The Human Target is the name of two characters in

American comic books An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. The first is Fred Venable, while the second is private investigator and bodyguard Christopher Chance who assumes the identities of clients targeted by assassins and other dangerous criminals. Chance has been in numerous books published throughout the decades and has also appeared in television adaptations. Chance has appeared in two self-titled TV series in 1992 and 2010, portrayed by

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

and

Mark Valley Mark Thomas Valley (born December 24, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Brad Chase in the TV drama ''Boston Legal'', Oliver Richard in the NBC drama ''Harry's Law'', FBI Special Agent John Scott in the Fox sci fi series ...

respectively, and made guest appearances in the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American Superhero fiction, superhero media franchise and shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series ...

TV series ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

'', portrayed by

Wil Traval William Traval is an Australian actor, known for his work as Dr. Jack Quade on the Australian hospital drama '' All Saints'' (2004–2008), and as Will Simpson on the Netflix superhero drama series ''Jessica Jones'' (2015–2018). Early life ...

Publication history

The first character to use the "Human Target" title (Fred Venable) appeared in ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is ...

'' #201 (November 1953), and was created by

Edmond Hamilton Edmond Moore Hamilton (October 21, 1904 – February 1, 1977) was an American writer of science fiction during the mid-twentieth century. He is known for writing most of the Captain Future stories. Early life Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he ...

and

Sheldon Moldoff Sheldon "Shelly" Moldoff (; April 14, 1920 – February 29, 2012) was an Americans, American comics artist best known for his early work on the DC Comics characters Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and as one of Bob Kane's primary "ghost artists" (unc ...

. The second character to use the "Human Target" title (Christopher Chance) first appeared in ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...

'' #419 (December 1972) and was created by

Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine (character), Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel sup ...

and

Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...

. Later, the feature appeared in

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

titles such as ''

The Brave and the Bold ''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by a reprint miniseries in 1988, two original miniseries in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing anthology ...

'' and ''Detective Comics''. He starred in a limited series, a one-shot, and then an ongoing series written by

Peter Milligan Peter Milligan (born 24 June 1961) is a British comic book writer who has written extensively for both British and American comic book industries. In the UK, Milligan has contributed to numerous anthology titles including '' 2000 AD'', ''Revol ...

and published under DC's

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

imprint. In 2021, Tom King and Greg Smallwood began a 12-issue limited series for DC's Black Label imprint.

Comic listing

Vertigo

Writer

and Edvin Biukovic revived Christopher Chance in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, moving the character to DC Comics'

imprint for a four-issue limited series. The mini-series was followed by the graphic novel ''Human Target: Final Cut'', as well as a series lasting 21 issues until its cancellation in 2005.

Reception

The Human Target story "The Unshredded Man" was analyzed as an example of depictions of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

in American popular culture.

In other media

* The Christopher Chance incarnation of the Human Target appears in a self-titled series (1992), portrayed by

. This version is a

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

veteran in addition to being a private investigator and bodyguard who charges ten percent of a client's annual income to take their place. Additionally, he is assisted by eccentric computer genius Philo Marsden, who designs high-tech masks for Chance to use in conjunction with sophisticated makeup; Jeff Carlyle, the chauffeur, cook, and pilot for Chance's mobile base of operations, the Blackwing; and Lilly Page, an ex-CIA agent who helps coordinate Chance's missions. ** Chance appears in the tie-in one-shot ''The Human Target Special'' #1. * The Christopher Chance incarnation of the Human Target appears in a self-titled series (2010), portrayed by

. This version is a former assassin who utilizes undistinguished cover identities that put him close to his clients rather than assuming their identity himself and is the fifth individual to take on the name "Christopher Chance", having inherited it from an unnamed guardian (portrayed by

Lee Majors Lee Majors (born Harvey Lee Yeary; April 23, 1939) is an American actor. He portrayed the characters of Heath Barkley on the American television Western series '' The Big Valley'' (1965–1969), Colonel Steve Austin on the American television sc ...

). Additionally, he is assisted by former police officer Winston, independent contractor Guerrero, financier Ilsa Pucci, and retired cat burglar Ames. ** Chance appears in a tie-in comic miniseries, written by

and art by Bruno Redondo. * The

Christopher Chance The Human Target is the name of two characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first is Fred Venable, while the second is private investigator and bodyguard Christopher Chance who assumes the identities of clients targeted by a ...

incarnation of the Human Target appears in ''

'', portrayed by

. This version is an old friend of John Diggle.

References

External links

* * (1992 television adaptation) * {{IMDb title, qid=Q1511098 (2010 television adaptation)
Chance's publication history at "Thrilling Detective"

at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on February 5, 2016. Characters created by Carmine Infantino Characters created by Edmond Hamilton Characters created by Len Wein Characters created by Sheldon Moldoff Comics characters introduced in 1953 Comics characters introduced in 1972 Crime comics DC Comics martial artists DC Comics male characters Fictional bodyguards Fictional private investigators Comics adapted into television series