| Character Name: | Deadman |
| Publisher: | DC Comics |
| Debut: | Strange Adventures #205 (October 1967) |
| Creators: | Arnold Drake (writer) Carmine Infantino (artist) |
| Real Name: | Boston Brand |
| Species: | Ghost |
| Alliances: | Justice League Dark Seven Soldiers of Victory Sentinels of Magic Justice League |
| Powers: |
|
Deadman (Boston Brand) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Strange Adventures #205 (October 1967), and was created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Carmine Infantino.[1]
The character is depicted as an acrobat who was murdered by an unknown assailant, and then granted power by a Hindu deity to remain a disembodied spirit who can temporarily take possession of any living being in order to fight evil forces.
Arnold Drake spoke on the development of Deadman and revealed the 1966 original concept sketch of the character, which was initially a muscular skeleton. Drake further stated, "They were looking for something to bolster a magazine that was about to die, and I came up with Deadman, and they were going to turn it down, [but] then they bought the idea, but decided to turn down the title, because they were afraid, that the board would not permit them to title [the comic Deadman], because of the comics code of authority, so I said you fight for that, it's a good title, they did and Deadman succeeded.[2]
Drake later recalled in an interview, "So here I was in the middle of a Zen-Buddhist movement and I thought, "Maybe I can use that for my main character."[3]
Deadman's first appearance in Strange Adventures #205, written by Arnold Drake and drawn by Carmine Infantino,[4] included the first known depiction of narcotics in a story approved by the Comics Code Authority.[5] The series is most associated with the art and writing of Neal Adams and the writing of Jack Miller, who took over from Infantino and Drake after the first story.[6] The first story and all of the Adams stories were reprinted in 1985 as a seven-issue series.
Although he appeared from time to time in the 1970s and 1980s as a supporting character in various comics, including Jack Kirby's Forever People, Deadman did not get his own series again until 1986, in a four-issue limited series written by Andrew Helfer and drawn by José Luis García-López, which picked up the story where Adams left off. Deadman's next major storyline was in Action Comics Weekly, in 1988–1989. After this, he starred in the two-issue series Deadman: Love After Death, drawn by Kelley Jones and written by Mike Baron. This was followed by the limited series Deadman: Exorcism in 1992, also written by Mike Baron and drawn by Kelley Jones. Jones' gaunt, zombie-like rendition of the character would later appear in the pages of Batman. There was a Deadman ongoing series in 2002, which lasted nine issues, as well as a couple of standalone issues. His cameo appearances also continued, including several issues of Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing, and Neil Gaiman's The Books of Magic. He had a cameo in books two and three of , which was released in November 2005. In 2009, Deadman was a featured title in the Wednesday Comics.
The character and self-titled series have won several awards, including the 1967 Alley Award for Best New Strip (by Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino in Strange Adventures), and the 1968 Alley Award Hall of Fame (for Neal Adams). DC Comics published a slipcased hardcover edition collecting the original Deadman stories in December 2001. Deadman's retconned origin is revealed in Brightest Day #14 (2010), written by Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi. Deadman has a 3-part mini-series called Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love written by Sarah Vaughn with art by Lan Medina.
Circus trapeze artist Boston Brand performs under the name Deadman, a stage persona that includes a red costume and white corpse makeup.[7] When Brand is murdered during a trapeze performance by a mysterious assailant known only as the Hook, his spirit is given the power to possess any living being by the Hindu god Rama Kushna to search for his murderer and obtain justice.[8] It is established in Green Arrow (vol. 4) #4, that Deadman believes Rama is the supreme being of the universe.[1]
At the end of the Neal Adams story line, Deadman seems to discover the truth behind his murder and the ultimate fate of Hook, who killed him as part of an initiation into a society of contract killers. However, the real Hook is one among many one-handed men who work for an organization known as "The Scavengers". This group steals advanced technology for a profit. Fighting the Scavengers also led to Deadman gaining an artificial body for some time, thanks to the influence of the Forever People. This group had rented rooms from Trixie Magruder, an old circus companion of Deadman.[9]
Rama also maintained a city for some time, called Nanda Parbat, where she rehabilitated criminals with her power. One of the worst was Darius Caldera, who almost destroyed the world when he left the city. Nanda later fell due to a combined military and mystical force. All the evil people are now back in the real world, still a danger. Brand's twin brother, Cleveland, is killed while possessed by Boston, while doing Boston's circus act. The killer was out to kill Boston Brand. His "benefactor", Rama Kushna, also dies to defeat Jonah, a spirit similar to Deadman. Around this time, Deadman assists the Spectre in battling a demon before being forced to fuse with him after the demon injures him.
