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Chuck Taine

Chuck Taine

77 appearances · Silver Age · 1961–2025 · 10 key issues
Who is Chuck Taine?

A Legion of Super-Heroes reject from the 30th century, Chuck Taine accidentally drank an experimental super-plastic formula he mistook for a soda, permanently gaining the ability to inflate his body into a resilient, bouncing ball — earning him the name Bouncing Boy.

Silver Age DC has no shortage of memorable faces, but Chuck Taine has quietly earned a devoted following across an remarkable 64-year stretch that speaks to genuine staying power. Debuting in Action Comics #276 in 1961 — courtesy of Robert Bernstein and Wayne Boring — Chuck arrived right at the heart of DC's futuristic ambitions, and he's been woven into the Legion of Super-Heroes corner of the universe ever since. His adventures unfold most often across the pages of Adventure Comics and Legion of Super-Heroes, where he keeps company with luminaries like Rokk Krinn, Imra Ardeen, and Brainiac 5, placing him squarely in one of the Silver Age's most beloved fictional futures. With 10 collector-recognized key issues among his 77 appearances, Chuck Taine is the kind of character that rewards the fan willing to dig into the deeper, richer layers of the Legion's long history.

Identity

Real name. Charles "Chuck" Taine

Powers. Can inflate his body into a large ball and bounce at high speed with great resilience and momentum; the bouncing form deflects/redirects attacks.

Teams & affiliations
Legion of Super-HeroesLegion of Substitute HeroesKryptoniansDaily PlanetLegionnairesAtlanteans
★ First appearance
Action Comics #276
May 1961

Top series

Covers through the years — 1961–2021

Action Comics #276 1961
Action Comics #276
Adventure Comics #355 1967
Adventure Comics #355
Superboy #199 1973
Superboy #199
Adventure Comics #493 1982
Adventure Comics #493
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #3 1985
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #3
Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #3 1992
Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #3
Legion of Super-Heroes #57 1994
Legion of Super-Heroes #57
Legion of Super-Heroes #109 1998
Legion of Super-Heroes #109
Solo #7 2005
Solo #7
Superman: The Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen #[nn] 2007
Superman: The Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen #[nn]
DC Universe: Legacies #[nn] 2012
DC Universe: Legacies #[nn]
Justice League United #2 2016
Justice League United #2
Legion of Super-Heroes #12 2021
Legion of Super-Heroes #12

Appearances

Action Comics (1938)
Superman (1939)
Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen (1954)
Superman Supacomic (1959)
Superboy (1949)
Limited Collectors' Edition (1972)
All New Collectors' Edition (1978)
The Legion of Super-Heroes (1980)
Jimmy Olsen's Pal, Fred Hembeck [Hembeck Series] (1981)
#6
The Best of DC (1979)
#44
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe (1985)
Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes (1984)
Who's Who: Update '87 (1987)
#3
Comics Scene (1987)
Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes (1988)
#1
Legion of Super-Heroes Annual (1990)
#3
Legion of Super-Heroes (1989)
Legionnaires (1993)
Valor (1992)
#23
Superman in the Sixties (1999)
Superboy #147 May-June 1968 Replica Edition (2003)
Bizarro World (2005)
Solo (2004)
#7
Superman: The Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen (2007)
DCU: Legacies (2010)
#5
DC Comics Presents: The Teen Titans (2011)
#1
DC Universe: Legacies (2011)
Solo: The Deluxe Edition (2013)
Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga (2014)
Justice League United (2015)
#2
Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes (2017)
#1
Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium (2019)
Bizarro Comics: The Deluxe Edition (2021)
normalman Fortieth Anniversary Omnibus (2024)
DC Finest: Legion of Super-Heroes: Zap Goes the Legion (2024)
DC Finest: Zero Hour: Crisis in Time: Part One (2024)
DC Finest: Supergirl: The Girl of Steel (2025)
DC Finest: Zero Hour: Crisis in Time: Part Two (2025)