| Prince Ra-Man | |
|---|---|
 Prince Ra-Man inHouse of Secrets #79 (July–August 1966), art byJack Sparling. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | As Mark Merlin: House of Secrets #23 (August 1959) As Prince Ra-Man: House of Secrets #73 (July 1965) |
| Created by | Mort Meskin (writer and artist) Jack Miller (writer) Bernard Baily (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Mark Merlin |
| Species | Demigod |
| Place of origin | Egypt (first incarnation), Ra (second incarnation) |
| Team affiliations | Lords of Order |
| Notable aliases | The Mind Master |
| Abilities | Mind-over-matter powers (levitation,transmutation),invisibility,telekinesis, mastery ofmaleficium and various magical artifacts |
Prince Ra-Man (aka Mark Merlin) is a fictionalcomic bookmagician published byDC Comics. Mark Merlin first appeared inHouse of Secrets #23 (August 1959), and was created byMort Meskin. Prince Ra-Man first appeared inHouse of Secrets #73 (July 1965), and was created by Jack Miller andBernard Baily.[1]
Also known as the Mind Master, he was actually aDoctor Strange-style 'replacement' for a previous long-running series character inHouse of Secrets named Mark Merlin.[2] A blue suit and black bow tie-clad supernatural detective who lived in the small suburban hamlet of "Cloister" in a mansion on "Mystery Hill" that he had inherited from a stage magician uncle of the same name, Merlin used its vast collection of occult literature andartifacts to battle those who would use the occult for evil ends with the assistance of his secretary/fiancee Elsa Magusson and hisblack cat Memakata who he found in the tomb of apharaoh of the same name and whose body he could transfer his mind into with the help of an ancient cat-headed amulet.
When Merlin is banished to the other-dimensional lost world of Ra by the lizard-masked villain the Gargoyle, he gainsmind over matter powers from an emerald-like six-sided jewel. The jewel represents thehexagonal green sun that hangs above the realm and grants all who dwell there immortality. However, he cannot return to Earth in his own body, so the kindly Kranak, a scientist-sorcerer who had led his persecuted peace-loving followers to the alien refuge of Ra over 4000 years ago, uses a potion toreincarnate Merlin's spirit and memories in the body and brain of the long-dead wizard Prince Ra-Man, a hero whom ancient legends proclaimed as the son of thesun god for whom theirpyramidedplanetoid was named. The reborn Ra-Man is able to go to Earth in his place and defeat the Gargoyle with his mighty "mental beam" which gives him control over virtually all non-living matter, allowing him to telekinetically levitate objects and to transform stone, metal and air into other shapes and forms under his command.[2][3]
Although he longed to return to the peaceful paradise of Ra and Kranak's daughter Rimah, Ra-Man moved into the mansion, telling Elsa that Mark Merlin was dead, and vowed to continue his predecessor's work against the forces of evil. Riding around on hisflying carpet-like six-sided green 'sun-disc' armed with his magic gem and an encyclopedic knowledge of black magic, he fought such arcane antagonists as the Heap and Lord Leopard and twice battledEclipso, anotherHouse of Secrets regular.[2][4][5] The "Prince Ra-Man" feature ended inHouse of Secrets #80 (September–October 1966).[6]
The "Whatever Happened To Mark Merlin and Prince Ra-Man" backup story inDC Comics Presents #32 (April 1981) has Ra-Man reveal his fullorigin and true connection with Merlin to Elsa whom he had kept it a secret from in the original series, with the Mind Master having been accidentally trapped in Memakata's body after a battle with Merlin's oldarchenemy Doctor-7 in the years since then.[7][8] Prince Ra-Man was killed in the last issue ofCrisis on Infinite Earths, with his death being witnessed byShade, the Changing Man.[9]
Ra-Man made a cameo appearance inGrant Morrison's run onAnimal Man. He reappeared along with all the other characters who were killed in the Crisis, but the only parts of him that appeared were those that had not been destroyed by the antimatter wave. He appeared stuck on the wall inArkham Asylum, begging for help.[10]
An aged, retired Mark Merlin appeared briefly inEd Brubaker's run onDetective Comics. Whether this indicates that Merlin survived the death of Ra-Man's body or that his death has beenretconned is unknown.Batman speaks highly of Merlin's former detective skills and seeks his aid in a case involving theactor-turned-supervillain, the Charlatan.[11]
In Grant Morrison'sSeven Soldiers of Victory,Zatanna met afakir-like entity known as King Ra-Man while investigating the comingSheeda menace.[12] It is unclear if he is the same person as Prince Ra-Man or another more alien entity from his home dimension which is now referred to as the Interreality of Ra. He vowed that he would assume his 'Wrathful Battle Aspect' and fight the Sheeda. The 'six-sided sun jewel' of the original Ra-Man is now acube-shaped sun that appears to be hexagonal from a distance. It shines over Ra-Man's extra-dimensional realm as the direct source of his powers.
Memakata and Mark Merlin's widow Elsa appear inAquaman: Sword of Atlantis in the sea fortress Windward Home along with Dane Dorrance of theSea Devils and Jim Lockhart, theRed Torpedo. In theReign In Hell limited series, Prince Ra-Man is one of the leaders of the rebellion in Purgatory,Blaze and Satanus's "Secretary of State" in the armies ofHell.[13] Merlin appears alive inSuperman #690 and #692, where he asksZachary Zatara to help him find Prince Ra-Man.[14][15] Merlin appears in a flashback inXombi vol. 2 #2, in which he teamed up withSargon the Sorcerer, Julian Parker, and Rabbi Sinnowitz to imprison a powerful magical creature.[16]
AfterDC Rebirth, he appears as one of the magical characters refusing to be hired by Henry Bendix to killMidnighter andApollo.[17]
The character came to be when powers within the company apparently decided Mark Merlin...wasn't working. Superheroes were what was selling, so that's what Mark needed to be replaced with. But instead of simply not using Mark Merlin anymore, and introducing something new where he'd formerly been, they attempted to retain whatever fans he may or may not have had by linking him to the new guy.