

The scientist uses it on Shoeshine to turn him back to a normal dog. Jack convinces Shoeshine to use his superpowers to help the citizens of Capitol City, taking the name, "Underdog." However, Bar Sinister (whose face was badly disfigured when a burning television monitor fell on him during the lab fire), hunting Underdog and eventually learning of his identity, manages to get a sample of his DNA.

But as both eventually learn, the incident at the lab has not only made Shoeshine able to speak, but also able to fly and possess supercanine strength. Found by ex-police officer and widower Dan Unger, the beagle is named "Shoeshine" and becomes the pet of Dan's 14-year-old son, Jack. The beagle escapes, but not before causing a lab fire and being exposed to various substances. A police dog is accidentally kidnapped to be a guinea pig by Capitol City's best geneticist, Simon Bar Sinister, who is secretly experimenting on dogs to perfect his serum.
