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Difference between revisions of "Radioactive Man (character)"

Wikisimpsons - The Simpsons Wiki
(→‎Fictional Publication History)
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{{Superhero|
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{{Title|Radioactive Man}}
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image=[[Image:A Real Radioactive Man Comic Book.jpg|200px]]|
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{{for2|other uses|Radioactive Man (disambiguation)}}
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name=Radioactvie Man|
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{{Quote|Up and Atom!|Radioactive Man's catchphrase|Radioactive Man}}
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alias=Claude Kane III|
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{{Character
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power=Strength, speed, flight, invulnerability, power to fire beams of "clean, nuclear heat" from eyes|
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|name = Radioactive Man
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appearance=[[Bart the Genius]]|
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|identity = [[Claude Kane III]]
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|caption = Artwork of Radioactive Man from ''[[The Simpsons: Tapped Out]]''
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|gender = {{Male}}
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|alias = Radio Man
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|image = [[File:Radioactive Man.png|200px]]
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|status = Fictional
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|powers = '''Radioactive Man:'''<br>Flight<br>Eye lasers<br>Radiation absorption<br>Super strength<br>'''Radio Man:'''<br>Control over radio waves
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|relatives = '''Ex-wife:''' [[Gloria Grand]]
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|voiced by = [[Harry Shearer]]
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|appearance = "[[Bart the Genius]]"
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|superhero=yes
 
}}
 
}}
  
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'''Radioactive Man''', within the world of the [[animated series]] ''[[The Simpsons]]'', is a [[comic book]] [[superhero]] who acquired his powers after surviving an [[atomic bomb]] explosion. His sidekick is [[List of fictional characters within The Simpsons#Fallout Boy|Fallout Boy]], and his [[catchphrase]] is "Up and [[atom]]!"
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'''Radioactive Man''' is a comic book superhero who acquired his powers after surviving an atomic bomb explosion. His sidekick is [[Fallout Boy]]. Radioactive Man is the successor to [[Radio Man]].
  
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== Fictional Publication History==
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== Comic history ==
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{{RMA}}
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=== Radioactive Man ===
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When he was on his way to [[Blather Labs]] to get his allowance for the week from [[Claude Kane II|his father]], Claude took a wrong turn and got lost. His car then got stuck so he walked into the nuclear test site, not realizing it was that, to try and find help. He got caught in an explosion from a mega-bomb which Blather Labs had been working on and got superpowers. He continued to Blather Labs where he beat some thugs who had taken Claude's father and Gloria Grand hostage. From this day, he became Radioactive Man.<ref>''[[The Origin of Radioactive Man]]''</ref>
  
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Within the Simpsons universe, [[Radioactive decay|Radioactive]] Man has been portrayed in many media since his debut in "Radioactive Man" #1 in [[1952]]. In addition to comic books, he was featured in at least one [[1940s]] or [[1950s]] era black-and-white serial, sponsored by [[Laramie Cigarettes]]. The serials featured fictional actor [[Dirk Richter]] -- a parody of [[Adam West]] and George Reeves -- as Radioactive Man, and Buddy Hodges played Fallout Boy. Richter, reportedly born in 1922 (he was said to be 73 years old (and dead) in 1995), was apparently shot to death in a [[bordello]] sometime in the 1960s<ref>Mentioned in ''The Simpsons'' episode "[[Three Men and a Comic Book]]".</ref> (a reference to the mysterious death of [[George Reeves]], the first actor to portray [[Superman]] on television). Sometime in the 80s [[Troy McClure]] portrayed Radioactive Man in a ''Radioactive Man'' movie trilogy.  ''Radioactive Man III'' featured Krusty the Clown as the presumably main villain Krusto the Evil Clown (a parody of the Joker) and featured Buddy Hodges as Fallout Boy's great grandfather.<ref>Advertised on the back cover of ''Radioactive Man'' #412.</ref> The trilogy consisted of:
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After Radioactive Man took out several thugs, Claude decided that he needed to set up a secret lair of his own. He found a model lying on the ground and decided to use it as a design for [[The Containment Dome]], which he built on [[Mount Zenith]]. Claude also met [[Rod Runtledge]] at a radioactivity convention. A tall piece of machinery fell towards them. Claude grabbed Rod and jumped over the rail, Claude holding onto the machine. The machine came to life, and as the ray passed through Claude, it hit Rod. Rod received a pint-sized version of RM's powers, and became Fallout Boy.<ref name="Commie Comics">''[[Dr. Crab's Commie Comics]]''</ref>
  
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* "Radioactive Man"
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After this, Fallout Boy started helping Radioactive Man as his sidekick. Together they took down down enemies such as [[Magmo]],<ref>''[[The Molten Menace of Magmo, the Lava Man]]''</ref> [[Hypno-Head]]<ref name="See No Evil">''[[See No Evil, Hear No Evil!]]''</ref> and [[Shootin' Irons]].<ref name="Anomaly">''[[Anomaly of the Automaton That Ran Amok!]]''</ref>
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* "Radioactive Man II: Bring On The Sequel"
 
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* "Radioactive Man III: Oh God, Not Again"
 
