‘The interesting thing about Darcy is that he’s a middle-aged, working-class dude thinking about retiring from the steel plant,’ the writer said
Andy Taylor, a Sault native and author, has recently published his first superhero-themed short story titled Cross Border Clash.
Taylor’s superhero isn’t the usual caped crusader in the style of Superman or Batman, or based in a big American city.
His hero is a Saultite, an Algoma Steel employee who is a proud Canadian.
“His real identity is Darcy Shaw. His superhero name is Captain Eh,” Taylor told SooToday.
“The reason his name’s Captain Eh is because he’s Canadian, he works at the steel plant and he has a hockey jersey with a C for Captain and the old Algoma Steel Flaming A logo.”
Captain Eh has the traditional superhero powers such as the ability to fly and lift with superhuman strength.
“He has those powers but the interesting thing about Darcy is that he’s a middle-aged, working-class dude thinking about retiring from the steel plant,” Taylor said.
As he ages, Darcy’s powers start to wane.
“He’s not sure how long he can keep doing this and he’s thinking about finding an apprentice. So he contacts a young up-and-coming superhero that works in Marquette, Michigan. He’s called The Beacon because he has a lighthouse image on his suit,” Taylor said.
The two heroes meet but there is friction between them, hence the title Cross Border Clash.
“They don’t see eye-to-eye. Darcy is just a small-town guy who wants to help everybody. The Beacon is more about showboating, more about getting his image on the news. He looks down on Darcy because he’s working-class and he has a disdain for Canada,” Taylor said.
Cross Border Clash comes as the Sault and the rest of Canada faces Donald Trump’s tariff-imposing administration.
“After this conflict with The Beacon, Captain Eh realizes he needs to double down on representing his community and representing Canada,” Taylor said.
Cross Border Clash is included in Super Canucks, an anthology of 11 stories edited by Taylor and colleague Matthew Del Papa.
Super Canucks tells the stories of superheroes in small communities from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia.
Published by Sudbury’s Latitude 46 Publishing, Super Canucks was released March 21.
“I dedicated Cross Border Clash to my mom, who was always taking me to the library when I was a child, and the workers at Algoma Steel that were facing those layoffs. So, the story is near and dear to my heart.”
There may be more of Captain Eh in the future, Taylor said.
“I’d like to write some more about him. I don’t know whether I’ll write a longer story or just write another short story. I’d like to write about his origin and about what happens after Cross Border Clash.”
A graduate of Lakeway Collegiate, Taylor studied environmental resources management at the University of Toronto and has lived and worked in Sudbury for the past 20 years.
Currently employed as a Vale Base Metals senior environmental analyst, writing is Taylor’s side gig and passion.
“I’ve been writing short stories for the last 25 years,” Taylor said.
He has written non-fiction work on the Vale Superstack dismantling but science fiction and fantasy is his first literary love.
“I’ve written about a First World War nurse and resurrected soldiers, sort of a zombie story. I’ve written stories about snails in space. I’ve written a whole gamut of wild stuff, wherever my imagination takes me.”
Taylor is a member of The Writers’ Union of Canada and is a past president and member of the Sudbury Writers’ Guild. His fiction has appeared in publications such as Futures, Polar Borealis and On Spec.
Though he hasn’t lived in the Sault for nearly 40 years, Taylor still loves his hometown and has been involved in Lakeway Collegiate reunions.
Taylor will be selling and signing copies of Super Canucks at the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library’s main branch on Thursday, June 4.
“I like to write because it gives me a chance to explore ideas, get them down on paper, share them with others and connect with people. I want people to read the stories and connect with them and be inspired to write something for themselves.”
Super Canucks, which includes Taylor’s Cross Border Clash, can be purchased through Amazon, Latitude 46 Publishing, Bakka-Phoenix Books or at Comics North//Hidden Level Games in Sudbury.
More information on Taylor and his work can be found on his website.