Adam Strange, the space-faring hero of two worlds, has frequently played a prominent role in the DC Universe's various cosmic sagas. With his retro-futuristic costume, jet-pack, and pulpy origin story, the character has all the trappings of an ideal space-opera protagonist.
In this archetypal appeal, different writers have found a vessel to tell dozens of unique stories. He's a vital character to have handy when a human perspective is needed in the midst of an intergalactic epic. During his long history, Adam Strange has only grown more complex. There's more to him than first meets the (electromagnetic-spectrum-viewing) eye.
10 He's An Archaeologist
Before he was transported across the universe to the planet Rann, Adam Strange was your average, run-of-the-mill, rugged, adventurer/archaeologist. Not only that but he was actually on an expedition in South America to find the legendary Incan city of Caramanga when a zeta-beam first teleports him through space.
His background as an archaeologist and explorer remains an important aspect of the character. Utilizing the skills he developed in his past work, he travels across Rann recording and archiving the history of the fallen civilization. His work allows for the cultural restoration of the post-apocalyptic planet.
9 His Origin Was Heavily Inspired By Earlier Sci-Fi Works
Many super-heroes owe a heavy debt to their pulp hero forefathers, and Adam Strange is no different. The influences of his character can be traced back to Edwin Lester Arnold's Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation and Edgar Rice Burrough's A Princess of Mars, both of which featured American military men being transported to other worlds where they romanced alien princesses.
The most explicit inspiration for Adam Strange is probably the long-running Flash Gordon comic strip (which itself was greatly indebted to Burrough's aforementioned Mars books,) as the All-American Flash, his girlfriend Dale Arden, and scientist Hans Zarkov, can easily be seen as stand-ins for Adam Strange, Princess Alanna, and her father Sardath.
8 His Original Adventures Were Meant To Be (Sort Of) Scientifically Plausible
Strange's co-creator Julius Schwartz had maintained an avid interest in science since his days in school. When Gardner Fox drafted the first Adam Strange adventures in Showcase and Mystery in Space, Schwartz would often give him scientific facts and bits of trivia to incorporate into the different stories. This made Strange's exploits unique among the countless science-fiction comics being released every month at the time.
While aspects of the early stories like Diamondium and Fourth-Dimensional Aliens were the stuff of fantasy, Strange's early appearances often included back-up features that detailed the actual science behind different astronomy-based concepts talked about in the preceding adventure.
7 Alan Moore Gave His Origin A Pretty Dark Twist
In issue #57-58 of Alan Moore's seminal run on Swamp Thing, the titular character found its consciousness transported by Zeta-Beam to Rann along with a nearby Adam Strange. There, he joins Strange during a tense meeting with two delegates from Thanagar who offer to help restore Rann's plantlife in exchange for the technology behind the Zeta-Beam.
When the talks of diplomacy fail, the Thanagarian representatives attack the two heroes. One of them taunts Strange, implying that there is a dark reason rather than just chance that the Zeta-Beam brought him to Rann. She implies that the sterile population of Rann needed a healthy human to... uh... help re-populate their planet.
6 He And The Planet Thanagar Have Issues
A recurring plot point over the decades has been the tense diplomatic relations between Rann and the people of Thanagar, the home planet of Hawkman and Hawkwoman. Beginning with the already mentioned quarrel over the Zeta-Beam, the hostility between the two planets has spilled into open conflict several times.
The Rann-Thanagar War and followup series Rann/Thanagar: Holy War, detail the intergalactic struggle that explodes after Rann is moved into Thanagar's star system by a group of terrorist Hawkpeople hoping to install a dictatorship there. Strange works in tandem with Hawkman and Hawkwoman to avoid further bloodshed.
5 He Once Took Down The Entire Justice League
During Mark Waid's tenure on JLA, Adam Strange proved himself to be a hero that you really wouldn't want to mess with. In JLA #20, the Justice League finds themselves transported (via Zeta-Beam of course) to Rann, where they are imprisoned by Strange and forced to help rebuild the planet's capital city.
Don't worry, even though Strange seems like he's lost his mind, it's all part of his convoluted plan to rescue his wife Alanna from a race of telepathic extraterrestrials called the En'Tarans. He had to trick the Justice League into thinking he had gone crazy not only to keep his plan safe from his telepathic enemies, but also because it's a comic book and this kind of twist is what we sign up for every week.
4 He May Have One Of The Sharpest Intellects In The DC Universe
Not only did Strange come to Rann as a highly accomplished historian and archeologist, but his years interacting with alien cultures and fighting in numerous conflicts all over the galaxy have given him a keen scientific mind and turned him into a master strategist.
As seen in the previous entry, it's not just anyone who can capture a team of the galaxy's most powerful heroes while simultaneously outsmarting an army of hyper-intelligent telepathy. That's some serious, Batman-level, gamesmanship. Not to mention the clear political acumen he has gained over his years as a peacekeeper and statesman for Rann.
3 He Has Superhuman Eyesight
During the events of 52, a Zeta-Beam accident left Strange (along with Starfire and Animal Man) stranded on a distant planet. To make matters worse, he was blinded in the accident as well. Despite the loss of his sight, he was able to rebuild a destroyed alien spacecraft allowing for his and his allies escape.
After returning to Rann, Strange was outfitted by Sardath with a brand new cloned set of eyes. Even better? Sardath had genetically engineered the eyes to give Strange the ability to see across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, which is always handy.
2 He Was An Early Candidate To Join The Justice League
In Justice League of America #4, Wonder Woman proposes that for the first time in their young history the league add a new member to their roster. Immediately, the Flash chimes in with a suggestion: "How about Adam Strange? He's Achieved an excellent record!"
While eventually the Green Arrow is chosen as the new addition, Flash's proposal raises an interesting question: How does he know who Adam Strange is? Until this time, Strange's adventures had been kept entirely to Rann and it's surrounding space. After this question was posed in a fan letter, Julius Schwartz crafted an answer in Mystery in Space #75, which depicted an earlier adventure where the JLA visited Rann.
1 He May Be A War Criminal
As seen in the first issue of Tom King's new series Strange Adventures, Adam Strange's heroic exploits may not be everything we believed them to be. In this title, Strange is hailed as an American hero and has just released a bestselling memoir. However, at a book signing, an attendee angrily accuses him of engaging in war crimes and torture during his time on Rann.
Strange is shocked by the accusation, in part because he has trouble reconciling his memory's version of the past with what actually. After his accuser is found dead, he turns to the superhuman community to get to the truth. Is Adam Strange one of the galaxy's greatest monsters? We'll have to keep reading!