{"id":33154,"date":"2025-06-21T15:17:07","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T15:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=33154"},"modified":"2025-06-21T15:17:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T15:17:07","slug":"dc-finest-metamorpho-the-element-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/06\/21\/dc-finest-metamorpho-the-element-man\/","title":{"rendered":"DC Finest: Metamorpho – The Element Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Bob Haney<\/strong>, Gardner Fox<\/strong>, Ramona Fradon<\/strong>, Joe Orlando<\/strong>, Sal Trapani<\/strong>, Chic Stone<\/strong>, Jack Sparling<\/strong>, Charles Paris<\/strong>, Mike Sekowsky<\/strong>, Jim Aparo<\/strong>, Mike Esposito<\/strong>, Bernard Sachs<\/strong> & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-79950-184-8 (TPB)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a big year for comics anniversaries, and we can\u2019t let this special guy go unmentioned – especially as he\u2019s in this years much-debated new Superman<\/strong> blockbuster. <\/em><\/p>\n

Sadly, most of his far & wide back catalogue is still unavailable even in digital formats, and when the star is as long-lived and media-present as this guy that\u2019s an awful lot of extra appearances for a fan to find. Maybe this book and the film will act as a catalyst for DC to get a move on…<\/em><\/p>\n

By the time Metamorpho, The Element<\/strong> Man<\/strong> was introduced to an increasingly superhero-obsessed world, the first vestiges of a certifiable boom were just becoming apparent. As such, his light-hearted, nigh-absurdist blue-collar take struck a Right-Time, Right-Place chord, blending far out adventure with tongue-in-cheek comedy. The bold, brash – often positively vulgar – \u201cMan of a Thousand Elements\u201d debuted in The<\/strong> Brave and the Bold<\/strong> #57, cover-dated January 1965 and on sale from October 29th<\/sup> 1964: just in time for Halloween. After a second try-out tale in the next issue, he and his crackers cast catapulted right into a solo title for an eclectic, oddly engaging 17-issue run augmented by plenty of opportunistic guest shots. Sadly, this canny compendium – collecting all those eccentric debut adventures from B&B <\/strong>#57- 58, 66, 68 & 101, Metamorpho, The Element<\/strong> Man<\/strong> #1-17 and Justice League of America<\/strong> #42 – is at present unavailable in digital formats too.<\/p>\n

Sans dreary preamble, the action commences immediately with \u2018The Origin of Metamorpho\u2019<\/em>, written by Bob Haney, who created the concept and character and wrote everything here bar the Justice League<\/strong> story. The captivating art is by Ramona Fradon & Charles Paris and introduces glamorous he-man Soldier of Fortune Rex Mason<\/em>: employed as a globetrotting artefact-procurer and agent for ruthlessly acquisitive scientific genius\/business tycoon Simon Stagg<\/em>. Mason is obnoxious, tough talking and insolent, but his biggest fault as far as the boss is concerned is that the mercenary dares to love – and be loved by – the plutocrat\u2019s only daughter Sapphire<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

Determined to rid himself of the impudent \u201cfortune-hunter\u201d, Stagg sends his potential son-in-law to Egypt tasked with retrieving fantastic artefact the Orb of Ra<\/em> from the lost pyramid of Ahk-Ton<\/em>. The tomb raider is accompanied only by Java<\/em>: formerly a fossilised Neanderthal corpse Rex had extracted from a swamp and whom Stagg subsequently restored to life. Mason plans to take his final fabulous fee and whisk Sapphire away from her controlling father forever, but fate and his companion have other plans\u2026<\/p>\n

Utterly faithful to the scientific wizard who was his saviour, Java sabotages the mission, leaving Mason to die in the tomb, victim of an ancient, glowing meteor. The man-brute rushes back to his master, carrying the Orb and fully expecting Stagg to honour his promise and give him Sapphire in marriage. Meanwhile, trapped and painfully aware his time has come, Mason swallows a suicide pill as the scorching star-stone rays burn through him\u2026<\/p>\n

