History
Johnny Bates, alias Kid Marvelman was, along with Young Marvelman, one of the two sidekicks of the superhero Marvelman (the two boys were temporarily transformed from their normal selves into their super powered selves by speaking Marvelman's name aloud), and fought alongside him in the 1950s and 1960s before fading into obscurity. An eager and optimistic kid, Johnny was usually upbeat and greeted most surprises with his trademark cry of "Holy Macaroni!"
1980s Revelations
Twenty years later, Marvelman-who had been living quietly as journalist Mike Moran-regained his long lost memories of his youth and was somewhat stunned to discover that his memory of a crimefighting career as a superhero was actually a delusion implanted in his mind by the Spookshow, the secret government agency who had created him and his two young friends as part of Project Zarathustra, a weapons development project using stolen alien technology. Tracking down Johnny Bates, now a successful businessman, he also discovered that Johnny had remained in his super powered Kid Marvelman form for the last twenty years, growing into a tremendously powerful and amoral adult super being. Marvelman was attacked by Kid Marvelman, who considered him a threat, but defeated him, and forced him to turn back into Johnny Bates-still a child after all these years. Bates was rendered catatonic by the knowledge of what his alter ego had done, but Kid Marvelman later re-emerged and went on a murder spree, killing millions until stopped by Marvelman. Returning Bates to his human form but knowing that he was too dangerous to leave alive, Marvelman broke Johnny's neck, killing him instantly. His deeds later inspired the anarchist group known as the Bates's.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Flight, enhanced durability
Abilities
Time travel.
Strength level
Superhuman
Notes
Kid Marvelman was created by Mick Anglo in 1955 as a fairly generic superhero sidekick based loosely on the American Marvel Family characters created by Fawcett Comics. The later revelations about his origins and his reinvention as a villain were the work of Alan Moore for Warrior magazine, although the story was eventually completed at the American publisher Eclipse Comics. For legal reasons Marvelman's, Eclipse Comics were forced to change the main character's name from Marvelman to "Miracleman" in order to avoid legal action from Marvel Comics, so Kid Marvelman became "Kid Miracleman". Since Marvel now own the rights to the characters, this is no longer a consideration, however.
Links and References
- 3 Appearances of Kid Marvelman
- Minor Appearances of Kid Marvelman
- Media Kid Marvelman was Mentioned in
- Images featuring Kid Marvelman
- Quotations by or about Kid Marvelman
- Character Gallery: Kid Marvelman
Footnotes
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