Get to Know

Lonnie George Johnson

Discover why we turned Lonnie into a superhero

WHO IS LONNIE JOHNSON?

Name: Lonnie George Johnson
Born: 1949
Occupation: Inventor & Engineer
Nationality: American

Lonnie was born in Alabama. Lonnie's father explained the basic principles of electricity to him at a young age which ignited his passion for inventing and engineering.

Lonnie has stated that he drew much of his inspiration from George Washington Carver and in 1968, he represented his high school in the Alabama science fair. He created a robot he named "Linex" and took home first prize. Lonnie now develops energy storage systems, and holds more than 150 patents. He is also the inventor of the Super Soaker water gun, which is one of the world's bestselling toys.

African-American inventor Lonnie G. Johnson speaking at a public event. He is wearing glasses, a burgundy sweater, and a suit jacket, with a microphone clipped to his collar. Behind him, colorful data graphs are visible on a screen.

In The Remarkablz Universe, By day, Lonnie is an inventor tinkering in his lab, designing devices that push the boundaries of engineering. But when danger strikes, he becomes HydroCore, a superhero with the power to weaponise water and fuse it with physical combat. His transformation began after a lab experiment involving fluid dynamics and plasma energy went wrong—or right, depending on how you look at it. Smart, resourceful, and calm under pressure, HydroCore is the perfect mix of brain and brawn—just don’t get in his way when he’s in splash mode.

Superhero Backstory

Lonnie features in our signature card game, Top Quarkz. The game supports the development of maths, literacy and decision-making skills all while learning about some of the most impressive scientific discoveries throughout history. He also features in our colouring book, Newton's Rainbow.

We've explained the drawing and his playing card below so you can learn more.

Lonnie has the power to fuse water and physical combat

During his time at NASA, Lonnie worked on a project, that developed the nuclear power source for the Galileo mission to Jupiter. Jupiter features in the background of this drawing.

Lonnie worked on the stealth bomber program. You will find a drawing of the plane on his chest.

Superpower

The Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Converter System (JTEC) is listed as one of the top 10 inventions of 2009.

Lonnie's location is currently unknown.

Location

SideKick

Alina Karabchevsky is an Electro-optical Engineer currently researching at Ben Gurion University.

Freezing powers would stop Lonnie's water in its track.

Weakness

Each drawing we create has one or more hidden treasure(s) about our superheroes' life experiences, depictions in art, jobs or discoveries. Did you find the ones hidden in this drawing?

Discovery

A cartoon-style trading card of Lonnie G. Johnson from The Remarkablz. He is shown in an orange superhero suit using water-based hydrokinetic powers. The card includes power stats and facts: inventor of the Super Soaker, expert in energy systems, and combat skills using water and freezing abilities. A planet and futuristic lab background highlight his scientific superpowers.

We have packed a lot into our Top Quarkz playing cards - from amazing imagined superpowers to biographical information and hidden treasures.

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

Find out more about Lonnie

Check out this interview with Lonnie Johnson who reveals what inspired the idea behind the super-soaker.
Video credit: Biography

Black and white line drawing of a woman in front of a "Hollywood" sign, with text overlay reading "Free Colouring Page and Science Experiment".

Illustration of two children excitedly playing the "Top Quarkz" card game at a table, surrounded by superhero characters flying in the background. A yellow circle reads "A Remarkablz Product".

Discover more and dive into the world of our science superheroes

Lonnie features in our game: T op Quarkz

Discover our free educational resources and activities

Inventors: Incredible stories of the world's most ingenious inventions – by Robert Winston

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