  
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In 1995, a Hollywood studio attempted to film a Radioactive Man movie in [[Springfield]]. The movie starred [[Rainier Wolfcastle]] as Radioactive Man. The role of Fallout Boy was cast from local children. [[Bart Simpson]], a huge Radioactive Man fan, tried out for the part, but it went to his pal, [[Milhouse Van Houten]] due to Bart being an inch too short. The origin of Fallout Boy was changed for the movie: Rod Runtledge acquires superpowers after getting run over by an x-ray truck and blasted in the face by the x-ray machine it was transporting. Still trapped under the truck, he meets Radioactive Man when the superhero arrives on the scene to lift it off him. [[Krusty the Clown]] was cast as villains Dr. Clownius and Silly Sailor. Wolfcastle is incapable of saying the "Up and Atom!" catchphrase correctly; it always comes out as "Up and at them," rendered as "Up and at zem," on account of Wolfcastle's German accent. The movie was never completed due to budget overruns caused by constant [[Price gouging|price-gouging]] by Springfield vendors, and Milhouse snapping from the pressure of the role, and refusing to continue to portray Fallout Boy - former child actor [[Mickey Rooney]] attempted to take over the role, with predictably miserable results. The unfinished project was presumably shelved. There was also a campy early 1970s TV series suspiciously resembling the ''Batman'' TV series, and boasted the appearance of an extremely flamboyant [[supervillain]] called "[[The Scoutmaster]]", who resembled Paul Lynde.
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At one point, [[Madame Eczema]], the leader of [[Eczema]], found out Radioactive Man was really Claude Kane III.<ref>''[[The Heroic Life and Mortifying Death of Radioactive Man: Chapter I]]''</ref> Radioactive Man faked his death and then came back, with [[Plasmo]] pretending to be Claude Kane III, to trick the people into believing they were separate people.<ref>''[[The Heroic Life and Mortifying Death of Radioactive Man: Chapter IV]]''</ref>
  
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A knock-off of Radioactive Man exists. This comic book character is known as "Radiation Dude". Instead of using Radioactive Man's clever catchphrase "up and atom!" he just says "up and let's go."
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When [[Larva Girl]] kidnapped Fallout Boy, she had Radioactive Man go to the planet [[Remitrom]] to collect Zirconia-Gems, knowing that the radiation of Remitrom's sun would make him susceptible to the first women he sees back on Earth. Radioactive Man arrived back on Earth and fell in love with Larva Girl, with the two of them getting married. At the wedding, Gloria Grand kissed Radioactive Man, which snapped him out of the spell he was under due to an antidote in her lipstick. Radioactive Man then broke off the wedding and defeated Larva Girl.<ref>''[[To Betroth a Foe!]]''</ref>
  
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== The Bongo Comic ==
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=== Dark Radioactive Man ===
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Radioactive Man has escaped from the fictional world of Bart Simpson to appear in a real comic book intermittently published by [[Bongo Comics]], which has also published, since [[1994]], a number of comics featuring [[Bart Simpson]], the Simpson family, and other characters from the television show.
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Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy answered a distress call from the Superior Squad which took him to Dr. Crab's asteroid base. Here, they found the Superior Squad in stasis chambers. Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy handed themselves over to Dr. Crab so that he didn't kill the other members of the Superior Squad. As they were put into stasis chambers, Dr. Crab also put devices on them that stopped their powers from being used. With the help of [[Captain Squid]], Radioactive Man broke everyone out. However, Dr. Crab's particle blaster and shoots Radioactive Man, also causing the asteroid base to go up in flames. Dr. Crab used the commotion to escape as Radioactive Man died.
  
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Issue #1 of the Bongo comic differs from ''RM'' #1 as seen in ''Simpsons'' episode "[[Three Men and a Comic Book]]". While featuring a similar scenario and accident (Claude getting his trousers caught on barbed wire just before a mega-bomb explodes), the Bongo series' Claude was not wearing tattered clothes. In the books, Claude's survival is due in part to a large thunderbolt shaped chunk of metal being attached to his head. Throughout the book series the shard of metal was always attempted to be removed, but each attempt has nasty consequences which results in it being put back in his scalp again.
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Back on Earth, Radioactive Man's funeral was held, with only the Superior Squad, [[Gloria Grand]] and Fallout Boy attending. Before Radioactive Man was lowered into the ground, Fallout Boy took the lightning bolt out of his head and handed it over to Gloria Grand. The absence of Radioactive Man led to fighting between the other Superior Squad members over who will lead the team. Dr. Crab then attacked them with his army of [[Crab-Bots]]. As the heroes were struggling to fight them, Radioactive Man flew in and saved them. [[Bug Boy]] theorized that removing the lightning bolt sparked Radioactive Man back to life. However, Radioactive Man then became evil due to the lightning bolt being removed. As Radioactive Man fought against the Superior Squad, Fallout Boy retrieved the lightning bolt from Gloria and flew back to Radioactive Man. He then jammed it back into Radioactive Man's head, causing him to become good again.<ref>''[[Dark Radioactive Man!]]''</ref>
  
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Maintaining the satirical standards of the television show, these comics often parody genre comic books, and the reader can follow the evolution of Radioactive Man from a [[1950s]] irradiated hero through the politically reactionary or radical years of the [[1960s]] and [[1970s]], and the dark, troubled years of the [[1980s]] and [[1990s]] comic book hero. Indeed, one comic displays a startling similarity to Alan Moore's [[Watchmen]], with Radioactive Man taking the part of state-supported hero Doctor Manhattan. The comics are published as if they were the actual ''Simpsons'' universe's Radioactive Man comics; a "[[1970s]]"-published comic features a letter written by a ten-year-old [[Marge Simpson|Marge Bouvier]], for instance.
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=== Post-resurrection ===
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When [[Bug Boy]] was trying to remove the shrapnel from Radioactive Man's head, it resulted in Claude Kane III and Radioactive Man getting split apart. Radioactive Man then tossed Claude aside, saying that he didn't need Claude any more. Claude then started seeing [[Gretchen Grille]] and decided to get his own life.
  
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Within the Bongo Comics, Radioactive Man is secretly Claude Kane III, a millionaire playboy whose personality was well-intentioned, but bumbling and not overly bright. In addition (which became a recurring storyline element), Claude's personality was permanently stuck in a conservative [[1950s]] outlook on everything, no matter what the time era in question was. A running gag is that in order to preserve his secret identity, Claude is constantly wearing various types of hats, in order to conceal the lightning bolt-shaped shrapnel sticking out of his head.
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During this time, Radioactive Man took over Zenith City as the leader and hired the [[Bang Gang]] as his personal bodyguards. He also started using [[Zenith Mall]] as his headquarters. However, due to the way Radioactive Man was acting now, Gloria Grand was no longer enamored with him.
  
