Jim Lemoine
Jun 30, 2004, 11:26 pm
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/logos/cfdlogo.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="Comics For Dummies logo">By Raul Grau, RJacknite@aol.com
Men Hunting Men
Manhunter. To most people, that name would have little meaning beyond the pre-Edward Norton version of Red Dragon, but comic book aficionados should immediately recall the long lineage of Manhunters who have graced the pages of DC Comics. In August, the latest (and first verifiably biologically female) Manhunter will make her debut, so I thought this would be an appropriate time to provide her potential readers with a brief tutorial on her many predecessors, though nowhere outside of a Richard Connell short story has there been quite this much man-hunting going on.
By my count, there have already been five souls brave enough to bear the mantle of Manhunter. Wait, did I say five? Make that closer to seven or eight brave souls... no, probably dozens of... wait, no, possibly millions of brave souls, but that would just lead you down the road to trying to figure out what precisely constitutes a soul, and how many Spider-Men can share the same one, and we do not want to go there. So here are the men who proudly donned their spandex to journey out, into the dark of night, in dogged pursuit of other men... not that there's anything wrong with that.
Manhunter I (The Manhunter most likely to be deservedly forgotten)
The first in the distinguished line of Manhunters was Dan Richards, who was actually originally a Quality character (as in, published by the company named Quality, not at all that other kind of quality). Dan (short for Donald... yes, in this case, it is short for Donald) had a promising enough start. A driven police officer who could not allow another good cop to go down for a crime he did not commit, Dan knew that he had to step outside the bounds of the law in order to find real justice. He did what any other decent person would have done in his place... he put on a tight, low-cut shirt, a domino mask, and partnered with Thor, the Thunder Dog. Like I said, a promising enough start.
Unfortunately for him, this innocent tale of a boy and his dog (well, a man and his Thunder Dog) eventually turned dark. Dan learned that his faithful companion named for a Norse god was really a robot, programmed to spy on him, though one should expect that kind of thing, when they accept a pet as a free gift from a mysterious cult. Not long after, Dan's granddaughter decided to make her bones as a supervillain by nearly fatally shooting him. (Personally, I believe that the former betrayal was far worse than the later, as you should always be able to trust your Thunder Dog.) It was soon revealed that his entire heroic career had come about due to the machinations of the sinister sect known as the... folks we'll get to in a few paragraphs.
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cfd/Manhunter2.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="History of the Manhunter">Manhunter II (The Manhunter most likely to actually catch someone)
Arguably the most popular of the line, Paul Kirk was a world-famous big game hunter, in the era when a person could still become world-famous for their hunting skills. After his defining heroic moment (the death of a close friend), Paul put his tracking talent to a slightly more politically correct use, bagging bad guys instead of bull elephants. He played the crimefighting game for a few years, before a growing sense of disillusionment with our government (imagine that) took him back to Africa, where he was trampled to death by an elephant. Karma: threat or menace?
Decades later, Paul was revived by a secret evil cabal (not that there are a lot of secret good cabals out there), and was given his very own healing factor. They had hoped to force him to lead an army of clones of himself, as part of their efforts to enforce world peace on the planet (those monsters!). Before you can cry Marvel, Paul took on the collective crowd of hims, and left their identical bodies in his wake. He later sacrificed himself to destroy the whole disturbingly pacifistic evil movement, though he died before learning the true extent of how much of his life had been under the control of another conspiratorial group, called the... folks we'll get to in a few paragraphs.
However, an honorable mention must first go to:
Martian Manhunter (The Manhunter most likely to occasionally hunt Martians)
Now, it has been said that the Justice League of America founder is not a true Manhunter for several very valid reasons. Some would argue that, in this case, the 'Martian' overrides the 'Manhunter' in importance. Others would insist that J'onn very rarely actually hunts men, and that there have only been a few instances of him specifically hunting Martian men. However, I believe that the chief reason for why he is never invited to the yearly Manhunter social mixers is, simply put, because he is just too darn popular. It seems that to be a real Manhunter, you just cannot have your exploits published on a regular basis for more than a few years at a time.
