Name: Animal Man
Universe: Earth-1
Alter Ego: Buddy Baker
Occupation: Movie Stunt Man
Marital Status: Married
Group Affiliation: The Forgotten Heroes
Base of Operations: The Grand Canyon
Known Relatives: Ellen Frazier (wife), Cliff and Maxine (children)
Height: 5 ft. 11 in.
Weight: 178 lbs.
Hair Color: Blond
Eye Color: Blue
First Appearance: Strange Adventures #180

History:
Not far from his home, stunt man Buddy Baker watched in aw as an alien spaceship crashed to Earth. Investigating, Buddy found himself bathed in a unique radiation which altered his body forever.

When animals from a nearby zoo escaped, Buddy discovered, much to his pleasure, that whenever he was near any animal, he somehow absorbed its special abilities.

After several short adventures, Buddy decided to fashion himself a special costume and began using the name Animal-Man (or A-Man) whenever he used his powers in public.

Time after time Buddy's abilities came in solving one problem or another, and although he did not originally intend to use his animal-adapting powers to fight crime, he nevertheless was repeatedly drawn into battle.

Buddy later married Ellen Frazier and retired his Animal-Man identity for several years, while continuing to work in the movies. Buddy and Ellen now have two children, Cliff and Maxine, and to date neither has shown any latent powers of their own.

Recently, Buddy was found by a mysterious being who called himself only the Immortal Man. He once again donned his Animal-Man uniform and joined the stranger and several other semiretired adventures in an organization called The Forgotten Heroes.

Powers:
While near any animal Buddy Baker some-how absorbs its special abilities; he can fly like a bird, swim like a fish. He can race as fast as a jaguar or hope like a kangaroo.

The longer Animal-Man is in the presence of an animal, the longer he retains its natural powers.