The Odds

The Odds
Group Information
Origin	Reality Z-25 31-H
Type	Superhero team
Vehicles	Odd Mobile
Bases	Fortress of Evening, New York City
Leaders	Captain Evening
Members	Jenny Nowhere Merv the Griffin Armstrong Fatbuckle The Blue Knight Centennia Jenny Everywhere
Behind the Scenes
First seen in	COMIC: Enter–the Legion of Light!
Also seen in	See list
Copyright	Paul Hoppe

In Reality Z-25 31-H, the Odds were a team of superheroes gathered around Captain Evening. While posing as Jenny Everywhere, a version of Jenny Nowhere was, surprisingly enough, a founding member of the team.

History

Formation

The original Odds attack Armagedda's henchpeople. (COMIC: Redistribution)

After rescuing her from Doctor Brain, Captain Evening invited interdimensional traveller “Jenny Everywhere” (actually Jenny Nowhere) to stay at the Fortress of Evening for as long as it took for her shifting powers to regenerate. (COMIC: Tales To Behold) She ended up staying even after that. (COMIC: Redistribution) He extended the same offer to the griffin Merv, whom he freed from a magical compulsion bplaced on him by Doctor Brain, this time so that Merv would have a place to stay, and allies, as he sought his revenge on Doctor Brain specifically. (COMIC: For Whom The Toll Bells) Completing the original line-up was Armstrong Fatbuckle, an unkillable undead skeleton, whom the Captain, Merv and Jenny encountered while foiling the Legion of Light. (COMIC: Enter–the Legion of Light!)

All of this occurred within a few weeks of Jenny's arrival in Reality Z-25 31-H, but by the end of that period, Captain Evening's team, now referred to as “the Odds”, was becoming known to the authorities, who bade them to look into the “reverse robberies” plaguing the city. (COMIC: Redistribution) Shortly after this incident, they were even called to England by Scotland Yard to deal with an “odd” situation, the invasion of a city by irritating but non-violent Insect People. (COMIC: Battle of Britain) Extending their stay in England, they were joined by a new member, the Blue Knight. (COMIC: Encore)

The group, now including the Blue Knight, returned to New York thanks to Jenny's shifting abilities. They soon had to leap back into action to protect the Mayor and (seemingly) Captain Perfect from a giant robot attacker called Ultimatron. They had little success, however, and it was Centennia, hitherto a solo hero and currently Captain Perfect's girlfriend, who swooped in to defeat the entity. She also discovered that the attack had actually been arranged by Captain Perfect to boost his own fame, leading her to break up with Captain Perfect. In the aftermath of the battle, Captain Evening expressed his sympathies to her concerning Perfect's betrayal, and suggested that she join the Odds herself; she agreed. (COMIC: Meanwhile, On Earth)

Losing Jenny

Shortly after the Captain Perfect scandal, Armstrong discovered that Armagedda was back on Earth. The Odds travelled to the building in Queens where she was apparently making her lair, only to walk into a trap organised by “Evil Cloak”, who had assembled all of the Odds' past enemies. Evil Cloak dramatically revealed that she and the Jenny the Odds knew were one and the same, and that she was not Jenny Everywhere, but Jenny Nowhere. After a battle broke out between heroes and villains, Nowhere reactivated Doctor Brain's Portal and tried to summon a powerful demonic entity, Gazoom, to do her bidding. However, Gazoom, angry at being disturbed, instead swallowed Jenny whole before returning whence he came. In the wake of this simultaneous loss to both their teams, the heroes and villains agreed to go their separate ways for the day with no further fighting. Back at the Fortress of Evening, Centennia confessed she did not feel up to being part of a team full-time, while Armstrong expressed his interest in taking a vacation from his superhero activities to take the Blue Knight and Merv on a sight-seeing road trip. As the assembled team was about to share a toast to the great times they'd shared, however, they received a call from the Mayor warning them about a monster downtown. (COMIC: Meanwhile, In Queens)

Against the Cosmic Solution

The Big Bad Wolf witnesses the arrival of the original Odds (minus Jenny and plus Centennia) to the rescue. (COMIC: Journey Out Of Misery)

