Dune, directed by Denis Villeneuve, is a modern sci-fi masterpiece. Frank Herbert intended for his future story not to be adapted for the film, yet Villeneuve has managed to achieve just that. Herbert’s work has been hailed as one of the greatest science fiction novel series ever written.
Leto Atreides, God-Emperor The Second is our favorite portrayal of a despondently cynical yet secretly benign “god,” whose plots include plots, and whose ambition wrecked humanity and rebuilt it in his image. While Frank’s sandworms and the Fremen from Arrakis are echoes of a moment in humanity’s history that we can not yet grasp or approach, Jack Kirby’s Fourth World takes that notion and returns it to the Dawn of Time.
When the King of Comics endeavored to make DC readers consider what came before creation itself, or at least as they knew it, he created some of his most seminal panels. The solution, of course, was the New Gods, a pantheon of deities that existed at the start of the current DC Universe and will expire when a new one emerges to take its place.
Darkseid is the most iconic Kirby creation of all time, to the point where he is still the JLA’s main nemesis. This film, however, is not about him; rather, it is about his former ward/captive. Mister Miracle debuted in 1971 with his own namesake series and has since gone on to become one of Kirby’s most important New Gods.
He is also DC’s Harry Houdini if Harry Houdini were immortal. Let us take a look at Mister Miracle, the son of the Highfather and Master of the Alpha Effect, and see where he came from.
Who Is Mister Miracle?
Okay, twist in the plot: Mister Miracle is actually a human! No, we’re not kidding; well, not entirely, anyway. In the first issue of Mister Miracle, we meet; DC’s Harry Houdini. Brown is an extraordinary escape artist, capable of escaping any contraption conceivable. In fact, it was Brown who had taught The World’s Greatest Detective all his tricks on escapology, as revealed in Detective Comics #996-997.
He performed acts of escape that could only be described as miraculous, paving the way for him to become the first Mister Miracle. He’d put on spectacular acts filled with inhumane ingenuity, making everyone believe that he was, indeed, capable of performing miracles. Sadly, it was this knack of his that would lead to his untimely demise.
After getting into a foolish wager over The Ultimate Escape with Intergang Caporegime Steel Hand, Thaddeus Brown found himself at a crossroads in his life. He was a proud man who would not go down without a fight, but Steel Hand had the resources to make sure the fight didn’t last longer than the time it took for a bullet to pierce his skull.
And indeed that is what happened when a sniper hired by the evil Capo managed to take out Intergang’s most obnoxious target. But unbeknownst to them, Brown had left behind a legacy that would come back to haunt them; and their Apokoliptic overlord. Shortly before he died, Brown had met a youth; a man no older than 30 it would seem, hale & hearty and deathly interested in escapology.
Thaddeus took him on as his protégé and taught him everything he could about the art, alongside his trusted assistant Oberon. After a few weeks of training, and thanks to the man’s mysteriously keen knack for escaping situations, Thaddeus Brown had finally found a successor for his legacy.
Little did he know, just how serious the effects of his actions would be for the DC continuity. You see, thousands of years ago, when the Old Gods were destroyed during the event known as Ragnarok, there arose a line of new deities who were intended to replace them. These denizens of the Fourth World occupied two diametrically-opposing homeworlds, but they belonged to the same race of celestial entities now known to us as the New Gods.
On one side was New Genesis- a utopic world that represented all the good in the multiverse. This world was ruled over by Izaya the Inheritor; the New God who became the Voice of the Source and ascended to become High Father of New Genesis. And on the other side was the desolate, industrial dystopia known as Apokolips; ruled over by the Mad Tyrant known across the cosmos as Darkseid.
Ages before he becomes an agent of the Source, Izaya fought as a general in the war between New Genesis and Apokolips and was left for dead by the Master of the Omega Sanction. His future wife would nurse him back to health and after having his eyes opened by the Source, Izaya came to a decision that would create a permanent rift in his family. Millions had perished in the war between the New Gods and peace was a necessity.
Metron realized in his divine omniscience that to attain this peace, an exchange of prisoners would need to take place. But these would be no ordinary prisoners; for true peace between New Genesis and Apokolips, something seismic had to occur, a change so drastic it would alter the course of their future.
And so he brokered a deal between Darkseid and The Highfather: the two rulers would agree to end the bloodshed and exchange their heirs to seal the treatise. Darkseid’s son would go on to become the noble Orion, a true defender of New Genesis and a person whom Izaya thought of as family.
As for the Highfather’s son, his fate would be more…brutal. Darkseid consigned him to Granny Goodness’ Orphanage; which would be a death sentence for any mortal. Highfather’s progeny grew up tortured and beaten into submission, though his spirit was so strong he might as well be eligible for the Green Lantern Corps.
This boy had a way of escaping his bonds and exploring his uncle’s doomed planet, only to be dragged back in for more punishment. Because of this habit, he was named Scott Free by Granny Goodness. Granny’s got them puns, for y’all! Though Scott was Highfather’s son, he grew up unaware of his parentage, and would have become a mindless servant of Darkseid, had Metron not prevented him from eating the Mad Tyrant’s drugged-up “food rations”.
