The following is a list of characters from the comic book series Miracleman.
Superhumans Miracleman
The first of the Miracleman Family, created by Doctor Gargunza in 1954 as a Cold War weapons project based on the orphan Mike Moran. Believed killed in 1963, he returns in 1982 and three years later undertakes a benevolent takeover of Earth with his allies, turning the planet into a utopia.
Young Miracleman
The second of the Miracleman Family, based on the orphan Dicky Dauntless. He is killed by the British government in 1963, but resurrected by Miracleman in 2003.
Kid Miracleman
The third of the Miracleman Family, based on the orphan Johnny Bates. He escapes destruction in 1963 and spends the next 19 years as the most powerful creature on Earth, becoming corrupted and attempting to kill Miracleman on his return in 1982. After three years trapped inside Bates, Kid Miracleman breaks lose again in 1985 and lays waste to London before being stopped by Miracleman and his allies.
Miraclewoman
An unsanctioned experiment undertaken by Gargunza, based on the orphan Avril Lear. She escapes Gargunza's attentions, changes her identity and lays low until Qys agents visit Earth. She then allies with Miracleman and becomes his lover as they create a golden age on Earth.
Young Nastyman Publication history Young Nastyman was originally created by Mick Anglo in 1954 as a recurring villain in the pages of Young Marvelman, debuting in issue #57 and reappearing intermittently. In these stories his origin was as Pontag of Victo; the Terence Rebbeck identity and backstory was devised by Alan Moore for the revival.
Fictional character biography Like Mike Moran, Dicky Dauntless and Jonathan Bates, Terence Rebbeck was the orphan of RAF personnel and was kidnapped by Doctor Gargunza. Unlike them, his abduction was unknown to Spookshow and he was instead kept at a private laboratory by Gargunza along with Avril Lear and Pluto. There a superhuman clone was created of him, which Gargunza programmed as the villain Young Nastyman. Young Nastyman was used in dreams as an archenemy of the Miracleman Family, believing himself to be an alien youth named Pontag given a magical elixir by a hermit called Nastyman that turned him into a supervillain. However, Gargunza enjoyed vicariously living the life of a supervillain and - without the oversight of Sir Dennis Archer - his perversions were reflected in Rebbeck being the protagonist of increasingly violent and sexual scenarios. The continuity of the dreams eventually broke down, causing Young Nastyman to wake up in the real world. Unable to tell the real world from his consequence-free simulations, Young Nastyman promptly embarks on a rampage. To prevent Archer finding out the truth, Gargunza sends Miraclewoman after him. However, she instead finds the Project Zarathustra bunker and learns her true nature. Wanting freedom she tracked Young Nastyman to Iceland and tried to tell him what she had learnt in the hope that he would join her. Far beyond reason, he attacks her, with the two fighting until Young Nastyman is incinerated in a volcano.
Big Ben Publication history Big Ben was originally devised by Dez Skinn some time before the 1982 incarnation of Warrior came into being. As a planned member of Challenger Force (a proposed super-team made up of Warrior characters) he appeared on the cover of Warrior #4 before debuting in the Marvelman strip in #10, dated April/May 1983. Following his guest appearance in the Marvelman strip, a story written by Skinn (under the pseudonym Edgar Henry) and drawn by Ian Gibson was included in the Marvelman Special in 1984, framed as one of the para-reality simulations. This story, "Big Ben versus King Arthur", had been made some years before. "The Man with No Time for Crime" then appeared in Warrior in standalone strips in Warrior again written by Skinn (this time under his own name) and drawn by Will Simpson. The Big Ben section of the Marvelman Special was omitted from Eclipse and Marvel's reprint programmes.
Fictional character biography The product of the second iteration of Project Zarathustra, Big Ben was created in 1968, using an unknown subject. While the project resulted in enhanced strength and flight capability without Gargunza's input, the result was nowhere near as powerful as the Miracleman Family; due to their crucially poor understanding of the para-reality programming, it drove Big Ben to insanity. Despite these shortcomings, Big Ben was at least controllable and was retained by Spookshow as part of Sir Dennis Archer's hope to recoup some of the project's funding. Big Ben's programming convinced him he was a member of the Bulldog Brigade, a patriotic British superteam.
When Miracleman and Cream locate the Project Zarathustra bunker, Archer uses Big Ben as a last line of defence, telling him the former is a Communist supervillain called Major Molotov. Miracleman is perplexed by the resulting confrontation, instantly recognising that his opponent is neither a physical threat or in his right mind, though he eventually bats Big Ben aside out of irritation. Despite his injuries, Big Ben is able to stagger into the bunker and witness the truth of his creation. Big Ben is later recovered by Spookshow, believing that the evidence of his creation was merely a ploy by Molotov and that he was able to fight a successful delaying action, and oblivious that he is being returned to an asylum.
