| Kite Man | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Batman #133 (August 1960) |
| Created by | |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Charles "Chuck" Brown |
| Species | Human |
| Abilities | Excellent hang-glider pilot Uses a variety of gimmicked kites |
Kite Man (Charles "Chuck"Brown) is asupervillain appearing incomic books published byDC Comics who uses kite-based weapons to commit crimes. He is commonly depicted as an adversary ofBatman. His name is an homage toPeanutsprotagonistCharlie Brown, due to the latter character commonly being shown flying kites into trees. The character has been generally regarded as a joke in comparison with other supervillains due to his dimwitted personality and laughable gimmick. However, with his appearance in theDC Rebirth arc "The War of Jokes and Riddles", Kite Man gained a reputation as a cult favorite character among fans, due to his tragic backstory, persistence and motivation to become a better villain, and his catchphrase "Kite Man, hell yeah!".[1][2]
In recent years, Kite Man has been adapted into several forms of media outside of comics, such as the adult animated seriesHarley Quinn, in which he is voiced byMatt Oberg. Oberg reprises his role in the spin-off seriesKite Man: Hell Yeah!.
Kite Man first appeared inBatman #133 (August 1960), and was created by writerBill Finger and artistDick Sprang.[3] He subsequently appeared inBatman #315 (September 1979) byLen Wein.[1]
Tony Isabella would use the character inHawkman #4 (November 1986), giving him the name Chuck and the catchphrase "Rats!" afterCharlie Brown. Following this, he was primarily used as a minor character before being featured inTom King'sDC Rebirth Batman series.[1]
Charles "Chuck" Brown is a man who armed himself with kite weapons to be used to commit acts of evil. He flies with a big kite strapped to himself or in a kite plane. He also uses an array of specialty kites to overwhelm his enemies and commit crimes.
In his first appearance (which he announces), inBatman #133, he first drops tear gas from his kite to steal a precious ruby then frees mobster Big Bill Collins, nearly killingRobin along the way and capturing Batman. Leaving mobsters to guard Batman's room, on his return Kite Man is defeated when Robin returns, frees Batman and they use his own amazing Kite weapons against him, leaving a Kite Plane trophy on theBatcave wall.[4]
WriterLen Wein brought him back in a story about payroll heists.[5]
Hawkman,Hawkgirl, andZatanna confront him again, in Hawkman's title. His real name is revealed. Zatanna defeats him in midair, and he falls into a tree and exclaims "Rats!"[6]
Kite Man is one of many criminals to take advantage of the supervillain-friendly atmosphere of the country Zandia. He ends up joining its sports team and later becomes involved in a fight against an invading troop of superheroes.[7][8]
InInfinite Crisis,Joker reports that Brown was thrown off Wayne Tower without his kite byDeathstroke after refusing to join theSecret Society of Super Villains.[9] In52, Kite Man is revealed to have survived, but is killed byBruno Mannheim.[10]
Kite Man appears in theDC Rebirth universe. This version is referred to as Charles, Chuck, and Charlie Brown. He seems to be happier, constantly chanting the catch-phrase "Kite Man, hell yeah!", a reference to his son, Charles Brown Jr.'s reaction to the first time he tried flying a kite. He first appears robbing a luxurious party before being foiled by Gotham Girl.[11] He is then seen in a prison cell inArkham Asylum as Batman walks down the aisles looking for criminals.[12]
At some point, he escapes, as he is later one of the many villains taken down by Batman and Catwoman after he takes her along with him on an average night of his job in Gotham City.[13] Kite Man later sold a kite to a pawn shop, whereHeadhunter purchased it to use to killSwamp Thing's father. Batman and Swamp Thing interrogated Kite Man later.[14]
In a story set during the early years of Batman's career, it is revealed that he studied wind in school. He was a divorced father, became an alcoholic and began a life of criminal activities, eventually being recruited by the Joker to design the Jokermobile. During "The War of Jokes and Riddles", he becomes encircled by Batman, who commands him to get the Joker's phone number and, later, to meet him. Shortly after, theRiddler kidnaps Charles, wanting to know about his future meeting with the Joker. After being freed, he is kidnapped again, this time by the Joker, who tells him about his encounters with Batman and the Riddler. He is then forced to serve as a suicide bomber by the Joker to kill Batman, but realizes that the bomb is fake. Charles Brown Jr., his son, is poisoned by the Riddler and subsequently dies. Wanting to get revenge on the Riddler, Charles Brown creates the persona of Kite Man to join the Joker's side.[15]
After Batman joins the Riddler's side on the war he starts to defeat every villain on Joker's side, leaving Kite Man for last. When Kite Man is captured he tells Batman and the Riddler about Joker's last secret hideout on a building and provides them and all the villains on Riddler's side kites so they can infiltrate it. After breaking inside, Riddler and his villains turn against Batman, who tells Kite Man to activate the jet-propelled inverse parachutes in their packs, making the villains ascend to be captured byAlfred Pennyworth in the Bat-Blimp.[16] After a scuffle, the Riddler then reveals that the creation of Kite Man, and his own defeat at Kite Man's hands, was part of an unsuccessful plan to solve the Joker's depression and make him laugh again.[17]
An alternate timeline variant of Kite Man makes a cameo appearance inFlashpoint: Batman Knight of Vengeance as one of several supervillains who had been killed byBatman.[18]
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