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== Powers and abilities ==
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Whilst Claude and Gretchen were on a date out of the city, Radioactive Man grabbed Claude and asked him why Claude wasn't trying to merge themselves back together. Claude told Radioactive Man that he was living his own life, like Radioactive Man told him to do. The two of them then spoke about their silly excuses to Gloria about why then had to leave her constantly, which bonded the two of them back together.<ref>''[[Don't Look Now, But It's 1984!]]''</ref>
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Throughout most of the Simpsons TV series, very few references to Radioactive Man's actual super powers have been made. As a result, the extent of his powers are not known. It can be inferred that Radioactive Man has some level of [[superhuman strength]] and invulnerability. In one Simpson episode, Bart shows Lisa a comic where Radioactive Man is seen throwing a villain into the sun and quipping, 'Hot enough for you?'. In the planned Radioactive Man movie, a stunt was filmed in which he easily lifts a car off Fallout Boy. The Bongo comics expanded on his powers, giving him several which parodied those of [[Superman]] including super speed, [[flight]], and the power to fire beams of "[[heat vision|clean, nuclear heat]]" from his eyes. He is also bulletproof, but unfortunately for him he still feels pain from the bullets impacting on him (something he tries to hide behind a stoic face while cursing inwardly).
 
  
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== Appearances on The Simpsons ==
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At some point, superheroes were banned and outlawed by the government, with only Radioactive Man being allowed to continue operating under the government. [[Heart of Darkness]] went to Radioactive Man as he was convinced it was a government plan to form a shadow government that the public didn't know about. This led to them uncovering a plan to get the superheroes out of the way and make them look bad. However, they stopped the plan and the superhero ban got repealed.<ref name="Who Washes">''[[Who Washes the Washmen's Infinite Secrets of Legendary Crossover Knight Wars?]]''</ref>
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The Radioactive Man character has appeared numerous times over the course of the series. Some notable appearances include.
 
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* "[[Three Men and a Comic Book]]" - First appearance. Bart, Millhouse and Martin collaborate and buy a mint Radioactive Man Issue #1, with bad results...
 
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* "[[Radioactive Man (The Simpsons episode)|Radioactive Man]]" - Two Hollywood directors try to film a Radioactive Man movie in Springfield.
 
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* "[[Treehouse of Horror III]]" - Millhouse dresses as Radioactive Man for Halloween.
 
  
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== Notes ==
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=== The Death of Radioactive Man ===
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There is a villain in [[Iron Man]] named [[Radioactive Man (comics)|Radioactive Man]]; he is unrelated to the ''Simpsons'' character.
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Radioactive Man went to the Zenith City Power Plant where he found [[The Fossil Fuel Four]] destroying it. Radioactive Man called his friends [[Citizen Solar]] and [[Wind Lad]], but they were unable to help him. The Fossil Fuel Four worked together to kill Radioactive Man.<ref>"[[Married to the Blob]]" (''[[The Death of Radioactive Man]]'')</ref>
  
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Radioactive Man made an appearance in ''[[Bartman Meets Radioactive Man]]'', a [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] video game.
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=== Future ===
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[[File:Rod Future Radioactive Man.png|thumb|left|An older Rod Runtledge as Radioactive Man.]]
 +
In the future, Rod Runtledge takes up the mantle of Radioactive Man. When Gloria Grand got transported to the future in the [[space alien]]'s spaceship, Radioactive Man was fighting against the alien's robot when he got distracted by Gloria Grand showing up. The robot then defeated Radioactive Man and Gloria unmasked him to find he was Rod Runtledge. The robot then took Gloria and an elderly Claude Kane III woke Rod up and told him to go after Gloria. Radioactive Man then found the alien's base and confronted him. The alien then told Radioactive Man that he just wanted to go home so Radioactive Man took the alien and Gloria back to his spaceship and sent them off.<ref>''[[The Radioactive Man of 1995!]]''</ref>
  
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== Comic bibliography ==
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When Fallout Boy of the past calls him to ask if Radioactive Man from his time is there, the future Radioactive Man panicked about speaking to his younger self.<ref name="Anomaly"/>
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A list of the issues published so far, plus all other known appearances of Radioactive Man (organized by order released):
 
  
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=== Pre-Bongo ===
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== In other media ==
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* ''Simpsons Comics & Stories'' #1: Features a page from ''Radioactive Man'' #418.
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=== Radioactive Man: The Movie ===
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* ''Bartman and Radioactive Man'' #1:This comic book features in a magazine, "Hero Illustrated", in 1994. It contains a mini poster of Bartman and Radioactive Man. It is known as an 'ash can comic' as most bonus books in sealed price guides and magazines and usually read and then thrown away
+
In ''Radioactive Man: The Movie'', Claude Kane III/Radioactive Man was played by [[Rainier Wolfcastle]]. Claude Kane III was a layabout playboy who got stuck at a nuclear testing site. The atomic blast turned him into Radioactive Man. After this, Radioactive Man was considered a myth in [[Zenith City]], with even people who saw him not believing he was real. Radioactive Man fought crime alone. At one point, he went to the [[U.S.S. Serendipity]] to save people who were being held hostage. He saved them, but [[Silly Sailor]] was knocked into the ocean during the rescue.
  
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=== Volume 1 ===
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Radioactive Man then flew back to [[WZEN Tower]] where [[Gloria Grand]] was falling off a balcony. Radioactive Man saved her life and the two of them flew about for a bit before Radioactive Man took her back to the tower, where she fell asleep, with people thinking she just dreamed her encounter with Radioactive Man.
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Written by [[Steve Vance]]; publishing started 1994.
 
