Miracleman is a character with about as complicated a history outside the comics as you can get, but Marvel is paving the way to fix all of that with the introduction of an all-new character with the same powers. David Colton has gone through a long journey to become the new Miracleman, and it’s nowhere near over yet, as not only does he have to learn how to control his new powers, but also deal with the original Miracleman himself, who is heavily implied to have been in the Marvel Universe for some time now. What makes this new direction for the character even more interesting is that, if you were paying attention to the rest of his comics, his travel to the main Marvel Universe was apparent and inevitable.
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However, for a long time, fans weren’t sure if we would ever be seeing Miracleman again, as the comic meant to bring his story into the modern age was canceled before it could finish. Miracleman by Gaiman & Buckingham: The Dark Age was meant to serve as the final conclusion to the comic age trilogy, but it was canceled for good reason. Now, however, with the original Miracleman returning and Colton’s new journey, it’s clear that Marvel is still making use of this idea in an all-new way.
An Unfortunate Ending to an Interesting Scenario
In his own universe, Miracleman and his extended family were the only superheroes. To that end, after the slaughter Kid Miracleman committed in London, killing thousands, Miracleman took a more direct hand in guiding and controlling the world. He built a utopia where he ruled over everyone like a god. A benevolent god, yes, but a utopia ruled by his word alone, and though his powers made him more than human, the titular hero was far from perfect. The Silver Age ended with the promise that Young Miracleman would be the devil to Miracleman’s God, even teasing the return of the destructive Kid Miracleman in the final pages.
While The Silver Age definitely dragged more than The Golden Age, it presented an interesting scenario and inevitable war, but it would never come to pass, as Marvel shelved the project when allegations about author Neil Gaiman came to light. Understandably, we will never get The Dark Age, nor should we, but we can make some informed guesses on its plot, based both on what we saw and what Gaiman himself said in past interviews about this trilogy. Supposedly, it was always going to end with a conversation between Miracleman and someone else, presumably Kid Miracleman, as the last survivors of the Earth. The utopia would be destroyed, and Miracleman would have nothing left in his universe.
This is where popular fan theories come in, calling upon Miracleman’s deep connection to the multiverse. He constantly grappled with these ideas and the existence of other worlds, shown best in Miracleman #0, and with nothing left to tie him to his homeworld, it only makes sense that the immortal hero would seek a new world to “help.” That would lead him into the main Marvel Universe, where he would battle and connect with the vast number of heroes who would not stand for a single super-powered man ruling everything, no matter how well-intentioned. While the trilogy itself is long abandoned, that idea seems to be one Marvel is taking full advantage of. After all, given just how much money Marvel spent on acquiring the Miracleman rights, it was inevitable that they moved him into the spotlight sooner or later, and Colton is far from the only one around.
A Clash Built Around Modern Marvel
The best evidence for Miracleman’s presence in the 616 Universe came in Avengers: Armageddon #5. Tony and Reed discussed Colton’s powers, which were bestowed on him by the Origin Box that Miles brought back from the new Ultimate Universe. They specifically said that these boxes contained copies of powers from their world, but no known hero or villain had these powers. That meant that the original Miracleman was present in the main Marvel Universe, either biding his time in hiding or completely unaware of his powers. If this original hero truly did lose his home, then it would only make sense for him to cross over to this world and integrate himself with this reality while he learned about what makes it tick.
Colton himself, in his mission to make the world a better place, had started down the path of his counterpart by making decisions for the world’s governments on his own. The many nations of Marvel’s Earth were specifically calling out the fear of a powerful hero or group of heroes deciding to save the world by taking it over, which must purposefully reference Miracleman’s adventures in his own world. With the rising tension and questions over the unchecked powers superheroes possess, it would make perfect sense for the hero who fulfilled these fears by ruling over his world to make his appearance. He’s seen the end of this road before, and thus can be the perfect villain and foil to the new Avengers when he inevitably gets into conflict with them.
What do you think Marvel is planning with Miracleman and Colton’s arc? Let us know in the comments below!
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