Contributed by Mike McDermott
Rex Randolph was an average construction worker employed by Damage Control, cleaning up the damage resulting from superhuman battles, until one day he found a glowing sphere in the rubble of a demolished warehouse. Rex ignored the warning of foreman Lenny Ballinger not to touch it, and once he picked it up the sphere transformed Rex into a 7 foot tall muscular superhuman being! He then departed Earth to discover his destiny, guided by his new cosmic senses.
Many months later Rex decided that his destiny was on Earth after all. He used his cosmic senses to predict disasters and telepathically tipped off his former colleagues at Damage Control so they could be prepared before the damage even happened. Returning to Earth he originally intended to use his powers to clean the world, but eventually came to the conclusion that the entire universe was too disorganized and untidy. Instead he decided he would remedy the situation by restoring the entire universe to the ‘cosmic egg’ that preceded the Big Bang, essentially ending the universe as we know it!
All of Earth’s mightiest heroes gathered to attempt to stop Edifice Rex, although they stood little chance against his cosmic powers. Ultimately it was Damage Control C.E.O. Robin Chapel who ended the threat of Edifice Rex by firing him so it was no longer his job to clean anything up. Rex was disappointed but complied with the order. His present whereabouts and activities are unknown.
Edifice Rex possesses vast cosmic powers — to the extent that other cosmic entities such as Eternity, Infinity and Galactus feared what he might do. He has a sense he calls “Anal-Awareness”, allowing him to predict disasters before they’ve even occurred. He is capable of surviving in the vacuum of space; sending telepathic communications across distances of light years, and travelling at faster than light speeds (sometimes in the form of a small green energy sphere). He can alter his size at will, and is capable of instantly restructuring matter in a variety of ways. He usually uses this power to repair damage or remove dirt or grime, but he has also been shown to create objects out of thin air–such as strong Mylar bags which he used to restrain the members of the New Warriors when they attempted to interfere with him. The exact limits of his powers–if he even has any–are unknown.
Although Rex was never explicitly outed as gay the character was very definitely queer coded in his portrayal. The art gave him distinctly feminine features at times as well body language that was clearly suggestive. Some of his dialogue and actions were also queer coded in line with certain gay stereotypes. Examples include Rex uses his powers to give Infinity a manicure; dusting an asteroid belt while wearing a maid’s apron and no pants; and flirtatiously stroking Galactus’ chin with his finger.
Rex Randolph first appeared in Damage Control vol.1 #1 by Dwayne McDuffie and Ernie Colon and reappears as Edifice Rex in Damage Control vol.3 #1 by Dwayne McDuffie and Kyle Baker.
Edifice Rex created by Dwayne McDuffie and Ernie Colon. Cover art by Ernie Colon and Brad Vancata from Damage Control #4 (volume 3).
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