Later, Deadman receives a birthday present from his diminutive friend, Max Loomis. Max places himself in a trance so he could "meet" Deadman and the two take a pleasant journey down "memory lane", mainly Deadman's more pleasant memories of Nanda Parbat. Soon after, Loomis meets with old circus friends and Deadman involves himself in a case of suspected murder. Deadman wants to go after the escapees of Nanda Parbat, but Max thinks pursuing the murder is a better course.[10] Over several years, a mysterious stranger has Deadman travel through time to try to save the souls of deceased heroes from the menace of Caldera. Due to the mental influence of various forces, Deadman is unable to use the knowledge of the timestream to benefit humanity. With the assistance of the spirits of the deceased heroes, Deadman defeats Caldera and the powers behind him. Max Loomis provides vital help on the material plane. After that, Boston and Loomis decide to hunt down the other Parbat escapees.[11]
In the Sins of Youth incident, Deadman is one of the dozens of heroes reduced to a preteen age by Klarion the Witch Boy and an alien machine owned by Doiby Dickles. He assists Secret in confronting Teekl, Klarion's cat familiar, in an effort to restore everyone. He also joins in the fight against mystically created and mystically altered villains. During Day of Judgment, Boston Brand travels with a group of heroes to the frozen wastelands of Hell. Their goal is to restart the demonic fires, thus recalling all the demons from the earthly plane. An accident strands Brand and the others under the frozen waters of the River Styx, forcing them to live out what would be, to them, Hell. For Brand, it is that the sharpshooter hits him in the shoulder, thus he survives. Brand feels he needs to die to learn "how to live". His battles against the demons would come back to haunt him. In the four-part Black Baptism miniseries, Deadman and several other "Sentinels of Magic", the magical group formed after the Day of Judgment incident, are hunted by the Diablos. Partly fueled by revenge, they subdue many of the Sentinels and drain their magic. The JLA eventually rescue them all and destroy all the Diablos.
See main article: Blackest Night. Boston Brand begins to hear the voices of the dead and his own remains calling for him to protect them.[12] Being a spirit, he is unable to stop his body from being raised as a Black Lantern. He attempts to possess his own body but is ejected after experiencing extreme physical and emotional pain during the attempt. He assists Batman, Robin, and Red Robin in repelling the Black Lantern invasion.[13] Deadman manages to save Commissioner Gordon from the Black Lanterns by possessing the body of his daughter, spiriting them both to safety.[14]
Deadman is later sent by Batman to possess the body of Jason Blood, invoking the power of Etrigan. Deadman uses Etrigan's demon flame to hold back the Black Lanterns, but struggles to maintain control over the demon's body, finally being forced out. Deadman then frees Batman and Red Robin, who had frozen themselves to escape the Black Lanterns' onslaught.[15] He is later seen inside the Black Lantern Damage's ring, apparently having followed Jean Loring, Mera and the Atom when they shrank down into it.[16] He frees Mera and the Atom from Loring by briefly possessing her, allowing them time to return to normal size. During this incident he says he believes possessing the Black Lanterns causes him damage.[17] He is later seen at Nanda Parbat, attempting to stop the Black Lanterns attempting to pass through the spiritual barrier by taking over their bodies and ripping them apart. He briefly loses himself to a Black Lantern's personality, but is saved by the Phantom Stranger. The Stranger convinces Deadman to enter his body again, telling them it is his destiny to bring it within Nanda Parbat. With the Stranger's help, Deadman is able to force the black ring off his body, bringing it through the gate of Nanda Parbat. The body, which the Stranger states is of "singular importance", is placed under the gatekeeper and Blue Devil's protection, and Deadman heads out, intent on sharing the information he gleaned while inside the Black Lanterns with Hal Jordan.[18] In the aftermath of the final battle, Deadman is restored to life by a White Lantern ring.[19]
In the 2010–11 miniseries Brightest Day, Deadman discovers that his white ring can restore the dead to life,[20] and begins to acclimate to living again, including exercising self-preservational habits,[21] though he expresses reservations about being alive again. As he attempts to learn what his mission on Earth is, he teams up with Hawk and Dove.[22] Deadman learns that he will cross paths with the person the Entities chose to guard the Earth.[23] The Entity also instructs Deadman to embrace life and those around him, as he led a selfish life in his previous one, realizing the value of others only after he died. In learning to appreciate his new life, Deadman realizes that he and Dove have fallen in love,[24] and reconnects with his grandfather.[25]
The Entity also tells Deadman that when Nekron attacked Earth, the contamination of his presence on the planet manifested as a "dark avatar" who will try to destroy the Star City forest, which is the key to saving Earth's soul.[26] The Entity reveals that Earth's savior is Alec Holland,[27] and the "dark avatar" is a corrupted Swamp Thing, which once thought that it was Holland, but now believes itself to be Nekron. In the forest, Captain Boomerang throws a boomerang at Dove, but it impacts Deadman instead. As his dying act, he gives his white power ring to Holland, transforming him into a new Swamp Thing who kills the original. Unable to return to life, Deadman and Dove, heartbroken at being denied a happy life now that he can never again be resurrected, share an emotional farewell.[28]
In The New 52, Deadman's origins are rebooted in the initial run of the anthology series DC Universe Presents. After living a selfish life as Boston Brand, he is forced to possess people as Deadman following his assassination to solve their problems and avoid being sent to Hell.[29] He also features as a member of the supernatural team, Justice League Dark. Deadman uses his possession talents to help take down various supernatural threats, such as Dr. Mist and Faust Sr. Despite their earlier claim, he and Dove try to rekindle their love. However, their attempt fails miserably as Deadman insists on carrying on their relationship forward using borrowed bodies, while Dove shows disdain and repulsion to the idea. Furthermore, by helping out June Moone, they both gain the enmity of a crazed Enchantress.[30]
As part of the DC Rebirth relaunch, a three-part miniseries, Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love was released in October 2016.[31] The story featured the creative team of writer Sarah Vaughn and artist Lan Medina.[32] Deadman also appears in the Trinity book, focused on Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, along with Justice League Dark teammates Zatanna and John Constantine.
