Echo was a member of the Legion of Super-Villains.
History
Myke-4 Astor was born in the 30th Century on Calish-Aetia, a peaceful planet that had been conquered by the warmongering Khundish Empire. Born with the unusual ability of controlling sound waves, Myke-4 was spotted by the evil Khunds, who subjected him to a series of gruesome experiments aimed to test the real extent of his abilities; the scientists taught him how to use his skills to their limit, but they also left him horribly disfigured and with a badly damaged respiratory system, conditions that forced him to live with a mask and a respirator for the rest of his days. Finally, thanks to the abilities that the Khunds had so horribly honed, Myke-4 managed to escape from Calish-Aetia, left the Empire and entered the space of the United Planets, where he knew a whole new kind of freedom. Unfortunately, living under a blood-thirsty dictatorship had left him with a scarce sense of law and order and a deep hatred for his former masters, so he ended up joining The Demon Mother's Little Angels, a gang of terrorists specialized in attacking Khundish embassies and their diplomatic convoys. He started using the name Echo, a battle moniker that he wanted the Khunds to learn to fear. It was while working with the Little Angels that Echo was contacted by Tarik the Mute, a criminal who had lost his vocal cords during a fight with the Science Police, and who was recruiting young, promising talents for his school for criminals. With his anger and his powers, Echo was a perfect choice, and Tarik knew what he had to say to convince the young man to join him. Graduating at Tarik's school, Echo became one of the first members of the Legion of Super-Villains, the evil version of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and for a time he believed that by serving with them he was actively sabotaging the hypocrite diplomatic campaign the Khundish Empire was leading with the United Planets.
Echo fought against the Legion of the Super-Heroes, especially against the member who had been assigned to him for killing, the powerful Cosmic Boy. The two teams fought each other also in different times, as three legionnaires answered the call of Lex Luthor, an evil genius from the past, who wanted to use them to get rid of Superman. The cross-time alliance almost succeeded, until Superman moved one of Saturn's ring and Saturn Girl used it to hypnotize all members of the Legion of Super-Villains, making them "good", at least for a while. Echo met Superman once again, when the Legion traveled back in time to tamper with his and Batman's origins and to make them dictators of Earth, fellow villains to make an alliance with; unfortunately, the unexpected intervention of the Darkseid from an alternate dimension broke the two heroes' mind control, and even this plan failed. Normally, Echo's anger would have only grown after these failures, but actually they changed his view on the world, or at least on the Legion of Super-Heroes: meeting them time after time, even if on the battlefield, made him reconsider the heroes' position on the Khundish Empire, and he realized that they were bent on stopping them and freeing their conquered worlds just like he was. Of course, their methods were a bit different, but the aim at least was the same. Considering this, Echo tried to contact his long-time enemies, and asked to join them: after a probation time, much to his own surprise, he was allowed in the team, and he became a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. His conditions were simple: he would have worked with them just as long as the team committed itself to fight the Khunds; if he ever saw them bend to the false-faced politics of the United Planets, who were still attempting a diplomatic way to reach the Empire, he would have come back to his old ways as easily as he had abandoned them.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Related
- 7 Appearances of Myke-4 Astor (Pre-Zero Hour)
- 2 Images featuring Myke-4 Astor (Pre-Zero Hour)
- Quotations by or about Myke-4 Astor (Pre-Zero Hour)
- Character Gallery: Myke-4 Astor (Pre-Zero Hour)
Footnotes
  This character or group of characters is or was primarily an enemy of the Legion of Super-Heroes from the 31st Century, and may have existed in any of the various Legion continuities, including but not limited to the Original Legion, Reboot Legion, and the Prime Legion. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Legion of Super-Heroes villains" category. |
 This character has been primarily an enemy of Superman in any of his various incarnations, or members of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Villains category." |
 Batman Villain(s) |