Perhaps, one day, he will change his codename to Manhunter Martian, and finally take his proper place in comic book limbo.
Now on to the entry you've all been waiting for...
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cfd/Manhunter3.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="History of the Manhunter">The Manhunters (The Manhunter(s) most likely to overpopulate the cosmos)
When the universe was still young and naive, the self-proclaimed Guardians of the Universe constructed an army of robotic interstellar policemen, and these Manhunters became an effective force for good. Eventually, the androids developed sentience (as any science fiction fan could have predicted) and rebelled against their creators in a massive uprising. They lost, and were exiled to the planets they once protected. Later, the Guardians would recruit the Green Lantern Corps as their replacements, and we all know how well that turned out.
The Manhunters began operating as a secret order based on Earth, recruiting sympathetic humans to act as their agents, and subtlety manipulating events to create their own champions. This was the aforementioned sinister sect that had influenced the lives of Dan Richards and Paul Kirk, leading them to become the first two human Manhunters. Among their many sleeper agents were Rudolph West (father of the Flash) and Lana Lang, whose parents were killed by the Manhunters, before they programmed her to spy on young Clark Kent (let's see Smallville try to adapt that plotline). The agents would later be revealed and their android masters almost wholly destroyed, when the Manhunters made the foolish mistake of attempting to attack every single DC hero simultaneously during the Millennium crossover. You would think that immortal robots would have better time management skills.
Manhunter III (The Manhunter most likely to go unnumbered)
Very little is known about this particular Manhunter, as he was only ever mentioned in one story, and he seems to have fallen below the level of 'comic book footnote' over the years. This particular one chose to directly serve the out-and-out evil Manhunters for many years, but before you can hold that against him, let me add that his archenemy was named 'The Chopper'. There, now don't you feel bad for picking on the poor man, when he fought tirelessly to keep humanity safe from the menace that is Over Bite... whoops, sorry, I mean The Chopper. Eventually, he bested his foe for good, and peacefully retired to a quiet little town called Total Obscurity.
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cfd/Manhunter4.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="History of the Manhunter">Manhunter IV (The Manhunter most likely to develop schizophrenia)
Another puppet of the Manhunters, district attorney Mark Shaw realized that real justice could only be found outside of the blah blah blah, and was trained in combat by that very busy secret cult. He was unaware of their less than noble goals, as well as ignorant of the fact that the costume they provided him with was subtlety manipulating his mind. When he finally learned the truth, he turned against them, adopting the new heroic costumed identity of the Privateer... and the new villainous costumed identity of Star-Tsar. It seemed that Mark was not as free of their programming as he had hoped.
After a brief prison stay and some much needed therapy, Mark reclaimed the Manhunter identity, free of any pesky little power-hungry blood rages left behind in his psyche. Finding a profitable way to manhunt, Mark became a successful costumed bounty hunter, but when an encounter with the assassin known as Dumas proved fatal (to Dumas, at least), he was racked with regret. After some gentle nudging from government forces, Mark adopted the identity of Dumas for some deep undercover work within the criminal underworld. As Dumas, he accidentally killed another Manhunter (number six, by my count), so we'll pick that story up, in progress, a couple of entries from now.
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cfd/Manhunter5.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="History of the Manhunter">Manhunter V (The Manhunter most likely to have delusions of grandeur)
Remember when I said that Paul Kirk had successfully done away with all of his clones? Well, I lied.
One did survive the 'Agent Smith'-like smackdown and he went on to join the Secret Society of Super-Villains. However, he was a good clone, not the usual, evil kind, and he wanted to turn the team around to the side of the angels... because, frankly, no group had more untapped heroic potential than the Secret Society of Super-Villains. In the end, Manhunter died in battle, though he did appear to take Darkseid, the lord of Apokolips and potentially the most powerful villain in all of the DCU, down with him... because, frankly, no hero could pose a greater threat to Darkseid, the lord of Apokolips and potentially the most powerful villain in all of the DCU, than the clone of Manhunter.
