The Fox is the name of two fictional

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

es that appear in periodicals published by

MLJ Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Dark Circle Comics Dark Circle Comics is an imprint of Archie Comics Publications, Inc. Under its previous name, Red Circle Comics, it published non-humor characters, particularly superheroes in the 1970s and 1980s, and was a digital imprint from 2012 to 2014. In ...

Publication history

The first Fox (Paul Patten) debuted in MLJ Comic's ''

Blue Ribbon Comics ''Blue Ribbon Comics'' is the name of two American comic book anthology series, the first published by the Archie Comics predecessor MLJ Magazines Inc., commonly known as MLJ Comics, from 1939 to 1942, during the Golden Age of Comic Books. The rev ...

'' #4 (June 1940), in a story written by Joe Blair and drawn by

Irwin Hasen Irwin Hasen (July 8, 1918 – March 13, 2015) was an American cartoonist best known as the creator (with Gus Edson) of the ''Dondi'' comic strip. He also had a significant run on DC Comics' original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, in the 1940s as well ...

. He appeared in that title until the series ended with issue #22 (March 1942). He later made a guest appearance in ''

Mighty Crusaders The Mighty Crusaders is a fictional superhero team published by Archie Comics. The team originally appeared in ''Fly-Man'' No. 31, #32 and No. 33 before being launched in its own title, ''Mighty Crusaders''. Written by Superman co-creator Jerry ...

'' #4 (April 1966), as part of a crowd scene featuring nearly every superhero published by MLJ (the story, somewhat ironically, was titled "Too Many Super Heroes!"). He returned in issue #5, where he forms a team called the Ultra-Men with heroes

Captain Flag Captain Flag is a superhero created by MLJ Comics' writer Joe Blair and artist Lin Streeter. He first appeared in September 1941, in issue #16 of '' Blue Ribbon Comics''. He continued until the last issue, ''Blue Ribbon Comics'' #22 (March 1942). ...

and

the Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...

. This was the sole appearance of that group. Some of the Fox stories from this period were written and illustrated by Alex Toth. The first Fox's final appearance was in ''Black Hood'' #3 (Oct. 1983). The second Fox debuted in ''Blue Ribbon Comics'' vol. 2, #6 (March 1984). The Fox appeared in several issues of ''Blue Ribbon'' during the mid-1980s. He also appeared in issues 9 and 11-13 of ''Mighty Crusaders'' as a member of that superhero team. His final appearance was in ''Mighty Crusaders'' vol. 2, #13 (Sept. 1985). In October 2013, Archie Comics released ''The Fox'' under its

Red Circle Comics Dark Circle Comics is an imprint of Archie Comics Publications, Inc. Under its previous name, Red Circle Comics, it published non-humor characters, particularly superheroes in the 1970s and 1980s, and was a digital imprint from 2012 to 2014. In ...

imprint as a five issue mini-series which ended in March 2014. The series was written by Dean Haspiel and

Mark Waid Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles ''The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on ''Captain America'', ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Dar ...

, with art by Haspiel; backup

Shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

stories were by

J.M. DeMatteis John Marc DeMatteis (; born December 15, 1953) is an American writer of comic books, television and novels. Biography Early career J. M. DeMatteis's earliest aspirations were to be a rock musician and comic book artist. He began playing in ban ...

Mike Cavallaro Mike Cavallaro is an American comic book writer and artist. His most notable work is in the realm of middle grade comics, including collaborations with Jane Yolen and his own graphic novel series ''Nico Bravo'' (both published by First Second Book ...

, and Terry Austin. The mini-series was later collected into trade paperback in July 2014 under the name ''The Fox: Freak Magnet''. ''The Fox'' returned in another five-issue series in April 2015 under the relaunched

Dark Circle Comics Dark Circle Comics is an imprint of Archie Comics Publications, Inc. Under its previous name, Red Circle Comics, it published non-humor characters, particularly superheroes in the 1970s and 1980s, and was a digital imprint from 2012 to 2014. In ...

imprint. Volume 2 had the same creative team from the mini-series. ''The Fox'' will return in a one-shot titled ''Family Values'' which will be released in June 2022.

Paul Patten

MLJ Comics

Fictional character biography

The Fox is secretly Paul Patten, a young news

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

for ''The Daily Globe'', and a former athlete at

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

. He has a camera that attaches to his belt. His editor and girlfriend is named Ruth Ransom. Patton's main reason for becoming the Fox was to further his career. As a crimefighter, he is the first on the scene with his camera. His first mission pitted himself against the hooded Night Riders, a stand-in for the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

. Whenever dangerous situations arise, Patton quickly changes into his costume, which consists of a black, skin-tight body suit, complete with pointed ears and (in some adventures) a golden fox head logo on his chest. Ron Goulart says, "It took Hasen a couple of issues to realize a hero's costume is a fantasy thing that doesn't have wrinkles or baggy knees." Although the transformations from photographer to superhero are never illustrated (artists favored a simple panel with the caption "Paul Patton becomes the Fox!"), it is assumed that the costume is worn under Paul's street clothes.

Powers and abilities

The Fox has no superpowers, but is a highly trained athlete.

Dark Circle Comics

Paul Patton is revealed to have been the original Fox who later passed down the identity to his son, Paul Patton Jr.

Paul Patten Jr./Paul Patton Jr.

Archie Comics

Fictional character biography

The second Fox is Paul Patten Jr., the son of the original Fox who made his debut in ''Blue Ribbon Comics'' vol. 2, #6 (March 1984). His girlfriend is Delilah Monaco, who is secretly the She-Fox. Paul and Delilah are unaware that the other person has a secret identity. The second Fox wears a black full body stocking with a covered face and pointed fox "ears".

Powers and abilities

The second Fox has no superpowers, but is a skilled martial artist.

DC Comics

In the wake of the continuity altering "

Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely b ...

" company-wide crossover,

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

licensed rights to the Red Circle and

Milestone Media Milestone Media is a company best known for creating Milestone Comics, which were published and distributed by DC Comics and the ''Static Shock'' animated series. It was founded in 1993 by a coalition of African-American artists and writers, con ...

heroes, choosing to bring them into

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...

continuity. It was announced that in March 2010, the Fox would appear in a back-up feature in the

comic book series, written by

Brandon Jerwa Brandon Jerwa is an American comic book writer and musician residing in Seattle, Washington. Jerwa is best known for his work on comic tie-ins for several prominent licensed properties, including ''Battlestar Galactica'', '' Highlander'', ''G.I. ...

and with art from Michael Avon Oeming. Paul Patten Jr. is a film director from Seattle in this version.

Red Circle Comics/Dark Circle Comics

Fictional character biography

Paul Patton Jr. was raised as a child in the town of Beaver Kill where his father, Paul Patton, operated as the Fox. Patton took up a career in photography and eventually got a job as a photographer in Impact City. His wife, Mae Patton, operates as the She-Fox while his son, Shinji Patton, follows in his father's footsteps as the Ghost Fox.''The Fox'' (vol. 2) #2, May 2015 Patton wears a black full body stocking with a yellow fox head emblem on his chest with a covered face and pointed fox "ears" as his costume.

Collected editions

Trade paperbacks

Notes

External links

Paul Patten
at MightyCrusaders.net
Paul Patten Jr.
at MightyCrusaders.net

at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on July 30, 2016. {{GoldenAge

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

Comics characters introduced in 1940 DC Comics superheroes Comics characters introduced in 1984 Male characters in comics Golden Age superheroes Vigilante characters in comics