Damon Briggs (Dakotaverse)

D-Struct
Dakotaverse‎ (Milestone Media‎)
Gallery
Real Name	Damon Briggs
Main Alias	D-Struct
Relatives	Mr. Briggs (first name unrevealed, father)
Affiliation	Hard Company, formerly Paris Bloods
Base Of Operations	Hard Company headquarters, Dakota City · formerly Paris Island, Dakota City, later Sadler, Dakota · later Louisville, Kentucky
Status
Alignment	Good
Identity	Secret Identity
Citizenship	American
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Intern · former gang member, former student
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Brown · Yellow
Hair	Black · No Hair
Origin
Universe	Dakotaverse
Creators	Kurt Busiek · Neil Vokes
First Appearance	Static #12 (May, 1994)

D-Struct was a Bang Baby and enemy of Static.

History

Damon Briggs was born on Paris Island, the poorest and most crime-ridden neighborhood in Dakota City. Like many teens on the island, he believed there was no legitimate means to succeed in life and soon fell in with the Paris Bloods, one of Dakota's most notorious street gangs. Briggs started off as a gunrunner for the Bloods, but soon proved to be a fearsome fighter for the gang, who nicknamed him "D-Struct".

Naturally, D-Struct was among the Paris Bloods who fought in the Big Bang, a turf war on Paris Island that would determine Dakota's most powerful gang. During the battle, D-Struct and his friend Rocks got separated from the rest of the Bloods. They were then ambushed by members of the Doble Eles gang, who killed Rocks and savagely beat D-Struct with their chains. When D-Struct was near death, Dakota police officers arrived and deployed a special tear gas to help them more easily capture all the gang members. Unknown to the officers, the gas was secretly laced with Quantum Juice, a bizarre mutagenic substance that killed 90 percent of those at the Bang while the survivors known as "Bang Babies" became genetic freaks. In D-Struct's case, he was transformed into a monster composed of volcanic rock. The distraught gang member thought the change was permanent until he instinctively reverted to normal.

Damon Briggs realized he had gotten a second chance and decided to leave the gang life behind, including his notorious nickname. His choice delighted his father, who had desperately tried to convince his son that gangbanging was a dead end. The pair then moved to the working class neighborhood of Sadler, where Damon thought he could peacefully finish his education at Ernest Hemingway High School.

However, Damon discovered that his gangmember past made him an outcast among his classmates. Sympathetic, a teacher named Ms. Tring convinced Damon to keep a daily journal, in which he could express and deal with his feelings in a positive manner. Though skeptical, Damon learned writing things down made him view life in perspective, and high school became much more bearable.

Months later, Briggs was confronted by members of the Paris Bloods who were not at the Big Bang. They wanted Damon's help in expanding their gun selling operations into Sadler. He flatly refused and then accidentally changed into his monstrous form when the Bloods persisted. The Bloods fled the scene, but then realized that D-Struct's new powers made him even more useful.

Soon afterward, Damon came home to discover his father being held hostage by the Bloods. The gang's leader explained that they would safely release Damon's dad if Damon killed the teen superhero Static, who was disrupting Blood activity in Sadler. Seeing no other choice, D-Struct ambushed Static, who held his own until the former collapsed an abandoned building on him. Though the buried Static was at his mercy, D-Struct could not kill him and told the arriving Bloods that the teen crimefighter got away.

When Static dug himself out, he noticed D-Struct left behind something: his journal. After reading the book, the teen hero now understood his foe's motives and decided to help D-Struct save his dad.

The next day, the Paris Bloods heard news reports of a titanic rematch between Static and D-Struct. The gang was euphoric, believing D-Struct would finally eliminate the superhero…until the battle literally spilled into their hideout. The Bloods realized they had been duped: the rematch was a ruse intended for D-Struct to covertly lead Static to the gang's hideout. D-Struct and Static easily defeated the Bloods and rescued Damon's father.

Though happy to be reunited, Damon and his dad knew that they could not remain in Dakota after defying the Bloods. So, they decided to move to Louisville, Kentucky, far away from the gang's influence. Before departing, Damon thanked Static for his help and said he'd return to Dakota someday.

Over a year later, Damon Briggs got his high school diploma and now needed a job, which he learned were plentiful back in Dakota. He used all his contacts including Static to try to get some leads. In turn, Static convinced Hardware to hire Damon as intern at Hard Company, the company owned by the armored vigilante's alter ego, Curtis Metcalf.

Damon's first day at Hard Company was decent despite the hectic office pace and Metcalf being a bit of a jerk. However, after leaving work, Damon's day went sour when he was ambushed by soldiers from the government agency, COVERT. COVERT's leader Seven Pallaton considered Bang Babies like Damon to be a national security risk and had U.S. government approval to capture the super powered individuals.

Changing into his monster form, D-Struct fought valiantly against his assailants, but was overcome by their energy siphoning weaponry. Fortunately, Hardware was investigating the Bang Baby kidnappings and arrived in time to free D-Struct and defeat COVERT. The vigilante later "persuaded" Pallaton to call off the Bang Baby hunt.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Transformation: Through an act of will, Damon Briggs can transform himself into a monstrous form called D-Struct and then back to his normal human form. D-Struct's body is composed of living volcanic rock and seethes with fiery energies that are visible through the cracks in his skin. D-Struct's denser structure and internal energies grant him several superhuman powers.
  • Superhuman Strength: D-Struct possesses superhuman strength, whose full limits are unknown. He is capable of easily lifting a Buick and throwing it at least a city block.
  • Superhuman Durability
  • Superhuman Stamina
  • Limited Flight: D-Struct can explosively release his body's internal energies beneath him, launching him skyward. Thus, he can in a sense fly. D-Struct's great mass prevents him for remaining airborne for long, but he can still prove a viable threat to aerial opponents like Static.
  • Energy Transference: For unknown reasons, D-Struct's fiery energies react violently with the electrostatic energy generated by Static. This feedback is worse for whichever Bang Baby is on the defensive. So, D-Struct's blows inflict more damage on Static's force field than they would otherwise. However, the feedback can also work against D-Struct.

Abilities

• Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic): Damon Briggs is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant due to years of streetfighting experience.

• Computer Operation: Briggs shows promise as a website designer.

Weaknesses

• Vulnerability to Electricity: Because of how their energies react to each other, D-Struct is far more vulnerable to Static's electrical bolts than many other forms of attack. It is possible that Static could kill D-Struct with a sufficiently high voltage though the hero would never attempt it. When D-Struct reverts to human form, he is no more vulnerable to Static's powers than any other human being.

Notes

When Briggs turns into D-Struct , whatever clothing he is wearing instantly disappears. Briggs' clothes will reappear without damage when he reverts to human form. Why this occurs is a mystery.

Related

• 1 Appearances of Damon Briggs (Dakotaverse)
• 2 Images featuring Damon Briggs (Dakotaverse)
• Quotations by or about Damon Briggs (Dakotaverse)
• Character Gallery: Damon Briggs (Dakotaverse)

Footnotes

Static Villain(s) This character is or was primarily an enemy of Static. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Static Villains."