Prince Ra-Man
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| Prince Ra-Man | |
 Prince Ra-Man, artist Jack Sparling |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | - House of Secrets #23, (August 1959) - House of Secrets #73, (July 1965) |
| Created by | - Mort Meskin (writer & artist) - Jack Miller (writer) Bernard Baily (artist) |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Mark Merlin |
| Abilities | Mind-over-matter powers. |
Prince Ra-Man is a fictional comic book magician published by DC Comics. Mark Merlin first appeared in House of Secrets #23 (August 1959), and was created by Mort Meskin. Prince Ra-Man first appeared in House of Secrets #73 (July 1965), and was created by Jack Miller and Bernard Baily.
[edit] Fictional character biography
He was really a 'replacement' for a previous series character in House of Secrets named Mark Merlin. When Mark Merlin is banished to an other-dimensional world by his old enemy the Gargoyle, he gains mind-over-matter powers from a green six-sided sun jewel. However, he cannot return to Earth in his own body. A sorcerer from that dimension uses a potion to give him the “body and brain” of a deceased young wizard, Prince Ra-Man, who is able to go to Earth and defeat the Gargoyle.
In the early days he was a frequent foe of Eclipso, another House of Secrets regular. A backup story in DC Comics Presents #80 gives the origin of Ra-Man and his connection with Mark Merlin. He would later be killed in the last issue of Crisis on Infinite Earths. The only panel in which he appeared was his death scene, which was seen by the original Shade, the Changing Man.
[edit] Current Status
An aged, retired Mark Merlin appeared briefly in Ed Brubaker's run on the Batman series. Whether this indicates that Mark survived the death of the Ra-Man body or that his death has been retconned is unknown. Batman speaks highly of Merlin's former detective skills and seeks his aid in a case involving the actor-turned-supervillain, the Charlatan.
In 2005, Zatanna met a magical being known as King Ra-Man in the process of investigating the coming Sheeda menace. It is unclear if he is the same entity as Prince Ra-Man or another being from his home dimension. He vowed that he would assume his 'Wrathful Battle Aspect' and fight the Sheeda. The 'six-sided sun jewel' of the original Ra-Man has now become an actual cube-shaped sun, which shines over Ra-Man's extradimensional realm.
Mark Merlin's widow, Elsa Magusson, and cat Memkata recently reappeared in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis in the sea fortress Windward Home along with Dane Dorrance of the Sea Devils and Jim Lockhart, the Red Torpedo.
