Amazing-Man is the name used by four

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditio ...

characters published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

. The first three are

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

superheroes A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

and are members of the same family. The first Amazing-Man debuted in ''

All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its self-titled series ...

'' #23 (July 1983), and was created by

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

and

Jerry Ordway Jeremiah Ordway (born November 28, 1957) is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books. He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining ''Crisis on Infinite Earths ...

. The second Amazing-Man debuted in ''

Justice League America Justice League International (JLI) is a fictional DC Comics, DC comics superhero team that succeeded the original Justice League from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. The team enjoyed several comic books runs, the first being written by Keith ...

'' #86 (March 1994), and was created by Dan Vado and Marc Campos. The third Amazing-Man debuted in ''

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA, or Justice Society (JS)) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Boo ...

'' vol. 3 #12 (March 2008), and was created by

Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and Superman, has drawn critical acclaim. He se ...

and

Dale Eaglesham Dale Eaglesham (born 1962) is a Canadian comic book illustrator who has been working in the American industry since 1986. He is best known for his work on titles like '' Conan'', ''Punisher'', ''Green Lantern'', ''Villains United'', ''Justice Soci ...

. The fourth Amazing Man debuted in '' OMAC'' vol. 3 #2 (December 2011), and was created by

Dan DiDio Dan DiDio (; born October 13, 1959) is an American writer, editor, and publisher who has worked in the television and comic book industries. From February 2010 until February 2020, he was the co-publisher of DC Comics, along with Jim Lee. '' Wiza ...

and

Keith Giffen Keith Ian Giffen (born November 30, 1952) is an American comics artist and writer. He is known for his work for DC Comics on their ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''Justice League'' titles as well as for being the co-creator of Lobo. Biography K ...

Publication history

Although a 1980s creation of writer

, the Amazing-Man published by

was placed in the 1940s and made a contemporary of various

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the Go ...

superheroes. The character was created by Roy Thomas as a tribute to

Bill Everett William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie and Daredevil with writer Stan Lee for Marvel Comics. He was allege ...

's Amazing-Man, a character he created for

Centaur Publications Centaur Publications (also known as Centaur Comics) was one of the earliest American comic book publishers. During their short existence, they created several colorful characters, including Bill Everett's Amazing-Man. History Comics Magazine Co ...

during the so-called

Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known cha ...

All-Star Squadron

At first, he was employed by the Ultra-Humanite as a henchman along with Curtis (as Cyclotron) and Deathbolt. However, his sympathies soon swayed towards the side of good after repeated exposure to the

, a team of both Golden Age characters and retroactive characters like himself, with whom he joined to defeat his former employer's machinations. He then served a lengthy stint as a member of this voluminous mystery man organization. In February 1942, the Squadron helped Everett defeat the bigoted villain in his home town of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, the Real American. During the first

Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...

, Amazing-Man was one of a group of heroes chosen by the Monitor to stop the Anti-Monitor's quest for destruction. On a future case, Amazing-Man's powers changed so that now he had mastery of

magnetism Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particle ...

while losing his ability to mimic matter.

Civil Rights Activist

In the 1950s, his secret identity was revealed to the general public by

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation ...

. This act endangered the lives of Everett's wife and family. During the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

of the 1960s, the murder of his nephew alongside two other civil rights activists spurred his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement of the time. He led marches against segregation across the United States, and also helped to quell riots in

. Everett was also responsible for the capture of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

's murderer,

James Earl Ray James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was an American fugitive convicted for assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. After this Ray was on the run and was cap ...

. In the DC Comics Universe, he is considered the third most important advocate for

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

civil rights, behind only King and

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of ...

.''Justice Society of America'' vol. 3 #12 (March 2008)

Heirs

It was later revealed that his grandson, Will Everett III (a.k.a. "Junior") also developed mimicry abilities. Will Everett Senior was last seen in the hospital, visited by his grandson Will Everett III. The senior Everett was dying of cancer. The status of his son, the father of Amazing-Man III, is currently unknown. For a brief time, his grandson carried on the legacy of Amazing-Man before dying tragically. Later, another grandson named Markus Clay would take up the mantle of Amazing-Man.

Will Everett III

Will Everett III carried on his grandfather's heroic tradition, joining the

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as being ...

's request. As a member, he was instrumental in defeating the Overmaster alongside the other members of the League and reformed members of the Cadre of the Immortal. Soon after this,

Captain Atom Captain Atom is a superhero appearing in American comic books, first in the 1960s by Charlton Comics before being acquired in the 1980s by DC Comics. Captain Atom has existed in three basic incarnations. Publication history Captain Atom was cr ...

formed a splinter group of the JLA nicknamed

Extreme Justice Extreme Justice is a monthly Justice League spin-off title in the DC Comics universe. It replaced the cancelled ''Justice League International'' (formerly ''Justice League Europe'') and ran for nineteen issues from 1994 to 1996. Overview Several ...

