Pinball

Origin

Prior to the events of the Squadron Supreme attempting to create a utopia on Earth, nothing is known of Pinball's origins. It is known that he was an early foe of Nighthawk's, and the two fought several times. Whether he hired someone to create his suit or invented it himself is unknown, as is the reason as to why he chose to base his supervillain identity on that of a giant ball.

Creation

Pinball was created by Mark Gruenwald and Paul Ryan, and first appeared in Squadron Supreme #6. As with many Squadron Supreme characters, he was partially based upon an existing character, in his case Bouncing Boy.

Character Evolution

Pinball was one of the least seen characters in the Squadron Supreme universe, so not much can be said of him. He appeared to be fairly incompetent as a criminal, often having his suit punctured, or being attacked before he could roll over someone. This may be why he was said to often work with Remnant, who appeared to be much more dangerous and competent. In terms of personality, Pinball never seemed to show any strong emotions such as anger or hatred.

Major Story Arcs

The Utopia Principle

After the Squadron Supreme took over the United States in a benevolent attempt to create a utopia, they soon created a device called a Behaviour Modifier (or "B-Modder"), which more or less brainwashed criminals and repressed their negative emotions, thus eliminating the need for jails and the like. As a result of this, Pinball, his friend Remnant, and their ally Mink all grew worried that they could be caught by the Squadron and be B-Modded so that they wouldn't be criminals. In response, they contacted Emil Burbank, and he sent them to Earth-616 for sanctuary from the Squadron.
 

Unknown to the trio of criminals, Nighthawk was also sent to Earth-616 shortly after they were by Professor Imam, as he was told that he would find allies there. After failing to get the help of the Avengers, X-Men, or Fantastic Four, Nighthawk heard news about Pinball, Remnant, and Mink going on a crime spree, hoping to establish themselves in Earth-616. Nighthawk soon tracked down and fought the trio, and the fight lasted until Captain America came in and broke it up. Pinball, Mink, and Remnant all told Nighthawk why they had come to Earth-616, who suggested to them that they join him in opposing the Squadron. They all eventually agreed, and were teleported back to Earth-712 by a spell that Professor Imam had cast on Nighthawk.
 
Nighthawk's group soon came to be known as the Redeemers. After helping Nighthawk find some new superhumans for their group, such as Redstone, Haywire, and Inertia, Pinball spent the rest of his time with the Redeemers training, as it was likely that the Squadron would have to be fought (although Nighthawk hoped that it wouldn't come to that). 
 
Eventually, Nighthawk's Redeemers confronted the Squadron Supreme about the moral and ethical problems with their utopia plan. Despite the fact that Nighthawk was trying to avoid open combat, a fight nevertheless erupted between the two teams. When Lamprey used his energy draining powers to cut out the power source of Blue Eagle's wings, Blue Eagle found himself rapidly falling to the ground, with his death seemingly imminent. Pinball was the only soft surface around, and so Blue Eagle managed to manoeuvre himself so that he landed on Pinball. Unfortunately, in doing this, Pinball's lungs were punctured, and he died near instantaneously. What's more, despite his best efforts, Blue Eagle was still killed as a result of this crash - he broke his neck and died.

Powers and Abilities

Pinball had no superhuman powers. He possessed a suit which could be inflated into a large, spherical ball, which gave him great manoeuvrability and durability. Once inflated, Pinball would move by rolling or bouncing, and attempt to roll over or squash his enemies. His actual success rate in doing this wasn't shown to be very high, however.

Alternate Realities

So far, Pinball hasn't been shown to have any alternate reality counterparts.