Freedom Beast
Encyclopedia
Freedom Beast is a fictional comic book
character in the DC Universe
.
n by birth, Freedom Beast was born Dominic Mndawe. His first appearance was in Animal Man
#13. That issue takes place during the rule of apartheid in South Africa; Dominic was under arrest for taking pictures of racially motivated acts of violence being committed by white Afrikaner
policemen. In a cell, Dominic was about to be killed by his captors when he is rescued by Animal Man and B'wana Beast
(Mike Maxwell), Mndawe's predecessor and future mentor.
After the rescue, Maxwell gives Mndawe the elixir and helmet that confer powers on their owner. The two briefly had a disagreement as Mndawe was adamant to continue his political resistance to the South African government and its policy of apartheid with while Maxwell was insistent that the calling is apolitical. However, they eventually reconciled on this point and Mndawe continued pursuing his political objectives which he justified with the personal maxim, "Tomorrow's mythology is Today's politics.".
Those powers include mind control and the ability to fuse two or more animals into one hybrid beast under the control of Freedom Beast.
Animal Man and Freedom Beast then prevent the massacre of a group of peaceful demonstrators by Afrikaner police. Animal Man returns to the USA, while Maxwell and Freedom Beast stayed in South Africa.
Mike Maxwell returns in Animal Man #47 (May 1992). He had been taken over by an evil force called the Antagon and transformed into the Shining Man. He perishes in the ensuing battle.
Animal Man and Dominic team up once again during the Day of Judgement incident, protecting African wildlife from the murderous intentions of demon invaders.
Infinite Crisis
Special, where he is possessed by Rage, one of the Seven Deadly Sins
. He is also seen at the gathering of mystics at Stonehenge
in Infinite Crisis
#6.
Freedom Beast reappears as South Africa's representative in the reformed Global Guardians
in Green Lantern
v4 #11 and 14–17. However, he and his teammates are brainwashed by the Faceless Hunter
and used as weapons against Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
. The Global Guardians are eventually freed, and Freedom Beast returns with them in Checkmate
v2 #24 and 29–31.
In Final Crisis
#4, Freedom Beast is seen fighting off a controlled Gorilla Grodd on Watchtower 4 in Gorilla City
In issue #1 of Justice League: Cry for Justice
, Freedom Beast is killed by minions of Prometheus
. Dominic's partner Congorilla
discovers his dying friend and vows to find justice for his murder. Prometheus is subsequently killed by Green Arrow
in issue #7 of the same series.
In Justice League of America #60, Congorilla mentions that he still has Dominic's helmet and elixir in his possession. Seeking to honor the memory of his old friend, Congorilla ultimately resigns from the Justice League and sets out to find a worthy candidate to become the new Freedom Beast.
In Justice League International #1 a character alongside Congorilla appears wearing the mask, referencing Congorilla has found a successor. who this character is currently unknown.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
character in the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
.
Fictional character biography
A South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n by birth, Freedom Beast was born Dominic Mndawe. His first appearance was in Animal Man
Animal Man
Animal Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily “borrow” the abilities of animals...
#13. That issue takes place during the rule of apartheid in South Africa; Dominic was under arrest for taking pictures of racially motivated acts of violence being committed by white Afrikaner
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
policemen. In a cell, Dominic was about to be killed by his captors when he is rescued by Animal Man and B'wana Beast
B'wana Beast
B'wana Beast is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Universe. He first appeared in Showcase #66 , and was created by Bob Haney and Mike Sekowsky.-Publication history:...
(Mike Maxwell), Mndawe's predecessor and future mentor.
After the rescue, Maxwell gives Mndawe the elixir and helmet that confer powers on their owner. The two briefly had a disagreement as Mndawe was adamant to continue his political resistance to the South African government and its policy of apartheid with while Maxwell was insistent that the calling is apolitical. However, they eventually reconciled on this point and Mndawe continued pursuing his political objectives which he justified with the personal maxim, "Tomorrow's mythology is Today's politics.".
Those powers include mind control and the ability to fuse two or more animals into one hybrid beast under the control of Freedom Beast.
Animal Man and Freedom Beast then prevent the massacre of a group of peaceful demonstrators by Afrikaner police. Animal Man returns to the USA, while Maxwell and Freedom Beast stayed in South Africa.
Mike Maxwell returns in Animal Man #47 (May 1992). He had been taken over by an evil force called the Antagon and transformed into the Shining Man. He perishes in the ensuing battle.
Animal Man and Dominic team up once again during the Day of Judgement incident, protecting African wildlife from the murderous intentions of demon invaders.
Current status
Freedom Beast's most recent appearances were in the Day of VengeanceDay of Vengeance
Day of Vengeance is a six-issue comic book limited series written by Bill Willingham, with art by Justiniano and Walden Wong, published in 2005 by DC Comics.-Publication history:...
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
Special, where he is possessed by Rage, one of the Seven Deadly Sins
Seven deadly sins
The 7 Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of objectionable vices that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin...
. He is also seen at the gathering of mystics at Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
in Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
#6.
Freedom Beast reappears as South Africa's representative in the reformed Global Guardians
Global Guardians
The Global Guardians is a team of fictional DC Comics superheroes whose members hail from countries around the world. The concept originated in the Super Friends Saturday morning cartoon, in which several heroes were added to the Justice League to give it more ethnic diversity.-History:The...
in Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
v4 #11 and 14–17. However, he and his teammates are brainwashed by the Faceless Hunter
Faceless Hunter
The Faceless Hunters are an alien race in the DC Comics universe that first appeared in Strange Adventures #124, . They were created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky. The Faceless Hunters hail from Klaramar, the word Klar-a-mar breaks down into "clear of imperfection"...
and used as weapons against Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
. The Global Guardians are eventually freed, and Freedom Beast returns with them in Checkmate
Checkmate (comics)
Checkmate, a division of Task Force X, is a fictional covert operations agency within the DC Comics universe. It first appeared in Action Comics #598 and proceeded to have its own ongoing title in Checkmate!...
v2 #24 and 29–31.
In Final Crisis
Final Crisis
Final Crisis is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely by J. G. Jones; artists Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy and...
#4, Freedom Beast is seen fighting off a controlled Gorilla Grodd on Watchtower 4 in Gorilla City
In issue #1 of Justice League: Cry for Justice
Justice League: Cry for Justice
Justice League: Cry for Justice is a seven-issue comic book limited series, written by James Robinson, drawn by Mauro Cascioli, and published by DC Comics in 2009...
, Freedom Beast is killed by minions of Prometheus
Prometheus (comics)
Prometheus is the name of three fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.The first Prometheus debuted in New Teen Titans vol. 2, #24 and was created by Marv Wolfman and Eduardo Barreto . The second version debuted in New Year's Evil: Prometheus Prometheus is the name...
. Dominic's partner Congorilla
Congorilla
Congorilla, originally a human character known as Congo Bill, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and Vertigo Comics. Originally co-created by writer Whitney Ellsworth and artist George Papp, he was later transformed into Congorilla by Robert...
discovers his dying friend and vows to find justice for his murder. Prometheus is subsequently killed by Green Arrow
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
in issue #7 of the same series.
In Justice League of America #60, Congorilla mentions that he still has Dominic's helmet and elixir in his possession. Seeking to honor the memory of his old friend, Congorilla ultimately resigns from the Justice League and sets out to find a worthy candidate to become the new Freedom Beast.
In Justice League International #1 a character alongside Congorilla appears wearing the mask, referencing Congorilla has found a successor. who this character is currently unknown.