History ComicBook / Miracleman

* The Golden Age -- A RotatingProtagonist arc dealing with Muggles in the Miracleman world (including a MindScrew issue that features Creator/AndyWarhol)

* {{Bowdlerise}}: The Marvel digital remasters of the Moore series keep all the graphic violence, but edited the art to add underwear to a scene in which Liz was previously naked, and asterisk out the comic's two uses of the word "nigger" (once during Evelyn Cream's worries about whether he's falling into primitive superstition, and once when Bates insults Huey Moon during the final battle). The print version included in the 2022 omnibus collection shows Liz's nudity uncensored, but still censors both uses of the N-word.

* [[ComicBook/MiraclemanTheSilverAge The Silver Age]] -- This story was interrupted midway by the rights issues. It featured a TimeSkip and reintroduced Young Miracleman (Dicky Dauntless) back into the lives of a very changed Miracle Family, before being CutShort.

%%* AntiVillain: Evelyn Cream.

* MadScientist: Dr. Gargunza, in both the '50s comics and the Creator/AlanMoore version.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: The Marvel digital remasters of the Moore series keep all the graphic violence, but edited the art to add underwear to a scene in which Liz was previously naked, and asterisk out the comic's two uses of the word "nigger" (once during Evelyn Cream's worries about whether he's falling into primitive superstition, and once when Bates insults Huey Moon during the final battle).

* ContinuityReboot: Moore's version of Miracleman shows that Moran's previous adventures were all part of an elaborate attempt by Dr. Gargunza to control him.

* CreepyChild: Winter. She mentions that she participated in an orgy with the Qys (by Earth standards she's ''four years old''), laughing off her father's shock, then casually asks if he "''decided'' to leave the sky that color."

* ByThePowerOfGrayskull: Miracleman's "Kimota!" and Kid Miracleman's "Miracleman!" [[spoiler:Gargunza also programs them with a ''de''-powering word, "Abraxas."]]

* PsychopathicManchild: Kid Miracleman and Young Nastyman.

* HehHehYouSaidX: At the beginning of "The Red King Syndrome", Jason Oakey laughs at Miracleman saying "fairy" when he explains how his force field works and compares it to Tinkerbell from ''Literature/PeterPan''.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Downplayed. Prior to Miracleman's return, Kid Miracleman had a career as one, but not much detail is put into how he runs his company from day to day. That said, he ''does'' casually murder his secretary as his first KickTheDog moment (of many)...

* CerebusRetcon: [[spoiler:The entire 1950s Marvelman run was just a childish fantasy made up in order to train the Miracleman family to be powerful living superweapons.]]

The origin of ''Marvelman'' is convoluted. In the early fifties, the similarities between Superman and Captain Marvel led to a famous legal battle between Fawcett Comics and Creator/DCComics. L. Miller held the rights to reprint the American ComicBook [[Comicbook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] in the UK but the legal hurdles in America meant the end of material for them to reprint and distribute to the local market. Since the comics were highly popular, they decided to commission a CaptainErsatz of Captain Marvel. Mick Anglo developed Marvelman, his supporting cast and villains in the course of his adventures, which lasted 350 weekly issues, between 1954 to 1963. Marvelman became popular as young men's reading material and its bright colour adventures were considered refreshing in England during TheFifties.

A 1950s homegrown British CaptainErsatz of {{superhero}} [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] (himself an {{Expy}} of Franchise/{{Superman}}), created by Mick Anglo, published by L. Miller and Son, Ltd.

* Book One: A Dream of Flying -- It was with ''Miracleman'' that Moore started what became part of his SignatureStyle. Take a previously unknown character, RetCon its origins and submit its premise to a GenreDeconstruction. His work with ''Marvelman'' attracted a great deal of attention and this later led to work with DC on titles like ''Comicbook/SwampThing'' which also radically changed the character from the ground-up. The first arc is largely an "origin" story dealing with a grown-up, HappilyMarried Michael Moran who works as a reporter and has dreams of life as a "superhero" but has forgotten his magic word. He rediscovers it ("Kimota") at an atomic power plant and becomes a superhero in the grim 80s of Thatcher's Britain. The DrivingQuestion of the first story is the circumstances of Michael Moran's existence, the tension in his marriage caused by having two different identities in a single body and his reunion with childhood acquaintances Johnny Bates ("Kid Miracleman") as well as ArchEnemy Dr. Emil Gargunza.

** Among the issues he tackles are how Miracleman's existence wreaks havoc on Michael Moran's personal life and sense of self; what sort of collateral damage would occur in a realistic superhero battle; and what the impact on society would be if Miracleman took over the world as a benevolent dictator. More gently, he also points out ([[AudienceSurrogate through Liz]]) how the traditional FlyingBrick powerset would be completely nonsensical under the laws of (Earth) physics, and suggests more reasonable-sounding workarounds, such as Miracleman's NighInvulnerability ''really'' being a skintight force-field.[[note]]Something that, coincidentally, Creator/JohnByrne was also suggesting with Franchise/{{Superman}} at the time.[[/note]]

* CanonWelding: After the series was bought by Creator/MarvelComics[[note]]Ironic, considering Marvel's lawsuit is what necessitated the series being renamed from ''Marvelman'' to ''Miracleman''.[[/note]], it was retroactively established as part of the Marvel multiverse, being given the designation Earth-18.

