Since the superhero’s first appearance in 1971, Mister Miracle has gone on to accomplish many feats and escape every kind of seemingly impossible situation by his superior acrobatic skills. A creation of Jack Kirby, the superhero debuted in the comic book Mister Miracle #1, and went on to interact with a variety of DC heroes over the years.
It all started with an escape artist called Thaddeus Brown, who took on the pseudonym “Mister Miracle” for when he would perform in the circus. But the mantle soon got handed to Scott Free, who wasn’t as ordinary as he appeared to be. Free was the one who established Mister Miracle as a superhero, while mentoring the young Shilo Norman as the next person to take responsibility for the codename. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to these three, though.
10 Thaddeus Taught A Young Bruce Wayne
For a time, the last anyone saw of Thaddeus Brown was when he was seemingly murdered by a local gang leader, right at the start of Scott Free’s career as Mister Miracle. So, for all intents purposes, his storyline had ended right then. But years later, in Detective Comics #996-997, when everyone who had ever taught and trained Bruce Wayne as a youth starting dying under terrible conditions, readers came across an older but very much alive incarnation of Thaddeus Brown telling Batman that a trap had been set for them.
It is then that Batman reveals the fact that the exceptional escape artist had taught Batman everything he knew about acrobatics and escape artistry.
9 Mister Miracle Appeared As An Animated Baby
Apart from his solo comic book series, as well as other crossover events, Mister Miracle has appeared in other mediums as well. One of them was the animated show Superman: The Animated Series, where Mister Miracle was present but never quite acknowledged.
In the episode titled "Apokolips…Now! Part I," Mister Miracle makes his debut, as a baby, when the Mother Box shows the exchange of Orion and Mister Miracle between High Father and Darkseid. In "Part II," he appears again, as an extra in the background as the New Genesis platoon arrived to help Earth in an effort to defeat Darkseid and his evil plans.
8 Mister Miracle & Big Barda Have A Child
In the Kingdom Come series, the Scott Free version of Mister Miracle is a family man— having had a daughter called Avia with Big Barda— but he still finds time to help his superhero colleagues in their fight against evil. Banking on his capabilities as an escape artist, he aided Superman in constructing the perfect prison for meta-humans, one that they would have a very difficult time getting out of.
Towards the end of the series, when the third nuclear bomb explodes and kills a vast majority of people, Mister Miracle is able to protect his wife and daughter by means of a boom tube.
7 Jack Kirby Had Other Plans
Although Jack Kirby created most of the major characters that Mister Miracle interacts with, he didn’t plan to continue to do so in the future. As Mark Evanier, his former assistant, told the long-running journal Comics Interview, Kirby was “going to turn Mr. Miracle over to Steve Ditko after a couple of issues and have me write it and Ditko draw it.”
Kirby wanted to work on a higher level, as a creator and supervisor, rather than handle the nitty gritty that writers and artists do. But the then-publisher, Carmine Infantino, had other plans; he wanted Kirby to handle the series himself.
6 The Other Villain Called Bedlam
There are Baron Bedlams in the DC universe. The first is the one created by Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo; whose real name is Baron Frederick DeLamb and who first appeared in Batman and the Outsiders #1. The son of a Nazi agent who was installed as the ruler of Markovia, Baron Bedlam became a supervillain in his own right as the years went by.
While this Baron Bedlam was a human being, albeit a terrible one, the one that appeared across the battlefield from Mister Miracle was an android capable of much more complicated feats. A creation of Jack Kirby, this character debuted as Doctor Bedlam and could transfer his consciousness from one body to another. But later, in the hands of Grant Morrison, he took on the name Baron Bedlam in Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle.
5 The Avatars Of Mister Miracle Knew Each Other
After Scott Free escaped from the clutches of Darkseid’s influence, he reached Earth and met an escape artist by the name of Thaddeus Brown (who had Mister Miracle as his stage name). The two quickly forged a friendship, with the older man taking Scott under his wing and teaching him the ways of an escape artist. A while later, a young boy by the name of Shilo Norman joined their little troupe, and became a protégé for them both.
But then tragedy struck and Thaddeus got murdered, forcing Scott to take revenge on those who had killed his first friend on Earth. From there on, Scott took on the pseudonym Mister Miracle and became a superhero that fought against Darkseid’s forces.
4 Kirby Got The Idea While Working On Thor
As with any artist or writer, inspiration came from many quarters for Jack Kirby. Writer and artist Jim Steranko was one such influence, as was Kirby’s own wife. His relationship with her inspired Kirby in developing Mister Miracle and Big Barda’s romance in the comics.
But when it came to the plot and the setting, inspiration struck Kirby while he was working on “Tales of Asgard” for Marvel’s Thor. According to author Marc Flores, Kirby got the idea for the New Gods comic books, of which Mister Miracle was a crucial part, while plotting a major battle leading to Ragnarok.
3 Mister Miracle Comes Back To Life
In Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers of Victory #1, Mister Miracle actually seeks out Boss Dark Side, who is the human host of Darkseid. It’s a decision that leads to a swift and quick death for our hero, who dies by a pistol-shot.
Later, when Boss Dark Side visits his grave, he leaves a single black rose at the site and prides himself in defeating Mister Miracle. But unbeknownst to him, just after he leaves, Mister Miracle’s hands shoot through the ground, reassuring readers that he is not dead yet.
2 No One Knows Scott’s Real Name
Both Thaddeus Brown and Shilo Norman are born of the Earth, and undergo ordinary childhoods until their turn as Mister Miracle. But Scott Free is different. The son of Highfather Izaya, Free was interchanged with Orion when he was still a baby, as part of a deal with Darkseid to make peace reign on Apokolips. In this way, High Father would bring up Darkseid's son, and Darkseid would bring up Free.
As Free grew under the stern supervision of Granny Goodness, who worked under Darkseid, he came to suffer many torturous teachings. And he never got to learn his true name. Granny Goodness called him Scott Free as a play on the term "scot-free."
1 Shilo Studied Physics At NYU
When not taking on the garb of Mister Miracle, Shilo Norman works hard at being the perfect student at New York University. While pursuing a degree in physics, Shilo also studies other sciences and philosophy, and, when free, works as a street magician in Washington Square Park.
Later, he becomes the warden of the Slab, a meta-human prison situated in Antarctica. It’s a job that suits him pretty well, considering his background as an escape artist. Prior to the events of the riots caused by the Joker, Shilo worked as the security chief.