Mister Miracle
Mister Miracle is the name of three superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first and third are humans Thaddeus Brown and Shilo Norman, while the second is New God Scott Free. The Scott Free incarnation of Mister Miracle first appeared in Mister Miracle #1 and was created by Jack Kirby.
The Scott Free incarnation of Mister Miracle has appeared in various media outside comics, primarily in association with the New Gods. Ioan Gruffudd, Yuri Lowenthal, Roger Craig Smith, and Andy Daly have voiced the character in animation.
Publication history
Mister Miracle debuted in the first issue of the eponymous series cover dated April 1971 as part of the Fourth World tetralogy. Big Barda, the character's love interest, was introduced in Mister Miracle #4. According to creator Jack Kirby's then-assistant Mark Evanier, Kirby wanted to be a comics creator and creative supervisor at DC Comics, rather than a regular writer-artist: "... we were going to turn Mr. Miracle over to Steve Ditko after a couple of issues and have me write it and Ditko draw it. Carmine Infantino, publisher of DC at the time, vetoed that and said Kirby had to do it all himself." Evanier unofficially co-wrote most issues of the series.The original title featuring Miracle was the longest-lasting of the Fourth World titles, lasting 18 issues while the other titles, New Gods and The Forever People, were cancelled after 11 issues. The most traditionally super-heroesque comic of the various Fourth World titles, the last seven issues as well as later incarnations of the series would downplay the Fourth World mythology in favor of more traditional superhero fare. The character teamed up with Batman three times in The Brave and the Bold. The title was revived in September 1977 by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers. Steve Gerber and Michael Golden produced three issues ending with #25 with several story lines unresolved. Mister Miracle teamed with Superman in DC Comics Presents #12 and met the Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America in Justice League of America #183–185.
When the character was revived as part of the Justice League International lineup in 1987, a one-shot special by writer Mark Evanier and artist Steve Rude was published in 1987. This special was followed by an ongoing series that began in January 1989, written by J. M. DeMatteis and drawn by Ian Gibson. Other writers who contributed to the title include Keith Giffen, Len Wein, and Doug Moench. This run lasted 28 issues before cancellation in 1991. The series was largely humor-driven, per Giffen's reimagining Scott Free, his wife Big Barda, and their friend Oberon, who pretended to be Scott's uncle, as living in suburbia when they were not fighting evil with the Justice League.
In 1996, a series written by Kevin Dooley showed Scott attempting to escape his destiny as a New God by working for a charitable foundation in New York. This ran for seven issues, before all Fourth World titles were canceled for the launch of Jack Kirby's Fourth World.
In addition, Scott's ally and wife Big Barda was made a member of the revived Justice League and appeared regularly in the Jack Kirby's Fourth World series by John Byrne.
With the launching of Grant Morrison's meta-series Seven Soldiers, Mister Miracle was revived as a four-issue miniseries. This miniseries focused instead on Scott's sidekick and apprentice Shilo Norman, who died.
In 2017, the character returned in a 12-issue limited series written by Tom King and illustrated by Mitch Gerads.
From July 2021 to January 2022, Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom was published as a six issue miniseries starring Shilo Norman as Mister Miracle. The series was written by Brandon Easton and drawn by Fico Ossio.
Fictional character biography
Mister Miracle was one of four DC Comics series in Kirby's ambitious, but short-lived, Fourth World saga. Mister Miracle, Super Escape Artist was inspired by comic book writer/artist Jim Steranko. Mister Miracle's relationship with his wife Big Barda is based on Kirby's relationship with his own wife Roz.Thaddeus Brown
Thaddeus Brown is a circus escape artist whose stage name is Mister Miracle. As the first escape artist to use the name Mister Miracle, Brown earns a modest living and practices his art into his later years. Brown meets Scott Free as he is practicing an outdoor escape with his long-time friend and assistant Oberon. Scott then aids Brown as he is being coerced by Intergang thugs working for Intergang member Steel Hand. While practicing an escape of being tied to a tree with a projectile speeding toward him, Brown is killed by a sniper working for Steel Hand. After Brown's murder, Scott takes his costume and the mantle of Mister Miracle.Following The New 52 and DC Rebirth relaunches, Brown's history remains intact, though it is claimed that he may have faked his death. Brown is also revealed to have been part of a group called Justice Society Dark in the 1940s.
