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Introduction
by J. M. Ferragatti

Superman is considered by almost all comic

book experts the first true super-hero in history.
Nevertheless, some characters can be seen as
precursors of this genre. These usually include
Dr. Occult (from Supermans creators) & The
Clock (first masked character).

camps) or Namor fighting in a French village

alongside the French resistance.

As characters are concerned, Namor the

Submariner and Amazing-Man are clearly
connected to these inspirational concpets, and
converge toward a common heroic archetype,
However, when we consider Supermans even if having almost opposite origins.
publication date (Action Comics #1 - Apr. 1938), we
Namor is the son of Fen, an Atlantean princess,
could see that four other characters were very and of an American ship captain. His powers come
close to it. These are Namor the Submariner from a twisted heritage. He is a creature that in
(Timely), The Arrow, The Shark & Amazing-Man normal times would not have existed. A powerful
(Centaur).
and troublesome outcast, he is an elemental
Namor the Submariner & Amazing-Man were creature embodying the raw force of water and
created by the same artist, Bill Everett.
air. His temper can be as unpredictable as the
Everett was a middle-upper class man with a seas. He is nor hero neither villain, rather than
rare artistic talent. More than just a Golden Age a creature looking for his own place in the world,
comic book artist, he was a true visual story- with the inability to walk the earth as humans do.
teller with the ability to amalgamate cultural and
John Aman, Amazing-Man, on the contrary, is
real-life inputs into fiction in an often curvy, yet an orphan raised by seven Tibetans monks (the
fascinating way.
Council of Seven) to achieve Ultra-manhood. His
As an educated man, he loved poetry and powers, coming from a rigorous spiritual education
literature, notably Jack London and Samuel Taylor and an intense physical training, are a personal
Coleridge, and did not hesitate to add a touch of achievement anybody could have attained, if
classy literature in his comic works. So, the name granted the opportunity to reach its full potential.
of Namor the Submariner was inspired by a poem As a matter of fact, Amazing-Man is John a-man
of Coleridge: The Rime of the ancient mariner, (not unlike John Doe), he has no other identity
apart from being a wonder in human form. Yet,
Namor being Roman spelled backwards.
he is too much to not being alone among his
Everett was also very interested in sailing and fellow humans.
even if his U.S. Merchant Navy enrolment is a
As much as Namor, Amazing-Man has a dark
legend, he was indeed fascinated by the unresting
power of the sea which provided him great side that can be unleashed with the force of a
storm. They can be both a force for good or evil,
inspiration as he often explained in interviews.
demons or angels in human form, yet driven by
Europe and his true WWII experience were the same feelings normal men have.
also brought into comics, as some episodes
Anthropologically speaking, they are heroes in
of Amazing-Man and Namor the Submariner
a
more primitive way, more than humans and yet
demonstrate. You could read in this book an
episode where Amazing-Man is in a prison camp at the border of human society; strange beings
(foretelling the experience of WWII concentration others look at with envy, cherish or fear, as much

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as Achilles was in the classical Homeric poems.
As the classical hero, they are physically and
emotionally manifestation of the unearthly, yet
human in a way the alien Superman could never
be.

A raw diamond created by one of the best artist

of the Golden Age, Amazing-Man influenced other
creators till the modern era of comics, having
inspired Morisis Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt,
Kane & Thomas Iron Fist and Brubaker, Fraction,
Ajas Prince of Orphans from Marvel Comics...

If Superman tells the story of an outsider

fighting for a greater justice (both Jerry Siegel
...Yet, the originality of the stories lives on
& Joe Shuster were children of poor immigrants), unscathed in the characters Golden Age early
Namor and Amazing-Man are outcasts from adventures!
within: a mongrel and an orphan.

Who is Amazing-Man?
by C. Sesselego

HISTORY & BIO

hero unleash his evil side. In order to be purged,

Amazing-Man is recalled back to the monastery
and purified by fire (Amazing-Man Comics #11 Amazing-Man (a.k.a Aman the Amazing-Man or Apr. 1940). This duality that is missing in other
the Green Mist) is Centaurs leading hero.
Golden Age heroes is not further exploited in
Bill Everett recalls he created Amazing-Man later adventures.
along with Lloyd Jaquet and John Harley of Harley
In Amazing-Man Comics #23 (Aug. 1941), Johns
Publications, that in the late 30s was producing powers are further enhanced by the now Council
comics for Centaur (Sub-Mariner & The Original of Twelve. His arch-enemy changes his name
Human Torch, Vol.1 - Sept. 2014).
to the Great Que, only to become Mr. Que,
John Aman, an orphaned child, is chosen to
become the perfect human being by the Tibetan
monks of the Council of Seven thanks to his
superb physical structure. Twenty-five years
after having been brought into the monastery,
John undergoes three trials to test his prowess
(a test of strength, a test of speed and a test of
physical resilience). After having surpassed them,
he is sent back to the outside world to fight crime
in America.

a military master-mind (Stars and Stripes #4 Sept. 1941). Amazing-Mans enhancement gives
superpowers to Tommy, who is eavesdropping
on John Aman.