* TheTheocracy: A variant. Miracleman and his fellow superhumans eventually come to see themselves as gods and at the end of Moore's run proceed to take over the world in a benevolent dictatorship where humanity worships them, living in a high mountain explicitly called Olympus. In the first issue of Gaiman's run, it's revealed that those wishing to ask Miracleman for favors must take a pilgrimage up a long tower, which the pilgrims may or may not survive or remain sane.

* Book Three: Olympus -- The third (and arguably most famous) part of the series, drawn by John Totleben. This celebrated arc led the series to undertake a GenreShift into science fiction and CosmicHorror as Moore introduced Miracleman to a mysterious DistaffCounterpart, sent them to outer space to meet the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien extraterrestrial sources]] of their powers, and ultimately examined their drift from humanity. Moore capped it all off with the memorable final two issues of 15 and 16, memorable for the hitherto unseen levels of violence depicted in superhero comics.

* {{Bowdlerise}}:
** The Marvel digital remasters of the Moore series keep all the graphic violence, but edited the art to add underwear to a scene in which Liz was previously naked, and asterisk out the comic's two uses of the word "nigger" (once during Evelyn Cream's worries about whether he's falling into primitive superstition, and once when Bates insults Huey Moon during the final battle).
** The Gaiman run isn't immune to this, either -- the remaster of "Notes from the Underground" replaces an instance of the word "faggot" with "fairy".

** The Marvel digital remasters of the Moore series keep all the graphic sex and violence, but asterisk out the comic's two uses of the word "nigger" (Once during Evelyn Cream's worries about whether he's falling into primitive superstition, and once when Bates insults Huey Moon during the final battle).

* BreakingTheFourthWall: Issue #8 has a set-up [[BreatherEpisode completely different]] from the other issues: [[spoiler:Picking up immediately after having killed Dr. Gargunza, Miracleman begins to reflect on his false memories of his past "adventures"... only for ''editor Cat Yronwode'' to abruptly show up, interrupt the scene, [[ProsceniumReveal and stop writing the issue]] in order to be honest with the readers. Namely, admitting that this issue is reprinting two of the original 1950s comic because, as a result of the Eclipse offices being flooded, the schedule for the Miracleman comic got shot to shit. "We're not running these 1955 Mick Angelo stories '[[Creator/JohnWayne because you demanded it, pilgrim!]]' We're running them because we desperately need the time to get back on schedule. '''[[LampshadeHanging Too ]]''' [[LampshadeHanging honest?]]"]]

Several artists were called in to draw the rest of Moore's run (along with an issue that reprinted classic Miracleman stories, something that the book's editor replied was only being done because of the aforementioned flood), among them Steve Bissette and Rick Veitch of ''ComicBook/SwampThing'' fame and Creator/ChuckAusten (under his birth name, Chuck Beckum). Alan Moore's run ended with ''Olympus'' which was regarded by many as a FullyAbsorbedFinale to the series and an epic conclusion. It was followed by Creator/NeilGaiman, who sought to write a trilogy of [[StoryArc story arcs]] beginning with ''The Golden Age'' continuing on with ''The Silver Age'' and ending with ''The Dark Age''. Though ''The Golden Age'' arc was concluded, the book was cancelled again shortly after the commencement of ''The Silver Age'' with the collapse of Eclipse Comics. Gaiman's story is currently unfinished but, well, read on.

The first part of Gaiman and Buckingham's ''ComicBook/MiraclemanTheSilverAge'' is scheduled for publication by Marvel in October 2022. After reprinting the two chapters published by Eclipse, the series will continue and conclude the Silver Age arc.

* The Golden Age -- A RotatingProtagonist arc dealing with Muggles in the Miracleman world (including a famous MindScrew issue that features Creator/AndyWarhol)

* AllJustADream: In just the first few issues of the Creator/AlanMoore run it's revealed that [[spoiler:the ''entire'' 1950's-60's run of Miracleman was just an elaborate dream induced simulation created by Miracleman's government handlers.]] Invoked in-story, too, by Gargunza in order to [[spoiler:cleverly stop the Miracleman family from waking up in the real world]].

* AntiVillain: Evelyn Cream.

Several artists were called in to draw the rest of Moore's run (along with an issue that reprinted classic Miracleman stories, something that the book's editor replied was only being done because of the aforementioned flood), among them Steve Bissette and Rick Veitch of ''ComicBook/SwampThing'' fame and Chuck Austen (yes, [[Comicbook/XMen THAT]] Chuck Austen, back when he was Chuck Beckum). Alan Moore's run ended with ''Olympus'' which was regarded by many as a FullyAbsorbedFinale to the series and an epic conclusion. It was followed by Creator/NeilGaiman, who sought to write a trilogy of [[StoryArc story arcs]] beginning with ''The Golden Age'' continuing on with ''The Silver Age'' and ending with ''The Dark Age''. Though ''The Golden Age'' arc was concluded, the book was cancelled again shortly after the commencement of ''The Silver Age'' with the collapse of Eclipse Comics. Gaiman's story is currently unfinished but, well, read on.