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cfd/Manhunter6.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="History of the Manhunter">Manhunter VI (The Manhunter most likely to sleep-hunt)
Like many of us, guitarist Chase Lawler had a problem. His girlfriend had gotten involved with a bad crowd (namely, record producers) and Chase did not want to see her become another True Hollywood Story, so he did what any loving boyfriend would do... he invoked the spirit of the Wild Huntsman, a primal force, which inadvertently bonded itself to him. From then on, Chase felt driven to hunt anyone who was alone at the time or living outside of normal society (which basically covers every person on Earth). Amazingly, he actually managed to fight some crime as Manhunter, in the midst of all this obsessive-compulsive behavior.
In his last gasp as a hero, Chase was killed by Mark Shaw, who was again having his mind futzed with. A quick dose of CPR brought Chase back from the tunnel of light, but that act of murder passed the spirit of the Wild Huntsman onto Mark, adding brand new blood rages to his psyche to replace all the ones he had gotten rid of earlier. However, the Happiest Ending Award goes to Chase, who now is free of his curse, back with his girl, and being paid five thousand dollars a month by his city, to never turn into Manhunter again (he seems to have forgotten to tell his city councilman that he can never turn into Manhunter again anyway).
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cfd/Manhunter7.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="History of the Manhunter">Manhunter VII (The Manhunter most likely to become a Marvel character)
Remember when I said that only one clone of Paul Kirk had survived? Well, I lied again.
It seems that another had escaped the Kirk culling, spiriting himself into hiding when he decided that he wanted no part of the massive dogpile. Clearly the wisest of the clones, he would go on to make a name for himself as a mercenary, after literally making a new name for himself as Kirk de Paul. It is truly inspiring to see a clone attempt to forge an individualized identity for himself, by first bastardizing the name of his genetic donor... inspiring and completely original.
The forward thinking de Paul was later recruited to be a founding member of the Power Company, a superhero enclave built around sound business practices. Unfortunately, the team's marketing savvy did not rub off on their series, which ended after only 12 issues. Kirk de Paul is presumably still with the Company, as they continue to fight crime, while always in pursuit of the almighty dollar, somewhere in-between the panels of other DC books.
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cfd/Manhunter8.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="History of the Manhunter">Manhunter VIII (The Manhunter most likely to be a maneater)
Her premier is still two months away, but here is what I've been able to glean from the preview material (not technically spoilers, more of a verbal trailer for the series). This new Manhunter is Kate Spencer, a driven federal prosecutor, who specializes in putting away metahuman criminals. She soon realizes that real justice can only be blah blah blah, and then we've got a new Manhunter for a new decade with a new X chromosome added.
The question remains, will this hunter of men succeed where oh so many others have failed? Well, she seems to have quite a bit going for her already- a link to the past for the older fans in the audience, and a goodly amount of hype to draw in the younger ones. Also, being a beautiful woman depicted on covers by Jae Lee, an expert on drawing beautiful women, cannot really hurt, so I have high hopes for the success of this newest incarnation. Assuming, of course, that she can successfully capture the beast that has proven to be the most elusive game of all: promising sales numbers.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Raul Grau wholeheartedly believes that it is extremely sexist to have scores of Manhunters, but not a single hero who specializes in hunting women. He would almost certainly don a domino mask himself, if only he could locate his very own Thunder Dog.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Note: The discriminating reader may notice that there are no pictures of Manhunter I or Manhunter III attached to this column. This is because neither Manhunter ever made an appearance on a comic book cover, in either of their brief existences - even the first Manhunter was never considered the "marquee" hero of Adventure Comics - he was upstaged by a relative newbie he shared the book with... called Starman.
There is no picture of the Martian Manhunter in this column either; as Raul said, he's not a true Manhunter, so he doesn't get a picture. Only real Manhunters get pictures. So there.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of ComiX-Fan or its other staff in general.