The very name of the character is a wordplay:

his surname, Aman, is not only an abbreviation
of A(mazing)-Man, but recalls a sense of mystical
mystery, being a no-name: John a man. Wordplays
are an old habit of Everett, who used them also
for Namor the Sub-Mariner, in which Namor is
In his fight against evil, he is initially supported an anagram of Roman (cf. All-Winners Squad
by Zona Henderson (Amazing-Man Comics #11 - #19 - Fall 1946).
Apr. 1940), a female investigator, and later on, by
Amazing-Man starts with a strong mystic
her kid brother, Tommy (Amazing-Man Comics and exotic influence. However, the character
#23 - Aug. 1941). Tommy is initially nicknamed the is progressively turned into one of the many
Boy Wonder only to become Amazing Kid in Stars Superman clones in the attempt to mirror the
and Stripes #4 - Sept. 1941, perhaps to avoid success of the National/DC character. The mystic
copyright problems with National/DC. In later element is totally lost with the arrival of John
adventures, Zona is simply referred to as John Amans sidekick Tommy.
Amans assistant and is said to be able to think
John Aman, The Prince of Orphans (The
three times faster than most people (AmazingImmortal Iron Fist #8 - Aug. 2007) from Marvel
man comics #21 - Mar. 1941). With Tommys arrival,
Comics, is loosely inspired by the Golden Age
Zona becomes the typical heros girlfriend.
Amazing-Man.
Amazing-Mans arch-enemy is the Great
Bill Everett the Amazing-Man, a ret-conned
Question, a Tibetan monk exiled from the Council
DC Golden Age hero, and member of the Allof Seven after John Aman had exposed his evil
Star Squadron (All-Star Squadron Annual #2
nature . In Amazing-Man Comics #6 (Oct. 1939),
- Jan. 1983), is totally unrelated to his Centaurs
the Great Question apprehends Amazing-Man
homonym. Worth to note, he shares the same
and uses his telepathic abilities to force the

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name of Centaurs
(William Everett).

Amazing-Mans

creator power now resides in his chest symbol and can

be mentally activated.

The French science-fiction character, Atomas,

(Mon Journal #70 - Jan. 1948) possesses superhuman abilities and wears a gear that recalls the
one of Amazing-Man. Worth to note, AmazingMan adventures were published in France
between Apr. and Dec. 1940 (Hurrah! #251-264
- June ed., Hurrah! et les Grandes Explorations
#1-4). In the French edition the character was
renamed Surhomme (Superman). A direct
influence has not been confirmed yet.

Also, in Amazing-Man Comics #5, he shows

the ability of psychic automatic writing, causing
a pen to write the name of its owner out of its
own volition. This power is triggered by telepathic
concentration.
Amazing-Man is also described as having mystic
knowledge, as a reference to the origin of his
powers, or to have a knowledge of all sciences
and languages (Amazing-man comics #14 - Nov.
1940).

In Amazing-Man Comics #23 (Aug. 1941) Tommy

develops superhuman abilities similar to those of
POWERS & abilities
John Aman, after being accidentally struck by the
mystic energy sent by the Council of Twelve to
enhance Amazing-Mans powers. However, he
John Aman has superhuman strength and
never shows the power to turn into the green
speed, and while not invulnerable, he is able to
mist.
bear an incredible amount of physical pain and
In Amazing-Man Comics #25 (Dec. 1941), both
damage.
John Aman and Tommy show the ability to fly.
Injected with a secret formula created by the
In Stars and Stripes #4 (Sept. 1941), Amazingmonks of the Council of Seven, he also develops
the ability to turn into a puff of green smoke by Man uses pills to regains his power at full, after
sheer will (thus one of his many aliases, the having been poisoned.
Green Mist, Amazing-man comics #5 - Sept.
Amazing-Man is also an expert hand-to-hand
1939). He uses this ability to become intangible combatant and martial artist.
and float in the air. Initially, he needs to inject
The Great Question, John Amans arch-enemy,
himself to use the green mist power; however,
possesses a vast range of psychic powers,
in Amazing-Man comics #11 (Apr. 1940), John
including telepathy, hypnotism, and other not
receives an indestructible harness, granting him
specified mind-manipulative abilities.
to use the green mist formula freely, since the

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#05 - Origin of Amazing-Man

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