he is capable of in a fight or with prep.

Dead Ringer is essentially the Chameleon on steroids. Not only can he replicate a person perfectly with no flaws, but he can also copy their abilities, and use any kind of gear that they had usually. This means that one minute, he can have the strength of someone like Captain America, and the next minute, he could have the abilities of Professor X, and then have the gear of Mister Terrific. The only limit is that he needs access to a single dead skin cell- which considering most people already have them all over their face and body, makes such limitation virtually pointless.

No need to go over strength or durability, considering that it changes based on who he copies. His base form is just a normal dude. Skill is null, through he does seem to be able to use the gear of those he copies successfully, so maybe that's also transmitted in the process.

Copying- How it works

Can copy as many people as he wishes, but he can only use them once, then he needs contact again. (Captain America #439)

States that he can copy people for a while, showing the process is not permanent. (Captain America #428)

Absorbs a person by making contact with their dead body. Also states that he is capable of transforming into animals. (Captain America #426)

Is capable of copying MODOK and his gear, through this is never displayed. (Captain America #425)

Originally was restricted to copying dead people only, and thus had to find a way of maintaining their forms multiple times. (Captain America #439)

Powers retconned in a databook to dead skin tissue to explain how he was able to transform into individuals who weren't actually dead, like Nighthawk. (Captain America: America's Avenger #1)

Complimented on his acting job as the Porcupine. (Captain America #425)

Copying- who he became

Outmanoeuvres Falcon withBlackhawk's powers. Also uses his gear successfully. (Captain America #439)

Copies Blue Streak, and manages to evade Quicksilver. (Captain America #427)

Uses the abilities of Blackout. (Captain America #427)

Uses Blue Streak's passive abilities of healing to recover from acid burns. (Captain America #427)

Copies the abilities and appearance of Solarr. (Captain America #427)

Copies the gear of Mirage's illusion tech to fool Captain America into scaring civilians. (Captain America #425)

Copies the suit and weapons of the Porcupine, seriously injuring people with his thorns. (Captain America #425)

Copies the appearance and gear of the Night Flyer, capable enough to use his tech without trouble. (Captain America #427)

Recovers from a speedblitz from Quicksliver and tags him by changing forms from Blackout to Blue Streak. Shows his ability to adapt and change forms on the fly. (Captain America #427)

Transforms into Death Adder mid fight and dominates Mutant Force. (Captain America #427)

Transforms into the Purple Man while under arrest and uses his powers skilfully to escape. (Captain America #425)

Copies the form of the Death Stalker, a interdimensional criminal capable of entering a state of intangibility. (Captain America #439)

Successfully recreates Death Stalker's gear and kills Super Patriot using his microwave generated hands, which kill in seconds with a bare touch. (Captain America #439)

Conclusion

He's pretty damn good, actually. The reason why Marvel don't use him more often is that his ability is highly problematic, as no one really dies in comics and it is difficult to explain how his powers work on people who aren't really dead.

In terms of feats, a solid high street tier, depending on who he copies. by implication, could possibly be much, much stronger, if he had his hands on someone who had some actual power behind them, such as the Absorbing Man or Thor. He's a good character to use in anything, and the range of stuff that he can do by himself or with prep is interesting.

Next RT will be a Flash villain, and one I've wanted to do for a long while. Trust me, it'll be worth the wait.

@veshark you wanted a tag, here it is. Bet you didn't expect this dude.

Oh, Dead Ringer. This was right around the time Gruenwald's Cap run was running out of steam...I can't even with this dude. Now all we need is an Armadillo respect thread.

Also, minor typo: you wrote Blackhawk instead of Nighthawk.

While he is a jobber by himself, his powers have the POTENTIAL to do a ton of stuff in the hands of someone smarter.

Also Armadillo RT thread is added to the list. I'll make it in time.