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{{quote|''"When I was young...when I was young I had an imaginary friend called Foxy. He lived in a vast underground kingdom. A utopia ruled over by peaceful and intelligent foxes. I used to signal him. My parents bought me a torch so I could signal him. [[Separated
[[Alliterative Name|Buddy Baker]], also known as Animal Man, was one of many [[Superhero|Super Heroes]] created during [[Silver Age|the 1960s]]. He first appeared in ''"Strange Adventures''" #180 (September, 1965). Created by writers France Herron and Dave Wood, and artist Carmine Infantino. The new character was about as fun and exciting as wet cardboard. He could take the abilities of any animal who was nearby and was granted this power by yellow aliens. He mainly used it to be a [[Flying Brick]], though.
Until 1988, when [[
Morrison managed to combine family drama, animal rights activism, superheroics, and a heaping helping of [[Meta Fiction]] to make this one of the most memorable comic books ever. It's brilliant, poignant, heartbreaking, and heartwarming at the same time.
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* [[Beware the Superman]]: Overman, a version of Superman from an Earth where all heroes were created by the government. After contracting an STD he went insane and killed everyone, and then planned on destroying himself and the world with a nuclear bomb. This is a [[Take That]] at the grim and gritty comics of the 1980s, with Psycho-Pirate providing commentary on what a stupid idea Overman's world was.
* [[Break the Cutie]]: Buddy starts off as an idealistic funny person, but after {{spoiler|his wife and children ''die'', he goes on a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] and ''kills'' people}}.
** Of course, this, like many other events in the comic, is meant as a meta-commentary on the [[Dark Age]] of comics that had started a year or so after [[Crisis
* [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]]: At one point, during a peyote trip, {{spoiler|[http://www.asitecalledfred.com/comics101/images/2003/oct15/icanseeyou.jpg Buddy actually ''sees the reader''.]}}
** Happens again during ''52'', when -- poisoned and on the threshold of death -- he looks straight up out of the panel and tells Starfire and [[Adam Strange]] that the readers are "out there, cheering them on".
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* [[Deconstructor Fleet]]: Morrison deconstructs and rebuilds the superhero with Animal Man and completely destroys the fourth wall.
** Also a big one of cartoon violence and [[Bad Powers, Bad People]].
* [[Depending
* [[Deus Ex Machina]]: The title of Morrison's last issue. Played with brilliantly.
* [[Driven to Suicide]]: {{spoiler|Buddy almost offs himself when his family is killed.}}
* [[The End -
* [[Enfant Terrible]]: Peter Milligan's run had three of them. The Angel Mob, made up of Matt, Mark, and Lucinda Angel, were fraternal triplets with psychic powers who had it out for the President. They turned out to be [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|well-intentioned]], as one of them read the President's mind and discovered that he really hated children and wished he could've rounded them all up and have them shot. {{spoiler|After they've formed a deal with Animal Man and the government, the President turns on them and has them captured for dissection. So this turns out to be a [[Justified Trope]] as they had ''very'' good reason to not like the President.}}
* [[Foreshadowing]]: During his peyote trip, Buddy sees an image from the [[Crisis
* [[Fourth Wall Observer]]: One of the few times it isn't played for laughs.
{{quote| ''"Oh God... I'm important to the plot..."''}}
* [[Funetik Aksent]]: The (2nd) Mirror Master has always had a Scottish Brogue, with its severity [[Depending
* [[Funny Background Event]]: While Morrison is thanking people for their support during the making of the series, Animal Man is getting the snot beaten out of him by two supervillains.
* [[G-Rated Drug]]: Averted. Buddy takes peyote, and man, the trip he has...
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* [[Muggle Born of Mages]]: Unlike Animal Man's daughter Maxine, his son Cliff did not inherit ''animal based'' powers.
** It's DC so I wouldn't count the kid out.
* [[The Multiverse]]: Morrison's series takes place shortly after ''[[Crisis
** Buddy's role with the other "Space Heroes" in ''[[Fifty Two|52]]'' is that a monster believes Buddy saw {{spoiler|the rebirth of [[The Multiverse]] following [[Infinite Crisis]]}} and wants to silence them.
* [[Mundane Utility]]: Buddy's jacket [[Rule of Cool|looked really cool]] and helped set him apart by giving him a unique look, but the whole reason he started wearing it was so he had pockets to carry around his keys and notes from his wife reminding him to bring home milk.
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* [[Show Within a Show]]: The Penalizer, a [[Captain Ersatz]] of [[The Punisher]], during Tom Veitch's run of the comic.
** In the reboot there's a movie where an aging superhero tries to make a comeback, the superhero being played by Buddy.
* [[Space Whale]]: Earth's [[
* [[Take That]]: Tom Veitch was apparently not fond of Grant Morrison's run on the series. When he took over, his first story began with an old shaman smashing clay dolls to pieces. One of them looked identical to Morrison as he had appeared in the comic. Veitch then proceeded to retcon many of Morrison's storylines, giving a new explanation for Buddy's powers which directly contradicts his. Veitch's changes were mostly ignored by later writers.
* [[Touched
* [[What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made
** The New 52 edition of Animal Man [http://inveteratemediajunkies.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/dc-new-52-animal-man-2.jpg?w=600 plays this completely straight]. Considering that it crosses over with [[Swamp Thing]], this is not a big jump for him.
* [[Who Writes This Crap?]]: {{spoiler|Done '''literally''' in Morrison's final issue, when Buddy actually meets Grant.}}
* [[World Gone Mad]]: The coyote from "The Coyote Gospel" comes from one of these.
* [[Writer
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