Paul Kirk (DC)
Paul Kirk is a male comic character who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Pre-Crisis
Post Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Paul Kirk
A natural athlete and tracker, Paul Kirk became a famous hunter of large and dangerous wildlife. Concluding there are no more challenges left in the jungle, Kirk returns home to New York City. Concluding that criminals are the most challenging prey to track and capture, Kirk becomes an amateur detective, aiding the police in several cases. Eventually, costumed super-villains become more common and one named the Buzzard kills Police Inspector Donovan, a friend of Kirk's. Following Donovan's death, Kirk is contacted by the secret cult of the Manhunters, who claim that they are an organization dedicated to helping the cause of justice. The Manhunters reveal they are impressed with Kirk's abilities and want him to avenge not only Donovan, who was an agent of their organization, but to also fight against the rising threat of criminals. Kirk agrees and is given a red and blue costume by the Manhunters to keep his identity secret and "subtly" enhance his tracking abilities. Unbeknownst to Kirk, the Manhunters are actually corrupt robots who have been manipulating human agents and allies for centuries, biding their time until they are ready to attempt planetary and then universal conquest. (Secret Origin v2 #22)
He continued to operate as a big game hunter in the late 1930's until the outbreak of World War II. At the governments request, he put aside his life as a crime fighter and instead operated as an agent. In 1945, one of his missions involved freeing noted Doctor Anatol Mykros from the Nazis. After the war, he returned to life as a hunter but was killed in Africa in 1946 by a mad bull-elephant. Kirk's body was recovered by agents of the mysterious secret society known as the Council who took the remains to their sanctuary. Once there, they kept in a frozen cryogenic state over the span of 25 years. With new advancements being made, the Council began applying their advanced knowledge to slowly restore Paul Kirk back to life. Following various experiments such as genetic surgery, he was awakened and inducted as an agent of the Council. Under the tutelage of Asano Nitobe, he was trained to the peak of human ability and the cells in his body were used to create cloned duplicates to serve as the elite enforcers of the Council. Dr. Mykros who was now a member of the Council explained to Kirk that their mission was to save mankind from destroying itself. (Detective Comics v1 #439)
Six years after the second death of Paul Kirk, the hero Nightwing tracks down an illegal arms dealer and smuggler named Kirk DePaul. DePaul reveals he is a clone of Paul Kirk who was able to fight off the Council's programming. Deciding to follow his own free will, he left the Council before Paul Kirk's final battle and the organization's destruction. (The Power Company: Manhunter v1 #1)
However, DePaul was later murdered by Mark Shaw who had suffered a breakdown and resumed his Dumas persona. (Manhunter v3 #11)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Paul Kirk
Overview
Personality and attributes
Powers an abilities
Notes
- The Paul Kirk Manhunter was created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon where he made his first appearance in Adventure Comics v1 #58 (January, 1941).
Alternate Versions
- In Golden Age v1 #1 (1993), Paul Kirk as Manhunter appeared in the alternate reality setting set on a world within the Multiverse.
In other media
Television
- In Beware the Batman, Paul Kirk made his first animated appearance where he was voiced by Xander Berkeley and debuted in the episode "Unique". He was shown as a big game hunter who was friends with Thomas Wayne and had a daughter named Eva Kirk that was the same age as the young Bruce Wayne. However, his life as a hunter was shown as being a cover as he operated in secret as a government agent called Manhunter. He would be deployed on multiple assignments but on one mission he was badly wounded and barely survived. In his weakened state, he was captured by the secret society known as the Council who began creating inorganic clones of him that had his fighting skills and talents. With this army, they intended to conquer the world but one of the Council's members known as Dr. Spangler saw the organization as evil which was why he released Paul Kirk and equipped him with a toxin that disintegrated the clones. The Council would seek to stop him and decided to target his adult daughter Eva Kirk who was a doctor that opened a clinic in Gotham City. Manhunter would travel to Gotham to stop the clones that were being overseen by Council member Dr. Anatol Myrkos where he would encounter Batman and Katana. The two would take him to the Batcave where he revealed his backstory with the two agreeing to help him though his daughter Eva was already in Myrkos's hands who demanded that Paul Kirk give himself up in exchange. The exchange at a bridge in Gotham was made where numerous clones of Kirk were dispatched to capture him but they faced opposition from Manhunter, Batman, Katana and a masked Alfred Pennysworth. Seemingly, Kirk had to surrender when Dr. Mykros threatened to detonate explosives on Dr. Eva Kirk but this turned out to be one of the clones that Manhunter had hijacked remotely which crashed Anatol's truck into the bridge's side when taking away the detonator from him. Dr. Myros was taken into custody but Paul Kirk did not return to his civilian life as he intended to hunt down any remaining clones of himself and stop the Council's remnants. He would say goodbye to his daughter promising to return and told Batman that the Council would unlikely target Eva Kirk again but asked the Dark Knight to watch as well as protect her.
Appearances
- Adventure Comics v1: (1941)
- Detective Comics v1:
- The Power Company v1:
- The Power Company: Manhunter v1:
External Links
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