Morcego Verde (Green Bat)

Real Name: José Carioca (often called "Joe" in the US and "Zé" [which is short for José] in Brazil)

Identity/Class: Normal human...er, parrot, highly skilled

Occupation: Crimefighter, no steady civilian occupation

Affiliations: member of the Three Caballeros (alongside Donald Duck and Panchito the Mexican rooster); member of the Duckburg Superhero Association.

Enemies: Ze Galo

Known Relatives: Zico, Zeca (nephews)

Aliases: (former) Super Super

Base of Operations: Rio de Janeiro, (later) Duckburg

First Appearance: Saludos Amigos ("Aquarela do Brasil" section, Disney, February 6th 1943)

Powers/Abilities: None

History: José Carioca is a Brazilian parrot who lives in the (fictitious) Vila Xurupita neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro. From a poor background, José is a friendly and easy going guy, but a bit of a hustler, generally on the lookout to work his way up the social ladder. When Donald Duck visited Rio, José showed him the sights, and afterwards travelled to the U.S. where he had a brief career as a movie star. After ten years he became homesick and took a plane back to Brazil, only to discover that no one would believe he was the real José Carioca and not an impostor. Unable to claim money from his creditors because of this, he was swiftly reduced to abject poverty, and even the arrival of a large group of his American friends (Donald and Daisy Duck, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey and Louie, Brer Rabbit, Tinker Bell, the Three Little Pigs and Pluto) failed to alleviate the situation. But when a group of villains (the Beagle Boys, Captain Hook, Snow White's Wicked Witch, Big Bad Wolf , Brer Fox and Brer Bear) kidnapped the Americans, and the police still refused to believe José and lend a hand, the parrot had to become a hero. Using Tinker Bell's fairy dust he managed to free his friends and prove his identity. It would not be the last time he would battle villainy.

(Zé Carioca #499, May 30th, 1961) A little later José was hired to play the part of the superhero "Super Super"  in a TV show. But he gained genuine superpowers when two aliens in a flying saucer accidentally dropped a magnetic cloud on him, and so took on the role for real. Even though these powers faded after a little while, he had now been bitten by the hero bug, and he adopted a new identity, Morcego Verde (the Green Bat), continuing to adventure in this new persona.

His girlfriend is a parrot called Aurora (a.k.a. Rosinha), and his best friend is a crow named Nestor. Fighting José for Aurora's affections is a rooster named Zé Galo (which has the unfortunate English translation as Joe Cock). José also has two nephews, Zico and Zeca. The other two members of his sometimes group of amiable, non-costumed adventurers, the Three Caballeros, are Donald Duck and the Mexican rooster Panchito. He is also a member of the Duckberg Superhero Association.

Comments: Owned and copyright to Walt Disney Corporation. Voiced by José Oliveira in the cartoon movies he appeared in.

Carioca is a Brazilian word meaning a native of Rio de Janeiro, making his name translate literally as "Joe from Rio".

In America José Carioca is best known as a friend of Donald Duck's who has starred with his pal in two films (Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros), had a newspaper strip for a couple of years, and occasionally turned up in Donald's comics. He also made a cameo appearance in Alice in Wonderland, as one of the jury members at the title character's trial.

But in his native Brazil (and the Netherlands, bizarrely enough), José has been a far bigger star. The first Brazilian strip to star him was "A Volta de Zé Carioca" ("The Return of Zé Carioca") which appeared in "O Pato Donald" #434 (March 1, 1960). With issue 479 *January 10th 1961) the comic was renamed "Zé Carioca", and the two titles would be used in rotation for the rest of the publication's run.

CLARIFICATIONS: Not to be confused with

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

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