Mister Miracle (Shilo Norman)
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Shilo Norman is a superhero in the DC Comics universe, he is the third person to use the title "Mister Miracle". Created by Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Mister Miracle (1st series) #15 August (1973).
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[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Orphan
Shilo's mother abandoned him as an infant. He spent the early parts of his youth in a Suicide Slum orphanage (Metropolis). Shilo was unsatisfied with his lot in life so he fled the abuses of the orphanage and began living on the streets.[1]
Young Shilo Norman became the informal ward of escapologist Thaddeus Brown (Mister Miracle I), and he also served as an occasional stand in. Thaddeus Brown is murdered by a mobster named Steel Hand, and Scott avenged his new friend's death by taking on the identity of Mister Miracle and brought Steel Hand to justice. After Brown's death, Shilo worked with Scott Free the new Mister Miracle and his wife Barda.
Shilo eventually found his brother who was murdered before his eyes by a gang member. He ran to the police, and Metropolis policeman Solomon Driver (Mister Miracle #15) was assigned to leave Shilo Norman in the protective custody of Scott Free. Driver's relationship with Scott was cordial, he didn't take Mister Miracle's crimefighting career very seriously, and believed that "escape artists could give us police a lot of trouble".
Shilo escapes to take revenge for his brother's death on his own, but Scott and Barda follow preventing him from making a terrible mistake, during the course of these events Shilo saves Scott’s life.[2]
Scott decided to train Shilo in his own special escape artist techniques and gave him advanced New Genesis technology.[3]
[edit] Inventor
Later, as a student at New York University, Shilo studied a wide variety of subjects, and in his spare time he performed sleight of hand and small feats of street magic for the crowds in Washington Square Park. He developed an annoying habit of talking in non sequiturs, which he attributes to too many comparative philosophy classes. He was apparently studying for a degree in physics, and had taken several other modern science courses. NYU was also where met his girlfriend Fiona Leeway.
During this time, Shilo tried on the hero gig as a third generation Mister Miracle, standing in for Scott as a member of Justice League International using New Genesis technology that he had either modified or built himself such as his Enerjams and Zoom Pads.
[edit] Warden
Still, a master escape artist, the now-adult Shilo was appointed security chief of the Slabside Island Prison for Metahumans also known as the Slab. He held his own during the Joker's "Last Laugh" riot and was promoted to Warden of the Slab which had by then been relocated to Antarctica.
[edit] Celebrity
Recently, Shilo has appeared as a very successful and lucrative escape artist, using the name Mister Miracle. He became famous for large scale televised stunts, including well publicized escapes from the second dimension, the center of the earth, and inside the event horizon of a miniature black hole, stunts which enabled him to live a lavish celebrity lifestyle. He still possesses a Mother Box, but seems to have no memory of the New Gods. The reason for this is not yet clear.
In the last issue of the Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle miniseries, Shilo saw all his friends fall to the Anti-Life Equation, after which Darkseid subjected him to the "Omega Sanction", in which he lived a series of oppressive lives (in one of which he was working at the Slab). Upon escaping from this trap, Shilo found himself in the black hole where he first met Metron, seven days later.
In Seven Soldiers #1, Shilo heads to the Club Dark Side to free Aurakles, Earth's first superhero, in order to break the Sheeda's contract with Dark Side to "harrow" Earth and let him hunt down the Gods. In exchange, he sacrifices his life, and at the end of the issue his second resurrection is shown, apparently thanks to his absorbing his Mother Box's conciousness and abilities.
Shilo has appeared in crowd scenes during Infinite Crisis, confirming his survival.
[edit] Equipment
- Enerjams - Are probably his most unique invention, being mounds of pure energy produced from his gloves, which can also emit heat and magnetic fields that help him grip onto walls.[4]
- Mother Box - None of Shilo's new devices would work without the symbiotic power of Mother Box, a living computer he received from Scott Free. Shilo adapted his Mother Box to speak with the voice of his favorite pop singer.[5]
- Multi-Cube - Shilo has his own version of Scott's multi-cube, a 1" square that acts as computer and communicator, emitting both regular and ultraviolet light, sonic vibrations, and holograms.[6]
- Sticky Boots - His boots contain thermal inductors, as well as magnetic grips.[7]
- Uniform - Incorporated within the hood of his JLI era uniform were synapse-sensing devices that allowed much of the circuitry in his costume to react at the speed of thought. To track criminals, he carried tiny mini-transmitters with a Morphogenetic Gamma Field Detector equipped with an Em Filter Circuit to dampen electromagnetic interference.[8]
- Zoom Pads - A redesigned version of Mister Miracle's Aero-Discs.[9]
[edit] Trivia
- It has been revealed that he is the chosen champion of the New Gods, owing to his resistance to the Anti-Life Equation.
- It is not the case, as has been suggested, that Seven Soldiers is an Elseworld, since members of the Seven Soldiers appear in Infinite Crisis #7, which occurs one week after the Seven Soldiers saga.
- Due the reveal in the last issue of the series, it would appear that the events of the miniseries were negated, although connections to the other Seven Soldiers miniseries suggest they did happen, and were not merely the hallucinations of an "artificial life".
[edit] Bibliography
- Mister Miracle vol. 1 #15 - 18
- Mister Miracle vol. 2 #21 - 28
- Justice League America #47 - 50
- Jack Kirby's Fourth World #5, 6, 10, 12
- Seven Soldiers: Guardian #1
- Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle #1 - 4