Big Ben is initially undetected by the Qys as he does not appear to use infra-space, but his mental condition is initially too severe for recovery. However, after Miracleman comes to power, he works with the Qys to dovetail Big Ben's perceptions with reality until he is able to return to society. He decides to take on the identity of British Bulldog and joins the other superhumans at Olympus, and becomes a respected hero.
Winter The first of Miracleman's children, Winter was conceived with Liz on the night of his rebirth. Even while in the womb, she exhibits advanced levels of power, being able to keep her mother calm even when she is taken by Gargunza close to birth, and looking straight at the scientist during a scan of her pregnant mother. After meeting a revived Gargunza, she implies that even then she would have been powerful enough to prevent him from taking over her body. Miracleman is able to deliver her successfully on October 29, 1982, though she stuns both her parents by saying "ma-ma" mere moments later. Winter then takes control of Liz's moods as she rapidly develops. She implants her desired name in her mother's mind, swiftly exhausts her supply of breast milk, moves onto solids in a matter of weeks and even develops teeth. When Liz takes a few days to visit her sister in Yarmouth, Winter makes the full scope of her developing intelligence clear to Miracleman. While powerful and kind, Winter has at this point already evolved much further than the adult superhumans and leaves Earth to visit Qys.
When Winter returns at the end of 1988, her father has turned Earth into a utopia, something the super-intelligent child is barely impressed by, describing it as a redecoration. Miracleman also begins donating his sperm to anyone who wants superhuman offspring of their own; while Earth soon has many of the advanced babies, Winter is revered as the first. A storybook based on her adventures called Winter's Tale is hugely popular and her birthday becomes Wintersday, an annual festival where children can choose to do anything they want. She continues to visit Earth, including meeting the revived Gargunza in 1993 and being present for the resurrection of Young Miracleman in 2003.
Huey Moon Publication history The concept of Firedrakes was another devised by Moore early in the development of the Warrior universe, and a character bearing that name was planned as a member of Challenger Force. As such the name is referred to as an ally of Marvelman and 'Warpsmith' in "The Yesterday Gambit" story from Warrior #4, set three years into the fictional universe's future.
Fictional character biography Huey Moon is a firedrake from Earth. Firedrakes are genetic mutants that create fire early in many species' development; once the civilisation is established the genes usually become recessive, though occasionally throwbacks continue. As these throwbacks can be capable of turning stars supernova, they are monitored by the Qys and Warpsmiths; a sweep of Earth in 1948 was the reason for the Qys ship's visit to Earth in 1948, leading to its crash and recovery by Spookshow. Moon is located in 1983 by Miracleman; due to his abilities, he has been rejected by society and lives in a Philadelphia junkyard. After some initial hesitation he allies with the group. He can cause anything in his vision to immediately catch fire, and is fireproof himself. Moon is present when the group confronts Kid Miracleman in London, and is able to use his abilities to make various objects explode to keep the enemy off-balance until Miracleman and Aza Chorn deal with him. Following the superhumans' ascension, Moon takes on the task of providing energy for the world, using his powers to tap into geothermal power sources while also overseeing wind farms, solar energy satellites and other renewable energy sources. He subsequently remains at Olympus, and uses his abilities to trigger a huge pyrotechnic display at the 1993 London carnival. He is also present at the rebirth of Young Miracleman.
Mist Birthed by Rachel Cohn using Miracleman's sperm, Mist is a superpowered baby. Like Winter, while she is pleasant her high intelligence and confident persona can make interacting with her unnerving, especially as Mist's abilities are in great contrast to her stepbrother Glenn. Her abilities allow her to realise her stepfather Jack is leaving Rachel for his mistress in Japan, something she tactlessly tells her mother. Following the 1993 London Carnival, Mist and her fellow superpowered children set off with Winter on a sojourn into space, and she is unable to see why this upsets her mother. Several years later she allows herself to be aged to the appearance of a teenager, and witnesses the return of Young Miracleman.
Humans Liz Moran Publication history Moore's original proposal placed Liz and Mike's first meeting was in 1962, shortly after his recovery and when she was working as a temporary typist in the same Fleet Street newspaper where he was a staff writer; their marriage was dated to March 1965, taking place at a registry office. At this stage in development her maiden name was O'Rourke. Artist Garry Leach modelled her appearance on actress Audrey Hepburn.
Fictional character biography Born Elizabeth Sullivan, Liz has been married to Mike Moran for sixteen years by 1982. She is 36 at the time and very much in love with her husband despite the pair being unable to have children. Liz's career as a professional illustrator covers the majority of their living expenses, something she does not mind but which Mike feels guilty about. Following Miracleman's return she immediately realises there must be some truth to what he says, though she reacts with disbelief much of his purported origin. However she becomes convinced that the story is at least partially true and spends the night with Miracleman. The following day she and Mike visit Johnny Bates, CEO of Sunburst Cybernetics. However they find he is still actually the superhuman Kid Miracleman, and attacks them when Mike realises. Miracleman attempts to fend his former ally off, with limited success. They eventually escape only when Kid Miracleman accidentally says his change-word and returns to being the juvenile Bates.