Gary Concord, the Ultra-Man was the name of two fictional

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

, comic-book superheroes, father and son, who first appeared during the 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books

Golden Age of Comic Books

The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...

. Both were characters of All-American Publications

All-American Publications

All-American Publications is one of three American comic book companies that combined to form the modern-day DC Comics, one of the world's two largest comics publishers...

, which merged in 1946 with DC Comics

DC Comics

DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...

-predecessor National Periodical Publications.

They are separate from the DC Universe

DC Universe

The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...

 character Ultraman

Ultraman (comics)

Ultraman is the name of several fictional characters, who are supervillains appearing in stories published by DC Comics. The characters are all evil alternate-universe counterparts of Superman. Ultraman first appeared in Justice League of America #29 .-Publication history:Ultraman first appeared as...

, a supervillain

Supervillain

A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...

 and evil counterpart of Superman

Superman

Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...

, who was introduced in Justice League of America #29 (cover-dated Aug. 1964) or the Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese superhero Ultraman

Ultraman

is Japanese television series that first aired in 1966. Ultraman, the first and best-known of the "Ultra-Crusaders," made his debut in the tokusatsu SF/kaiju/superhero TV series, , a follow-up to the television series Ultra Q...

.

Publication history

Created by writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

-artist

Artist

An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...

 Jon L. Blummer under the pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

 Don Shelby, Ultra-Man debuted in All-American's flagship title, All-American Comics

All-American Comics

All-American Comics was the flagship title of comic book publisher All-American Publications, one of the forerunners of DC Comics. It ran for 102 issues from April 1939 to October 1948, at which time it was renamed All-American Western. In 1952, the title was changed again to All-American Men of...

#8 (Nov. 1939), in the first part of a two-part story. Part one, in All-American Comics #9 (Dec. 1939), continues the story with Gary Concord Jr. He would appear until issue #19 in 1940.

The latter Ultra-Man made a flashback appearance in "The Last Earth-Prime Story", in Superman

Superman (comic book)

Superman is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics hero of the same name. The character Superman began as one of several anthology features in the National Periodical Publications comic book Action Comics #1 in June 1938...

#411 (Sept. 1985).

Fictional character biographies

Gary Concord Sr., a 20th-century scientist, had devoted his life to finding the means to end war. In 1950, an accident put him into suspended animation

Suspended animation

Suspended animation is the slowing of life processes by external means without termination. Breathing, heartbeat, and other involuntary functions may still occur, but they can only be detected by artificial means. Extreme cold can be used to precipitate the slowing of an individual's functions; use...

. He awoke as a chemically altered superhuman in the year 2174. His son, Gary Concord Jr., is born in 2214 to the lifespan-lengthened Gary Sr. and wife Leandra — daughter of the tyrant Rebborizon, whom Gary Sr. defeated. Rabborizon eventually returned to kill his own daughter, however, prompting Gary Sr. to kill Rebborizon in return.

After Gary Sr. dies of natural causes in 2239, Gary Jr. succeeds him as both Ultra-Man and as High Moderator of the United States of North America, the country's chief executive. He battles the warlord Tor and other menaces, and is later put into suspended animation until the 100th century. An encounter with the superheroine XS

XS (comics)

XS is a fictional character, a superheroine in the future of the DC Comics universe. A member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, she is the granddaughter of Barry Allen , and first cousin of Bart Allen .-Fictional character biography:Despite being the granddaughter of Barry Allen and the daughter of...

 (Jenni Ognats) of the Legion of Super-Heroes

Legion of Super-Heroes

The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....

 inspires Ultra-Man to form his own such team with fellow heroes Avatar

Avatar (comics)

Tiger, also known as Avatar, is a fictional comic book character created by Charlton Comics and now published by DC Comics. Tiger first appeared in Judomaster #91 , and was created by Joe Gill and Frank McLaughlin.-Charlton Comics:...

, Behemoth, and Metallica on the planet Almeer-5.

External links

• Gary Concord, The Ultra-Man at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
  Don Markstein's Toonopedia
  Don Markstein's Toonopedia was a web encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation. Don D...
  
  . Archived November 3, 2011
• The Grand Comics Database
• Jess Nevins' The Golden Age Directory: G
• Fanzing: "Paroled From Limbo", by Douglas Ethington
• The Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe: Ultraman III — Gary Concord Sr. and IV — Gary Concord Jr.