Zebra-Man is the name of four fictional characters appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

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 ...

Publication history

Jacob Baker first appeared in ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...

'' #275 (Jan 1960) and was created by

Bill Finger Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – January 18, 1974) was an American comic strip, comic book, film and television writer who was the co-creator (with Bob Kane) of the DC Comics character Batman. Despite making major (sometimes, signatu ...

and

Sheldon Moldoff Sheldon Moldoff (; April 14, 1920 – February 29, 2012) was an American comics artist best known for his early work on the DC Comics characters Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and as one of Bob Kane's primary "ghost artists" (uncredited collaborator ...

. Kobra's Zebra-Man first appeared in ''

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'' #21 and was created by

Mike W. Barr Mike W. Barr (born May 30, 1952) is an American writer of comic books, mystery novels, and science fiction novels. Barr has written for every one of the first four incarnations of ''Star Trek: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek ...

Fictional character biography

Jacob Baker

Jacob Baker was a high-tech

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

whose machinery irradiated his entire body. It also gave him superpowers that enabled him to attract and repel anything besides metal (referred to within the story as "Diamagnetism"). With his body covered by black and white stripes and highlighted by a glowing aura, he became Zebra-Man. He went on a crime spree where he encountered

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

and Robin. During the first fight, Batman was accidentally irradiated by the same energy. Without an inhibitor belt, Batman was out of control with his diamagnetism causing Robin to go on without him. Batman soon took advantage of the diamagnetism and used it to attract Zebra-Man to himself and then attract both of them to Gotham City Police Department.

Kobra's Zebra-Man

When Kobra researches the origins of some of Batman's enemies and creates a strike-force called

Strike Force Kobra The following is a list of fictional criminal and terrorist organizations that have been published by DC Comics and their imprints. 0-9 100 Originally based in Metropolis, the 100 kept a firm grip on the city's criminal underworld for years, ind ...

to usurp Stagg Enterprises in his goal of world domination, one of the villains he creates is patterned after the original Zebra-Man. Unlike the previous Zebra-Man, this version lacks the aura of the first Zebra-Man and has a mohawk that evokes the image of his equine namesake. Kobra's Zebra-Man, alongside the other Strikeforce Kobra members, fights the

to a draw, but Zebra-Man escapes with Elemental Woman,

Planet Master Planet Master is the name of two fictional characters appearing in comics published by DC Comics. The first Planet Master, a scientist called Irving Norbert and his lab assistant, who would later take on the name and costume, first appeared in ''Det ...

, Lady Eve, and Kobra. His colleague Spectrumonster does not survive the battle. When Strikeforce Kobra is reassembled, Zebra-Man is not seen. He has been sighted in

Alexander Luthor Jr. Alexander Luthor Jr. is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Publication history Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the character made his first appearance in ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' #1 (April 198 ...

Secret Society of Super Villains Secret Society of Super Villains (SSoSV) is a DC Comics title that debuted in May–June 1976. The series presented a group of DC's supervillains, mostly foes of the Justice League of America. The series was cancelled with issue #15 in July 1978, ...

during the Battle of Metropolis alongside his fellow Strike Force Kobra teammates Planet Master and a somehow-revived Spectrumonster.

Vortex

In 2011, ''

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...

'' rebooted the DC Universe. A version of Zebra-Man first appears as an inmate of

Arkham Asylum The Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane (), commonly referred to as Arkham Asylum, is a fictional psychiatric hospital/prison, named after the city of Arkham which appeared first in the stories of H. P. Lovecraft, and later appear ...

, currently going by the moniker "Vortex". He is one of the many prisoners attempting to escape in a massive breakout attempt, which is stopped by

. He later appears attempting to help

Catwoman Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...

escape her incarceration in the asylum, but is physically beaten by her. Vortex appears in the ''

DC Rebirth DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 initiative in May 2016 as its launching point, DC Rebirth restored the D ...

'' reboot, but is renamed Zebra Man. This version sports short hair with black leather gloves, boots, and shorts. Zebra Man is 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 the "

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book Limited series (comics), maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 a ...

" sequel "

Doomsday Clock The Doomsday Clock is a symbol that represents the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe, in the opinion of the members of the ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists''. Maintained since 1947, the clock is a metaphor for threats to humanity ...

", Zebra Man's Vortex appearance was seen as an inmate at Arkham Asylum at the time when Batman incarcerated

Rorschach Rorschach may refer to: * Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist ** Rorschach test, his psychological evaluation method involving inkblots * Rorschach (character), a character from the comics ''Watchmen'' * Rorschach (comic book), a 2020 comic * ...

there. He protects Rorschach from the other inmates. Vortex was later seen in Zambia partaking in a card game with

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, Psych, and

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. When Psych detected that Fiddler cheated, Fiddler is held at gunpoint only for all of them to be killed by the projections of the people they killed.

Menagerie's Zebra-Man

During the "

Forever Evil "Forever Evil" is a 2013–2014 crossover (comics), crossover comic book storyline published by DC Comics that began in September 2013 and ended in May 2014, consisting of an eponymous, central miniseries written by Geoff Johns and art by David F ...

" storyline, a different Zebra-Man appears as a member of

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

's Menagerie. He was among those frozen by

Killer Frost Killer Frost is a name used by several female supervillains and superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics: Crystal Frost, Louise Lincoln, and Caitlin Snow. Each different individual in the DC Universe assuming the Killer Frost p ...

. He'd later join an Anti-

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group called The Revolutionaries before joining the

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

under their new supervisor Lok.

Powers and abilities

Zebra-Man I and II have the ability of diamagnetism which enables them to attract and/or repel matter besides metal. Both used an inhibitor belt to control their diamagnetism.

Other versions

''Batman '66''

Zebra-Man is mentioned in the ''

Batman '66 ''Batman '66'' is a superhero comic book series published by DC Comics featuring Batman as a continuation of the 1966–68 television series starring Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin. The series was written primarily by Jeff Parker ...

'' comic book continuation as one of the Batman enemies who attended the villain conference arranged by Joker,

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and

In other media

* Jacob Baker appears in the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold''. This version's powers can affect metal objects. * The second Zebra-Man appears in ''

The Lego Batman Movie ''The Lego Batman Movie'' is a 2017 computer-animated superhero comedy film produced by Warner Animation Group, DC Entertainment, RatPac Entertainment, Lego System A/S, Dan Lin's Lin Pictures, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's Lord Miller Pro ...

''. He is among the villains that assist the Joker in his attack on Gotham City.

References

External links

Zebra-Man I's bio

Zebra-Man II's bio
{{Batman characters Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities Characters created by Mike W. Barr Comics characters introduced in 1960 Comics characters introduced in 1987 DC Comics scientists DC Comics supervillains Characters created by Bill Finger Characters created by Sheldon Moldoff Suicide Squad members