Men Hunting Men
Manhunter. To most people, that name would have little meaning beyond the pre-Edward Norton version of Red Dragon, but comic book aficionados should immediately recall the long lineage of Manhunters who have graced the pages of DC Comics. In August, the latest (and first verifiably biologically female) Manhunter will make her debut, so I thought this would be an appropriate time to provide her potential readers with a brief tutorial on her many predecessors, though nowhere outside of a Richard Connell short story has there been quite this much man-hunting going on.
By my count, there have already been five souls brave enough to bear the mantle of Manhunter. Wait, did I say five? Make that closer to seven or eight brave souls... no, probably dozens of... wait, no, possibly millions of brave souls, but that would just lead you down the road to trying to figure out what precisely constitutes a soul, and how many Spider-Men can share the same one, and we do not want to go there. So here are the men who proudly donned their spandex to journey out, into the dark of night, in dogged pursuit of other men... not that there's anything wrong with that.
Manhunter I (The Manhunter most likely to be deservedly forgotten)
The first in the distinguished line of Manhunters was Dan Richards, who was actually originally a Quality character (as in, published by the company named Quality, not at all that other kind of quality). Dan (short for Donald... yes, in this case, it is short for Donald) had a promising enough start. A driven police officer who could not allow another good cop to go down for a crime he did not commit, Dan knew that he had to step outside the bounds of the law in order to find real justice. He did what any other decent person would have done in his place... he put on a tight, low-cut shirt, a domino mask, and partnered with Thor, the Thunder Dog. Like I said, a promising enough start.
Unfortunately for him, this innocent tale of a boy and his dog (well, a man and his Thunder Dog) eventually turned dark. Dan learned that his faithful companion named for a Norse god was really a robot, programmed to spy on him, though one should expect that kind of thing, when they accept a pet as a free gift from a mysterious cult. Not long after, Dan's granddaughter decided to make her bones as a supervillain by nearly fatally shooting him. (Personally, I believe that the former betrayal was far worse than the later, as you should always be able to trust your Thunder Dog.) It was soon revealed that his entire heroic career had come about due to the machinations of the sinister sect known as the... folks we'll get to in a few paragraphs.
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cfd/Manhunter2.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="History of the Manhunter">Manhunter II (The Manhunter most likely to actually catch someone)
Arguably the most popular of the line, Paul Kirk was a world-famous big game hunter, in the era when a person could still become world-famous for their hunting skills. After his defining heroic moment (the death of a close friend), Paul put his tracking talent to a slightly more politically correct use, bagging bad guys instead of bull elephants. He played the crimefighting game for a few years, before a growing sense of disillusionment with our government (imagine that) took him back to Africa, where he was trampled to death by an elephant. Karma: threat or menace?
Decades later, Paul was revived by a secret evil cabal (not that there are a lot of secret good cabals out there), and was given his very own healing factor. They had hoped to force him to lead an army of clones of himself, as part of their efforts to enforce world peace on the planet (those monsters!). Before you can cry Marvel, Paul took on the collective crowd of hims, and left their identical bodies in his wake. He later sacrificed himself to destroy the whole disturbingly pacifistic evil movement, though he died before learning the true extent of how much of his life had been under the control of another conspiratorial group, called the... folks we'll get to in a few paragraphs.
However, an honorable mention must first go to:
Martian Manhunter (The Manhunter most likely to occasionally hunt Martians)
Now, it has been said that the Justice League of America founder is not a true Manhunter for several very valid reasons. Some would argue that, in this case, the 'Martian' overrides the 'Manhunter' in importance. Others would insist that J'onn very rarely actually hunts men, and that there have only been a few instances of him specifically hunting Martian men. However, I believe that the chief reason for why he is never invited to the yearly Manhunter social mixers is, simply put, because he is just too darn popular. It seems that to be a real Manhunter, you just cannot have your exploits published on a regular basis for more than a few years at a time.
