Metamorpho Poster #1 Element Man Brave and the Bold #58 (1965) Ramona Fradon

Description

Metamorpho (real name Rex Mason, also called The Element Man) is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Comics Universe. He is a founding member of the Outsiders, and has also joined multiple incarnations of the Justice League. Metamorpho’s creator, Bob Haney, had seen success with DC Comics in 1963 with the titles Metal Men and Doom Patrol, featuring bands of superheroes exhibiting fantastic powers. Under the editorial management of George Kashdan, Haney was asked to capitalize on these titles’ popularity with a similar character. Metamorpho, the Element Man, debuted in The Brave and the Bold #57 (January 1965). As first conceived, Metamorpho was a parody of the fantastic characters that populated comic books in the 1960s. Artist Ramona Fradon was coaxed out of maternity-retirement to illustrate Metamorpho’s first appearances. The popularity of Metamorpho’s appearances in The Brave and the Bold led to a 17 issue ongoing series between 1965 and 1968. Metamorpho also appeared during this time in two issues of Justice League of America (#42 & #44), but became the second superhero to decline an invitation to join that organization (Adam Strange being the first). Metamorpho also appears on the cover of Aquaman #30 as one of the pallbearers (along with Batman, Hawkman, and Superman) at the “Sea King’s Funeral”. Metamorpho appeared in a series of back-up stories in Action Comics #413-418 and World’s Finest Comics #218-220 and #229. In 1975 Metamorpho appeared in 1st Issue Special #3, a brief series consisting of one-shots of new and established DC comics characters. That issue was written by Bob Haney and illustrated by Ramona Fradon, Metamorpho’s original creators. After becoming a charter member of the Outsiders in 1983, and member of the European branch of the Justice League International, he received his own 4 issue mini-series in 1993. Rex Mason was an adventurer who was hired by business tycoon Simon Stagg to retrieve a rare Egyptian artifact, the Orb of Ra. Mason also started dating Stagg’s daughter, Sapphire Stagg. This was just one of the incidents that antagonized Simon Stagg. In an Egyptian pyramid, Rex Mason was knocked out by Simon’s brutish bodyguard, Java, and eventually exposed to a radioactive meteorite from which the Orb of Ra was fashioned. A tremendous flare-up of its radiation transformed Rex Mason into Metamorpho, the Element Man. He gained the ability to shapeshift and change himself into any element found in the human body, or any combinations thereof. It was also established in his origin story (see: The Brave & The Bold #57) that he was virtually invulnerable in his inert (untransformed) state, when Stagg, afraid that Rex was going to kill him, shot him point-blank without effect. The Orb of Ra, however, had the same effect on Rex that kryptonite has on Superman. Thus Stagg continued to control Metamorpho. Later, it was revealed that Mason was but one of many metamorphae, created by the sun god Ra – by this meteor – to serve as warriors in his battle against the god Apep, “the serpent who never dies.” Metamorpho, unlike other super-humanoids described in DC Comics, could not assume a fully human, normal appearance, being no longer composed of flesh, blood and bone. As such, he regarded his metamorphic powers as a disease and sought a cure for his condition. (This was then, and has remained, a common theme in science fiction and comic books.) He considered himself a non-human freak because of his abilities and wanted to be restored to normal. For that reason, he rejected an offer of membership that the Justice League of America extended to him. He did have Green Lantern attempt to change him back to normal. Due to a “yellow” component of the meteor radiation that had given him his powers, the ring was unable to make him normal again. Ramona Fradon (born October 1, 1926) is an American comic book and comic strip artist, known for her work illustrating Aquaman and Brenda Starr, and co-creating the superhero Metamorpho. Her career began in 1950. She landed her first assignment on the DC Comics feature Shining Knight. Her first regular assignment was illustrating an Adventure Comics backup feature starring Aquaman, for which she co-created the sidekick Aqualad. Following her time with Aquaman, and taking a break to have her daughter, Fradon returned to co-create Metamorpho, drawing four issues of the series. She returned briefly to design a few covers for the title. Fradon was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2006.