Publication History
Bizarro debuted in Superboy #68 (Oct. 1958), writer Otto Binder casting the character as a Frankenstein's monster pastiche that possessed all the powers of Superboy. Shunned for his grotesque appearance, the teen version of Bizarro only appeared in a single comic book story. An adult version, however, followed soon after, debuting in the Superman daily newspaper comic strip, featured in Episode 105: "The Battle With Bizarro" (Strips 6147-6242 :Aug. 25, 1958 to Dec. 13, 1958). This storyline also introduced the strange speech patterns that became synonymous with the character, with all of Bizarro's comments meaning the opposite (e.g.. "bad" means "good"). The newspaper version also wore a "B" on his chest, as opposed to the distinctive "S".
Writer of the strip, Alvin Schwartz stated:
| “ | I was striving, you might say, for that mirror-image, that opposite. And out of a machine which would reveal the negative Superman, came the mirror image — always remembering that in a mirror everything is reversed... The times were such that one-dimensional characters, your standard superheroes, even in comics, seemed rather simplistic, like paper cut-outs. What was demanded was the full dimensional personality — a figure that carried a shadow, if you like. I was certainly inspired to some degree also by C.G. Jung's archetype of "the shadow" — and Bizarro certainly reflected that, as well. | ” |
Binder revised the character, this time wearing an "S" in Action Comics #254 (July 1959). Bizarro proved popular, and starred in the back-up feature in Adventure Comics for fifteen issues, running from issue #285 - 299 (June 1961 - Aug. 1962). The character made forty appearances in the Superman family of titles — Action Comics, Superman, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane, Adventure Comics, Secret Society of Super Villains, and DC Comics Presents — from 1959 to 1984, prior to a reboot of the DC Universe as a result of the limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 - 12 (April 1985 - March 1986).
Bizarro was reintroduced into the DC Universe in The Man of Steel #5 (Dec. 1986). An unrelated four issue limited series titled A. Bizarro (July - Oct.) was published in 1999.
Yet another version was introduced during the "Emperor Joker" storyline in Action Comics #769 – 770 (Sep. - Oct. 2000), Adventures of Superman #582 – 583 (Sep. - Oct. 2000), Superman #160 – 161 (Sep. - Oct. 2000), Superman: The Man of Steel #104 – 105 (Sep. - Oct. 2000), and Superman: Emperor Joker #1 (Oct. 2000). Remaining in DC Comics continuity, Bizarro continued to make semi-regular guest appearances that firmly established the character as part of the Superman mythos. The character appeared in Action Comics #785 (Jan. 2002), Infinite Crisis #1 (Oct. 2005), the Superman: Last Son storyline in Action Comics 844-846 (Dec. 2006 - Feb. 2007), 851 (Aug. 2007), #855 - 857 (Oct. 2007 - Dec. 2007), Annual #11 (July 2008), and #873 (March 2009).
The character appeared in the limited series Rann/Thanagar Holy War #1 - 8 (July 2008 - Feb. 2009), Strange Adventures #1 - 8 (May - Dec. 2009), and Solomon Grundy #1 - 7 (May - Nov. 2009). Bizarro also appeared in a chapter of the Blackest Night storyline in Superman/Batman #66 - 67 (Jan. - Feb. 2010).
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