Perhaps, one day, he will change his codename to Manhunter Martian, and finally take his proper place in comic book limbo.
Now on to the entry you've all been waiting for...
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cfd/Manhunter3.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="History of the Manhunter">The Manhunters (The Manhunter(s) most likely to overpopulate the cosmos)
When the universe was still young and naive, the self-proclaimed Guardians of the Universe constructed an army of robotic interstellar policemen, and these Manhunters became an effective force for good. Eventually, the androids developed sentience (as any science fiction fan could have predicted) and rebelled against their creators in a massive uprising. They lost, and were exiled to the planets they once protected. Later, the Guardians would recruit the Green Lantern Corps as their replacements, and we all know how well that turned out.
The Manhunters began operating as a secret order based on Earth, recruiting sympathetic humans to act as their agents, and subtlety manipulating events to create their own champions. This was the aforementioned sinister sect that had influenced the lives of Dan Richards and Paul Kirk, leading them to become the first two human Manhunters. Among their many sleeper agents were Rudolph West (father of the Flash) and Lana Lang, whose parents were killed by the Manhunters, before they programmed her to spy on young Clark Kent (let's see Smallville try to adapt that plotline). The agents would later be revealed and their android masters almost wholly destroyed, when the Manhunters made the foolish mistake of attempting to attack every single DC hero simultaneously during the Millennium crossover. You would think that immortal robots would have better time management skills.
Manhunter III (The Manhunter most likely to go unnumbered)
Very little is known about this particular Manhunter, as he was only ever mentioned in one story, and he seems to have fallen below the level of 'comic book footnote' over the years. This particular one chose to directly serve the out-and-out evil Manhunters for many years, but before you can hold that against him, let me add that his archenemy was named 'The Chopper'. There, now don't you feel bad for picking on the poor man, when he fought tirelessly to keep humanity safe from the menace that is Over Bite... whoops, sorry, I mean The Chopper. Eventually, he bested his foe for good, and peacefully retired to a quiet little town called Total Obscurity.
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cfd/Manhunter4.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="History of the Manhunter">Manhunter IV (The Manhunter most likely to develop schizophrenia)
Another puppet of the Manhunters, district attorney Mark Shaw realized that real justice could only be found outside of the blah blah blah, and was trained in combat by that very busy secret cult. He was unaware of their less than noble goals, as well as ignorant of the fact that the costume they provided him with was subtlety manipulating his mind. When he finally learned the truth, he turned against them, adopting the new heroic costumed identity of the Privateer... and the new villainous costumed identity of Star-Tsar. It seemed that Mark was not as free of their programming as he had hoped.
After a brief prison stay and some much needed therapy, Mark reclaimed the Manhunter identity, free of any pesky little power-hungry blood rages left behind in his psyche. Finding a profitable way to manhunt, Mark became a successful costumed bounty hunter, but when an encounter with the assassin known as Dumas proved fatal (to Dumas, at least), he was racked with regret. After some gentle nudging from government forces, Mark adopted the identity of Dumas for some deep undercover work within the criminal underworld. As Dumas, he accidentally killed another Manhunter (number six, by my count), so we'll pick that story up, in progress, a couple of entries from now.
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cfd/Manhunter5.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="History of the Manhunter">Manhunter V (The Manhunter most likely to have delusions of grandeur)
Remember when I said that Paul Kirk had successfully done away with all of his clones? Well, I lied.
One did survive the 'Agent Smith'-like smackdown and he went on to join the Secret Society of Super-Villains. However, he was a good clone, not the usual, evil kind, and he wanted to turn the team around to the side of the angels... because, frankly, no group had more untapped heroic potential than the Secret Society of Super-Villains. In the end, Manhunter died in battle, though he did appear to take Darkseid, the lord of Apokolips and potentially the most powerful villain in all of the DCU, down with him... because, frankly, no hero could pose a greater threat to Darkseid, the lord of Apokolips and potentially the most powerful villain in all of the DCU, than the clone of Manhunter.
