Animal Man: Deus Ex Machina (final Morrison issue)

[alicemacher]

From Animal Man #26 (Aug. 1990).



So, this is it. Buddy Baker, Animal Man, at last meets Grant Morrison. (Technically, of course, he meets a comic-book character representing Morrison, not the flesh-and-blood Morrison themself, which would be impossible, but I'd rather not keep typing "Morrison's avatar" throughout this post.)

Buddy's initial reaction, upon learning Morrison is his creator, is to murder them. Or so he thinks; one panel later, there stands the writer, good as new. Buddy admits he's not normally violent and wonders why he did that. "I made you do that," says Morrison with a smirk. "I thought we needed some action at the start of the story, just to keep people interested."

As further proof they're his writer, Morrison shows Buddy the very issue in which he discovers his family dead. To his obvious question "Why?", Morrison replies it was for the drama, "and it's easy to get a cheap emotional shock by killing popular characters. "But that's not fair," says Buddy.







Morrison, admitting they've been awaiting this meeting for two years but are still unsure of what to say, has the two of them go for a walk. Buddy asks if he's in fact real. "You're more real than I am," says the writer, reiterating James Highwater's observation, two issues earlier, that it's possible for characters to outlive their very creators.

Nonetheless, Buddy feels Morrison's done a poor job at writing his life; once again, he complains that everything within it feels unconnected. The writer says that's just how life in general is.







To that, Morrison can only suggest Buddy's next writer may do a better job. Buddy doesn't follow, so the author explains that future writers will have their own approach to writing him, perhaps by going for "shock" by making him a meat-eater. Buddy is indignant: "I don't want to eat meat! I'm a vegetarian." "No," says Morrison. "I'm a vegetarian. You'll be whatever you're written to be."







The author reiterates that Buddy right now cares about the plight of animals because they do. Except that in their/our world, they're powerless to do anything about it other than join activist organizations and write this comic. Morrison, however, fears that as a result the title has become too "preachy," and they're not sure it'll do much good in the long run.







After more back-and-forth about this, Morrison decides it's time to liven things up with a fight scene. So, taking a cue from reader suggestions, they bring in a couple of villains (one fom Aquaman's rogues gallery and one off-the-cuff Morrison creation) and sic them on Buddy, suggesting he settle things "by beating [them] into the ground. Don't laugh. That's the way we deal with things in the real world, too." Not that Buddy's inclined to laugh, as he discovers Morrison's stripped him of his powers.

While the villains beat on the defenceless hero, Morrison handles what would normally be done in the editorial or letters page: thanking everyone involved in the production of the comic, as well as the readers, and wrapping up by urging those who share their concern for animal rights to join PETA (in Morrison's defence, the organization was a whole lot less extremist back then).

Animal Man, ignored through all this by his writer apart from a single "Shh! I'm talking," finally utters one last feeble plea for his life, and lies face down in his own blood.

And then...

























Normally I'd do some kind of summing up, but to this ending I have nothing to add that wouldn't come across as embarassingly gushing. So I'll just say thank you for reading, and special thanks to all commenters for your insights.