Eating is primal, Kara. That's why people make such a big deal out of where they sit, who with, and what they eat. It defines you, in a lizard brain way. 
- — Owen Mercer src
Owen Mercer was the son of the original Captain Boomerang. He became the second Captain Boomerang, walking the line between hero and villain.
History
Origin
He finally met his father when Boomerang contacted the Calculator to track him down. Captain Boomerang at first was nervous about meeting his son but Owen spoke to him first. Owen expressed admiration for his famous father and the two hit it off. While practicing throwing boomerangs, Owen saved his father from a razorang by running at superspeed. It was then that Boomerang revealed that Golden Glider was not Owen's mother despite what a tabloid story said.
Captain Boomerang swore to make the two of them famous so he took a job to kill Jack Drake, the father of the third Robin (Tim Drake). The job went sour and both Drake and Boomerang were killed [1]. Owen swore to avenge his father and to that end took over the Captain Boomerang name.
After a brief association with the Flash's Rogues Gallery, Owen became a member of the Suicide Squad. His first mission with the Squad involved an unsuccessful bid to capture the Black Marvel Family.
Outsiders
He later joined Nightwing's Outsiders where he had since developed a friendship with neophyte hero Supergirl. After Supergirl returned from her time away with Power Girl, Kara began looking to start a normal life on Earth and went out on a 'date' with Owen, during which they spoke of their past problems. Kara had nicknamed Owen 'Boomer.' Although the pair often flirted with one another, they had never progressed to a romantic relationship. This came primarily from the fact that Kara continued to show interest in Nightwing, and jokingly said that what she and Owen had was more of a brother-sister relationship, in which he had an unhealthy fixation on his 'little sis'. Still, Mercer had referred to Kara as "his girl".
Feeling rejected after Kara's relationship with Power Boy, Owen went to a bar where he met Cassandra Cain (Batgirl), who had been hired to kill Supergirl. Cassandra kidnapped and tortured Owen to lure Supergirl. Unfortunately, this proved unnecessary, as Kara had tracked down Cassandra on her own, without any knowledge of Owen's kidnapping. Batgirl nearly managed to defeat Supergirl, but was defeated when Kara grew Krypton Sunstones which impaled her foe. Kara then rushed Owen to the hospital where he was treated. While still in medical care, it was discovered that Power Boy had been stalking Kara.
Following Kara's rather violent break-up with Power Boy, Earth was overtaken by spirits from the Phantom Zone, which began to emerge from within Superman. Kara managed to defeat the Phantoms and return Earth to normal. Afterwards, Kara began to make amends with all the people she had hurt since arriving on Earth. Amongst them, Boomer, who she apologied for letting him get hurt and leading him on. During this conversation, the matter of Owen's relationship with Kara was finally clarified. When asked by Kara how he felt about her leading him on, Owen replied, "Well, if I may ... for me to have been 'led on' would presume I thought I had a shot with you ... For me to think I had a shot with a sixteen-year-old girl -- crystal-powered hypersleep whatever junk aside ... that would mean I am a dirtbag with a thing for jailbait. Which I am not."
Checkmate abducted all members of the Outsiders except Nightwing, allowing him to infiltrate their headquarters and offer them a deal: The Outsiders wouldn't be shut down over their actions in Africa in exchange for infiltrating Oolong Island on behalf of Checkmate. After Batman rescued the Outsiders over in North Korean territory, and Nightwing handed over the team to him, Owen and Nightwing were pitted against each other in "auditions" for the new line up. Pushed too far, and feeling he didn't need to prove himself anymore, Owen returned to the Suicide Squad although Batman felt he would make a good double agent.
Suicide Squad
In Louisiana, Owen, as part of the new Suicide Squad, captured Heat Wave and Weather Wizard, two of the Rogues that were responsible for (Owen's half-brother) Bart Allen's murder. Boomerang later joined the rest of the squad in an attempt to chase after Piper and Trickster in Gotham City after they'd escaped capture from Squad member Deadshot. The Squad however was just as unsuccessful as Deadshot, and the two Rogues escaped capture.
Blackest Night
Main article: Blackest Night
Owen Mercer is killed by his zombified Black Lantern father
Owen visited his father's grave along with Tar Pit, when the swarm of black rings flew into the crypt, reanimated all the deceased the villains as Black Lanterns, including his father.[2] The Rogues battle in the Iron Heights, when the battle resulted in a draw on both sides and Harkness's son, Owen, arrived and took him away from the battle, believing he could bring his father back.[3] Later on, Owen had apparently chained up his father's body and was feeding him victims such as a villain named Sandblast who was relying on Owen to get him into the Rogues. It was revealed that Owen had been deceived by Boomerang into believing the blood of enough victims would bring him back to life. The Rogues tracked Owen down with Captain Cold berating him for believing Digger's lies. Realizing that Owen had broken the Rogues' code of honor by killing women and children, Cold shoved him into the pit. Owen had his heart ripped out by his father, with a ring flying in to revive him as a Black Lantern. The Black Lantern Owen and his father were then encased in ice by Cold [4], but his father managed to escape and seen later [5].
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Speed Bursts: Owen can move in short bursts of superhuman speed. This power allows him to accelerate short distances or, more notably, when he throws boomerangs.
Abilities
- Boomerang Mastery: Seems to have inherited his father's skill at throwing boomerangs. He also trained with his father before he died and continued his training alone until his own death.
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic)
- Gadgetry
Paraphernalia
Weapons
- Boomerangs: Owen uses his father's trick boomerangs as well as adapting some of his own. Each with their own special properties, Owen uses them with masterful skill.
- Electro-Boomerang: Emit spark trails carrying a deadly 5,000 volts, which circle around the target.
- Exploso-Boomerang: Detonates on contact, damage to all in one area.
- Gas Boomerang: Monstrous intensity tear gas, affects one area.
- Razor Boomerang: Razor-sharp boomerang which was used to kill Jack Drake.
- Bladed Boomerang: Melee specific boomerangs which he uses in hand-to-hand combat.
- Acid Boomerang: Spews acidic contents on contact with enemies.
- Sonic Boomerang: Excellent intensity sonic attack.
- Gravity Boomerang: Creates local gravity field of incredible intensity.
- Weighted Boomerangs: Solid-weighted boomerang.
- Preprogrammed boomerangs: These boomerangs are rocket propelled and are preprogrammed to fly to a target, pick up whatever item and returned to a predesignated spot with amazing flight speed and range.
Recommended Reading
- The Flash (Volume 2)
- Identity Crisis (Volume 1)
- Outsiders (Volume 3)
- Suicide Squad (Volume 3)
- Supergirl (Volume 5)
Related
- 87 Appearances of Owen Mercer (New Earth)
- 30 Images featuring Owen Mercer (New Earth)
- 3 Quotations by or about Owen Mercer (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Owen Mercer (New Earth)
Footnotes
  Flash Villain(s) |
 Rogues Gallery |
 This character is or was a member of one or more of the teams known as the Outsiders. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Outsiders members" category. |
 Secret Society of Super-Villains member |
 Suicide Squad member |
 Black Lantern Corps member |