It's A Miracle

Written by GL

Have you ever dreamed of being able to escape anything? By anything I don't mean: that crazy ex-girlfriend who you keep seeing around town, or that debt you own to the bank, or small-talk with your mother-in-law, I'm talking about possessing the power to escape almost anything. If you have, then you'd love to be Mister Miracle.

Mister Miracle first appeared in the DC Universe in 1971 and was the creation of super-creator, Jack Kirby. Funnily enough, the character was inspired by the early illusionist career of comic book artist Jim Steranko. The character's relationship with Big Barda is based on Kirby's relationship with his own wife.

Incidentally, there were three different Mister Miracles; the second persona being the most remembered and used.

Thaddeus Brown was the first Mister Miracle - a circus escape artist who would be the first person to use the stage name. Brown was the mentor of both Scott Free and Shilo Norman - the Mister Miracles to follow. After Brown's murder, Scott Free took up the Mister Miracle name, adopted Thaddeus's young ward Shilo Norman, and hired his assistant Oberon.

Scott Free is the son of Izaya (Highfather), the ruler of New Genesis and his wife Avia. However, as part of a diplomatic move to stop a destructive war against the planet Apokolips, Highfather agreed to an exchange of sons with the galactic tyrant Darkseid as part of a peace pact to end the war between New Genesis and Apokolips. This exchange of heirs sealed the pact and guaranteed that neither side would attack the other. And so Scott exchanged places with Darkseid's second born son Orion. Scott is thus also the step-brother of Kalibak.

Scott grew up in one of Granny Goodness' Terror Orphanages with no knowledge of his own heritage. As he matured, Scott rebelled against the ideals of Apokolips. Hating himself for being unable to fit in, he was influenced by Metron to see a future beyond Darkseid. Scott became part of a small band of pupils who were tutored in secret by the rebel Himon, a New Genesian living as a Hunger Dog on Apokolips. It was at these meetings that he met fellow pupil Big Barda, who would later become his wife.

Eventually, Scott Free escaped and fled to Earth. His escape was planned by Darkseid, and this cancelled the pact between Darkseid and Highfather and gave Darkseid the excuse he needed to restart the war with New Genesis. Once on Earth, he became the protégé of a circus escape artist, Thaddeus Brown, (Mister Miracle I). Brown was impressed with Scott's skills, thanks to various advanced devices he had taken from Apokolips. Scott also befriended Brown's assistant, a dwarf named Oberon. When Thaddeus Brown was murdered, Scott Free assumed the identity of Mister Miracle. Barda later followed Scott to Earth, and the two used their powers, equipment, and skills in the war against Darkseid. Eventually, tired of being chased on Earth by Darkseid's servants, Scott returned to Apokolips and won his freedom by legal means, through trial by combat.

Scott Free later became a member of the JLA (as did Barda and Oberon)

Shilo Norman (Mister Miracle III to be) was the informal ward of escapologist Thaddeus Brown (Mister Miracle I), and he also served as an occasional stand-in. When Brown was murdered by a mobster named Steel Hand, Scott avenged his friend's death by taking on the identity of Mister Miracle and brought Steel Hand to justice. After Brown's death, Shilo worked with Scott Free (the new Mister Miracle) and Scott's wife Barda.

A master escape artist himself, the now-adult Shilo was appointed security chief of the Slabside Island Maximum Security prison for Metahumans also known as the Slab. He held his own during the Joker's 'Last Laugh' riot and was promoted to Warden of the Slab, which had by then been relocated to Antarctica. A somewhat reconceived Shilo Norman appears in Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers of Victory crossover.

Although we at The House of El love superheroes all the way, we still have to pay attention to those more vaguer characters in the universe of comics - there are some really memorable characters out there, including those in the extraterrestrial world. So, if you love superheroes, love 'em all. Because you just can't escape 'em.