Instead of death relieving his torment, Rex mutates into a ghastly chemical freak able to shapeshift and transform into any of the elements or compounds that comprised his human body: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, calcium, iron, cobalt and so many others\u2026<\/p>\n

Hungry for vengeance, Mason returns to confront his betrayers, only to be overcome by alien energies emanating from the Orb of Ra. An uneasy d\u00e9tente is declared as Mason accepts Stagg\u2019s desperate offer to cure him – \u201cif possible\u201d. The senior Stagg is further horrified when Rex reveals his condition to Sapphire and finds she still loves him. Totally unaware of his employer\u2019s depths of duplicity, Mason starts working for the tycoon as metahuman problem-solver Metamorpho, the Element Man<\/strong>…
\n\"\"
\nBrave and the Bold<\/strong> #58 (February-March 1965) reveals more of Stagg\u2019s closeted skeletons when old business partner Maxwell Tremayne<\/em> kidnaps the Element Man and later abducts Sapphire to \u2018The Junkyard of Doom!\u2019<\/em> Apparently, the deranged armaments manufacturer was once intimately acquainted with the girl\u2019s mother and never quite got over it\u2026<\/p>\n

The test comics an unqualified success, Metamorpho promptly started in his own title, cover-dated July-August 1965 and on sale from May 27th<\/sup>, just as a wildly tongue-in-cheek \u201cHigh Camp\u201d craze was catching on in all areas of popular culture. This blended ironic vaudevillian kitsch with ancient movie premises as theatrical mad scientists and scurrilous spies began appearing absolutely everywhere…<\/p>\n

\u2018Attack of the Atomic Avenger\u2019<\/em> sees nuclear nut-job Kurt Vornak<\/em> seeking to crush Stagg Industries, only to be turned into a deadly, planet-busting radioactive super-atom, after which fashionably foreboding \u2018Terror from the Telstar\u2019<\/em> pits our charismatic characters against Nicholas Balkan<\/em>, a ruthless criminal boss set on sabotaging America\u2019s Space Program. Manic multi-millionaire T.T. Trumbull<\/em> uses his own daughter Zelda<\/em> to get to Simon Stagg through his heart, accidentally proving to all that the old goat actually has one. This was part of TT\u2019s attempt to seize control of America in \u2018Who Stole the U.S.A.?\u2019<\/em> with the ambitious would-be despot backing up the scheme with an incredible robot specifically designed to murder Metamorpho. Happily, Rex Mason\u2019s guts and ingenuity prove more effective than the Element Man\u2019s astonishing powers\u2026<\/p>\n

America saved, the dysfunctional family head South of the Border, becoming embroiled in \u2018The Awesome Escapades of the Abominable Playboy\u2019<\/em> as Stagg schemes to marry Sapphire off to Latino Lothario Cha Cha Chavez<\/em>. The spoiled, wilful child is simply trying to make Mason jealous and has no idea of Daddy\u2019s true plans whilst Stagg senior has no conception of Chavez\u2019s real intentions… or connections to the local tin-pot dictator\u2026<\/p>\n

With this issue gloriously stylish innovator Ramona Fradon left the series, to be replaced by two artists who strove to emulate her unique, gently madcap manner of drawing with varying degrees of success. Luckily, veteran inker Charles Paris stayed on to smooth out rough edges.<\/p>\n

Before we see them though, the buzz extended to a quick guest shot in a top mainstream title.<\/p>\n

A classic romp written by Gardner Fox and illustated by Mike Sekowsky & Bernard Sachs, Justice League of America<\/strong> #42 (February 1966) sees the reluctant hero joyfully join the World\u2019s Greatest Superheroes to defeat cosmic menace The Unimaginable<\/em>. The grateful champions instantly offer him membership but are astounded when – and why – \u2018Metamorpho Says\u2026 No!\u2019<\/em>:
\n\"\"
\nIn Metamorpho<\/strong> #5 the first substitute was E.C. veteran Joe Orlando whose 2-issue tenure began with outrageous doppelganger drama \u2018Will the Real Metamorpho Please Stand Up?\u2019<\/em> wherein eccentric architect Edifice K. Bulwark<\/em> wants Mason to lend his abilities to his chemical skyscraper project. When Metamorpho declines, Bulwark and Stagg attempt to create their own Element Man with predictably disastrous consequences. \u2018Never Bet Against an Element Man!\u2019<\/em> (#6 May-June 1966) then takes the team to the French Riviera as gambling grandee Achille Le Heele<\/em> snookers Stagg and wins \u201cownership\u201d of Metamorpho. The Gallic toad\u2019s ultimate goal was stealing the world\u2019s seven greatest wonders (including the Taj Mahal and Eiffel Tower) and, somehow, only the Element Man can make that happen\u2026<\/p>\n

