Animal Man - Powers and Abilities

Powers and Abilities

Buddy can mimic any abilities of any animal as a result of his encounter with a crashed alien spacecraft. He does this by either focusing on a specific animal near him, or, as he learned later, by drawing power from the animal kingdom in general (this enables him to even mimic animals that are extinct). The nature of these powers has been described in various ways, including the superficial "alien radiation" explanation of his early appearances, the reconstruction of his body by aliens with "morphogenetic grafts" at the cellular level, and currently, mystical access to a "morphogenetic field" created by all living creatures, also known as "the Red". He does not grow wings to fly as a bird (instead he flies in classic "Superman style"), nor does he form gills to breathe underwater when mimicking a fish, but he has occasionally been known to mimic the actual appearances of animals, such as adopting the claws of a wolverine temporarily, or his metamorphosis toward the end of Delano's run on his series.

Among the "animal powers" Buddy has been known to use are:

• The strength of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
• The flight of a bird.
• The swimming ability of a fish.
• The speed of an ant.
• The reflexes of a fly.
• The eloquence of a parrot.
• The wall-crawling of a spider.
• The sonic blast of a pistol shrimp.
• The sense of smell of a moth.
• The stench of a skunk.
• The color changing of a chameleon.
• The agility of a snake.
• The playfulness of a kitten.
• The electricity of an electric eel and electric ray.
• A worm's ability to re-grow lost body parts.
• The righteous anger of a mother Bear.
• The bark of a large dog.
• The reproduction abilities of protozoa.
• The durability of a cockroach.
• The ability to "fire lightning from his face" from an unidentified alien creature.
• The beauty of a Monarch Butterfly.
• The smell of a hippopotamus.
• The napping ability of a cat.

The level of Buddy's abilities is proportional to the size of the animal they are drawn from. Hence, drawing the jumping ability from a flea would allow him to cover great distances. However, taking the abilities of a larger animal does not result in diminished power for him. In some appearances, he can also talk to animals and enter their minds.

Tapping into the Red, Animal Man can also fire blasts of force or unidentified energy. In cooperation with Vixen and the woman known as "Tristess", he helped to create an entire universe.

In 52, Buddy experiences an upgrade that allows him to connect to the Universe's morphogenetic field, providing him unlimited access to all animals in the universe regardless of origin. At first, Animal Man knew nothing about the alien creatures whose abilities he took, but later has ample knowledge.