Resurrection Man - Volume 1

Volume 1

Born in Viceroy, South Carolina, Mitchell "Mitch" Shelley became a lawyer who found himself an unwilling test subject for experimentation in nanotechnology, involving specialized devices nicknamed "tektites" by an organization known only as "the Lab". The experiments cost Shelley his memory for several months but also rendered him immortal albeit with a twist: he could still be killed but the death would last a matter of seconds (perhaps minutes at most due to the tektites) and he would be reborn with a superpower influenced by the way he was last killed. A comment by the Phantom Stranger in RM #18 about having worked with Shelley in previous lifetimes suggests that there is more to his powers than just the tektites. However, the series never expanded on this point.

Shelley's travels in search of the truth of his identity and his newfound powers would take him across the United States, leading him into an ongoing feud with assorted adversaries including Vandal Savage, the Body Doubles and others, as well as alliances and friendship with various members of the Justice League (although he did not feel comfortable acting in a traditional superhero role). At least one alternate future has established Shelley's survival and long-term League membership into the 853rd Century. By then he had developed a device, the Resurrector, attached to his wrist, that could kill him in a way that allowed him to select specific powers (as opposed to the "Luck of the draw" system his normal deaths went by), in addition to always possessing super strength and flight comparable to Superman's. Vandal Savage was able to use this device against him, reprogramming the Resurrector to constantly kill Shelley, never giving him the chance to resurrect, until the Martian Manhunter destroyed the device. However, Shelley later returned alive in the subsequent DC One Million 80-Page Giant #1,000,000 (1999).