When Robot Madison summoned as many superheroes as she could to New York City to stop the Cosmic Solution robot, “Captain Evening and the Odds” were the second group to arrive, (COMIC: Journey Out Of Misery) having been alerted by the Mayor. (COMIC: Meanwhile, In Queens) With the help of Madison, the other heroes already on the scene, reforming mad scientist Hank Richards, and even Glow Girl, (COMIC: Journey Out Of Misery) a retired hero who had previously declined to join the team on a regular basis, (COMIC: Glow Girl!) the Odds were able to begin draining power from the robot and cause it to shrink. However, much of their progress was undone by a more experienced team, the Protectors, who barged in and refused to listen to their observations, attacking the robot head-on and consequently feeding it enough power to grow to gigantic size again. They then bore witness to the destruction of the entire Protectors team by the Solution. In the end, the Solution agreed to leave the Earth of its own accord after being called off by another agent of the Cosmic Order. (COMIC: Journey Out Of Misery)

Vacation on Kokotomo Island

The Odds are welcomed to Kokotomo Island by Mr Montibar. (COMIC: Tales To Behold Halloween Cameo Caper 2014)

With the real Jenny Everywhere having coincidentally arrived in Reality Z-25 31-H on the same day her her impersonator died to Gazoom, (COMIC: Meanwhile, In Queens) it was in the company of Jenny Everywhere once again — and properly this time — that the Odds were invited by Mr Montibar to the magical Kokotomo Island for a supernatural vacation where their dreams would literally come true. They agreed, with even Centennia coming along. After the Odds split off to enjoy their various fantasies come true, the skeleton crew of Captain Evening, Armstrong Fatbuckle, Merv the Griffin and the Blue Knight eventually returned home together by plane while Centennia and Jenny, leaving the team for good, stayed behind to enjoy the Island's amenities a while longer. (COMIC: Tales To Behold Halloween Cameo Caper 2014)

Road trip

The Odds camp out. (COMIC: Road Trip Of No Return)

The Odds, now reduced to Captain Evening, Armstrong Fatbuckle, Merv the Griffin and the Blue Knight, finally went on the low-key road-trip that Armstrong had initially suggested, trying to forget their troubles and simply enjoy life, camping out in the countryside at night. They travelled in the Odd Mobile, a van emblazoned with the name of “Odd Mobile” and Captain Evening's moon symbol. Eventually, however, during one particular pit-stop near a creek, they ran into trouble as a duo of corrupt, drug-trafficking policemen knocked out Armstrong, Merv and the Knight with tranquiliser darts and took them prisoners, afraid that the heroes would meddle in their trafficking.

They missed the Captain, however, who had gotten knocked out as part of an unrelated accident while away from the group; teaming up with the young, naïve and surprisingly athletic Sheriff, who knew nothing of her subordinates' corruption, he found the drug-dealers' lair and helped his friends break out, after which they easily overpowered the villains — while their leader Druggo had previously claimed to have superpowers, he turned out to be delusional. The Odds then went for a midnight swim in the creek with the Sheriff, who needed some time to relax and rethink things. As he advised her on how to deal with this betrayal, the Captain realised that he needed to take his own advice to her to ultimately “just keep going”, and decreed that the Odds should return to New York as there was “work to be done”. (COMIC: Road Trip Of No Return)

Returning to New York, they joined with numerous other heroes to offer their help to Professor Madison in her work rebuilding after the damage dealt to the city by the Solution. (PROSE: Epilogue to Destruction)

Recurring elements of The Cosmic Beholder

The Odds The Blue Knight • Captain Evening • Centennia • Armstrong Fatbuckle • Merv the Griffin • Jenny Everywhere • Jenny Nowhere • Jung-La The Terrific Two & associates Kelly • Jenkins • Professor Madison • Robot Madison • Rodney Rabbit • The Mutant Villains Armagedda • Bureau of Singularity • Captain Perfect • Doctor Brain • The Devil • Hexia • Insecto • Jesse Brain • New Protectors (Kate Kerrigan) Other characters Alicia • Babs • The Big Bad Wolf • Glow Girl • The Human Tree • Mysto the Space-Wizard • Red Riding Hood • Terry Tornado Items Doctor Brain's Portal • Fortress of Evening • Magic Sword of the Legion of Light • Odd Mobile • Professor Madison's device • Skycicle