While Marvel certainly has Spider-Ham and a fan-favorite alternate universe populated by anthropomorphic animal versions of its iconic characters, DC Comics beat Marvel to the punch with its own line of cute and furry superheroes. Since their 1982 debut, Captain Carrot and his team of fellow super-powered animals have defended Earth-C from all manner of peril.
Following his debut, Captain Carrot has since become a protector for the entire DC Multiverse, joining an ensemble of superheroes vigilantly watching out for threats to all of reality. Now, CBR is taking a quick look back at the superhero rabbit, from his earliest adventures to his recent exploits in the DC Multiverse.
WHO IS CAPTAIN CARROT?
Created by Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway and Scott Shaw in a special insert in 1982's New Teen Titans #16, Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew are introduced as the superheroes of Earth-C. Originally, Carrot's civilian alter ego was listed as Roger Rabbit before being changed to Rodney Rabbit to avoid any legal issues with the prose cartoon character who eventually went on to star in his own film.
In his day job, Rodney is a writer and artist for his reality's version of DC Comics in a sly self-referential nod while maintaining his secret identity as Captain Carrot. Rodney's superpowers are finite and require him to consume a cosmic carrot to transform into Captain Carrot, with the effects wearing off after a certain amount of exertion or after 24 hours have passed since eating a powered carrot. Accordingly, Rodney often keeps a supply of the carrots handy along with the meteorite that imbues them with cosmic energy. In his transformed state as Captain Carrot, Rodney possesses super strength, speed, and endurance, heightened senses, and the ability to traverse great distances by leaping.
WHO IS THE AMAZING ZOO CREW?
After their initial appearance, Captain Carrot and his team of superhero animals received their own ongoing series in Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew, with Thomas and Shaw returning for the entire run. The team was formed when Superman was struck by a strange meteor teleporting him to Earth-C, with several of the animal residents of the alternate reality gaining superpowers when they came into contact with fragments from the meteor.
The newly created superheroes teamed up with Superman to defend their world from the Earth-1 villain Starro and decided to stay together as the Zoo Crew after Superman returned to his world.
In addition to Captain Carrot, the Zoo Crew consists of Alley-Kat-Abra, a magical cat, Pig-Iron, a pig transformed into nigh-indestructible organic steel, Rubberduck, a duck with elastic stretching powers, Yankee Poodle, a dog with the ability to repel and attract targets with stars and stripes, Fastback, a turtle with super-speed, Little Cheese, a mouse with size-changing abilities minuscule sizes, and the American Eagle, an eagle who relies on gadgets like Batman. Their initial series ran for 20 issues until 1983, and their world was destroyed, along with the rest of the DC Multiverse, in Crisis on Infinite Earths.
CAPTAIN CARROT IN THE DC MULTIVERSE
Following the rebirth of the DC Multiverse with the Infinite Crisis, Earth-C and all its characters, including Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew, are revealed exist on a virtually identical world now labeled Earth-26. In a parody nod to comic books, including the DC Universe, becoming darker since their debut, the Post-Crisis incarnation of the Zoo Crew featured Alley-Kat-Abra imprisoned by her nemesis Feline Faust, who posed as the magical feline to murder Kat's teammate Little Cheese while framing Yankee Poodle for the crime.
As the team's secret identities become public and they operate in open defiance of the corrupt federal government, the ensemble faces the evil Salamandroid who plans to flood Earth-26's Gnu York. Teaming up with animal incarnations of the Justice League, the assembled heroes construct a makeshift ark to transport refugees to the alternate dimension of Earth-C Minus at the cost of the Zoo Crew into regular animals. In the finale of Final Crisis, the team is restored to their superhero forms, with Captain Carrot later joining superheroes from the DC Multiverse to defend all of reality during the events of Multiversity and beyond.