Elemental entertainment returned to The Brave and the Bold<\/strong> in #66 (June\/July 1966) as \u2018Wreck the Renegade Robots\u2019<\/em> by Haney, Sekowsky & Mike Esposito sees a mad scientist usurp control of the Metal Men<\/strong> just as their creator Will Magnus<\/em> is preoccupied with a cure to turn Metamorpho back into an ordinary mortal\u2026<\/p>\n

Sal Trapani began drawing the regular title with #7\u2019s \u2018Terror from Fahrenheit 5,000!\u2019<\/em> as the acronymic superspy fad hit hard. Metamorpho is enlisted by the C.I.A. to stop suicidal maniac Otto Von Stuttgart<\/em> destroying the entire planet by dropping a nuke into the Earth\u2019s core, before costumed villain Doc Dread<\/em> is countered by an undercover Metamorpho becoming \u2018Element Man, Public Enemy!\u2019<\/em> in a diabolical caper of doom and double-cross.<\/p>\n

B & B<\/strong> #68 (October\/November 1966), the still chemically active crimebuster battles popular TV Bat-Baddies The<\/strong> Joker<\/strong>, Penguin <\/strong>and Riddler <\/strong>as well as a fearsomely mutated Caped Crusader in thoroughly bizarre tale \u2018Alias the Bat-Hulk!\u2019<\/em> – both yarns courtesy of Haney, Mike Sekowsky & Mike Esposito.
\n\"\"
\nMetamorpho<\/strong> #9 shifted to classic fantasy when suave and sinister despot El Mantanzas<\/em> maroons the cast in \u2018The Valley That Time Forgot!\u2019<\/em>: battling cavemen and antediluvian alien automatons, after which a new catalysing element is added in \u2018The Sinister Snares of Stingaree!\u2019<\/em> This yarn introduces Urania Blackwell<\/em> – a secret agent somehow transformed into an Element Girl and sharing all Metamorpho\u2019s incredible abilities. Not only is she dedicated to eradicating evil like criminal cabal Cyclops<\/em>, but Urania is also the perfect paramour for Rex, who even cancels his wedding to Sapphire to go gangbusting with her\u2026<\/p>\n

With a new frisson of sexual chemistry sizzling barely beneath the surface, \u2018They Came from Beyond?\u2019<\/em> finds a conflicted Element Man confronting an apparent alien invasion whilst \u2018The Trap of the Test-Tube Terrors!\u2019<\/em> sees another attempt to cure Rex of his unwanted powers. This allows mad scientist Franz Zorb <\/em>access to Stagg Industry labs long enough to build an army of chemical horrors. The plot thickens with Zorb\u2019s theft of a Nucleonic Moleculizer, prompting continuation in #13 wherein Urania is abducted only to triumphantly experience \u2018The Return from Limbo\u2019<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

