Mister Miracle

Batman: The Brave and the Bold “The Last Bat on Earth” Teaser with Mister Miracle 

http://www.bat-blog.com The next new show of Batman: The Brave and the Bold airs on Friday, June 19th on TV’s Cartoon Network. It’s title will be “The Last Bat on Earth”. This episode will be sort of a tribute to Jack Kirby as Mr. Miracle makes a teaser appearance & then the main part will revolve around Kamandi. The basic premise is that the villain Gorilla Grodd travels to the future where intelligent animals rule humans. Batman follows him and teams up with Kamandi (The Last Boy on Earth) to bring him down. It looks pretty good! Also, if you’re a Batman Fan then please be sure to visit the Bat-Blog & then tell all your friends about it! http://www.bat-blog.com.

Cover to Mister Miracle #22 Art by Marshall Rogers.

Mister Miracle (Scott Free) is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Mister Miracle #1 (April 1971) and was created by Jack Kirby.

Publication History

The original title featuring this character was the longest-lasting of the short-lived Fourth World tetralogy, lasting 18 issues while the other titles (New Gods and The Forever People) were cancelled after only 11 issues. The most traditionally super-heroesque comic of the various Fourth World titles, the last seven issues (as well as later incarnations of the series) would downplay the Fourth World mythology that drove the other titles in favor of more traditional superhero fare. The title was briefly revived in the late 1970s for an additional seven issues written by Steve Englehart and Steve Gerber, before abruptly ending with #25 with several storylines unresolved.

When the character was revived as part of Keith Giffen‘s Justice League line-up in 1987, a one-shot special was published with art by Steve Rude in 1987.

This special was followed by an ongoing series which began in 1989, written by then-current Justice League scripter J.M. DeMatteis, and drawn by British artist Ian Gibson. Other co-writers/writers who contributed to the title include Keith Giffen, Len Wein, and Doug Moench. This run lasted 28 issues before cancellation in 1991. The series was largely humor-driven, per Keith Giffen’s reimagining Scott Free, his wife Big Barda, and their friend Oberon (who pretended to be Scott’s uncle) as living in suburbia when they were not fighting evil with the Justice League.

In 1996, a series written by Kevin Dooley showed Scott attempting to escape his destiny as a New God by setting up a charitable foundation in New York. This only ran for seven issues, before all Fourth World titles were canceled for the launch of Jack Kirby’s Fourth World.

With the launching of Grant Morrison‘s meta-series “Seven Soldiers of Victory,” Mr. Miracle was revived as a four-issue mini-series. However, this mini-series focused instead on Scott’s sidekick and apprentice Shiloh Norman, who Morrison has established as the new Mr. Miracle.

In addition, Scott’s ally (and wife) Big Barda was made a member of the revived Justice League and appeared regularly in theJack Kirby’s Fourth World series by John Byrne, as well as several issues of “The Brave and the Bold,” where Mr. Miracle teamed up with Batman.

Fictional character biography

Mister Miracle was one of four series in Kirby’s ambitious but short-lived Fourth World saga. The character was inspired by the early illusionist career of comic book artist Jim Steranko, while the character’s relationship with Big Barda is based on Kirby’s relationship with his own wife.

Thaddeus Brown

Thaddeus Brown was a circus escape artist whose stage name was Mister Miracle. As the first escape artist to use the name Mister Miracle, Brown mentored both Scott Free and Shilo Norman. After Brown’s murder, Scott Free took up the Mister Miracle name, adopted Thaddeus’ young ward Shilo Norman, and hired his assistant Oberon.

Scott Free

Scott Free is the son of Izaya (Highfather), the ruler of New Genesis, and his wife named Avia. However, as part of a diplomatic move to stop a destructive war against the planet Apokolips, Highfather agreed to an exchange of heirs with the galactic tyrant Darkseid; the exchange of heirs guaranteed that neither side would attack the other. Scott traded places with Darkseid’s second-born son Orion.