In "The New Golden Age", Deadman helps Doctor Fate and Detective Chimp fight Per Degaton and investigate Hauhet, the new guiding force behind the Helmet of Fate.[33] [34] [35] [36] [37]
Deadman is a central character in the "Knight Terrors" event, where he helps battle the nightmare-controlling villain Insomnia.[38] He sacrifices himself to return Insomnia to the Nightmare Realm, but is later resurrected by Rama Kushna and prevented from leaving Nanda Parbat.[39] [40] [41] [42] [43]
As a disembodied spirit, Deadman could not be seen or heard by most others (certain mystics could still perceive him), was able to pass through objects, and could fly or float. He was able to possess any living being (human or animal), control their actions, and could communicate with people through another's body. Furthermore, the possession process is nearly instant in transition, enabling Deadman to possess different bodies in rapid succession. In one storyline, however, he could not control certain criminal henchmen he possessed due to their minds being under post-hypnotic suggestion (since their minds were not truly theirs in that instance). The people he possessed retained no memory of the experience. He has issues possessing those with stronger minds like Batman and is often forced out in a short amount of time. As a White Lantern, he is able to teleport, heal others, and create energy constructs.
| Title | Material collected | Page Count | Year | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Deadman Collection | Strange Adventures #205–216; The Brave and the Bold #79, 86, 104; Aquaman #50–52; Challengers of the Unknown #74 | 342 | 2001 | 978-1563898495 |
| Deadman Book One | Strange Adventures #205–213 | 176 | 2011 | 978-1401231163 |
| Deadman Book Two | The Brave and the Bold #79 and 86; Strange Adventures #214–216; Aquaman #50–52; Challengers of the Unknown #74 | 168 | 2012 | 978-1401233884 |
| Deadman Book Three | The Phantom Stranger (vol. 2) #33, 39–41; The Brave and the Bold #133; Superman Family #183; World's Finest #223, 227; DC Super-Stars #18 | 176 | 2012 | 978-1401237288 |
| Deadman Book Four | DC Special Series #8; Adventure Comics #459–466; DC Comics Presents #24 | 168 | 2014 | 978-1401243241 |
| Deadman Book Five | Deadman (vol.2) #1–4; Secret Origins #15; Challengers of the Unknown #85–87 | 176 | 2014 | 978-1401246112 |
| Deadman: Lost Souls | Deadman: Love After Death #1–2; Deadman: Exorcism #1–2 | 200 | 1995 | 978-1563891885 |
| Deadman by Kelley Jones: The Complete Collection | Action Comics Weekly #618–626, Deadman: Love After Death #1–2; Deadman: Exorcism #1–2 | 272 | 2017 | 978-1401271671 |
| Batman/Deadman: Death and Glory | Original Graphic Novel | 92 | 1996 | 978-1563892288 |
| Deadman: Deadman Walking | Deadman (vol. 4) #1-5 | 128 | 2007 | 978-1401212360 |
| DC Universe Presents Vol. 1 featuring Deadman & Challengers of the Unknown | DC Universe Presents #1-8 | 192 | 2012 | 978-1401237165 |
| Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love | Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #1-3 | 160 | 2017 | 978-1401268411 |
| Deadman | Deadman (vol. 5) #1-6 | 160 | 2018 | 978-1401281410 |
| Deadman Omnibus | Strange Adventures #205-216; The Brave and the Bold #79, 86, 104, 133; Aquaman #50-52; Challengers of the Unknown #74, 84-87; Justice League of America #94, World’s Finest Comics #223, 227; The Phantom Stranger (vol. 2) #33, 39-41; Superman Family #183; DC Super Stars #18; DC Special Series #8; Adventure Comics #459-466; DC Comics Presents #24; Detective Comics #500; Deadman (vol. 2) #1-4; Secret Origins #15; covers from Deadman #1-7 | 944 | 2020 | 978-1779504883 |