THE MAN WHO SAVED METAMORPHO

When referring to Metamorpho, Bob Haney said this character was the most creative idea he had ever came up with. It is not strange then that Haney created a special bond with the Element Man and I dare to say this was his favorite character and the one he was mostly interested in not to allow falling into oblivion.

Some people has assured that the success of Marvel comics in the 60's and his solid continuity was chiefly due to the only one man was behind the creative process, involved in one way or another. Yes, I am talking about Stan Lee who penned all the series he created for years before someone else took charge.

In the case of Metamorpho it was a similar situation since between 1964 and 1979 (what I call the "Haney Era") the Element Man appeared in 43 different stories from which 38 were written by Bob Haney. This helped to shape the character in what we know today, specially on his particular way to talk and his sarcasm when addresses (generally disrespectfully) to Simon Stagg.

Despite the successful reception the character had in the mid 60's, a host of circumstances and variables put the first Metamorpho series into cancellation after only 17 issues with several unfinished plots. Those who are today fans of Metamorpho are not fully aware that this character was very close to fall into total oblivion and the man who saved the Element Man from this awful fate was no other than Bob Haney.

Haney loved Metamorpho and he made his utmost to keep the character alive and moving around the DC Universe. After all, he had created him and he believed in all the potential the Element Man still had.

After the cancellation of Metamorpho's first series, the character disappeared for four years until Bob Haney resurrected him in Brave and the Bold (Vol. 1) #101. However since this superhero was totally new for new readers, Haney took some panels to explain his origin and also tell old readers what was Metamorpho doing all that time. 

Why Bob Haney left the character dormant for so many years is something I cannot figure out. My hypothesis is he wanted to try Metamorpho again as soon as possible but the low sales the series had on its late stages prevented the person in charge to allow it.

This four years could have been the end of the character and his relegation to the books of history if it was not for Mr. Haney who brought him back to life again. Then the character found a new house in Action Comics starting with #413, Bob Haney run a six-issue second feature and for those months Metamorpho was also invited to three issues of the Justice League of America.

Action Comics #418 was Metamorpho's last story in the series, the feature was announced to move to the series "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen" but this never happened. Six months later as Bob Haney was assigned as the regular writer of World's Finest Comics (inaugurating his run with the classic "Saga of the Super-Sons") Metamorpho gets into the radar again in issue #217, sharing stage with Superman and Batman.

Haney took advantage of his new position as the regular writer of the series and again wrote a second feature for Metamorpho starting with issue #218 after the main Superman-Batman story. As he was used to, Haney recapped the origin of Metamorpho in one page for the benefit of new readers who did not know the Element Man.

After issue #220 the Element Man disappears again but reappears on issue #224 as a reprint of an early tale from Metamorpho's first series. On issue #226, Metamorpho returns to central stage alongside Batman and Superman in the main story of the book, finally Metamorpho appears for a last time on issue #229 as an 8-page second feature.

Two months later, Bob Haney took the reins of Metamorpho again, this time on First Issue Special #3. The intention of this book was to test the waters to try a new ongoing series with Metamorpho but the answer of the readers was not enough for DC to decide giving the Element Man a new chance and nothing resulted out from this one-shot.

Six months after this "failure", Bob Haney tried again his creation inside the pages of his last bastion "Brave and the Bold" on issue #123 alongside Batman and Plastic Man. After this issue, the character did not appear in any other comic for almost four years to finally reappear on issue #154 for the last Metamorpho story by Bob Haney, a team-up with Batman criticized for relegating Metamorpho to a few pages at the end of the issue and not being an authentic team-up. 

Did Bob Haney give up with Metamorpho? Did he want try new things? We will never know but what the story witnesses is Mr. Haney's persistence to keep the character always in a visible spot and do not allow him to be forgotten.

After the "Haney Era" started what I call the "Barr Era". As we know, the next big thing in Metamorpho was to be chosen by Batman to be part of his new team the Outsiders, this gave the character a wide exposure and catapulted him from an obscure character to be part of the Batman family and later allow him to join the Justice League International/Europe.

Again the character was close to be forgotten for good but a twist of the destiny made Mike W. Barr to choose the character to include it in the the Outsider's roster. Why did Mike W. Barr took into account Metamorpho? According to an interview you can read here, Metamorpho was chosen by Mr. Barr in first instance because he likes the character but for other interesting things such as his visual aspects, his incredible powers and the long-term subplots with Simon Stagg, Java and Sapphire.

He also referred to his laboral relationship with Bob Haney when got a job in DC comics as proofreader and later moved to become editor to books Haney was writing in the moment. Barr considered Haney a good writer, same than Jim Aparo and coincidentally both Aparo and Barr (men who worked closely to Haney) were involved into the creation of the Outsiders and the therefore in Metamorpho's comeback.

Everything is related, if there was a person who stayed in the first Brave and the Bold title almost as much as Bob Haney (107 issues), that was Jim Aparo (99 issues) and although they only met in person a couple times, they developed a friendship talking by the phone all the time they worked together (about eight years). 

I speculate but probably in one of those conversations Haney talked to Aparo about his favorite characters and Metamorpho came up in the conversation as Jim Aparo knew about the efforts Haney did through all the past years to avoid the character to fall into oblivion, same with Mike W. Barr, we cannot know the full extent of those office conversations but perhaps both Barr and Aparo brought the Element Man to the cast of the Outsiders perhaps to honor Haney's efforts, perhaps because they both liked this terrific character or perhaps because these talented creators thought Metamorpho deserved not to be forgotten.