| “ | I never cared about life until I lost it. | „ |
| ~ Deadman. |
| “ | So we gonna stand here and twiddle or are we gonna get down to business? | „ |
| ~ Deadman. |
| “ | The moment I died was my greatest performance. And now I'm stuck. I can never move on. Every day. Every performance is the same... forever... I'm the audience, forced to watch everyone else live their lives... | „ |
| ~ Prime Earth Deadman. |
Boston Brand, also known as Deadman is an undead superhero in the DC comic universe.
He was once a circus performer killed by an assassin, turning him into a ghost. Deadman has the powers to possess others, fly, pass through matter and even travel between the worlds of the living and dead. While in a body in addition to any physical strength or powers his host might have Deadman is capable of using great fighting skill and nimble reflexes regardless of the any lack speed or fighting prowess said body normally be restricted by.
He was created by the late Arnold Drake, the late George Roussos and the late Carmine Infantino, and first appeared in Strange Adventures #205 in October of 1967.
Overview[]
Boston Brand was a trapeze performer in a circus who was murdered by an assassin. His violent and seemingly unprovoked death caused Boston to come back as a ghost, leaving confused about his death and his state of existence as an undead being in general. Boston found several new rules applied to him as a ghost; Boston found he could not be stopped by things like walls, earth or gravity, he found he could not change his clothing, leaving him stuck wearing his acrobats' tights and white rubber mask he used for the performances and he found that short of certain psychics and mystics he could not be heard seen or sensed in anyway by normal people, however such an issue could be circumvented through his new ability to possess people. Once Boston had grown accustomed to his new state, he focused on solving his own murder and took up the mantle "Deadman" in his search.
Deadman eventually found the person who killed him, a man called Hook, who was part of Ra' al Ghul's League of Assassins, as it turned out Boston's death was not personal but rather just a rite of passage for Hook to prove himself to the League. Deadman spared Hook's life and was more or less content just with the knowledge of what had happened to him and went to rest in peace...and then found he still couldn't. Boston was contacted by Rama Kushna, a demi-goddess who represented karma. Deadman was in a rather unique position as a ghost who had resolved his unfinished business without being ruled by sorrow or vengeance and as such had the opportunity to make right various other karmic imbalances, a position the forces that he was quite insistent he exploit for the sake of cosmic balance. And so, with Rama Kushna as his contact Deadman went throughout the world of the living preventing catastrophe's, resolving events that were never supposed to have happened in the first place or helping beings of great spiritual significance with the promised his reward being a proper death when he was done.
Deadman went through many overseers rotating out from Rama Kushna to various mystics giving him guidance, He has been a close companion of Constantine and even a member of the White Lantern Corps eventually.
Gallery[]
Portrayals[]
Films[]
- In Justice League Dark, he was voiced by Nicholas Turturro.
- In the Injustice animated film, a Dick Grayson version of Deadman named "Deadwing" appears, being voiced by Derek Phillips, who also voiced Stoney "Raptor One" Maddox in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Wade Jackson in Call of Duty: Vanguard.
Television[]
- In Justice League Unlimited, he was voiced by Raphael Sbarge, who also voiced Kaidan Alenko in the Mass Effect trilogy.
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, he was voiced by Michael Rosenbaum, who also voiced The Flash in the DC Animated Universe and Kid Flash in Teen Titans.
- In DC Nation Shorts, he was voiced by Matt L. Jones.
Video Games[]
- In Lego DC Super-Villains, he was voiced by Steve Blum, who also voiced Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop, Vincent Valentine in the Final Fantasy series, Tank Dempsey in Call of Duty Zombies and Sub-Zero in the Mortal Kombat series and Injustice 2.
Quotes[]
| “ | Y'see, after death life becomes precious--and I don't like stealing a minute of it. | „ |
| ~ Deadman. |
| “ | Where there's life, there is always hope! And I think I'd better tag along to prove it to you! | „ |
| ~ Deadman. |
| “ | "So we gonna stand here and twiddle or are we gonna get down to business?" | „ |
| ~ Deadman (Batman: The Brave And The Bold). |
