Animal Man (Bernhard "Buddy" Baker) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily "borrow" the abilities of animals (such as a bird's flight or the proportionate strength of an ant). Using these powers, Baker fights crime as the costumed superhero Animal Man.
Created by writer Dave Wood and artist Carmine Infantino, Buddy Baker first appeared in Strange Adventures #180 (September 1965) and adopted the name Animal Man in issue #190. Animal Man was a minor character for his first twenty years, never gaining the popularity of other DC heroes such as Batman or Superman. He made only five, non-consecutive appearances in Strange Adventures (four of which were reprinted in Adventure Comics), followed by two appearances in Wonder Woman, two in Action Comics, and two in DC Comics Presents, appearing in consecutive issues of each. These eleven stories constitute the entirety of his pre-Crisis appearances. He later became one of several DC properties, such as Shade, the Changing Man and Sandman, to be revived and revamped in the late 1980s for a more mature comics audience. As seen in Strange Adventures #195, he was billed as a "full-time hero", an aspect that would be the most changed by the revamp.
Publication history Beginnings
Film stunt man Buddy Baker, to whom aliens gave animal-themed powers, debuted in Strange Adventures #180 (cover-dated September 1965), in the story "I Was the Man with Animal Powers" by writer Dave Wood and penciler Carmine Infantino.Strange Adventures #180 at the Grand Comics Database.Animal Man at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. from the original on August 31, 2015. Despite losing his powers at the end of Strange Adventures #180, he gains them back during the events of Strange Adventures #184 (January 1966). Baker gained a costume and a name, initially A-Man, in Strange Adventures #190 (July 1966).Strange Adventures #190 at the Grand Comics Database. He continued as a semi-regular feature in the book, making occasional cover appearances, through #201 (June 1967).
His subsequent appearances were sporadic. In 1980, he had a guest appearance in Wonder Woman #267–268. His main appearances in the remainder of the decade were as a member of the "Forgotten Heroes", a team of minor DC heroes. It was in that capacity that he appeared in the company-wide crossover storyline Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Grant Morrison revival In the late 1980s, following the slate-cleaning Crisis on Infinite Earths event, DC began employing innovative writers, many of them young and from the U.K., to revamp some of their old characters. In the period that saw Alan Moore reinvent the Swamp Thing, Animal Man was reimagined by Scottish writer Grant Morrison. Morrison wrote the first 26 issues of the Animal Man comic book, published between 1988 and 1990, with art by Chas Truog and Doug Hazlewood; Brian Bolland provided the covers.
Although the series was initially conceived as a four-issue limited series, it was upgraded into an ongoing series following strong sales. Consequently, Morrison developed several long-running plots, introducing mysteries, some of which were not explained until a year or two later. The title featured the protagonist both in and—increasingly—out of costume. Morrison made the title character an everyman figure living in a universe populated by superheroes, aliens, and fantastic technology. Buddy's wife Ellen, his son Cliff (9 years old at the beginning of the series), and his daughter Maxine (5 years old) featured prominently in most storylines, and his relationship with them, as husband, father, and provider, was an ongoing theme.
The series championed vegetarianism and animal rights, causes Morrison supported. In one issue, Buddy helps a band of self-described eco-terrorists save a pod of dolphins. Enraged at a fisherman's brutality, Buddy drops him into the ocean, intending for him to drown. Ironically, the man is saved from drowning by a dolphin.
Buddy fought several menaces, such as an ancient, murderous spirit that was hunting him; brutal, murderous Thanagarian warriors; and even the easily defeated red robots of an elderly villain who was tired of life. The series made deep, sometimes esoteric references to the entire DC canon, including B'wana Beast, the Mirror Master, and Arkham Asylum.
Soon after the launch of his series, Animal Man briefly became a member of Justice League Europe, appearing in several early issues of their series.
Following Morrison's run, Peter Milligan wrote a six-issue story featuring several surreal villains and heroes, exploring questions about identity and quantum physics and utilizing the textual cut-up technique popularized by William Burroughs. Tom Veitch and Steve Dillon then took over for 18 issues, in which Buddy returned to his work as a movie stuntman and explored mystical totemic aspects of his powers. Jamie Delano wrote 29 issues with Steve Pugh as artist (with occasional issues by other artists, like Will Simpson), giving the series a more horror-influenced feel with a "suggested for mature readers" label on the cover, beginning with issue #51.
Vertigo After Jamie Delano's first six issues, wherein, among other things, he killed off the central character of Buddy Baker, created the "Red" (analogous to the "Green" of Swamp Thing) and resurrected Buddy as an "animal avatar", the series became one of the charter titles of DC's new mature readers Vertigo imprint with #57, and its ties to the DC Universe became more tenuous. Vertigo was establishing itself as a distinct "mini-universe" with its own continuity, only occasionally interacting with the continuity of the regular DC Universe. The title evolved into a more horror-themed book, with Buddy eventually becoming a non-human animal god. The superhero elements of the book were largely removed—since Buddy was reborn as a kind of animal elemental, and legally deceased, he discarded his costume, stopped associating with other heroes, and generally abandoned his crimefighting role. He co-founded the Life Power Church of Maxine to further an environmentalist message, drifting along U.S. Route 66 to settle in Montana. Delano's final issue was #79, culminating in Buddy dying again.