. He remained with this team until its end. Later, Will joined the

Crimson Fox Crimson Fox is a codename for two fictional characters, both superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Publication history The first two holders of the Crimson Fox moniker first appeared in ''Justice League Europe ...

's unofficial re-grouping of Justice League Europe. In their single ill-fated adventure, Will was apparently killed by a supervillainess named the

Mist Mist is a phenomenon caused by small droplets of water suspended in the cold air, usually by condensation. Physically, it is an example of a dispersion. It is most commonly seen where water vapor in warm, moist air meets sudden cooling, such ...

, along with the Crimson Fox and Blue Devil. In Amazing-Man's case, Mist tricked him into mimicking glass and then shattered him. The status of his father Will Everett II is unknown, but his cousin Markus Clay is the new Amazing-Man. During the events of ''

JLA/Avengers ''JLA/Avengers'' (issues #2 and 4 are titled ''Avengers/JLA'') is a comic book limited series and crossover published in prestige format by DC Comics and Marvel Comics from September 2003 to March 2004. The series was written by Kurt Busiek, with ...

'', Will was briefly resurrected by the effects of Krona's tampering with reality. He was shown fighting the

Absorbing Man Absorbing Man (Carl "Crusher" Creel) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in '' Journey into Mystery'' #114, cover dated March 1965, created by writer Stan Lee and writer/artist ...

, an enemy of

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing ...

. Years later during '' 52'', Will is memorialized by

Martian Manhunter The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and designed by artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" ...

with a statue in

Happy Harbor This page list the locations in the DC Universe, the shared universe setting of DC Comics. Sites * the Arrowcave – The former base of operations of the Green Arrow and Speedy. * Avernus Cemetery – A burial ground located in Central City for ...

alongside other fallen Justice League members.

Markus Clay

The third Amazing-Man is a man named Markus Clay, who operates out of

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Hurricane Katrina. A recent recruit of the

, he has helped the team communicate with

Gog Gog may refer to: Religion * Gog and Magog, entities from various religious texts People * Anikó Góg, Hungarian triathlete * GOG or Genival Oliveira Gonçalves (born 1965), Brazilian rapper * Gog, a slang term for a person from North Wales ...

. After Gog's defeat, Markus returns to New Orleans, considering forming a team of his own. Despite having resigned from the JSA, Markus is seen attending

Damage Damage is any change in a thing, often a physical object, that degrades it away from its initial state. It can broadly be defined as "changes introduced into a system that adversely affect its current or future performance".Farrar, C.R., Sohn, H., ...

's funeral following his death during ''

Blackest Night "Blackest Night" is a 2009–10 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous central miniseries, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis, along with a number of tie-in issues. ''Blackes ...

''.

The New 52

A new Amazing-Man appears following the events of '' Flashpoint'' in ''

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cross ...

'', where among other changes, the JSA has been removed from the history of Prime Earth. The new Amazing-Man is revealed to be Rocker Bonn, a former

Checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

agent who was given metahuman abilities by

Project Cadmus Project Cadmus is a fictional genetic engineering project in the DC Comics Universe. Its notable creations included the Golden Guardian (a clone of the original Guardian), Auron, Superboy (Kon-El) (a clone from Superman's DNA), and Dubbilex (a ...

. After going into hiding in Texas, Bonn is attacked by Kevin Kho, the new OMAC. Bonn is defeated by Kho and subsequently absorbed by

Brother Eye The OMACs (; Omni Mind And Community, originally Observational Metahuman Activity Construct and alternatively One Man Army Corps.) are a fictional type of cyborg appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. They are based on the Jack Kirby ...

, who states that he may prove useful at a later date.''OMAC'' #2

Powers and abilities

* Will Everett was originally capable of transforming himself into a living, breathing facsimile of any material that he touched. Later Will Everett's powers were altered, and he was instead able to magnetically attract or repel objects with his hands. * Will Everett III could cause his body to duplicate the properties of any inorganic material he touched from stone to glass. If he touched the pavement, for example, he became a sentient being made of living stone, with all its commensurate strengths and weaknesses. Will Everett III could also absorb and duplicate vast amounts of energy, as when he defeated the Overmaster by draining and duplicating its powers. * Markus Clay appears to possess the same abilities as the first two Amazing-Men.

References

External links

World of Black Heroes: Amazing man 1 Biography

World of Black Heroes: Amazing Man 2 Biography

World of Black Heroes: Amazing Man 3 BiographyDCU Guide: Amazing-ManDCU Guide: Amazing-Man
2009-10-25) {{DEFAULTSORT:Amazing-Man (Dc Comics) Articles about multiple fictional characters African-American superheroes Characters created by Geoff Johns Characters created by Jerry Ordway Characters created by Keith Giffen Characters created by Roy Thomas Comics characters introduced in 1983 Comics characters introduced in 1994 Comics characters introduced in 2008 Comics characters introduced in 2011 DC Comics characters who are shapeshifters DC Comics male superheroes DC Comics metahumans Earth-Two Fictional characters with absorption or parasitic abilities Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional Olympic competitors