Shaggy Man (DC)
Shaggy Man is a comic supervillain who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
The Shaggy Man was an artificial being constructed of a new plastalloy that was developed by noted scientist Dr. Andrew Zagarian. He was testing the creation of the new material by building an oversized body and sought to empower it with voltaic pressure from a small atomic power generator. However, too much energy went into the construct causing the plasalloy man's body's hair follicles to grow at a tremendous rate and took on a pseudo-life of its own. Coming alive, the resultant Shaggy Man looked to destroy anything that moved with Zagarian being paralysed by fear leading to him surviving the monsters rampage. After destroying the laboratory, the Shaggy Man departed and Dr. Zagarian realised the monster he had created and resolved that the plastalloy man needed to be destroyed. He attempted to use a gun to help him kill his creation but the Shaggy Man simply regenerated from his injuries and pursued Zagarian. In desperation, Dr. Zagarian created an elaborate trap whereby the Shaggy Man was tricked into a room where molten iron poured on him in a sea cave whereupon two electro-magnets were used to immobilise him in place as the metal cooled down. Thus, the Shaggy Man was temporarily stopped with Zagarian sealing the cave and calling upon the Justice League of America to help him destroy his out of control creation. (Justice League of America v1 #45)
At Flash's suggestion, Professor Zagarian created a second Shaggy Man to fight the first Shaggy Man. The Justice League sealed both Shaggy Men in a pit where they could fight each other. It was brought to life after it was placed in the pit. When the Shaggy Men defeated the moon creature that was sealed with it, they proceeded to fight each other. (Justice League of America v1 #45)
The Shaggy Man was later freed by the psychic villain Hector Hammond, who sought revenge against the Justice League for his imprisonment. He freed the monster from its tomb, and transported him to the Justice League Satellite. The brawl between the heroes and the Shaggy Man sends the entire satellite crashing to earth. The entire Justice League throw their combined might against the beast, but they cannot defeat it. Thankfully for the heroes, the battle turns in their favor when Hector's control over the Shaggy Man breaks. In a desperate attempt to stop the monster, Green Lantern uses a massive amount of his ring's power to shrink the monster to miniature size and captures him in a bottle. The Shaggy Man was then kept under tight security in the League's satellite. (Justice League of America v1 #104)
The Shaggy Man later escapes his captors and grows back to normal size. The creature later appeared battling the Justice League in Arizona, where Green Lantern dropped a mountain on him. While the immortal Shaggy Man is trapped beneath the mountain, a small town named Justus is built around its base. Two years after his imprisonment, the Shaggy Man finally breaks free of his rocky tomb and goes on a rampage. The Justice League defeated him after learning from his creator that the Shaggy's Man fur was a fiber-optic conduit for energy created by photosynthesis. The Justice League managed to shave the beast and exile him on the dark side of Moon before his hair could grow back. (General Mills Presents: Justice League v1 #1)
Over a year later, the Justice League was contacted by Petra Rostoff, an officer of the Soviet Space Force. She explains that Shaggy Man II has escaped his icy prison, and has been rampaging across Siberia. With their military unable to stop him, the Russian government has requested help from the Justice League. The League is reluctant at first, especially Flash, who believes the Russians may have attempted to capture Shaggy Man II and use him as a weapon. Despite the suspicions, the heroes finally agree to assist the Russians in stopping the creature. After a lengthy fight, Batman finally defeats the monster by tricking him onto a launching rocket. The unmanned rocket flies off into deep space, taking Shaggy Man II with it. (Justice League of America v1 #186)
Shaggy Man II eventually escapes the rocket and is able to return to earth. The creature is next seen taking part in the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, as one of the many supervillains united under Brainiac. On Earth X, Shaggy Man II engages with Changeling and Mento during the final battle. However, Green Arrow of Earth-Two assists the heroes, defeating the Shaggy Man with an explosive-tipped arrow. (Crisis on Infinite Earths v1 #10)
General Wade Eiling came to authorise a mission to recovery the artificial humanoid construct who resided deep on the ocean floor. This saw Warmaker One of the Ultramarines was dispatched through a submarine to help recover the Shaggy Man. (JLA v1 #24) The reason for this was because Eiling was dying from an inoperable brain tumour and intended to survive by transferring his consciousness to the Shaggy Man. For this, he had his scientists conduct experiments in the creation of a synthetic Metagene to allow for the exchange. (JLA v1 #25)
A new version of Shaggy Man appears as a member of the Injustice League. (Justice League of America Wedding Special v1 #1) Shaggy Man later joins Gorilla Grodd in assaulting the hero Geo-Force. Lex Luthor revealed that he created this Shaggy Man and states that he doesn't usually let it out except for when it's time for some exercising. Wonder Woman fought Shaggy Man during the fight against the Injustice League. (Justice League of America v3 #14)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. The Shaggy Man was a construct said to had been constructed by the brilliant yet corrupt scientist Professor Athony Ivo. (Justice League of America v3 #4) The Shaggy Man was an artificial life form that followed the commands of its designated master. At one point, the Shaggy Man battled Superman and the Justice League in the middle of St. Louis, Missouri. A young fan witnessed this spectacle, silently watching while the League struggled against the monster. While the Shaggy Man was defeated, a building collapsed during the carnage, paralyzing the boy from the waist down. In a cruel irony, the boy had just watched Batman save his friend from a similar fate. (Justice League v3 #37)
Overview
Personality and attributes
After activating, the Shaggy Man had an urge to annihilate and destroy anything that moved. (Justice League of America v1 #45)
Powers and abilities
He was composed of a plastic alloy called plastalloy that was the closest to duplicating human physiology and even organs. (Justice League of America v1 #45)
An aspect of the Shaggy Man's physiology was an amazing ability to regenerate any damage to his form. This allowed him to reform any tissue that was destroyed such as being able to regenerate a destroyed arm within moments. (Justice League of America v1 #45)
The Shaggy Man was considered an extremely dangerous planetary-level threat. (JLA v1 #24)
Notes
- The Shaggy Man was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky where he made his first appearance in Justice League of America v1 #45 (June, 1966).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the Shaggy Man appeared in the setting of the animated television series in the episodes "Legends of the Dark Mite!" and "Long Arm of the Law!".
Appearances
- Justice League of America v1: (1966)
- JLA v1:
- Justice League of America v3:
- Aquaman:
External Links
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