  
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* ''Radioactive Man'' #1 ("1952"): The first appearance and origin of Radioactive Man; a parody of [[Golden Age of comic books|Golden Age]] comics.
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After [[Rod Runtledge]] got trapped under an X-Ray truck, Radioactive Man saved him and found that he had gained superpowers. Radioactive Man took him back to [[The Containment Dome]] to run some tests on him and revealed his identity to Rod. The two of them then started fighting crime together, with Rod becoming Fallout Boy. Eventually, Gloria Grand got kidnapped by Silly Sailor. Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy went to rescue her but got their powers taken away. They were then left hanging upside down in a cage. Fallout Boy managed to escape but got taken home by [[Mrs. Runtledge|his mother]]. As Radioactive Man was about to get hit by a wave of sulfuric acid, Fallout Boy came to his rescue and told him that he had his powers back after a few hours. Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy then stop Silly Sailor together.
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* ''Radioactive Man'' #88 ("1962"): features a "retelling" of the origin of Fallout Boy; a parody of [[Silver Age of comic books|Silver Age]] [[Marvel Comics|Marvel comics]].
 
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* ''Radioactive Man'' #216 ("1972"): a parody of the "relevant" age of [[1970s]] comics, Radioactive Man discovered that Fallout Boy was a [[hippie]] spoofing issue #85 of ''[[Green Lantern]]/[[Green Arrow]]'' in which Green Arrow discovered his sidekick [[Roy Harper (comics)|Speedy]] was a [[heroin]] addict
 
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* ''Radioactive Man'' #412 ("1980"): a parody of the "[[Dark Phoenix]]" storyline in the ''[[X-Men]]'' comics.
 
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* ''Radioactive Man'' #679 ("1986"): a parody of several [[1980s]] comic storylines, particularly ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]'', ''[[Watchmen]]'' and ''[[Batman: The Dark Knight Returns]]''.
 
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* ''Radioactive Man'' #1000 ("1995"): a parody of [[1990s]] comics, including [[Image Comics|Image Comics']] ''[[Spawn (comics)|Spawn]]''.
 
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* ''Radioactive Man'' 80-Page Colossal: a "reprint" of various "previous" Radioactive Man stories; a parody of various Silver Age [[DC Comics]] stories, as well as DC's [[80 Page Giant]]s, a series of 80-page-long reprints of previous material that DC published in the [[1960s]].
 
  
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=== Between Volumes ===
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Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy then go back to WZEN Tower to stop [[Dr. Swartzwelder]] broadcasting information harming Radioactive Man's reputation. They reveal that Dr. Swartzwelder is actually [[Dr. Clownius]] in disguise. After Dr. Clownius is arrested, Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy go back to fighting crime together.<ref>''[[Radioactive Man, The Official Movie Adaption]]''</ref>
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* ''Simpsons Comics'' #36-39 / ''Radioactive Man'' #160 ("1968"): the flip-sides from all four issues form a parody of [[Jim Steranko]]'s [[Nick Fury]]: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. comics. Features Purple Haze, a character who parodies [[Luke Cage]]'s affinity for [[African American Vernacular English|Ebonics]].
 
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* ''Simpsons Comics'' #50  / ''Radioactive Man'' #99 ("1963"): features a one-page ad parodying the old comic advertisements for [[Hostess (brand)|Hostess]] confections; also a backup story, "Planet of the Strange-O's," spoofing [[Bizarro]] from Superman's comics.
 
  
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=== Volume 2 ===
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=== Radioactive Man Re-Rises ===
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''Radioactive Man Re-Rises'' is a reboot of the ''Radioactive Man'' series. In the film, Radioactive man has to erase his own memory so he doesn't get tortured by his past when he gets born in the future. Radioactive Man's suit is also the only thing keeping him alive, but is also slowly killing him.<ref>"[[Steal This Episode]]"</ref>
  
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Written by [[Batton Lash]]; publishing started 2001.
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=== Radioactive Woman ===
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A female reboot of ''Radioactive Man'', called ''{{ap|Radioactive Woman|film}}'' was in production, with [[Patty]] and [[Selma Bouvier]] playing the role of [[Radioactive Woman]], a female version of Radioactive Man. The movie never got finished.<ref>''[[Radioactive Woman: The Movie]]</ref>
  
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* ''Radioactive Man'' #100 ("1963")
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== Non-canon ==
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* ''Radioactive Man'' #222 ("1973"): a parody of the early [[1970s]] Marvel Comics.
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{{Noncanon}}
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* ''Radioactive Man'' #136 ("1966"): a parody of [[Archie Comics]]'s [[Mighty Comics]] line.
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=== The Simpsons: Tapped Out ===
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* ''Radioactive Man'' #4 ("1953"): a parody of Marvel Comics science-fiction comics.
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{{TranscludeSection|The Simpsons: Tapped Out characters/Superheroes|RadioactiveMan}}
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* ''Radioactive Man'' #575 ("1984"): a parody of various independent [[1980s]] comics, particularly [[Howard Chaykin]]'s ''[[American Flagg]]'' (Chaykin drew the cover for this issue).
 
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* ''Radioactive Man'' #106 ("1963"): a parody of [[Gold Key Comics]]
 
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* ''Bongo Super-Heroes'' #7
 
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* ''Radioactive Man Movie Special'': the "official" comic book adaptation of the ''Radioactive Man'' movie (as seen in the ''Simpsons'' episode "[[Radioactive Man (The Simpsons episode)|Radioactive Man]]")
 
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* ''Radioactive Man'' #197 ("1971"): a parody of the ''[[New Gods]]'' comics created by [[Jack Kirby]].
 
