Adam Strange

Adam Strange
Art by Pasqual Ferry.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Showcase # 17, (November 1958)
Created by	Gardner Fox Mike Sekowsky
In-story information
Alter ego	Adam Strange
Place of origin	Rann, formerly Earth
Team affiliations	Justice League Seven Soldiers of Victory
Abilities	Wears a jet pack spacesuit that allows for sustained flight and interstellar travel; Carries energy blast guns; Generates solid-light equipment via spacesuit; can see into the whole electromagnetic spectrum

Adam Strange is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky, he first appeared in Showcase #17 (November 1958).

Publication history

Created by Gardner Fox, Adam Strange is reminiscent of Edgar Rice Burroughs's John Carter of Mars series. Both characters have origins in which they are chased by threatening aboriginal peoples only to find themselves mysteriously transported at the last moment to distant planets where they become heroic figures. In Carter's case this is to Mars, while Adam Strange is transported to Rann. Although the John Carter stories depict a raw sort of adventure that includes swordplay, physical action, nudity, and bloodletting, these are absent from the Adam Strange stories. However, both characters long to travel to a strange world to fight alien opponents and be united with a beloved woman who resided there.

Like most other comic book science fiction stories of the 1950s, the problems and their stories are contrived, the solutions often based on haphazard application of simple scientific principles. After his initial 3-issue run in Showcase (#17-19), came a move to Mystery in Space (#53-100, 102), drawn by Carmine Infantino and most often inked by Murphy Anderson (although Bernard Sachs, Joe Giella and Sid Greene did a few issues each). As of #92, Jack Schiff replaced Julius Schwartz as editor of MIS and Lee Elias became the artist for Adam Strange. He later appeared in Strange Adventures (reprints in #217 through 244, except for #222, which instead had a new story with Strange, written by Denny O'Neil, while #226 had the addition of a new Strange text story, by Fox, with illos by Anderson).

One award-winning story, however, resulted from a continuity gaffe in the Justice League of America comic book, in which the Flash mentions Adam Strange as a possible new member for the Justice League, a group he had not met and who could not have heard of him, as all his heroics took place on Rann. When a letter to the editor reported this, Gardner Fox wrote a story showing how the JLA came to Rann and how Adam Strange got them out of the traps that Kanjar Ro set for them there.

For years, the character was a regular presence in the DC Universe. By the 1980s, the acclaimed author Alan Moore provided a more cynical reason for his visits to Rann. Apparently, the population of the planet, the majority of whom viewed the Terran with contempt, is sterile, and the real reason for Adam's presence is to be a breeding stud. This new situation is further illustrated in a 1990 limited series, The Man of Two Worlds, where Adam learns of the population's opinion of him and Alanna died giving birth to their daughter Aleea. In JLA #20 (July 1998), Alanna is revealed to be alive, and, at the end of the story, she is reunited with her husband and daughter, albeit briefly, as Adam is transported back to Earth soon after Alanna's arrival.

Fictional character biography

Strange is an archeologist suddenly teleported from Peru, Earth to fictional planet Rann through the "Zeta Beam". Called on to protect the planet from extraterrestrial threats using high-tech weaponry, Strange grew to care for the planet and its inhabitants, especially the blue-haired Alanna. Independently wealthy, he traveled Earth, intercepting the regular patterns of the Zeta Beam to defend Rann and be with Alanna. Strange’s adventures were published in several anthology series in the 1950s and '60s and, although never a headlining character, he has had a consistent presence in the DC Universe.

Mystery in Space

During Grant Morrison's revival of the Justice League of America series, Mark Waid featured Adam Strange when he filled in for Morrison. This proved to be the starting point of a renaissance for the character, establishing new motivations and updating the character's role in the DC Universe. Adam Strange kidnaps the entirety of the Justice League while seeming to be completely insane. The heroes of the Justice League are put to forced labor, ostensibly to celebrate the return of the missing Princess Alanna, who is believed to be dead. With the help of the En'Taran's, a group of alien slavers, the entire population of Rann has been rebuilding the planet to restore its technology and infrastructure. The League's role is to help with the finishing touches for the finale, which will greet Alanna and her En'Taran escorts.

After several escape attempts by the New God, Orion, and a concerted effort by Superman, Wonder Woman and The Flash, the league succeeds in breaking loose and restraining their En'Taran captors. Adam Strange then reveals that he has been completely sane during their entire incarceration, and that the restoration effort has been a ruse to ward off an En'Taran invasion. Due to a fluke of circumstances, Alanna was never really dead; rather, she was in a coma. As the En'Tarans revived her, they discovered the secret to Zeta Beam teleportation technology and began to covet it for military purposes. Acting quickly, Adam Strange feigned insanity and had the Justice League brought to Rann to provide back up and help him with a desperate gamble. The structures of the Capitol city are actually a larger version of the teleporter; by using his own body as part of the lens, the radiation that keeps him tethered permanently to Rann can instead be used to permanently teleport the invasion fleet away. The Justice League was necessary to complete the repairs in time and for mounting a fast rescue attempt of Alanna and her father from the En'Taran fleet. The plan works, and Strange's family is rescued seconds before the beam channels through him to teleport the fleet away.