Thanks to having a clearer mind than most of his minions, Scott Free became a part of a resistance group on Apokolips led by his future mentor Himan. It was during his time as part of this group that he met his to-be wife Big Barda; one of Darkseid’s Female Furies. Their opposing natures are what attracted them to each other, and Scott’s compassion transformed Barda, to turn against her evil master.
Eventually, Scott Free found himself fleeing to the planet that was going to become the center of the Fifth World: Earth. After being transported to the 19th century by the Boom Tube, Free spent a century living as a mortal and came to appreciate humanity with all its flaws. He eventually came across a circus performer and his assistant trying to practice a crazy escape stunt with a flamethrower.
Scott tried to stop the old man from killing himself, but to his surprise, he emerged unscathed. Yep; you’ve guessed it, folks. The man who became Thaddeus Brown’s escapology protégé, successor, and eventually avenger is the Son of Highfather; the New God known as Scott Free, aka Mister Miracle. After bringing Steel Hand to justice, Scott Free decided to stay on Earth and face his fate alongside its Greatest Heroes.
Mister Miracle Various Story Arcs
The first volume of Mister Miracle dealt entirely with the Fourth World and the New Gods populating it. Mister Miracle issue #2 introduced the right-hand woman and torturer-in-chief of Darkseid and Granny Goodness herself. Arriving just outside the orbit of Earth, Goodness was there to take her protégé back for an “important lesson”.
Thanks to his Followers robot and escapology tactics, he was able to get away from Granny Goodness. She would respond by attacking Mister Miracle with the aid of Bedlam and his inhabited artificial “Animates”, but this scheme, too, would be foiled by Scott with the help of Big Barda’s sisters- The Female Furies- Scott decides he has to put an end to things and bargains with Kanto to win his own freedom via trial by combat.
Scott Free emerges truly embodying his title as the God of Freedom and Escape after this experience, defeating the Lump by showing it its own visage. After gaining his freedom, Mister Miracle would go on to team up with the Justice League in the aftermath of the Apokolips War. His first official team-up with the League saw him go up against a rogue artificial intelligence construct created by Metron.
His second outing would be more memorable, simply because it would play more into his territory. The galactic entrepreneur Manga Khan came to Earth, hoping to do business with its leaders; or blow it up with his Cluster. Instead, he found himself retreating from the Justice League, but not without a prize. Mister Miracle was stuck on board and after realizing his lineage, Khan decided to trade him off to Darkseid.
To his anger, the Dark God wanted nothing to do with his former ward, and it earned him Manga Khan’s undying enmity. He declared war on Apokolips and it took Darkseid’s direct intervention to stop him. After a while, he became a semi-retired hero with Barda, living in Bailey, New Hampshire as the owner of the Free’s Fixit Shop.
It’s around this time that they took Shilo Norman under their wing; the boy who would go on to become the future Mister Miracle. Though his “superpowers” do not do as much justice to his place in the DC continuity as they should, there is one story that shows you just how intricately linked Mister Miracle is to the DCU. During the events of Orion issue #25, a flashback revealed that Scott Free possessed the very thing that Apokolips’ Mad Tyrant was looking for.
On one of his namesake outings to Armagetto, Scott came across Darkseid’s canine soldiers; the Hungry Dogs. Overcome with fear, anxiousness, and pent-up rage at his condition, he closed his eyes and screamed STOP! When he opened them hours later, he realized it was part of a nightmare.
Everything around him was dead. Scott Free possessed the Anti-Life Equation- the very object of Darkseid’s obsessive destruction- and the trauma of using it to kill broke him. He didn’t speak for months after that, using Granny Goodness’ torture as a means to perfect his control over his emotions; and thereby the Anti-Life Equation.
This power of his was the centerpiece of the Death of the New Gods storyline, which saw many of the New Gods- including Mister Miracle’s wife Big Barda- lose their lives to a mysterious killer. A darker Mister Miracle joins Superman’s investigation and uses the Anti-Life Equation to interrogate the spirits of the Forever People. Eventually, he discovers that the murderer is Infinity-Man, who is working as an agent of The Source.
The Source had been splintered into two halves during its war with the Old Gods, one of which took the manifestation of Anti-Life in the Multiverse. Having deemed the Fourth World a failure, It now wished to merge with its other half and bring about the genesis of the Fifth World. Broken by the knowledge that he had violated all his oaths for nothing, Mister Miracle requests that The Source kill him; which it gladly does.
The Source also kills Metron and then goes on to defeat Darkseid, leading to the events of the Final Crisis. While his backstory has never been absent, it was properly fleshed out during the New 52, which also saw Mister Miracle become the host for the Black Racer for a very brief period of time. After being brought back to life, he goes straight after his tormentor and becomes a key figure in the Justice League: Darkseid War crossover event.