  
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Despite winning an [[Eisner award|Eisner]], volume 2 was cancelled, and [[Batton Lash]] and Radioactive Man were moved into writing smaller stories alongside [[Bartman]] stories and other miscellaneous Simpsons vignettes as part of ''Simpsons Super Spectacular''.<ref>http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=36;t=004181 Accessed: 17 Mar 2007</ref>
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== Personality ==
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{{RMA}}
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Radioactive Man can be fairly naive and patriotic, which leads to him believing and trusting everything the government says, whether it's bad or good. He once attacked a peaceful hippie protest outside the [[White House]] because they were protesting against the government, which led to [[Bleeding Heart]] stopping him.<ref name="See No Evil"/> After superheroes got banned by the government, Radioactive Man was the only one allowed to continue operating as he was too gullible and naive to question the government.<ref name="Who Washes"/>
  
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=== Post-Volume 2 ===
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== Behind the Laughter ==
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* ''Simpsons Super Spectacular'' #1: Flip side of comic has Radioactive Man in a parody of [[Charlton Comics]]'s [[Captain Atom]].  Three stories are all based on early 1960s Captain Atom stories, as is the cover.
+
*There is a Marvel Comics villain who temporarily became a hero named Radioactive Man; he is unrelated to ''The Simpsons'' character.
−
* ''Simpsons Super Spectacular'' #2: "Bongos" a parody of [[Kurt Busiek]]/[[Alex Ross]]'s [[Marvels]].
+
*Radioactive Man's origin story is similar to the [[Hulk]]'s.
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* ''Simpsons Super Spectacular'' #3: Lure Lass and Weasel Woman team-up adventure, battling the Crazy Cat Lady. Radioactive Man makes a short appearance at the end.
+
*Radioactive Man's billionaire secret identity mirrors Batman and Iron Man.
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* ''Simpsons Super Spectacular'' #4: Radioactive Man battles the Cane Gang. After a run-in with them, he becomes deathly afraid of radioactivity, an obstacle he overcomes by the end of the issue.
 
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* ''Radioactive Man'' #711: Produced exclusively for sale at [[7-Eleven]] stores in concert with the release of ''[[The Simpsons Movie]]''. [http://www.7-eleven.com/sip_rmcb.asp] The issue itself gives a brief (8 page) [[retcon]] of Radioactive Man's origin, followed by reprints of #4 and Simpsons Comics #50.
 
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* ''Simpsons Super Spectacular'' #5: Radioactive Man battles Mufelatto, the Aliment Man in an homage to [[Metamorpho]] the Element Man drawn by [[Ramona Fradon]].
 
