Like I said earlier, I just want to do good by people. That's all that matters. Because when you're one of the good guys, everybody likes you, right? Right? 
- —Blur
Appearing in "Crank Up the Volume"
Featured Characters:
- Hyperion (Mark Milton)
- Doctor Spectrum (Joseph Ledger) (First appearance as Doctor Spectrum)
- Blur (Stanley Stewart)
Supporting Characters:
- General Casey
- Dr. Bill Steadman
- Abigail Stewart
- Bill Gareth (First appearance)
- Tom Henderson (First appearance)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Earth-31916
- Hammer Falls, Georgia
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Crank Up the Volume"
The government relocate Mark Milton to a penthouse in the city as his new home following the "deaths" of his parents. However, Mark is not all content with the generosity provided by the government given that he feels a prisoner from society.
Meanwhile, the caretakers of Project Hyperion plans to re-awake Joseph Ledger from his coma by exposing him to Mark's spaceship with intentions of not just having another superpowered agent, but also a deterrent against Mark. Also previous attempts to remove the prism from Joe's hand had cost the lives of some people who touches the prism, as seen when one of the orderlies accompanying Joe's transfer curiously touches the prism and is instantly petrified.
Dr. Bill Steadman examines Joe and discovers that the prism is genetically bonding to him. Steadman and his staff then plans in stimulating electric currents into the prism while in the presence of Mark's ship, which is kept behind five inches of lead shielding as a safety measure due to the various risks involved unless and until it becomes necessary. The experiment lasts for a long length of time without any sign of reaction coming from Joe in which an impatient General Casey then orders Dr. Steadman in retracting the ship's shielding. As this is being done, the ship suddenly emits a powerful blinding white light that fills the entire facility and awakening Joe, who immediately flies out of the facility.
In Georgia, Abigail Stewart is visit by booking agents Bill Gareth and Tom Henderson. whom they knows her son Stanley is the Atlanta Blur and wants to offer him a job as a spokesman for major businesses and corporations. Initially Stanley is warily of the agents and their offer, but eventually comes to accept it. He makes his public appearance on television and catching the attentions of the government and Mark.