Prior to that, however, the tone of the times dictated the birth of a new – comedic – feature as \u2018Meta-Maniacs of the World Unite!\u2019 <\/em>exposes domestic secrets of the cast. A second dose, \u2018Meta-Maniacs of the World Unite… Again??\u2019<\/em> closed the issue and even more in-vogue nonsense closed #14 in the form of \u2018Meta-Maniacs of the Universe (we\u2019re expanding) Unite… Once More??\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Events and stories grew increasingly outlandish and outrageous as TV\u2019s superhero craze intensified, and \u2018Enter the Thunderer!\u2019<\/em> (#14, September\/October 1967) depicted Rex pulled between Sapphire and Urania whilst marauding extraterrestrial Neutrog<\/em> terrorises the world in preparation for the arrival of his mighty mutant master. The next instalment augured an \u2018Hour of Armageddon!\u2019<\/em> as the uniquely menacing Thunderer<\/em> takes control of Earth until boy genius Billy Barton<\/em> aids the Elemental defenders in defeating the alien horrors. The drama closed with more silliness and a competition in \u2018Meta-Maniacs of the World, This is it… The Big Payola!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Trapani inked himself for Metamorpho<\/strong> #16: an homage to H. Rider Haggard\u2019s She<\/strong> novels (and the 1965 movie blockbuster) wherein \u2018Jezeba, Queen of Fury!\u2019<\/em> changes the Element Man\u2019s life forever. When Sapphire marries playboy Wally Bannister<\/em>, the heartbroken Element Man undertakes a mission to find the lost city of Ma-Phoor and encounters an undying beauty who wants to conquer the world\u2026 and who just happens to be Sapphire\u2019s exact double.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the immortal empress of a lost civilisation once loved an Element Man of her own: a Roman soldier named Algon<\/em> who became a chemical warrior 2000 years previously. Believing herself reunited with her lost love, Jezeba finally launches a long-delayed attack on the outside world with disastrous, tragic consequences\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2018Metamaniacs! The Large Payola… Again???\u2019<\/em> and a cast pinup by Fradon & Paris stridently underscore the parlous state of play before the oddly appetising series came to a shuddering, unsatisfactory halt with the next issue as the superhero bubble burst. Costumed comic characters suffered their second recession in 15 years and Metamorpho<\/strong> was an early casualty, cancelled just as (or perhaps because) the series was emerging from its quirky comedic shell with the March\/April 1968 issue. Illustrated by Jack Sparling, \u2018Last Mile for an Element Man!\u2019<\/em> sees Mason tried – and executed! – for the murder of Bannister, resurrected by Urania Blackwell and set on the trail of true killer Algon. Consequently, Mason and Element Girl uncover a vast conspiracy and rededicate themselves to defending humanity at all costs. The tale ends on a never-resolved cliffhanger: when Metamorpho was revived as a back-up feature some years later no mention was ever made of these last game-changing issues\u2026<\/p>\n

Before that though, one final indigity to endure offers a last look at the cast as\u2018Meta-Maniacs of East Cupcake (wherever that is), Unite! More Mighty Element Man Contest Winners!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

delivers the last edirorial duties before the lights went out.<\/p>\n

The final exploit in this volume as comes from Brave and the Bold #101 (April\/May 1972) as, Haney & Jim Aparo close proceedings with a grim and gritty finish for our hero when he assists the World\u2019s Greatest Detective in outrageous murder-mystery \u2018Cold-Blood, Hot Gun!\u2019<\/em>: seeking to save stubborn disinherited Sapphire Stagg from the World\u2019s deadliest hitman.
\n\"\"
\nIndividually enticing, always exciting but oddly frustrating in total, this book will delight readers who aren\u2019t too wedded to cloying continuity but simply seek a few moments of casual, fantastic escapism.
\n\u00a9 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1972, 2005 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Bob Haney, Gardner Fox, Ramona Fradon, Joe Orlando, Sal Trapani, Chic Stone, Jack Sparling, Charles Paris, Mike Sekowsky, Jim Aparo, Mike Esposito, Bernard Sachs & various (DC Comics) ISBN: 978-1-79950-184-8 (TPB) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. It\u2019s a big year for comics anniversaries, and we can\u2019t let this special … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “DC Finest: Metamorpho – The Element Man”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[191,10,113,75,76,290,125,16,313,314,127,107,169,9,325],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-batman","category-comedy","category-crime-comics","category-dc-superhero","category-dinosaurs","category-humour","category-jla","category-metal-men","category-metamorpho","category-nostalgia","category-science-fiction","category-spy-stories","category-superman","category-the-joker"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8CK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33154"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33160,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33154\/revisions\/33160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}