Scott grew up in one of Granny Goodness‘ “Terror Orphanages” with no knowledge of his own heritage. As he matured, Scott rebelled against the totalitarian ideology of Apokolips. Hating himself for being unable to fit in, he was influenced by Metron to see a future beyond Darkseid. Scott became part of a small band of pupils who were tutored in secret by the rebel Himon, a New Genesian living as a “Hunger Dog” on Apokolips. It was at these meetings that he met fellow pupil Big Barda, who would later become his wife.

Eventually, Scott Free escaped and fled to Earth. His escape, long anticipated and planned for by Darkseid, nullified the pact between Darkseid and Highfather and gave Darkseid the excuse he needed to revive the war with New Genesis. Once on Earth, he became the protégé of a circusescape artist, Thaddeus Brown, whose stage name was Mister Miracle. Brown was impressed with Scott’s skills (especially as supplemented with various advanced devices he had taken from his previous home). Scott also befriended Brown’s assistant, a dwarf named Oberon. When Thaddeus Brown was murdered, Scott Free assumed the identity of Mister Miracle. Barda later followed Scott to Earth, and the two used their powers, equipment, and skills in the war against Darkseid, who was still interested in recapturing both of them. Eventually, tired of being chased on Earth by Darkseid’s servants, Scott returned to Apokolips and won his freedom by legal means, through trial by combat.

Scott Free later became a member of the Keith Giffen-era JLA (as did Barda and Oberon), which recast him and Big Barda as semi-retired super-heroes that sought to live quiet lives in the suburbs when they were not involved in Justice League-related adventures. In particular, Scott Free was recast as a hen-pecked husband, who often found himself on the receiving end of his wife’s temper, over her desire to live a quiet life on Earth.

During his time in the League, Scott developed an intense rivalry with League villain Manga Khan. The villainous intergalactic trader and black marketer repeatedly kidnapped Scott, ultimately convincing Scott’s conniving former manager Funky Flashman into forging documents forcing Scott to work for Manga as his personal entertainer. To force him to go along willingly, Khan replaced Scott with a lifelike robot who was ultimately murdered by Despero during his first mission with the Justice League. Scott ultimately escaped from Manga Khan’s clutches and reunited with his wife and friends, though the shock was enough to cause Scott to ultimately quit the League and to take on a protégé in the form of Shiloh Norman.

In the conclusion of Final Crisis, many of the New Gods are all seemingly reborn. Among their numbers are the apparently resurrected Mister Miracle, along with Barda.

The New 52

In Earth 2 11 Mister Miracle appears alongside Big Barda flying around the ruins of Gotham City.   Their purpose is revealed to find the mysterious new Batman, which is thwarted when both are attacked by Fury.

Powers and Abilities

Like all the New Gods, Scott Free is functionally immortal, having stopped aging around the age of 30, he has also developed an immunity to toxins and diseases. Scott has superhuman strength, agility, speed, coordination and reflexes, along with incredible stamina. Due to his exhausting and rigorous life on Apokolips, Scott Free has tremendous resistance to physical injury and psychic influence, and is capable of extremely rapid recovery.

Scott has a genius-level intellect. He’s knowledgeable about the Fourth World and much of our universe. During his life on Apokolips, was instructed by Himon in the science and use of advanced technology of Fourth World. Scott is a genius inventor that has designed most of the equipment in his costume, including his mother box.

Scott Free was trained by Granny Goodness like an aero-trooper, became a master fighter and skilled in the use of many weapons. He’s also a master escapologist and acrobat. Scott is considered better at escapes than Batman and much of his skill is the result of his advanced physiology.

Scott Free is heir of the Alpha Effect, the antithesis of Darkseid’s Omega Energy. At the past, Scott used these powers for various purposes. He was able enhance all his physical attributes, resuscitate the dead (such as Big Barda and other New Gods), shoot energy blast, fly, manipulate and absorb vital energy. Darkseid mentions that these powers can reach almost unlimited levels.

Scott possesses greater power as the embodiment of the Anti-Life Equation, which allows him to warp reality on a cosmic level. The ability is fueled by rage and negative emotions which Scott himself usually doesn’t have. The Anti-Life Equation can give any being the power to dominate the will of all sentient and sapient races. It is called the Anti-Life Equation because “if someone possesses absolute control over you – you’re not really alive.” However, he refuses to use it as it reduces others to mindless slaves.