  
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{{Series Superheroes}}
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== Appearances ==
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[[Category:Superheroes]]
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{{Scroll|
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[[Category:Fictional Characters]]
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{{TO}}
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'''Episodes:'''
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{{Season1A
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|E2=yes
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|E2n=picture
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|E8=yes
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|E8n=picture
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|E10=yes
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|E10n=picture
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}}
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{{Season2A
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|E17=yes
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|E17n=mentioned
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|E21=yes
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}}
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{{Season3A
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|E4=yes
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|E4n=mentioned
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|E6=yes
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|E6n=picture
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}}
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{{Season7A
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|E2=yes
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}}
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{{Season8A
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|E5cg=yes
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|E14cg=yes
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}}
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{{Season12A
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|E11=yes
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}}
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{{Season13A
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|E18=yes
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|E18n=picture
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}}
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{{Season16A
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|E11=yes
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|E11n=picture
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}}
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{{Season19A
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|E7=yes
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|E7n=mentioned
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}}
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{{Season21A
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|E15=yes
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|E15n=[[Stealing First Base/Gags#Title screen gag|Title screen gag]]
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}}
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{{Season22A
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|E7=yes
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|E7n=picture
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|E9=yes
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|E9n=picture
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|E10=yes
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}}
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{{Season23A
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|E18=yes
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|E18n=action figure
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}}
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{{Season24A
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|E2=yes
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|E2n=Bart & Homer's Excellent Adventure, picture
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|E10=yes
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|E10n=[[A Test Before Trying/Gags#Title screen gag|Title screen gag]]
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|E16=yes
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}}
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{{Season25A
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|E3=yes
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|E3n=[[Four Regrettings and a Funeral/Gags#Title screen gag|Title screen gag]]
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|E9=yes
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|E10=yes
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}}
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{{Season26A
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|E5=yes
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|E5n=action figure
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|E7=yes
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|E7n=picture
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|E12=yes
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}}
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{{Season27A
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|E1cg=yes
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|E10=yes
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|E10n=picture
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|E17=yes
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|E17n=action figure
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|E21=yes
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|E21n=picture
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}}
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{{Season28A
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|E13=yes
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|E13n=picture
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|E20cg=yes
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|E20cgn=archive image
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}}
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{{Season29A
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|E2=yes
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|E2n=action figure
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}}
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{{Season30A
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|E4=yes
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|E4n=Intrusion of the Pod-Y Switchers, picture
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|E10=yes
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|E10n=picture
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|E12=yes
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|E12n=picture
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|E13=yes
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|E13n=picture
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|E15=yes
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|E15n=picture
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|E20=yes
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}}
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{{Season31A
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|E22=yes
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|E22n=Christmas Card
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}}
 +
{{Season32A
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|E4=yes
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|E4n=Toy Gory, [[Radioactive Man action figure|action figure]]
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|E7=yes
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|E11=yes
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|E11n=action figure
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}}
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{{Season33A
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|E6=yes
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|E6n=picture
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|E20=yes
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|E20n=picture
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}}
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{{Season34A
 +
|E3=yes
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|E3n=picture
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|E12=yes
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|E12n=statue
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|E16=yes
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|E16n=picture
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|E20=yes
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|E20n=action figure
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|E22OS=yes
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}}
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{{Season35A
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|E9=yes
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|E9n=action figure
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}}
 +
'''Adverts:'''
 +
{{AdvertsA
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|TSTO11=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Simpsons Illustrated:'''
 +
{{SimpsonsIllustratedA
 +
|I8S4=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Simpsons Comics and Stories:'''
 +
{{SCASA
 +
|I1S1=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Simpsons Comics:'''
 +
{{SimpsonsComicsA
 +
|I1S2=yes
 +
|I1S2n=mentioned
 +
|I16S1=yes
 +
|I16S1n=action figure
 +
|I19S1=yes
 +
|I23S1=yes
 +
|I31S1=yes
 +
|I35S2=yes
 +
|I36S2=yes
 +
|I38S1=yes
 +
|I45S1=yes
 +
|I48S2=yes
 +
|I48S2n=action figure
 +
|I50S2=yes
 +
|I50S2n=coin
 +
|I50S3=yes
 +
|I50S6=yes
 +
|I52S1=yes
 +
|I63S3=yes
 +
|I63S3n=picture
 +
|I73S1=yes
 +
|I75S1=yes
 +
|I83S1=yes
 +
|I83S1n=picture
 +
|I93S1=yes
 +
|I100S1=yes
 +
|I101S1=yes
 +
|I113S1=yes
 +
|I121S1=yes
 +
|I121S1n=picture
 +
|I145S1=yes
 +
|I156S1=yes
 +
|I182S1=yes
 +
|I207S1=yes
 +
|I211S3=yes
 +
|I214S1=yes
 +
|I218S1=yes
 +
|I218S1n=picture
 +
|I223S1=yes
 +
|I227S1=yes
 +
|I227S1n=picture
 +
|I228S1=yes
 +
|I228S1n=action figure
 +
|I241S1=yes
 +
|I241S1n=mentioned
 +
}}
 +
'''Bartman:'''
 +
{{BartmanA
 +
|I1S1=yes
 +
|I1S2n=picture
 +
|I2S1=yes
 +
|I2S1n=coin
 +
|I3S1=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Radioactive Man:'''
 +
{{RadioactiveManA
 +
|I1S1=yes
 +
|I1S2=yes
 +
|I88S2=yes
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|I216S1=yes
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|I216S2=yes
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|I412S1=yes
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|I412S2=yes
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|I679S1=yes
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|I1000S1=yes
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|I5S1=yes
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|I5S3=yes
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|I5S4=yes
 +
|I5S4n=mentioned
 +
|I80S10=yes
 +
|I80S11=yes
 +
|I80S11n=picture
 +
|I1000S2=yes
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|I88S3=yes
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|I106S3=yes
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|I575S2=yes
 +
|IOMAS1=yes
 +
|IOMAS2=yes
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|I100S1=yes
 +
|I222S1=yes
 +
|I136S1=yes
 +
|I575S1=yes
 +
|I106S2=yes
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|IBSHS1=yes
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|IBSHS2=yes
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|I197S1=yes
 +
|I80S2=yes
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|I80S3=yes
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|I80S5=yes
 +
|I80S6=yes
 +
|I80S7=yes
 +
|I80S8=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Bart Simpson's Joke Book:'''
 +
{{JokeBookA
 +
|I1S1=yes
 +
|I1S1n=mentioned
 +
|I1S7=yes
 +
|I1S7n=picture
 +
|I1S10=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Treehouse of Horror:'''
 +
{{TreehouseA
 +
|I9S1=yes
 +
|I9S1n=hallucination
 +
|B3S10=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Bart Simpson:'''
 +
{{BartSimpsonA
 +
|I9S5=yes
 +
|I9S5n=action figure; picture
 +
|I9S6=yes
 +
|I9S6n=picture
 +
|I10S2=yes
 +
|I10S2n=action figure; picture
 +
|I16S3=yes
 +
|I16S3n=action figure
 +
|I23S3=yes
 +
|I23S3n=action figure
 +
|I25S1=yes
 +
|I31S1=yes
 +
|I31S1n=costume
 +
|I31S2=yes
 +
|I32S2=yes
 +
|I40S1=yes
 +
|I48S1=yes
 +
|I77S2=yes
 +
|I85S1=yes
 +
|I91S2=yes
 +
|I91S2n=costume
 +
|I91S4=yes
 +
|I98S3=yes
 +
|I98S3n=action figure
 +
}}
 +
'''Comic Strips:'''
 +
{{ComicStripsA
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|S76=yes
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|S84=yes
 +
|S84n=picture
 +
}}
 +
'''Super Spectacular:'''
 +
{{SuperSpectacularA
 +
|I1S3=yes
 +
|I1S4=yes
 +
|I1S5=yes
 +
|I2S2=yes
 +
|I3S2=yes
 +
|I9S1=yes
 +
|I13S1=yes
 +
|I16S2=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Winter Wingding:'''
 +
{{WinterWingdingA
 +
|I1S1=yes
 +
|I7S7=yes
 +
|I7S7n=picture
 +
|I9S2=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Summer Shindig:'''
 +
{{SummerShindigA
 +
|I2S2=yes
 +
|I2S2n=action figure
 +
|I3S4=yes
 +
|I5S3=yes
 +
|I5S3n=mentioned
 +
}}
 +
'''Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book:'''
 +
{{DOCBGA
 +
|S1=yes
 +
|S1n=picture
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|S2=yes
 +
|S2n=action figure
 +
}}
 +
'''One-Shot Wonders:'''
 +
{{OneShotsA
 +
|IGSS1=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Video Games:'''
 +
{{GamesA
 +
|BMMRM=yes
 +
|Skate=yes
 +
|Skaten=picture
 +
|TSTO=yes
 +
|LEGO=yes
 +
|LEGOn=ride
 +
}}
 +
'''Books:'''
 +
{{BooksA
 +
|UEG=yes
 +
|TBB=yes
 +
|CBG=yes
 +
|RMRR=yes
 +
|BMTBotB=yes
 +
|TSH=yes
 +
|HSLBoL=yes
 +
|HSLBoLn=costume
 +
}}
 +
{{TC}}
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
== References ==
 +
{{Images|Radioactive Man (character)|Radioactive Man}}
 +
{{Reflist}}
 +
 
 +
{{Radioactive Man characters|heroes=yes}}
 +
{{Superheroes|superior squadron=yes}}
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{{Tapped Out characters|superheroes=yes}}
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{{Simpsons World factfiles|12=yes}}
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{{Simpsons characters}}
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[[Category:Adults]]
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[[Category:Comic book characters]]
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[[Category:Recurring characters]]
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[[Category:Characters voiced by Harry Shearer]]
 +
[[Category:Characters introduced in season 1]]

Revision as of 05:24, March 9, 2024


For other uses, see Radioactive Man (disambiguation).
"Up and Atom!"
―Radioactive Man's catchphrase[src]
Radioactive Man
(Claude Kane III)
Radioactive Man.png
Artwork of Radioactive Man from The Simpsons: Tapped Out
Superhero Information
Gender:
Male ♂
Status:
Fictional
Alias(es): Radio Man
Powers: Radioactive Man:
Flight
Eye lasers
Radiation absorption
Super strength
Radio Man:
Control over radio waves
Relatives: Ex-wife: Gloria Grand
First appearance: "Bart the Genius"
Voiced by: Harry Shearer
v • d • e • h


Radioactive Man is a comic book superhero who acquired his powers after surviving an atomic bomb explosion. His sidekick is Fallout Boy. Radioactive Man is the successor to Radio Man.