Between issues #66 and #67, Delano also penned Animal Man Annual #1, focusing on Buddy's daughter Maxine. It was the third part of Vertigo's crossover event "The Children's Crusade". This event ran across the Annuals of the five then-Vertigo titles --- Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Black Orchid, The Books of Magic, and Doom Patrol—book-ended by two Children's Crusade issues co-written by Neil Gaiman, and starring his Dead Boy Detectives.
A brief run by Jerry Prosser and Fred Harper featured a re-reborn Buddy as a white-haired shamanistic figure before the series was canceled after the 89th issue due to declining sales.
Back in the DCU After the cancellation of his own series, Animal Man made cameos in several other titles, returning to his standard costumed form.
He has been utilized in most of the recent DC company-wide crossovers fighting alongside other less-mainstream heroes, including Infinite Crisis and 52, the latter of which was co-written by Grant Morrison, as well as Justice League of America #25.
The Last Days of Animal Man miniseries In 2009 Gerry Conway and artist Chris Batista produced The Last Days of Animal Man, a six-issue limited series telling the tale of Animal Man in the future.Animal Man R.I.P.? Gerry Conway Talks, Comic Book Resources, February 27, 2009Gerry Conway on his return to comic book writing, Word_Balloon_Podcast, 2009 The series portrays a middle-aged Animal Man in the year 2024 on his final adventure.
Relaunch As part of The New 52, DC Comics relaunched Animal Man with issue #1 in September 2011 with writer Jeff Lemire and artist Travel Foreman.DC Comics Announces "Justice League Dark", "Swamp Thing", "Animal Man" and More , Comics Alliance, June 7, 2011
The relaunched Animal Man has been met with a great deal of critical acclaim. MTV Geek said: "I don't want to oversell this, but if there is a better book put out by DC during the month of September, I will eat the other 51 comics. It's just that good". The A.V. Club writer Oliver Sava wrote that the "first issue of Animal Man combines family drama, superhero action, and macabre horror into a cohesive story that is unique, yet still true to the history of Buddy Baker". Read/RANT said: "Along with Action Comics, Animal Man is among the best the line has to offer", and gave the book an A+ overall, calling it the Must Read Book of the Week. Greg McElhatton at Comic Book Resources was less complimentary, giving the book 3.5 stars (out of 5): "The art might be uneven in Animal Man #1, but the script is dynamite".
According to ICv2.com, the relaunched Animal Man #1 sold over 55,000 copies, while Animal Man #2 was one of the 50 best-selling comics in October 2011.
The storyline of the relaunched version essentially builds on previous Animal Man continuity with Buddy as a happily married family man and superhero. Buddy is forced to take his family on the run after he discovers that his daughter Maxine is the avatar of The Red (the force which sustains all animal life) and that agents of The Rot (the elemental force of decay that are also called The Black) are seeking to kill her.
Fictional character biography
Buddy Baker gained animal powers when he encountered a spaceship that blew up, infusing him with radiation. He used his powers to fight crime and ward off alien attackers.
He then joined the Forgotten Heroes group prior to the Crisis on Infinite Earths. He was seen with this group during the Crisis.
Baker's Post-Crisis origin was slightly altered, but it retained the essence of the original. While hunting as a teenager, he encountered a crashed spaceship that apparently endowed him with his abilities (the slight discrepancies between the two stories were addressed as Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis origins, and were acknowledged in-story, with the "original" Buddy Baker appearing, and not wishing to be written out of existence). After an apparently unsuccessful stint as a superhero, followed by a hiatus where he utilized his powers to work as a film stuntman, Baker decided to restart and make a career out of it after being inspired by the headline-making Justice League International; this is where his self-titled series begins.
He is married to his high school sweetheart, Ellen, a storyboard artist and, later, an illustrator for children's books. They have two children, Cliff and Maxine, who are a pre-teen and toddler, respectively, when the series starts. They live in a suburban area outside of San Diego.
Through the series, Animal Man becomes a man of great compassion toward all creatures, an ardent animal rights activist, an environmentalist, and a vegetarian. Later, he finds his link to the M-field has been passed on to his daughter, Maxine, who is also connected to the animal kingdom. Although he wears a mask, he goes to no great lengths to conceal his true identity. A jacket was added to Animal Man's costume (so he could have pockets and a place to put his keys as well as notes from his wife). However, this jacket was denim and not a leather jacket: Buddy specifically discusses that he will not wear leather, out of moral considerations.