Peter Parker is old news. DC Comics might be holding the key to making Marvel Comics’ Wall Crawling Vigilante obsolete. Meet Derek James aka Sideways – DC’s answer to the Friendly Neighborhood Superhero known as Spider-Man.
Has ventured out of the Universe
Derek James was on a trip to Gotham City with his mother when the Batman Who Laughs led the Evil Batmen from the Dark Multi-Verse to invade Earth Prime. Derek quickly met with an accident that pushed him into a dimensional portal into the dark multi verse. Derek returned many days later, after the energies of the Dark Multi-Verse altered his physiology and granted him the power of dimensional teleportation. Derek is one of the few heroes who has actually been to other universes.
His powers can potentially destroy the universe
Sideways possesses the dangerous ability to create a black hole with his powers. Early on, he found out that by creating a second rift within an already generated rift, Sideways can create a space time anomaly which will result in a mini black hole. This is a rather dangerous and unexplored ability Derek will take some time to master. He found out that this ability is notoriously difficult to control and the Black Holes he created can potentially lose control and become large enough to suck all matter and energy it could find, destroying the entire solar system in the process.
Is a Social Media Influencer
Peter Parker relied on Photographing himself for money and fame. His photos allowed Jameson to earn the big bucks while Parker could pet his vain idea of vanity in the meanwhile. Back then, Facebook and Instagram were not as huge. With the rise of social media platforms, the world has evolved. Sideways also has a sense of vanity. But he does not take pictures of himself. Rather, he creates live video streams of him galloping through the city as a superhero. While it does sound interesting and gained him a lot of followers, the idea of a superhero being a social media influencer asking to like and subscribe his YouTube channel makes us puke.
Can create dimensional rifts
His exposure to the mysterious energies of the Dark Dimension gave him the ability to create and control dimensional portals called rifts. Derek James can generate any number of portals and can use them to travel anywhere in space time. We still do not know the extent to which Derek can traverse. It might range from a few kilometres to a several light-years depending on the level of concentration Sideways has. His dimensional portal generation ability also gives him the power to jump across universes, making him a valuable asset to the heroes of the DC Universe.
Can use his rifts as sharp throwing weapons
Sideways can create rifts to jump from one faraway location to another in a span of a second! But his rift abilities do have other functions. For example, the rifts Derek makes actually have extremely sharp edges that can cut through molecules. So it can also be used as offensive weapons. Derek mainly uses them as sharp edged weapons like throwing stars and knives.
Possesses superhuman physical attributes
Derek James possesses super human strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and endurance. When he was testing out his powers, he lifted a heavy dresser drawer with his bare hands as if it was a piece of cake. He has survived direct hits from heavy automobiles and impacts from falling from huge heights. Derek also possesses a regenerative healing factor that far surpasses a normal human being’s.
Joined the Young Justice Team
The Young Justice Team is a rather popular superhero group that is modelled on the Justice League but with younger members. Derek James aka Sideways joined Aqualad, Spoiler, and Arrowette along with Impulse to form the back up reserve team for Young Justice should the core team ever need reinforcements. He was also helpful in helping Connor Kent escape to Earth after his brief stint at Skartaris.
Yet to have control over his powers
After encountering Tempus Fuginaut for the first time and barely managing to escape, Sideways was taken to the hospital on account of a dislocated shoulder. In the hospital, Derek faced off against another super villain called Kill Speed. Kill Speed was attacking the hospital to loot enough money to treat her cancer. Sideways defeated her and when the cops arrived, opened a rift to escape. During the process, he accidentally severed Kill Speed’s arm when the rift prematurely closed.
Has Nth Metal in his blood
The New Age of DC Heroes began after the events of Dark Nights Metal. It was revealed that multiple individuals on Earth have been exposed to cosmic metal alloys that granted them mysterious abilities. Derek was a person who was exposed to the energies of the Dark Dimension during Dark Nights Metal. The Nth Metal in his blood combined with the dark energy to give him teleportation abilities.
Is a Super Human Tracker
Sideways can open dimension rifts that allow him to travel via worm hole like shortcuts. But his rift generation ability has a pretty useful secondary function. By focusing on an object or a person Sideways wants to travel to, Derek can create rifts that would lead him to the person or object of his desire.
Has damaged the Space-Time Continuum
While Derek James was still learning to control his powers, his powers started hurting the dimensional membrane that separated the Dark Multi-Verse from the Normal One. Tempus Fuginaut, a being belonging to the race of the Fuginauts that were tasked with protecting the universe from the scourge of the Dark Dimension, came to Prime Earth with the aim of stopping Sideways from creating further damage to Space-Time. Tempus ended up training Sideways on how to use his powers.
