|
Radioactive Man |
Real name |
Claude Kane III |
Publisher
|
Bongo Comics
|
First appearance
|
In Simpsons TV show:
Bart the Genius (first mention), Three Men and a Comic Book (first appearance of comic book)
|
Created by |
|
Stats |
Status |
Active |
Affiliations |
Superior Squadron |
Previous
affiliations |
Superior Squad |
Notable
aliases |
Radio Man |
Notable
relatives |
Camellia Kane/Pneumatica (mother) |
Notable
powers |
Stregnth, speed, flight, bulletprrof, power to fire beams of "clean, nuclear heat" from eyes |
|
Radioactive Man, within the world of the
animated television series The Simpsons, is a
comic book superhero who acquired his powers after surviving an
atomic bomb explosion. He looks and sounds suspiciously like a muscular
Homer Simpson. His sidekick is
Fallout Boy, and his
catchphrase is "Up and
Atom!"
In the universe of The Simpsons, Radioactive Man has been portrayed in many media. In addition to comic books, he was featured in at least one 1940s or 1950s era black-and-white serial, sponsored by Laramie Cigarettes. Dirk Richter, reportedly born 1922 (he was said to be 73 years old in 1995), played Radioactive Man and Buddy Hodges played Fallout Boy. Dirk Richter was apparently shot to death in a bordello sometime in the 1960s.
There was also a campy early 1970s TV series suspiciously resembling the Batman TV series, and boasted the appearance of a villain called "The Scoutmaster", who sounded like Paul Lynde.
In 1995, a Hollywood studio attempted to film a Radioactive Man movie in Springfield. The film starred Rainier Wolfcastle, Springfield's answer to Arnold Schwarzenegger, as Radioactive Man. The role of Fallout Boy was cast from local children. Bart Simpson, a huge Radioactive Man fan, tried out for the part in the film, but it went to his pal, Milhouse van Houten. Krusty the Clown was cast as villains Dr. Clownius and Silly Sailor. Wolfcastle is incapable of saying the "Up and Atom!" catchphrase correctly; it always comes out as "Up and at them!". The film was never completed due to budget overruns caused by constant price-gouging by Springfield vendors, and Milhouse snapping from the pressure of the role, and refusing to continue to portray Fallout Boy. The unfinished project was presumably shelved.
Radioactive Man has escaped from the fictional world of Bart Simpson to appear in a real comic book intermittently published by Bongo Comics, which has also published, since 1994, a number of comics featuring Bart Simpson, the Simpson family, and other characters from the television show.
Maintaining the high standards of the television show, these comics often parody genre comic books, and the reader can follow the evolution of Radioactive Man from a 1950s irradiated hero through the politically reactionary or radical years of the 1960s and 1970s, and the dark, troubled years of the 1980s and 1990s comic book hero .
External links
Last updated: 05-07-2005 16:45:00
Last updated: 05-13-2005 07:56:04