Just as Strange is reunited, he begins to disappear as the beam has expunged his radiation tether. The League disappears shortly after, both admiring that Strange beat an alien invasion using only his wits, but also lamenting how painful it must be to have won the battle only to lose his loved ones again. Somewhere on Earth, J'onn J'onzz finds Adam Strange looking up at the sky with longing, and comforts him by placing an understanding hand on his shoulder.

Planet Heist

Planet Heist, a 2004 eight-issue limited series, written by Andy Diggle, penciled by Pasqual Ferry and colored by Dave McCaig, updated Adam Strange's appearance and abilities by giving him a new costume, a spacesuit that allows for interstellar travel. In the series, Adam was prepared to relocate to Rann permanently when he was informed that the planet was destroyed and that he was blamed for its destruction. In fact, Sardath transported Rann to another dimension to save the planet from the cosmic being, Starbreaker, intent on destroying the planet. Adam, with the help of the Omega Men and the Darkstars, among others, saved Rann and defeated the evil being.

Rann-Thanagar War

When Rann was moved, its orbit was believed to have pushed the planet Thanagar closer to its sun, destroying much of the surface (it was later discovered that the actions of Superboy-Prime moved Thanagar). Many Thanagarians were relocated to Rann, but enmity between the two races resulted in a war, depicted in Rann-Thanagar War, a six-issue precursor to DC's 2005 to 2006 limited series and DC crossover event, Infinite Crisis.

52

Adam is featured as one of the main characters in DC's weekly event 52. Adam is stranded on a paradise-like planet with Animal Man and Starfire. As a result of a teleportation accident involving the zeta beam, he has lost both of his eyeballs but in spite of his injuries, he is trying to fix a damaged spaceship so that they may return home.^[1] After being attacked by Devilance the Pursuer, they eventually escape having realized that the entire planet is a trap.

Encountered by Devilance again, they're saved by the intervention of Lobo. Having renounced violence and his career as a bounty hunter, Lobo agrees to serve as the group's guide. They are soon also joined by Ekron, a member of the Green Lantern Corps nicknamed the "Emerald Head" for his unique mode of transport. This ragtag team makes a stand against the villainess Lady Styx, whose undead legions are ravaging planets across the galaxy. With Styx presumably defeated and Animal Man seemingly killed, Strange and Starfire continue their journey back to Earth and Rann, still pursued by angry Lady Styx followers. With Starfire wounded in one of such battles, and their ship breaking apart and malfunctioning, Adam is forced to fly blindly in open space. When he's about to crash into a sun, he is saved by Mogo and a rookie Green Lantern. Brought to Rann, Strange is equipped with new eyes, cloned by Aleea and genetically engineered to grant him vision of the entire electromagnetic spectrum. He is briefly questioned by the Green Lantern Corps about the secret of 52, but when an emergency arose during the interrogation, the Lanterns offered to respond in Strange's stead so he could be reacquainted with his wife.

Countdown to Adventure

Adam Strange joined Animal Man and Starfire in the series Countdown to Adventure written by Adam Beechen in August 2007.

In issue #1, Adam finds himself replaced as Rann's protector by Champ Hazard, a former actor from Earth. However, Hazard has no regard for any life and is responsible for ending his battles in a horrifically bloody way. It appears Champ was infected by a madness plague created by Lady Styx before leaving Earth, and has infected one third of the people on Rann, causing them to riot and say "Believe in Her." Adam and his family escape to Earth, where he enlists the aid of Animal Man and Starfire, eventually discovering a way to cure the plague and restore the infectees to normal.

Other versions

• Adam Strange has a descendant, also named Adam Strange, in the future of the Space Ranger, as seen in Mystery in Space #94 (September 1964).

• The Silver Age Adam Strange is one of the "ghosts" in the empty "Planet Krypton" restaurant in The Kingdom: Planet Krypton #1.

• Adam Strange made a brief appearance in Elseworlds' JLA: Another Nail when all time periods meld together.

In other media

Television

• In the TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, during the episode "The Plot To Kill a City: Episode 2" (written by Alan Brennert, who had also written comics for DC) an announcement over a spaceport's loudspeaker system asks for "Doctor Adam Strange from Alpha Centauri" to "please report to the reservations desk."

• Adam Strange appears in the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold, in the episode, "Mystery in Space!". Batman is called over to Adam's home planet and he brings Aquaman as well. All three go in to stop the Gordanians from obtaining the Eye of Zared. After the enemy gets the eye, Adam's confidence is rekindled by Aquaman, and he goes in to save his wife, Alanna, and buy Aquaman and Batman some time to create a solar eclipse to stop the eye. Both he and Alanna share a kiss at the end. He was voiced by Michael T. Weiss.

Film

• Adam Strange appears briefly in Justice League: The New Frontier. He is glimpsed in one of John Jones' news clippings early on in the film. During the climax, he is one of the heroes who answers the call to fight the Centre.

Video games

• Adam Strange is set to appear in the upcoming MMORPG DC Universe Online.

Awards

The character and series of the same name have received several awards over the years, including the 1967 and 1968 Alley Awards for Strip Most Desired for Revival.

Bibliography

• Justice League (TV series) #25–26 - "Strange Days" (Part 1 of 2)
• Justice League Unlimited #4 - "Local Hero"

References

External links

• DCDP: Adam Strange - DC Database Project
• Brief History of Adam Strange at Sequart.com
• Toonopedia Entry
• Adam Strange: Planet Heist, extensive look at 2004–05 mini-series
• Alley Awards main page at Comic Book Awards Almanac