Scott Free
Scott Free is the son of Highfather, the ruler of New Genesis, and his wife, Avia. As part of a diplomatic move to stop a war with the planet Apokolips, Highfather agreed to an exchange of heirs with Darkseid, the ruler of Apokolips. Scott was traded for Darkseid's second-born son Orion.Scott grows up in one of Granny Goodness' orphanages with no knowledge of his heritage, but refuses to allow his spirit to break under the institution's training. As he matures, Scott rebels against the totalitarian ideology of Apokolips. Hating himself for being unable to fit in despite his unfailing defiance of the abuse he suffered, Scott is influenced by Metron to see a future beyond Darkseid. Scott joins a small band of pupils led by Himon, a New Genesian living under cover as a Hunger Dog on Apokolips. At these meetings, Scott meets Big Barda, a lieutenant in Darkseid's Female Furies.
Eventually, Free escapes and flees to Earth. His escape, long anticipated and planned for by Darkseid, nullifies the pact between Darkseid and Highfather, allowing Darkseid to revive his war with New Genesis. Once on Earth, Free meets circus escape artist Thaddeus Brown, whose stage name was Mister Miracle. Brown is impressed with Scott's skills. Scott befriends Brown's assistant, a dwarf named Oberon. When Brown is murdered, Free assumes the identity of Mister Miracle. Barda later follows Scott to Earth and the two battle Darkseid, who seeks to capture them. Eventually, tired of being chased by Darkseid's servants, Scott returns to Apokolips and wins his freedom through trial by combat.
Scott later joins Justice League International alongside Barda and Oberon. This recast Scott and Barda as semi-retired super-heroes who seek to live peaceful civilian lives. In particular, Scott is recast as a hen-pecked husband who often finds himself on the receiving end of Barda's temper over her desire to live a quiet life on Earth.
During his time in the League, Scott develops an intense rivalry with Manga Khan. Khan repeatedly kidnaps Scott, convincing Scott's conniving former manager Funky Flashman into forging documents that force Scott to work for Manga as his personal entertainer. To force him to go along willingly, Khan replaces Scott with a lifelike robot who is later destroyed by Despero. Scott ultimately escapes from Khan's clutches and reunited with his wife and friends, though the shock leads Scott to quit the League and take on Shilo Norman as his protégé.
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Mister Miracle appears alongside Big Barda flying around the ruins of Gotham City on Earth 2. Their purpose is revealed to find the mysterious new Batman, which is thwarted when both are attacked by Fury.
Shilo Norman
Abandoned by his mother when he was only an infant, Shilo Norman's desire to escape was fostered in an abusive orphanage. He eventually runs away and ends up on the streets near the informal ward of Thaddeus Brown, and he served as an occasional stand-in. When Brown is murdered by Steel Hand, Scott Free avenges his death by taking on the identity of Mister Miracle and bringing Steel Hand to justice. Shilo also works with Scott and his wife Barda. Shilo later becomes security chief of the Slab, a maximum-security prison.Shilo Norman also appears in Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom, a six-issue miniseries spinning out of the events of "DC Future State" and tying into "Infinite Frontier".
Powers and abilities
Like all the New Gods, Scott Free is functionally immortal; having stopped aging around the age of 30, he has developed an immunity to toxins and diseases. Scott has superhuman strength, agility, speed, coordination and reflexes, along with incredible stamina. Due to his exhausting and rigorous life on Apokolips, his body has tremendous resistance to extreme temperatures, physical injury, psychic influence and he is capable of extremely rapid recovery.Scott has a genius-level intellect and is knowledgeable about much of the universe. During his life on Apokolips, he was instructed by Himon in the science and use of advanced Fourth World's technology. He is a genius inventor who has designed most of the equipment in his costume, including his Mother Box.
Scott was trained by Granny Goodness as an Aero-trooper. Although he despises violence and is often portrayed as a pacifist, he is still an exceptional warrior, instructed in all combat techniques of Apokolips and very skilled with weapons. On one occasion, he was able to beat Big Barda. Also, he is a master escapologist and acrobat. He is considered better at escapes than Batman, and much of his skill is the result of his advanced physiology.
Scott Free is heir of the Alpha Effect, the antithesis of Darkseid's Omega Energy. This power was almost unlimited and allowed him to manipulate energy in many ways. Also, Mister Miracle used his godlike powers to resurrect his wife and battle against Steppenwolf and Kalibak, temporarily stopping the war between New Genesis and Apokolips. Later, Scott relinquished his heritage.
Scott possesses greater power as the embodiment of the Anti-Life Equation. The ability is fueled by rage and negative emotions. The Anti-Life Equation can give any being the power to dominate the will of all sentient and sapient races and alter the reality, space, time, matter and anti-matter at the cosmic level. Mister Miracle proved to be powerful enough to fight Superman and Orion together.