He’s almost apprehended by the Mad Tyrant trying to steal confidential files, but he Boom Tubes away at the right time. He’s able to keep himself safe from Darkseid’s minions for a while, but, and we cannot believe we’re saying this, he soon has bigger problems to worry about. After killing Darkseid, Mobius aka The Anti-Monitor turns his sights toward destroying all positive life; a fact revealed to Mister Miracle by a teary-eyed Ultraman.
After taking care of that little problem, Scott would be faced with a domestic dilemma. After Darkseid’s death and Lex Luthor’s subsequent acquisition of the Omega Sanction, Apokolips was a mess. Barda was going to return to her homeworld and help protect it from both of the aforementioned control-freaks; or God forbid, something even worse. Speaking of which…
What Makes Mister Miracle So Powerful?
It would not be an exaggeration to call Mister Miracle one of the strongest characters in DC; and yes, we mean that seriously. Scott Free is a New God and possesses the same basic genealogy as Darkseid, Highfather, Metron, and all other New Gods. That already makes him immortal, and immensely powerful.
Seriously, he can shatter metal doors with his bare hands and has the reflexes of a million cats combined, it’s insane! Besides being inhumane; agile, durable, and practically invulnerable to all kinds of damage, he is also one of the most dextrous DC characters and can probably give Rag Doll a run for his money.
He is also immune to most toxins and possesses an intellect far beyond that of mankind, which he uses in conjunction with his Mother Box to perform feats of miraculous escape; for kicks and the fate of the universe.
The Mother Box is like an all-purpose supercomputer that is the basis for most of his information. He also carries around a lot of tools- Electronic Picks, Test Dummies, Suction Cups, Concussion Bombs- everything that he might need in order to make a speedy escape, all concealed within hidden pockets of his costume.
His costume is made out of a special material that negates most damage, while his cape is created from a memory fibroid that can turn into a one-off super shield if he wanted it to. He has used his Mother Box to create Multi-Cube which he can use as recorders, holograph projectors, and sonic bombs to stun his enemies. Scott Free modified his aero disks to serve beyond their base function of flight; he can use them as weapons, freely, without worrying about any malfunctions.
And of course, he is unparalleled at escapology, which means that even if you left him inside of a concrete box, he would probably find a way out of it. But his real strengths come from his divine heritage. Mister Miracle was the former possessor of the Alpha Effect- the direct anti-thesis of Darkseid’s Omega Effect, capable of manipulating emotions, enforcing peace, healing all injuries, resurrecting people, and bending space-time itself.
He gave it up willingly when he left his homeworld. His second and arguably more dangerous power is his knowledge of the Anti-Life Equation. Scott Free could subjugate the entire population of the multiverse into being his mindless slaves if he wanted to.
It’s literally Darkseid’s last unchecked Bucket List item; for the most part, anyway. With the Anti-Life Equation, Mister Miracle would hold complete control over a being’s consciousness, making him the ruler of all creation, in essence.
Mister Miracle In DCAU
Despite being such an interesting character, Mister Miracle has been under-represented, especially in the adapted media. Scott Free has mostly been the background filler for the DC Animated Universe. He had a short cameo in Superman: The Animated Series episode Apokolips…Now! Part II is a New God who arrived on Earth to help take down Darkseid.
He appeared as a picture in the futuristic Batman Beyond series, and also appeared at the tail end of the Justice League episode Twilight Part II. His first proper animated appearance was in Justice League Unlimited, in the episode titled The Ties That Bind. It is a near-direct adaptation of the first volume of Mister Miracle and sees Granny Goodness kidnap Oberon in an effort to get Scott to free Kalibak from imprisonment in the X-Pit.
Even though the entire layout of the place has changed, Scott Free is Mister Miracle, and he manages to accomplish his task, defeats both Goodness & Virman Vundabar, and gets away with his friends, unharmed. Mister Miracle has also appeared in the Justice League Action episode “It’ll Take a Miracle”, where he tricks Darkseid into thinking he has the Anti-Life Equation in order to save his wife Barda.
Why Mister Miracle Deserves Your Recognition
Granted, to be a superhero literally based on a circus act seems ridiculous at first; but if it weren’t for circuses, we wouldn’t have one half of the Dynamic Duo today! Most people might site Darkseid as the most significant contribution that Jack Kirby made to comic book history, but we’d argue it’s Mister Miracle.
For the 3 short years he spent with DC, Kirby only began one solo title; and it was this one. Scott Free has gone on to achieve cult status thanks to the revelation of his deeply tragic backstory; and his equally scary darker side. Of all the colorful creations to spring forth from Kirby’s boundless imagination, Mister Miracle is definitely the most unique.
He’s a reminder of a bygone era of comic books, and a bridge to a new dawn for DC Comics as a whole. And if we’re being honest, he just has some of the coolest panels we’ve ever seen. Just read the first issue of Mister Miracle and you’ll see what we’re talking about!