Comic history

Radioactive Man Icon.png The contents of this article or section are related to the Radioactive Man universe. They are considered fictional in The Simpsons.

Radioactive Man

When he was on his way to Blather Labs to get his allowance for the week from his father, Claude took a wrong turn and got lost. His car then got stuck so he walked into the nuclear test site, not realizing it was that, to try and find help. He got caught in an explosion from a mega-bomb which Blather Labs had been working on and got superpowers. He continued to Blather Labs where he beat some thugs who had taken Claude's father and Gloria Grand hostage. From this day, he became Radioactive Man.[1]

After Radioactive Man took out several thugs, Claude decided that he needed to set up a secret lair of his own. He found a model lying on the ground and decided to use it as a design for The Containment Dome, which he built on Mount Zenith. Claude also met Rod Runtledge at a radioactivity convention. A tall piece of machinery fell towards them. Claude grabbed Rod and jumped over the rail, Claude holding onto the machine. The machine came to life, and as the ray passed through Claude, it hit Rod. Rod received a pint-sized version of RM's powers, and became Fallout Boy.[2]

After this, Fallout Boy started helping Radioactive Man as his sidekick. Together they took down down enemies such as Magmo,[3] Hypno-Head[4] and Shootin' Irons.[5]

At one point, Madame Eczema, the leader of Eczema, found out Radioactive Man was really Claude Kane III.[6] Radioactive Man faked his death and then came back, with Plasmo pretending to be Claude Kane III, to trick the people into believing they were separate people.[7]

When Larva Girl kidnapped Fallout Boy, she had Radioactive Man go to the planet Remitrom to collect Zirconia-Gems, knowing that the radiation of Remitrom's sun would make him susceptible to the first women he sees back on Earth. Radioactive Man arrived back on Earth and fell in love with Larva Girl, with the two of them getting married. At the wedding, Gloria Grand kissed Radioactive Man, which snapped him out of the spell he was under due to an antidote in her lipstick. Radioactive Man then broke off the wedding and defeated Larva Girl.[8]

Dark Radioactive Man

Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy answered a distress call from the Superior Squad which took him to Dr. Crab's asteroid base. Here, they found the Superior Squad in stasis chambers. Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy handed themselves over to Dr. Crab so that he didn't kill the other members of the Superior Squad. As they were put into stasis chambers, Dr. Crab also put devices on them that stopped their powers from being used. With the help of Captain Squid, Radioactive Man broke everyone out. However, Dr. Crab's particle blaster and shoots Radioactive Man, also causing the asteroid base to go up in flames. Dr. Crab used the commotion to escape as Radioactive Man died.

Back on Earth, Radioactive Man's funeral was held, with only the Superior Squad, Gloria Grand and Fallout Boy attending. Before Radioactive Man was lowered into the ground, Fallout Boy took the lightning bolt out of his head and handed it over to Gloria Grand. The absence of Radioactive Man led to fighting between the other Superior Squad members over who will lead the team. Dr. Crab then attacked them with his army of Crab-Bots. As the heroes were struggling to fight them, Radioactive Man flew in and saved them. Bug Boy theorized that removing the lightning bolt sparked Radioactive Man back to life. However, Radioactive Man then became evil due to the lightning bolt being removed. As Radioactive Man fought against the Superior Squad, Fallout Boy retrieved the lightning bolt from Gloria and flew back to Radioactive Man. He then jammed it back into Radioactive Man's head, causing him to become good again.[9]

Post-resurrection

When Bug Boy was trying to remove the shrapnel from Radioactive Man's head, it resulted in Claude Kane III and Radioactive Man getting split apart. Radioactive Man then tossed Claude aside, saying that he didn't need Claude any more. Claude then started seeing Gretchen Grille and decided to get his own life.

During this time, Radioactive Man took over Zenith City as the leader and hired the Bang Gang as his personal bodyguards. He also started using Zenith Mall as his headquarters. However, due to the way Radioactive Man was acting now, Gloria Grand was no longer enamored with him.

Whilst Claude and Gretchen were on a date out of the city, Radioactive Man grabbed Claude and asked him why Claude wasn't trying to merge themselves back together. Claude told Radioactive Man that he was living his own life, like Radioactive Man told him to do. The two of them then spoke about their silly excuses to Gloria about why then had to leave her constantly, which bonded the two of them back together.[10]

At some point, superheroes were banned and outlawed by the government, with only Radioactive Man being allowed to continue operating under the government. Heart of Darkness went to Radioactive Man as he was convinced it was a government plan to form a shadow government that the public didn't know about. This led to them uncovering a plan to get the superheroes out of the way and make them look bad. However, they stopped the plan and the superhero ban got repealed.[11]

The Death of Radioactive Man

Radioactive Man went to the Zenith City Power Plant where he found The Fossil Fuel Four destroying it. Radioactive Man called his friends Citizen Solar and Wind Lad, but they were unable to help him. The Fossil Fuel Four worked together to kill Radioactive Man.[12]

Future

An older Rod Runtledge as Radioactive Man.

