Dan Dare

Real Name: Dan Dare

Identity/Class: Normal human, technology user

Occupation: Officer in Space Fleet

Affiliations: Sondar; Bear

Enemies: The Mekon, Starslayer Empire

Known Relatives: None known

Aliases: None known

Base of Operations: Interstellar space

First Appearance: Dan Dare, 2000A.D. #1 (IPC, 26th February 1977)

Powers/Abilities: Late on in his adventures, Dan gains the Cosmic Claw Eternicus, which bonds to his hand and allows him to fire powerful blasts of energy.

History: (Untitled, Progs #1-11) Space veteran Dan Dare is revived from cryogenic sleep centuries after his own time (the original Eagle strips). He is given command of a deep space exploration vehicle and it's seven man crew.

(Hollow World, Progs #12-23) Dan's oldest enemy, the Mekon, returns to plague him and the galaxy in general.

(Untitled, 2000 A.D. Summer Special 1977) Synopsis unavailable

(The Curse of Mytax, 2000 A.D. Annual 1978) Synopsis unavailable

(Legion, Progs #28-33) Synopsis unavailable

(Greenworld, Progs #34-35) Synopsis unavailable

(Star Slayer, Progs #36-51) Synopsis unavailable

(Doppelganger, Progs #52-55) Synopsis unavailable

(Waterworld, Progs #56-60) Synopsis unavailable

(Nightmare, Progs #61-63) Synopsis unavailable

(Ice World, Progs #64-66) Synopsis unavailable

(Visco, 2000 A.D. Sci-Fi Special 1978) Synopsis unavailable

(Garden of Eden, Progs #67-72) Synopsis unavailable

(Mutiny, Progs #73-78) Synopsis unavailable

(Untitled stories in 2000 A.D. Annual 1979, Dan Dare Annual 1979 x 2) Synopsis unavailable

(The Planet of Frozen Fear, 2000 A.D. Sci-Fi Special 1979) Synopsis unavailable

(Untitled stories in 2000 A.D. Annual 1980, Dan Dare Annual 1980) Synopsis unavailable

(The Doomsday Machine, Progs #79-85) Synopsis unavailable

(Servant of Evil, Progs #100-126) With his ship destroyed and crew dead, Dan is left floating in space. He is rescued by the Mekon, who is dying. Needing the skills of his old foe to save his own life, the evil Venusian revives Dare, but as an amnesiac, and with a new face. The Mekon tricks the hero into believing that he is a benevolent leader of his people, and that Dare is a space marshall, charged with helping him cure the Treens of a plague that is killing them. Using this ruse, he tricks Dare into stealing the Crystal of Life which restores the aging tyrant to full health. Dare, his memories returned to him, but now a wanted fugitive, is aided by his old ally Sondar in escaping. He gains possession of the Cosmic Claw, an artifact of great power, and goes on the hunt for the Mekon, seeking to clear his name.

(Dan Dare 3000 A.D., Prog 1034) Synopsis unavailable

Comments: Created by Frank Hampson, owned by The Dan Dare Corporation. The 2000 A.D. version was modified by Ken Armstrong and Pat Mills.

In spite of having the same name as the Eagle hero, this version of Dan Dare is so different as to deserve a separate entry.

Peter Inns has a very nice site on Dan Dare at www.dan-dare.net/ Among other things, it includes a comprehensive overview of the history of Dan and his many incarnations.

Thanks to Stephen Winders for correcting me on the name of Dan's glove like weapon. He also notes that the story where Dan gains the Cosmic Claw is written by Tom Tully and drawn by Dave Gibbons.

In Prog 500's "Tharg's Head Revisited" 2000 A.D.'s alien editor visits his own memories, and finds some forgotten thrills, including, as shown above, Dan Dare. The reprints we don't talk about are the Quality Comics reprints of the 2000A.D. series published in the eponymously titled Dan Dare comic, reformatted to American comic size and colourised. In the second panel Dan bemoans the different variations of him 2000 A.D. tried, while Tharg's comment on Dan's great-grandson refer to the version then active in the new Eagle comic, where he did, as Tharg says, memorably survive one early cliffhanger falling from a skyscraper to discover the pavement was made of rubber. The reason why Dan's use of super-hero has a TM (trademark) attached is cheeky acknowledgement that DC and Marvel held a joint trademark on the word at the time this was published. The final panel was 2000 A.D.'s backhanded admission that their version of Dare was gone for good.

CLARIFICATIONS: Not to be confused with

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

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