A series from the short-lived DC Focus Imprint.
Touch follows Supernova Solutions, a Punch-Clock Hero agency run by the mysterious Cooper "Coop" Santiago, saving lives in exchange for money. Unknown to most, Santiago has powers of his own; namely to give, or take away powers with just the touch of his hand, with the series largely following his efforts to find someone perfect for his agency.
The series was resolved after six issues, when DC Focus folded.
Tropes:
- Accidental Marriage: Dex and Janelle got married in Vegas while they were drunk and were just too lazy to get a divorce.
- Amicable Exes: Brian and Allison had sex once (well four times, but all in one night) and she tries to talk Coop out of firing him.
- Apologetic Attacker: Larissa is apologetic about any damage by her astral projection alter ego Angry Jenny.
- Apparently Powerless Puppet Master: Cooper seems like just the business manager of the heroes, but he controls everything, and has the power to take it all away from them with just a touch.
- Awesome, but Temporary: One guy Cooper gives powers to fill in during a dry spot at the agency (an old friend named Brian who gets a form of telekinesis ) makes it clear he's only there short term.
- Badass Biker:
- Dex, Coop's second superhero after firing Rory, is a buff and brave biker, although he's also Too Dumb to Live.
- Larissa is a decent motorcycle rider.
- The Bartender: Bree, the bartender of a rock and roll bar, quickly this it off with Brian.
- Berserk Button: Rory's wife died in a car accent and he goes crazy when it's brought up.
- Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie: Dex wanted to be buried with his motorcycle.
- Buy Them Off: Janelle is convinced to quietly drop her lawsuit (already on shaky ground anyway due to Dex's vasectomy being revealed) after Brian and Coop help set her up with a record contract.
- Chekhov's Gunman:
- Brady, an insurance executive who appears on one page of the first issue (paying Coop and Rory for saving his company heavy losses by rescuing several trapped construction workers) apparently recommended Coop to Moses Sinclair, which sets the remainder of the story into motion.
- Rory who vanishes from the story after the first issue besides the odd reference and a brief flashback at the end of the second issue, only to reappear in the last two pages of the final issues And make Coop lose his powers to Allison as a side effect of an attempt Rory makes on his life.
- Cigar Chomper: Both Dupris and the head of the poker game he wants to get into are heavy smokers.
- Closer to Earth: Brian and Jordan, compared to Rory, Larissa, Dex and Levon.
- Conspicuous Gloves: Cooper can never take his gloves off due to his hands glowing whenever he still has the power, or passing it on to anyone he touches bare-handed.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check/ Good Pays Better: The whole mindset behind Cooper's agency of using superpowers to help people for money rather than committing crimes.
- Daddy Issues: Larissa Sinclair has erratic powers of Astral Projection and they unconsciously manifest out of resentments towards her dad.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Coop is constantly dressed in black, but is the hero (sort of) of the series. He isn't free of Kick the Dog moments (such as some of his treatment of Rory and selling the bike Dex wanted to be buried with) and is motivated for profit, but he doesn't use his powers for evil purposes, does have a sentimental side and is willing to risk his own life fighting Travis rather than giving Brian back the powers which have been hurting him.
- Decoy Protagonist: Rory Goodman (Coop's first hero) is the main focus of the first book before Coop takes away his powers after he makes the agency look bad (Rory later comes back looking for revenge).
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Jordan, whose drifted from one low paying job to another and isn't sure what to do with his powers.
- Dirty Cop: Lieutenant Dupris, who first blackmail Jordan into helping him cheat at gambling and then threatens to cripple him.
- Drunk with Power: Downplayed but the end of the series shows Allison getting Cooper's powers and commenting that they need to renegotiate their partnership.
- Everybody Lives: Only two characters die across the six issues (not counting Rory's wife, a Posthumous Character): Dex and Larissa's mother. Neither of them are major characters and both die of natural causes (although Dex is a borderline case).
- Fat Bastard: Fuller, the chunky, smarmy-looking politico who objects to the idea of Sinclair's campaign hiring Allison because of her showgirl past. Also Simmons, the fattest of of the construction workers Rory saves in the opening scene, is a whiny, unhelpful guy who screams that he doesn't want to die "with you losers".
- First-Episode Twist: The first issue follows Punch-Clock Hero Rory Goodman and his manager, Cooper Santiago. The issue ends by revealing that Santiago gave Rory his powers, and he takes them back when Rory's Hair-Trigger Temper becomes too expensive. As he searches for Rory's replacement, the story doesn't try to hide that Santiago is the real meta-human.
- Framing the Guilty Party: Jordan and Coop frame Dupris of cheating at gambling, something he was guilty of, just not at that particular game.
- Friend on the Force: Allison has an unnamed friend in the FBI who gives her background info on Levon Carlisle and who Coop later calls to take custody of Carlisle.
- Garage Band: Brian had a college band called Robot Ninja Seven with (to quote Roddy Strangelove, who saw one of the three performances they made before breaking up) two japanese girl and a drummer who looked like Lurch from The Addams Family.
- Hawaiian-Shirted Tourist: Brian is introduced fresh into town and wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
- Hello, Attorney!: Coop's lawyer Allison tends to wear striking evening dresses and is a former showgirl.
- Hero of Another Story: During Rory's opening rescue, one of the people he saves mentions that he's a super-powered guy like "that cop in New York."
- Ignored Expert: Dr. Felder, who questions Coop's decision to send Dex into a place with so many explosive materials to stop a rampaging robot.
- Innocent Bystander: Jordan, initially, being roped into things by giving Coop and Larissa a ride, leading to him ending up being given powers by necessity to save them from a car crash.
