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SY BERNSTEIN

Real Name: Sy Bernstein

Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Earth-93060/Ultraverse) normal human

Occupation: Mortician

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Prime (Kevin Green) (loose)

Enemies: Neighborhood gangs and criminals

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Prime

Base of Operations: Los Angeles, USA

First Appearance: Ultraverse Premiere#3/1 (May, 1994)

Powers/Abilities: Sy Bernstein is an elderly and skilled mortician. Short, quiet, observant, and philosophically fatalistic, he was brave enough to stand up to bullies.

   He briefly controlled a near invulnerable, hollow Prime body by sitting inside it for short periods of time. The body showed enhanced strength, but because it was near the end of its cycle, its powers were reduced (compared to a fresh Prime body produced by Kevin Green); this older Prime body did not appear to have flight capability while in Bernstein's control.  The cellular decay of this Prime body reduced its invulnerability despite Bernstein's cosmetic efforts to keep it life-like.

History:

(Ultraverse Premiere#4/1 (fb) - BTS) - Sy Bernstein had lived for a long time in the same neighborhood in south central Los Angeles, but kept to himself in the same mortician business. He found the local crime rate and lack of police involvement deplorable.

(Ultraverse Premiere#3/1) - Prime (Kevin Green) stopped a missile over LA and he fell to the ground, crashing outside the delivery entry to Bernstein Funeral Home. Green emerged via a rip in the chest and left the hollow Prime body behind, which was almost at the end of its cycle, but it was secretly hauled inside by Bernstein, who managed to access the body's power. Bernstein then patrolled the neighborhood, stopping several young thugs engaged in criminal activities against locals.

Bernstein as Prime(Ultraverse Premiere#4/1) - Bernstein continued doing heroic deeds in the salvaged Prime body, including stopping gunfire and saving a child from a burning building. But the Prime body kept deteriorating, despite Bernstein's best efforts to cover it up. The Prime body's extremities became brittle, it became slow to respond and began to stink, but generally the neighborhood people were happy to see a celebrity super-hero safeguard the area and ignored the small details. This "Prime" inspired the locals to start up a community policing program. Bernstein hoped to keep the Prime body functional a few more days, but several thugs whom Bernstein had beaten as Prime returned that night while on patrol and fired a bazooka at him; however, the projectile bounced off the Prime body. While the explosion incinerated the thugs, Bernstein was protected inside the Prime body, although that was messily destroyed too. Bernstein took the remains of the Prime body away, making excuses to others why there were no pallbearers, and buried the body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments: Created by Len Strazewski (writer), Frank Gomez (pencils) and Troy Hubbs (inks).

Ultraverse Premiere#3 was a "flipbook" with Prime I#12, while Ultraverse Premiere#4 flipped with Strangers#13.

Profile by Grendel Prime.

CLARIFICATIONS :
Sy Bernstein has no known connections to:

images: (without ads)
Ultraverse Premiere#4/1, p5, pan5 (main image)
   p6, pan2 (headshot)
   p4 (in Prime body)

Appearances:
Ultraverse Premiere#3/1 (May, 1994) - Len Strazewski (writer), Frank Gomez (pencils), Troy Hubbs (inks), Hank Kanalz (editor)
Ultraverse Premiere#4/1 (June, 1994) - Len Strazewski (writer), Frank Gomez (pencils), Troy Hubbs (inks), Hank Kanalz (editor)

Last updated: 08/23/17

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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