Today’s Australia Day, an Australian national holiday seen as an equivalent of sorts to the Fourth of July or Bastille Day.While the holiday began as a celebration of English occupation of the Fourth of July (something the Aboriginal people don’t look too kindly upon), Australia Day evolved into a celebration of the continent’s unique ecosystem, culture and history.
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While Australia isn’t a hub of superhero activity like New York City, the continent has still produced several unique superheroes and supervillains over the years.To celebrate Australia Day, here’s five of our favorite Australian characters in comics.
Captain Boomerang
Both Marvel and DC have Australian supervillains with a “boomerang” gimmick, but DC’s Digger Harkness (AKA Captain Boomerang) has made the bigger impact in his respective universe. Captain Boomerang is one of the sleazier villains in the DC Universe, willing to double-cross just about anyone to save his own neck. Boomerang first appeared as a Flash villain, trying unsuccessfully to shoot the Flash into space on a giant boomerang. He then joined the Rogues until the United States government conscripted him to join the Suicide Squad. Although Harkness caused the death of several teammates during his time with the Squad, he remained a frequent member of the team up until his death.
In recent years, Harkness played roles in several major DC events. He died in Identity Crisis while assassinating Tim Drake’s father and then returned at the end of Blackest Night (but not before his zombified “Black Lantern” form murdered his son, the second Captain Boomerang). In DC’s rebooted “New 52” continuity, Harkness once again became a member of the Suicide Squad, mirroring his role in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie.
Gateway
When the X-Men faked their death and moved to Australia, they still needed a way to quickly move around the globe to help mutants in need. Luckily, they had Gateway, a mysterious Aboriginal mutant who lived in their makeshift base with teleportation abilities. Gateway continued to assist the X-Men for years, bringing them wayward mutants and guiding them with his ability to see into the future. Gateway also trained the young mutant Manifold, who joined both the Secret Warriors and the Avengers. Unfortunately, Gateway’s affiliation with the X-Men proved to be fatal. After assisting Wolverine’s Uncanny X-Force team with their transport needs, he died at the hands of a rogue super-Sentinel stored at their base.
Tasmanian Devil
One of the first openly gay superheroes in the DC Universe, the Tasmanian Devil was Australia’s contribution to the Global Guardians, an international police force of superheroes. With the ability to transform into a monstrous furry beast (that looks nothing like an actual Tasmanian devil), the Tasmanian Devil acted as one of the powerhouses on the team for years and even briefly joined the Justice League International. Unfortunately, the Tasmanian Devil ran afoul of the supervillain Prometheus, who skinned him and used his pelt as a rug. But, you can’t keep a good Z-list superhero down, and he eventually came back to life to rescue several of his Justice League friends (including his ex-lover Starman) from a group of angry talking gorillas.
Kangaroo
Everybody loves kangaroos. They’re cute, they have adorable oversized legs, they have an actual baby pouch and they’re experts in bareknuckled boxing. But Frank Oliver, an early Spider-Man villain, took that love of kangaroos to an unnatural extreme. As a child growing up in Australia, he studied kangaroos, lived with kangaroos, and learned how to jump like a kangaroo. Oliver did what any Australian with unnatural leaping abilities would do: become a supervillain named the Kangaroo who committed only petty crimes. After losing to Spider-Man several times, Kangaroo received a painful cybernetic upgrade from Dr. Jonas Harrow that allowed him to leap higher and punch harder. After fighting Spider-Man to a standstill, the Kangaroo tried to retrieve a radioactive isotope for Harrow from a nearby lab. Unfortunately, the radiation from the isotope caused the Kangaroo to disintegrate instantly. However, Oliver’s legacy lived on as another supervillain built an armored kangaroo suit and became the second Kangaroo in his honor.
Ultraa
Ultraa was the first superhero of Earth-Prime, an alternate universe meant to mimic the real world. Ultraa escaped his home planet’s destruction as a baby and landed in the Australian Outback. Raised by an Aboriginal tribe, Ultraa traveled to the United States as an adult with plans to become a superhero and reveal his powers to the world. However, after the US military attacked him and he met the visiting Justice League of America, Ultraa decided his world wasn’t ready for superheroes and followed the JLA back to their universe, Earth-One. Ultraa’s stay on Earth-One didn’t go well: the Justice League treated Ultraa like an enemy and he eventually gave up his superhero dreams and returned to the Outback. Grant Morrison reintroduced Ultraa to the New 52 during Multiversity as a self-aware idea living in a comic book. Wrap your head around that crazy comic book concept.