In the future, Rod Runtledge takes up the mantle of Radioactive Man. When Gloria Grand got transported to the future in the space alien's spaceship, Radioactive Man was fighting against the alien's robot when he got distracted by Gloria Grand showing up. The robot then defeated Radioactive Man and Gloria unmasked him to find he was Rod Runtledge. The robot then took Gloria and an elderly Claude Kane III woke Rod up and told him to go after Gloria. Radioactive Man then found the alien's base and confronted him. The alien then told Radioactive Man that he just wanted to go home so Radioactive Man took the alien and Gloria back to his spaceship and sent them off.[13]

When Fallout Boy of the past calls him to ask if Radioactive Man from his time is there, the future Radioactive Man panicked about speaking to his younger self.[5]

In other media

Radioactive Man: The Movie

In Radioactive Man: The Movie, Claude Kane III/Radioactive Man was played by Rainier Wolfcastle. Claude Kane III was a layabout playboy who got stuck at a nuclear testing site. The atomic blast turned him into Radioactive Man. After this, Radioactive Man was considered a myth in Zenith City, with even people who saw him not believing he was real. Radioactive Man fought crime alone. At one point, he went to the U.S.S. Serendipity to save people who were being held hostage. He saved them, but Silly Sailor was knocked into the ocean during the rescue.

Radioactive Man then flew back to WZEN Tower where Gloria Grand was falling off a balcony. Radioactive Man saved her life and the two of them flew about for a bit before Radioactive Man took her back to the tower, where she fell asleep, with people thinking she just dreamed her encounter with Radioactive Man.

After Rod Runtledge got trapped under an X-Ray truck, Radioactive Man saved him and found that he had gained superpowers. Radioactive Man took him back to The Containment Dome to run some tests on him and revealed his identity to Rod. The two of them then started fighting crime together, with Rod becoming Fallout Boy. Eventually, Gloria Grand got kidnapped by Silly Sailor. Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy went to rescue her but got their powers taken away. They were then left hanging upside down in a cage. Fallout Boy managed to escape but got taken home by his mother. As Radioactive Man was about to get hit by a wave of sulfuric acid, Fallout Boy came to his rescue and told him that he had his powers back after a few hours. Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy then stop Silly Sailor together.

Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy then go back to WZEN Tower to stop Dr. Swartzwelder broadcasting information harming Radioactive Man's reputation. They reveal that Dr. Swartzwelder is actually Dr. Clownius in disguise. After Dr. Clownius is arrested, Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy go back to fighting crime together.[14]

Radioactive Man Re-Rises

Radioactive Man Re-Rises is a reboot of the Radioactive Man series. In the film, Radioactive man has to erase his own memory so he doesn't get tortured by his past when he gets born in the future. Radioactive Man's suit is also the only thing keeping him alive, but is also slowly killing him.[15]

Radioactive Woman

A female reboot of Radioactive Man, called Radioactive Woman was in production, with Patty and Selma Bouvier playing the role of Radioactive Woman, a female version of Radioactive Man. The movie never got finished.[16]

Non-canon

Donut Homer.png The contents of this article or section are considered to be non-canon and therefore may not have actually happened or existed.

The Simpsons: Tapped Out

This section is transcluded from The Simpsons: Tapped Out characters/Superheroes. To edit it, please edit the transcluded page.
Radioactive Man
Image Cost Unlock method Unlock message Yearbook
Radioactive Man.png Tapped Out Girder.png5 Superheroes
Issue 4 Prize 		Up and Atom! Character is available via the Yearbook Mystery Box
Donut Tapped Out.png30
Donut Tapped Out.png60 Superheroes 2 and Superheroes Return
Premium
Donut Tapped Out.png60 Red Alert
Premium (with Radioactive Man Statue)
Technical Information ID Groups Internal Name
52500 Regular Characters, Regular Male, Adult, Sequel Squad, Good People RadioactiveMan

Personality

Radioactive Man Icon.png The contents of this article or section are related to the Radioactive Man universe. They are considered fictional in The Simpsons.

Radioactive Man can be fairly naive and patriotic, which leads to him believing and trusting everything the government says, whether it's bad or good. He once attacked a peaceful hippie protest outside the White House because they were protesting against the government, which led to Bleeding Heart stopping him.[4] After superheroes got banned by the government, Radioactive Man was the only one allowed to continue operating as he was too gullible and naive to question the government.[11]

Behind the Laughter

  • There is a Marvel Comics villain who temporarily became a hero named Radioactive Man; he is unrelated to The Simpsons character.
  • Radioactive Man's origin story is similar to the Hulk's.
  • Radioactive Man's billionaire secret identity mirrors Batman and Iron Man.

Appearances

Episodes:Adverts:Simpsons Illustrated:Simpsons Comics and Stories:Simpsons Comics:Bartman:Radioactive Man:Bart Simpson's Joke Book:Treehouse of Horror:Bart Simpson:Comic Strips:Super Spectacular:Winter Wingding:Summer Shindig:Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book:One-Shot Wonders:Video Games:Books:

References

The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to Radioactive Man.
  1. ↑ The Origin of Radioactive Man
  2. ↑ Dr. Crab's Commie Comics
  3. ↑ The Molten Menace of Magmo, the Lava Man
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 See No Evil, Hear No Evil!
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Anomaly of the Automaton That Ran Amok!
  6. ↑ The Heroic Life and Mortifying Death of Radioactive Man: Chapter I
  7. ↑ The Heroic Life and Mortifying Death of Radioactive Man: Chapter IV
  8. ↑ To Betroth a Foe!
  9. ↑ Dark Radioactive Man!
  10. ↑ Don't Look Now, But It's 1984!
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Who Washes the Washmen's Infinite Secrets of Legendary Crossover Knight Wars?
  12. ↑ "Married to the Blob" (The Death of Radioactive Man)
  13. ↑ The Radioactive Man of 1995!
  14. ↑ Radioactive Man, The Official Movie Adaption
  15. ↑ "Steal This Episode"
  16. ↑ Radioactive Woman: The Movie


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