Forbush Man

Forbush Man

Panel from The Origin of Forbush Man
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Irving Forbush: Snafu (1955)
Forbush Man: Not Brand Echh #1 (cover) (Aug. 1967), #5 (major debut) (Dec. 1967)
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
In-story information
Alter ego Irving Forbush
Place of origin Earth-665
Team affiliations The New Paramounts
Abilities Forbush vision (shows the recipient a hell of their own creation)

Forbush Man (spelled Forbush-Man in his early appearances), is a fictional character published by Marvel Comics. Originally the mascot of Marvel Comics' Not Brand Echh, he is the alter-ego of Irving Forbush, a fictional employee of Marvel Comics. Forbush was dreamed up in 1955 by Marvel editor Stan Lee to refer to an imaginary low-grade colleague who was often the butt of Lee's jokes. In his guise of Forbush-Man, he first appeared in 1967.

According to Alternate Universes 2005, Forbush Man is a native to Earth 665, as opposed to Marvel's regular Earth-616.

Contents

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Fictional character biography

Snafu

Irving Forbush was introduced in Marvel's short-lived Snafu magazine as a clone of the Mad Magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman (Snafu was itself a virtual clone of Mad). Forbush was given a line in the magazine's content page where he was credited as Snafu's founder (much as Benjamin Franklin was given the same credit in the Saturday Evening Post).[1] (Snafu also listed another Forbush family member, as the other side of the magazine's content column read "Losted [sic] by his cousin, Melvin Forbush.")[1] During Snafu's three-issue run, starting in November 1955, the "actual face" of Irving Forbush was often shown (of course, this face was of someone not named Irving Forbush).

"Bullpen Bulletins"

When Lee began to use the Irving Forbush character again the 1960s, however, part of the joke was that the reader never saw his face. Forbush's name cropped up repeatedly in credit panels, "Marvel Bullpen Bulletins," and letter columns — an in-joke between Lee and his readers. The "Bullpen Bulletins]" page often promised to answer the question "Is Irving Forbush a real person?", but the following month's column would not mention him.

Eventually, in Lee's March 1979 "Stan's Soapbox," he explained the true history of the Forbush phenomenon.[1]

Not Brand Ecch

Forbush-Man first appeared on the cover of the first issue of Not Brand Echh (August 1967), which was drawn by Jack Kirby, and features Doctor Doom, the Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer cowering in fear as Forbush Man approaches. Forbush-Man is a wannabe superhero (albeit one with no superpowers), with a costume comprising red long johns with the letter F on the front and a cooking pot with eye-holes on his head. Forbush-Man's appearance may be a tribute to the Golden Age Red Tornado character.

Forbush-Man's first major appearance was in the lead story of Not Brand Echh's #5 (December 1967): "The Origin of Forbush-Man," which was "conceived, created and cluttered-up" by Lee and Kirby. In this story, Forbush-Man's secret identity is revealed as Irving Forbush, the fictitious office gofer at Marvel Comics (here referred to as "Marble Comics").[2] The character's back story includes a shrewish maiden aunt (Auntie Mayhem) who is indirectly responsible for her nephew becoming a superhero. (In a fit of pique, she slams the fabled cooking pot over Irving's head, inadvertently providing him with the disguise he'd been looking for.) Numerous in-jokes peppered throughout the dialogue suggest that Irving and his aunt are both Jewish (a schtick repeated in at least two subsequent storylines). In the fictional October 13, 1939, edition of the Daily Bugle, it was claimed an "Irving Forbush" was born on Friday the 13th, his parents Stan and Jacqueline wanting a daughter instead.

Like his better-known Marvel contemporaries, Forbush-Man goes on to triumph over a number of super powered adversaries (starting with 'The Juggernut' in Not Brand Echh #5). All of his victories are purely accidental; lacking superhuman powers, dumb luck necessarily plays a major role in all of the character's adventures.

Forbush-Man's next "canon" appearance came in Not Brand Echh #8 (June 1968), when he applies for membership with "The Revengers" (The Avengers), "S.H.E.E.S.H" (SHIELD), and finally "The Echhs-Men" (X-Men). After each attempt ends in disaster for the group concerned, Forbush is offered a position in "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band," which he declines, believing it better to "quit while I'm still behind."

Forbush-Man's third major appearance came in Not Brand Ecch #13 (May 1969, the comic's final issue), where he fights "The Strangie" in a loose parody of Silver Surfer #5 (April 1969). The story, once again rife with Jewish references, features caricatures of various Marvel characters (including Spidey-Man, The Thung, The Human Scorch, and The Simple Surfer). Writer Lee himself puts in an appearance as Marble Comics' "Fearless Leader" in the final two panels.

Continued references

In the 1978 instructional paperback, How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way, Chapter Five focuses on drawing a humanoid figure. The introduction states, "...Most anyone can draw a stick figure. (Even Irving Forbush!)"[3]

In the early 1990s, when Comics Buyer's Guide begin their annual fan awards, Marvel came up with its own award for assistant editors (as they were ineligible for the CBG awards). Some ballots, which appeared on Marvel's letters pages, listed Forbush as a choice for top assistant editor.

What The--?!

During the 1980s Forbush Man became a staple cast member in the satirical Marvel Comics title What The--?!, an ensemble book that encompassed and poked fun at the entirety of the canon Marvel Universe and beyond.

In 1993, What The?!-- published a story chronicling the death of Forbush Man. The story was a parody of DC Comics' "Death of Superman" story arc, and featured Forbush Man dying in battle against the villain Dumsday.

Nextwave

Forbush Man appeared in the 2006 series Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. as a member of "The New Paramounts," a team consisting of Not Brand Echh characters including The Inedible Bulk. This Forbush Man was apparently killed by Tabitha Smith after he failed to mind control her (she apparently had no mind). Nextwave and the Beyond Corporation© exist within the mainstream Marvel Universe.

Powers

While the original Forbush Man had no superpowers, the Forbush Man who appeared in Nextwave (who may or may not have been a Broccoli Man) had the power to project utterly realistic visions into the minds of others when he removed the cast-iron pot on his head. The hallucinations typically depicted a reality that was hellish to each victim, slowly killing them as they struggled against it. This power had no effect on Tabitha Smith as, in Nextwave, she has no apparent mind at all. It is also possible that he has powers far beyond this: he cites during his recruitment to the New Paramounts several occasions on which he claims to have saved the Earth from certain doom so quickly and efficiently that nobody realized he'd done anything. He also purports to be "mighty with women," though whether this is one of his many powers is debatable. Forbush Man even goes so far as to purport that he is "the greatest power in human history", although the veracity of these claims is unverified, and Tabitha Smith defeated him with apparently very little effort.

Other versions

Lobo the Duck

During the DC/Marvel Amalgam Universe crossover, Irving Forbush was fused with DC's AL to form Al Forbush, proprietor of Lobo the Duck's favorite diner in the series' parody installment. He wears Forbush Man's trademark cooking pot with eye holes on his head.

In other media

Television

Toys

Books

Video Games

References

  1. ^ a b c Lee, Stan. "Bullpen Bulletins: Stan's Soapbox," Marvel Two-in-One #49 (Marvel Comics, Mar. 1979).
  2. ^ Lee, Stan and Kirby, Jack. "The Origin of Forbush-Man," Not Brand Echh #5 (Marvel Comics, December 1967).
  3. ^ Lee, Stan and Buscema, John. How To Draw Comics the Marvel Way (Marvel Fireside Books, 1978). ISBN 978-0671530778.

External links