Only ONE Justice League Hero Knows Theyre In A Comic Book

Only ONE Justice League Hero Knows They’re In A Comic Book

Comic book characters like Deadpool may break the fourth wall for a joke, but when one DC hero learned the truth, it almost destroyed him.

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Only ONE Justice League Hero Knows Theyre In A Comic Book

These days comic fans know that Deadpool referencing his own thought balloons, or his own comic’s narration is meant as a joke — but DC has far fewer characters who are so self-aware. A handful of minor characters like Mr. Mxyzptlk, Bat-Mite, and Ambush Bug make jokes about their comic origins, but when one Justice League hero learned he existed in a comic… the knowledge almost broke him.

Originally premiering in 1965, Animal Man was a relatively obscure part of DC’s history. Obtaining the ability to absorb the powers of animals around him, movie stuntman Buddy Baker first debuted as A-Man before making superheroics his full-time job as Animal Man. He only had eleven appearances from his debut till Crisis On Infinite Earths. The character was revived and reworked in 1988 by writer Grant Morrison. Buddy Baker went from a generic full-time hero to a family man and vegetarian who fought for animal rights. His wife, Ellen and their two kids were important parts of the character. Morrison’s run on Animal Man focused on the mental stress of being a superhero. Buddy was able to help animals, but joining Justice League Europe and being a spokesperson for the animal kingdom took its toll on him. Not helping matters was the often conflicting memories Buddy had for how he obtained his powers. After taking peyote to learn the truth, Buddy catches a glimpse of something he doesn’t understand. For a single panel, Animal Man sees the reader.

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Animal Man initially sobers up and shakes the experience off, however when he returns home he find his family murdered. The murder combined with his bad trip leaves Buddy desperate to fix the shattered remains of his life. After traveling back in time to try and warn his family fails, Buddy eventually comes to the place where forgotten DC Characters go, Limbo. Only after wandering Limbo does Animal Man find the person behind every single tragedy in his life. In the final issue of Grant Morrison’s run on Animal Man, the title characters meet Grant Morrison himself.

In a heartbreaking conversation, Animal Man begs Morrison to bring his family back to life. Morrison tells Animal Man that doing so wouldn’t be realistic and would break the reader’s suspension of disbelief. As Buddy is torn apart by villains Morrison just invented, the writer talks about how much of his run on Animal Man was inspired by the death of his cat. The sense of powerlessness Morrison felt was channeled into his Animal Man stories. Morrison then monologues about the cruel nature of comics at the time and how violence and pain were treated as substitutes for depth. Deciding he didn’t want to be part of that cruelty anymore, Morrison has Buddy awaken back in the normal DC Universe where he finds his family alive and well.

Though other writers would go on to continue Animal Man’s story, Morrison’s run redefined the character while also critiquing the comic industry. Instead of being a joke, Buddy realizing he’s a comic character causes an existential crisis. Buddy sees how comic characters are treated and realizes he’s powerless to do anything about the increasing darkness of comics at the time. It speaks to Morrison’s strength as a writer that he makes something as cliche as character resurrection feel poignant and well-earned.

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After Animal Man Morrison would write more famous DC books as well as Marvel, like All-Star Superman, New X-Men, and Final Crisis. Morrison’s work on Animal Man though remains a significant milestone for moving the medium of comic books forward.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/dc-animal-man-comic-fourth-wall/

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