Marvel Has Brought Back Miracleman and It’s Been In the Cards For a Long Time

Marvel Comics is putting their eggs in the Avengers basket again, with Avengers: Armageddon bringing the team back to prominence. The story spun out of One World Under Doom, Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon, and Chip Zdarksy’s Captain America run, with the Avengers and super soldier David Colton teaming up with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to keep Doom’s Latverian arsenal out of the hands of Red Hulk and the UN. Colton is a former Captain America who was given amazing power when his life was saved by a Origin Box, and the latest issue of Avengers: Armageddon revealed just how important the character was going to be in the days to come, making him the new Miracleman.

That’s right, the new Miracleman. The story of Miracleman in the comic industry is one of the most interesting ever, a saga that created some of the greatest comics you’ll ever read, all while causing a legal battle that would last for years to come. Marvel ended up getting the rights to the character in the early ’10s, reprinting the classic volumes of the hero’s solo series and putting out the continuation Miracleman: The Dark Age. Seeing Miracleman in the Marvel Universe in any form is a huge surprise, but when it comes right down to it, we all knew this was going to happen. Miracleman coming to the Marvel Universe was inevitable.

Miracleman Was Always Going to Join the Marvel Universe

Miracleman began back in Great Britain in the ’50s, but he went by a different name back then. See, back in those days, Captain Marvel was one of the biggest superheroes in the land and everyone wanted a piece. Marvelman was created to be a British version of the hero, with young Mikey Moran gaining superhuman power when he said the word, “Kimota!” Eventually, he would be joined by Young Miracleman and Kid Miracleman, having the kind of stereotypical adventures you could imagine from a character who was little more than Captain Marvel with the serial numbers filed off in the Silver Age.

British comics started to come back to prominence in the late ’70s and early ’80s, with Alan Moore’s legend beginning back then. Moore was given a chance to do a new Marvelman series, changing his origin completely, and after his success with Swamp Thing, Marvelman would be brought to the United States as Miracleman by Eclipse Comics. It’s gone down as one of the greatest Alan Moore series ever, but there’s been a problem that kept it from being in print forever, like some of his other works – the ownership issues were so murky. Eventually, it came down to a legal battle between Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane, with Gaiman winning and eventually giving the copyright to Marvel Comics in the early ’10s.

Back in the ’90s, there were rumors that Miracleman was going to return in Spawn comics, but it never happened because of the legal issues. However, even back then, when Miracleman was one of the sacred cows of ’80s comics, him joining the modern industry was always going to happen. I even remember Wizard Magazine spotlighting the first appearance of “the Man of Miracles” in an issue of Spawn in the late ’90s. Miracleman is a name that’s too big to ignore and it’s honestly sort of admirable that Marvel was able to hold back until now.

I don’t want to shatter any illusions, but Marvel isn’t in the comic business because they want to tell the best stories. Marvel wants to make money, first and foremost, and that means that something like Miracleman is going to be used to make money. While we readers would often prefer for these kinds of stories to be respected, the people who make the decisions aren’t thinking about respecting a story, they’re thinking about how they’re going to profit off things. While you can say the same thing about DC, there’s something altogether more cynical about the way Marvel does business.

Marvel has already published the original stories and they tried to be complete the story that Eclipse’s shuttering ended decades ago. Miracleman, though, has become a victim of Neil Gaiman’s accusations. There’s very little chance that we’re going to get the final part of his Miracleman trilogy, unless artist Mark Buckingham is the one to finish the story. Marvel has this big shiny toy that they aren’t using and right now, they could use all the help they could get. Miracleman showing up at this point in Marvel history makes sense.

The House of Ideas has been on a downward trend lately and you can see the desperation in some of their maneuvers lately. Making David Colton Miracleman is one of those things designed to get as much focus as possible. In the past, the Big Two bringing back Alan Moore ideas doesn’t exactly have a good track record; just look at the Watchmen sequels and prequels that DC has been trying to make work for decades. However, I think this time will work out better for everyone involved.

For one thing, this isn’t something like Doomsday Clock. It’s not a crossover between two very different superhero universes. It’s merely taking an idea from one thing and using it somewhere else. Colton isn’t stepping into a mantle, he’s just taking up a new name as a hero, with a new costume. Marvel isn’t trying to use the legacy of Miracleman in the way that DC was trying to use Watchmen and I think that’s going to make all the difference. This isn’t trying to be Miracleman, it’s just a cynical marketing technique meant to get eyes on a book and if you’re reading this, it worked on you.

There’s No Such Thing As Sacred Cows

I’m a huge Watchmen fan, but I’m not one of the people who hate the sequels and prequels. I judge each of them on what they are. I don’t get mad because a company wants to make another story with a property they own; I get mad if the stories are bad. David Colton showing up as Miracleman is going to be one of those things that a certain subset of the fandom is going to hate, but here’s the thing – it’s not going to change Miracleman. You’ll still have that book and the memories you made with it. Even if this ends up being terrible, Miracleman will still be amazing. That won’t change.

Marvel was always going to use Miracleman in the Marvel Universe at some point and we’ve finally reached that moment. Right now, Marvel is at the lowest ebb they’ve been at for a long time. I mean, you can tell the panic is starting to set in when they announce a Marvel/Star Wars crossover comic and this is yet another symptom of that – putting a new character in a classic mantle to control a news cycle.

I can’t tell you not to be mad about this if you are, but honestly, what did you think was going to happen? Marvel isn’t your friend who cares about your opinion. They’re a publishing company and they want to make money. Miracleman’s return may be the biggest mistake ever. It may also end up being the coolest thing ever. Calm down. Give it time; if it’s terrible, then unload on it. Until then, enjoy the ride.

7 1980s DC Comics That Keep Getting Better With Age