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cfd/Manhunter6.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="History of the Manhunter">Manhunter VI (The Manhunter most likely to sleep-hunt)
Like many of us, guitarist Chase Lawler had a problem. His girlfriend had gotten involved with a bad crowd (namely, record producers) and Chase did not want to see her become another True Hollywood Story, so he did what any loving boyfriend would do... he invoked the spirit of the Wild Huntsman, a primal force, which inadvertently bonded itself to him. From then on, Chase felt driven to hunt anyone who was alone at the time or living outside of normal society (which basically covers every person on Earth). Amazingly, he actually managed to fight some crime as Manhunter, in the midst of all this obsessive-compulsive behavior.
In his last gasp as a hero, Chase was killed by Mark Shaw, who was again having his mind futzed with. A quick dose of CPR brought Chase back from the tunnel of light, but that act of murder passed the spirit of the Wild Huntsman onto Mark, adding brand new blood rages to his psyche to replace all the ones he had gotten rid of earlier. However, the Happiest Ending Award goes to Chase, who now is free of his curse, back with his girl, and being paid five thousand dollars a month by his city, to never turn into Manhunter again (he seems to have forgotten to tell his city councilman that he can never turn into Manhunter again anyway).
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cfd/Manhunter7.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="History of the Manhunter">Manhunter VII (The Manhunter most likely to become a Marvel character)
Remember when I said that only one clone of Paul Kirk had survived? Well, I lied again.
It seems that another had escaped the Kirk culling, spiriting himself into hiding when he decided that he wanted no part of the massive dogpile. Clearly the wisest of the clones, he would go on to make a name for himself as a mercenary, after literally making a new name for himself as Kirk de Paul. It is truly inspiring to see a clone attempt to forge an individualized identity for himself, by first bastardizing the name of his genetic donor... inspiring and completely original.
The forward thinking de Paul was later recruited to be a founding member of the Power Company, a superhero enclave built around sound business practices. Unfortunately, the team's marketing savvy did not rub off on their series, which ended after only 12 issues. Kirk de Paul is presumably still with the Company, as they continue to fight crime, while always in pursuit of the almighty dollar, somewhere in-between the panels of other DC books.
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cfd/Manhunter8.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="History of the Manhunter">Manhunter VIII (The Manhunter most likely to be a maneater)
Her premier is still two months away, but here is what I've been able to glean from the preview material (not technically spoilers, more of a verbal trailer for the series). This new Manhunter is Kate Spencer, a driven federal prosecutor, who specializes in putting away metahuman criminals. She soon realizes that real justice can only be blah blah blah, and then we've got a new Manhunter for a new decade with a new X chromosome added.
The question remains, will this hunter of men succeed where oh so many others have failed? Well, she seems to have quite a bit going for her already- a link to the past for the older fans in the audience, and a goodly amount of hype to draw in the younger ones. Also, being a beautiful woman depicted on covers by Jae Lee, an expert on drawing beautiful women, cannot really hurt, so I have high hopes for the success of this newest incarnation. Assuming, of course, that she can successfully capture the beast that has proven to be the most elusive game of all: promising sales numbers.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Raul Grau wholeheartedly believes that it is extremely sexist to have scores of Manhunters, but not a single hero who specializes in hunting women. He would almost certainly don a domino mask himself, if only he could locate his very own Thunder Dog.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Note: The discriminating reader may notice that there are no pictures of Manhunter I or Manhunter III attached to this column. This is because neither Manhunter ever made an appearance on a comic book cover, in either of their brief existences - even the first Manhunter was never considered the "marquee" hero of Adventure Comics - he was upstaged by a relative newbie he shared the book with... called Starman.
There is no picture of the Martian Manhunter in this column either; as Raul said, he's not a true Manhunter, so he doesn't get a picture. Only real Manhunters get pictures. So there.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of ComiX-Fan or its other staff in general.