Run, run run as fast as you can! You can't catch me...er..catch you..er..I'm Billy Numerous!
- ―Billy Numerous to Kid Flash[src]
Billy Numerous is a former student of the H.I.V.E Academy and an enemy of the Teen Titans.
Character history
Numerous first appeared as a student of the H.I.V.E Academy, where his power of self-duplication was subtly hinted at. After the H.I.V.E. was destroyed during Cyborg's confrontation with Brother Blood, Numerous and most of the other students went freelance.
One of the practical applications of Billy's power
Later, Billy engaged in a robbing spree all across Jump City, and he stole anything he and his innumerable clones could get his (their) collective hands on. His power thoroughly confounded the Titans, especially Cyborg, who became all the more obsessed in catching him. Finally, however, Cyborg realized that there was another way of catching Numerous. He and the other Titans confronted Billy in the old stadium where he had stashed his loot, seemingly with numerous copies of themselves. In order to bring them down, Billy created even more clones of himself, but finally pushed his powers too far. The resulting reabsorption of each of his clones caused a massive physical and mental shock, stunning him and enabling his capture. And to add to the insult, the Titans copies were not actual clones but merely holographic projections created and controlled by Cyborg.
At some point, Billy entered Jinx's H.I.V.E. Five and was also recruited into the Brotherhood of Evil. As one of the Five, he participated in the attempted capture of Kid Flash, but even his numerous clones were unable to stop the super-speedster. Later, when the Brotherhood executed its world-wide strike against young superheroes, he and Gizmo were sent to capture Kole and Gnarrk in their subterranean retreat, but both escaped them. When the remnants of the Titans under Beast Boy later attacked the Brotherhood's headquarters, Billy and most of his H.I.V.E. Five teammates tried to run, but were intercepted by Kid Flash - and aghast to see that Jinx had switched sides and joined up with him. Moments later, they were all swept away by one of Jinx's hexes and carted off by Kid Flash for flash-freeze treatment.
Personality
Billy is probably the most fun-loving of the H.I.V.E. Five. He likes to communicate with his clones, and they are his usual "playmates," and seemingly his best friends. Billy believes that the H.I.V.E. Five would be better of committing crimes while living a regular life instead of joining the Brotherhood because he thinks that taking over the world is redundant, and that the "old-timers" are boring. However, he ultimately joins with his teammates. He also uses a lot of Southern terms such as "yee-haw" and "fuck my ass, you filthy Mexican."
Appearance
Similar to teammate See-More, Billy's only exposure of skin is his mouth and chin (although his nose is revealed as well). His costume is a red, one-piece unitard with a white circle and a black division sign on it. Billy's only other accessory is his black eye-mask.
Powers and abilities
Billy Numerous has the power to duplicate himself as many times as he wants. His clones are effectively all independent entities who share both Billy's personality and duplication powers. The exact numerical limit of clones he can effectively create is unknown, though it ranges well beyond a hundred. If Billy overtaxes his power, however, all the clones will forcibly re-merge with him, which will lead to a massive shock to his system.
In addition, Billy's physical strength and endurance is superhuman. Working together, he and his clones were able to carry off Jump City's Bay Bridge with nothing more than collective raw muscle power. Each clone was carrying several tons worth of weight. He was also able to carry off tons of gold bars, something that even the big muscled Mammoth could not do.
Character facts
- Billy Numerous was specifically created for the TV series and did not have a previous appearance in the mainstream comic line. However, he has since made the jump with his first appearance in the DC Universe in Catwoman #78 (April 2008).
- In the Teen Titans Go! issue Nearly Nabbed Me, Billy stated that he was in college, so it is possible that he is not a teenager.
Billy Numerous in his DC Comics incarnation