Editing Animal Man (section)

{{Short description|Superhero in the DC Comics Universe}}
{{For|the comic book|Animal Man (comic book)}}
{{Infobox comics character
|image= Animal Man (Bernhard "Buddy" Baker).png
|caption=Animal Man as depicted in ''52'' #20 (November 2006) by J.&nbsp;G. Jones.
|real_name=Bernhard "Buddy" Baker
|publisher=[[DC Comics]]
|debut=''[[Strange Adventures]]'' #180 (September 1965)
|creators=Dave Wood<br/>[[Carmine Infantino]]
|alliances=[[Justice League Europe]]<br/>[[Forgotten Heroes]]<br/>[[White Lantern Corps]]<br/>[[Justice League United]]<br/>[[Justice League]]<br>[[Justice League Dark]]<br/>[[Black Lantern Corps]]
|partners=[[Swamp Thing]]<br/>[[Vixen (comics)|Vixen]]<br/>[[Adam Strange]]<br/>[[Starfire (Teen Titans)|Starfire]]
|aliases=A-Man
|species= Metahuman
|powers=Ability to gain the powers of any animal that exists or has existed via access to "The Red"
}}
'''Animal Man''' ('''Bernhard''' "'''Buddy'''" '''Baker''') is a [[superhero]] appearing in [[American comic books]] published by [[DC Comics]]. As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily "borrow" the abilities of animals (such as a [[bird]]'s [[flight]] or the proportionate strength of an [[ant]]). Using these powers, Baker fights crime as the costumed superhero Animal Man.<ref name="dc-ency">{{Cite book | last = Greenberger | first = Robert | contribution = Animal Man | editor-last = Dougall | editor-first = Alastair | title = The DC Comics Encyclopedia | page = 16 | publisher = [[Dorling Kindersley]] | place = London | year = 2008| isbn = 978-0-7566-4119-1}}</ref>

Created by writer Dave Wood and artist [[Carmine Infantino]], Buddy Baker first appeared in ''[[Strange Adventures]]'' #180 (September [[1965 in comics|1965]]) and adopted the name Animal Man in issue #190. Animal Man was a minor character for his first twenty years, never gaining the popularity of other DC heroes such as [[Batman]] or [[Superman]]. He made only five, non-consecutive appearances in ''Strange Adventures'' (four of which were reprinted in ''[[Adventure Comics]]''), followed by two appearances in ''[[Wonder Woman]]'', two in ''[[Action Comics]]'', and two in ''[[DC Comics Presents]]'', appearing in consecutive issues of each. These eleven stories constitute the entirety of his pre-Crisis appearances. He later became one of several DC properties, such as [[Shade, the Changing Man]] and [[The Sandman (Vertigo)|Sandman]], to be revived and revamped in the late [[1980s in comics|1980s]] for a more mature comics audience. As seen in ''Strange Adventures'' #195, he was billed as a "full-time hero", an aspect that would be the most changed by the revamp.