Sicarii

Lemuel Sicarii, is a fictional character and superhero who first appeared in Amazing! Tales and Stories in May of 1938.

Golden Age

The character, who was created by Jack Cohen and Mark Hulings for Industrial Comics (today ID Comics), subsequently appeared in various radio serials, television programs, and films. Sicarii was born in Pennsylvania in the year 1822. At age 19 he accidentaly was placed into chronologic stasis by the mad scientist and doctor, Natthew A.P. Tarte. Sicarii remained in stasis until 1934, when he was discovered and adopted by an amiable farming family. He soon discovered that he had been imbued with superhuman powers, including super-speed and the ability to turn into any animal that weighs less than 45 pounds. When not fighting the forces of evil as the Stupendous Sicarii, he lives disguised as Sommerfield O'Guye, a mild-mannered clerk for the Tennesee Valley Authority. Lemuel's usual love interest is the lovely Angelica T. Hirteen.

Silver Age

During the Silver Age of Comics, the editors at ID launched a new series with the same name, but starring an entirely unrelated character. This series featured Sicarii X-239, an android created by a hidden city of superintelligent tree sloths. Though popular for many years, the Silver Age Sicarii was killed in the Crisis of Infinite Hype and never spoken of again within ID continuity.

The Nausea Years

The character of Sicarii was mostly ignored for the next several decades, until author Alan Moore volunteered to relaunch the character. This new series was the inaugural title of the newly-minted Nausea imprint under ID Comics. Moore's vision of Sicarii was radically different from the original; Sicarii was still chronologically imprisoned in the 19th Century, but was instead awoken in 1964. However, this Sicarii had no Superpowers, and used knives as weapons in hand to hand combat. Later in the series, it was revealed that Sicarii was the reincarnation of a Roman-era Jewish zealot that had been crucified for killing a Roman military governor. Sicarii's violent past conflicted with his attemptedly peaceful life as a civil servant, and culminated in his death, shot down after assassinating a powermad President.

It is presently collected in a set of five trade paperbacks, and director Brett Ratner has recently wrapped production on a film adaptation. Moore is reportedly unhappy with the script, and has distanced himself from the upcoming film.

Animation

Under Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, Sicarii experienced unprecedented popularity in three seperate animated series. The breakthrough "Sicarii the Animated Series" revitalized interest in ID Comics properties, earning a prominent slot in weekday afternoon children's programming. It was followed by "Sicarii and Jarp," which was cross-marketed by Hasbro with a lucrative action figure line. The fan favorite series "Sicarii Beyond" nonetheless did not resonate with the demographics ID Comics and Hasbro were seeking to market to, and was cancelled halfway through its second season.

Sicarii would return to the small screen in All-American Hotdog Gang Unlimited, but it is noteworthy that this series featured the Silver Age Sicarii, rather than the mainstream character.

{{bcbo|Sicarii]] and [[The Traveler}}