- I Just Want to Be Normal:
- Larissa's dad wants to turn her into a hero in order to boost his planned political run while she is perfectly happy to lose her powers and is uncomfortable with how they manifest.
- Brian provides a short-term version as he does agrees to take powers to help out Coop but makes it clear that it's only for the short-term.
- I Was Young and Needed the Money: Allison was a cowgirl-themed showgirl before graduating Law school.
- La Résistance: Carlisle plains to be recruiting for one against an evil conspiracy, although Coop thinks he's just nuts.
- The Loins Sleep Tonight: Using his power exerts a physical toll on Brian which, among other things, keeps him from having sex.
- Love at First Sight: Brian and Bree have some strong chemistry from the moment they first talk to each other.
- Lower-Class Lout: Dex, who has a tattoo that says "White trash".
- Mind over Matter: Brian and Jordan get telekinetic powers. Brian's takes the form of immobilizing people in bright prisms of light, while Jordan's is more slight of the hand/ flip over a car kind.
- Madwoman in the Attic: Larissa's father has kept her secluded in the house since she was twelve to hide her uncontrolled powers from the world, partially to protect her from scorn but mainly to avoid embarrassing him and ruining his political dreams.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: Dex and Janelle were married but not seeing much of each other and Janelele had a one night stand with Travis the local dishwasher before discovering she was pregnant soon afterward. The paternity is decided by the reveal that Dex had a vasectomy three years ago.
- Mundane Utility: Jordan (a man who Cooper gives powers to in order to save him from a car accident) initially uses his new telekinesis to cheat at gambling.
- Mysterious Watcher: Carlisle, as he shadows Cooper at certain points in the fist two issues.
- Never Got to Say Goodbye: Larissa gets Cooper to take her to say goodbye to her Alzheimers-ridden mother who she hasn't seen in six years but they arrive minutes too late, setting off her Larissa's powers again.
- Nice to the Waiter: After Jordan causes a distraction at Dupris' poker game by making the waitress spill a drink tray, one of the players and one of the bouncers both assure the nervous waitress that it isn't a big deal and that the boss won't be upset.
- Not Wearing Tights: Rory, Dex and Brian don't wear tights for Cooper.
- Number Two: Allison, Cooper's lawyer, right-hand girl and one of the few people aware of his powers.
- Only in It for the Money: Cooper.
- Pet the Dog:
- No one who knew Dex well has much good to say about him except for Diego, a Heroic Wannabe and Sci-Fi geek who hangs outside Supernova Solutions and mentions Dex would buy him fast food sometimes.
- Levon Carlisle is willing to give money to a beggar (really a disguised Brian) in the middle of threatening to kill Coop, although he adds a warning that if the man uses it to buy drugs or alcohol he will find out.
- Photo Op with the Dog: Coop arranges several of these, like having Rory help some zookeepers subdue an angry tiger.
- Portal Door: Levon Carlisle approaches Cooper and tires to get him to fight corporations together in a magical fashion. When Cooper refuses, Levon uses his powers to make a portal in the wall which eh steps through, then it vanishes.
- Properly Paranoid: Mr. Wilshire, who makes an endorsement deal with Coop and Rory, cancels it due to concerns about Rory's Hair-Trigger Temper being a PR liability. Concerns which are quite valid.
- Punch-Clock Hero: Cooper and Supernova Solutions. None of them are bad guys really, but they do what they do for money (although they charge affordable rates for less affluent customers).
- Punny Name: A noticeably fat political consultant Sinclair meets wit tho discuss his political plans is named Fuller.
- Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll: Rock musician Roddy Strangelvoe gets high on a mixture of booze and anti-depressants and waves around a samurai sword, with Coop and Brian being hired to stop him before he hurts someone or embarrasses himself on TV.
- Slipping a Mickey: Knowing that Rory won't voluntarily give back his powers and will be wary if Coop tries, he drugs Rory to take them back.
- Stalker with a Crush: Travis, the real rather of Janelle's baby, shows up threatening her with a gun.
- Streaking: Cooper has to run through a casino naked after losing a bet to Larissa.
- Super-Empowering: Cooper's power although he has no control over who gets what power and can only empower one person at a time. In the final issues, he loses the power after a gunshot wound and Allison gets it.
- Superpower Lottery: Coop can give anyone powers with the touch of his hand, but he has no control over what those powers are. Of the three people he touches in the second issue, the first develops impressive super strength, the second merely has his skin turn fluorescent and is useless for saving lives and the third develops impressive powers of telekineses, but ones which have a negative effect on his health.
- Super-Strength: Rory (and possibly Dex) have this as a power, and Rory is nigh-invulernable.
- Too Dumb to Live: Dex dies smoking near a ruptured gas line right after winning a battle.
- The Un-Reveal: The source of Coop's power is unknown, and its implied in a flashback to the first time he gave Brian powers that he only developed it as a young adult. Once when describe what he does to Jordan he even invokes this.Coop: And don't ask me how I got these. That's a story for another day, far, far in the future.
- Unwitting Test Subject: Levon Carlisle was experimented on by the government, giving him powers.
- Useless Superpowers: After Dex's death, Cooper gives a man named Geoff powers, but they simply take the form of making him luminescent, an interesting power but not one which would work for marketable hero work. Coop pays Geofff two grand for his trouble, takes the power back and then gets Brian to fill in.
- Viva Las Vegas!: Supernova Solutions is based out of Las Vegas and the story (particularly the covers) capturing the feel of the city's reputation well.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Dex fights with his shirt off.
- Walking Swimsuit Scene: Jordan's girlfriend Tanya and her friend Lou (a former fellow showgirl of Allison) both wear bikini tops/sports bras around.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Dex dies five or six pages into his only issue.
