Ultiman (Earth A)

**Real Name:** Christopher Kelly

**World:** Earth-A

**Monikers:** The Ultimate Human Being

**Origin:** Altered Human

**Civilian Identity:** Clerk

**Quote:** “Lori doesn’t even suspect that Chris and Carl Kelly are the same person…”

**History:**

Lt. Chris Kelly was an astronaut aboard a Gemini space capsule which was struck by an

radioactive meteor. The radiation killed his fellow astronaut, but Kelly survived re-entry to Earth

where he was critically ill with radiation sickness. Luckily, his body metamorphosed and instead of

dying he absorbed the radiation, transforming it into energy. Kelly became a human battery: the

ultimate human being!

Kelly, already famous as one of the original astronauts was now doubly so, his illness and

miraculous recovery having played out on the TV. The press was calling him the “ultimate human

being” and eventually Ultiman. Unfortunately, the radiation absorbed by Kelly’s body played

havoc with the delicate instruments in space capsules and even airplanes, and it appeared that

his military career was over.

President Kennedy was intrigued by this charismatic new superstar and tapped him as the

spokesman for the physical fitness program. The U.S. government was ecstatic to have a

superhuman on the payroll and gave him his own department and office at the Pentagon. General

Black was his liaison and Lori Lake became his personal secretary.

Kelly took on the job of helping mankind, refusing to be used as a military super weapon and

keeping to his word despite increasing pressure from succeeding Presidents. Ultiman’s very

existence spurred a new arms race, with all countries striving to develop their own super humans.

Ultiman ended up either fighting or banding together with many of these other super weapons. His

arch-enemy was the brilliant but evil Dexter Cortex who got even smarter by plugging his brain

directly into a computer. Cortex become as much machine as man, sending robot drone bodies

out to harass Ultiman.

Perhaps the most dangerous villain of all was Chris Kelly’s much younger brother Carl, who was

jealous of Chris’ powers and fame. Carl was in love with Lori Lake and always looking for a way to

make his famous brother look bad in front of her and the world. He eventually fell in with a criminal

crowd. After a stint in reform school, the now grown up Carl re-emerged looking nearly identical to

his brother. Working with Cortex, Carl finally found a way to steal his brother’s powers, only to

perish while saving the powerless Chris.

Being a full-time hero and celebrity grated on Chris Kelly. He created his Secret Citadel in an

extinct volcano as a place where he could get away from it all. After brother Carl’s death, Chris

assumed his brother’s identity and secured him a job on the payroll at the Pentagon, giving

himself a measure of peace and quiet. It also gave him an inside track to the criminal world,

where Carl was known as a shady character. Ultiman's main weakness is that his body burns the

atomic energy and must be periodically recharged by the Ultranium (ultra-uranium) meteor. Over

time, he had to expose himself to larger and larger doses, suffering from radiation poisoning in the

process until his body could adapt and absorb the energy. His powers have varied in intensity

thereafter, and if Ultiman exerts himself too much, he is in danger of exhausting them.

Tired of the radiation sickness and failing powers, Chris Kelly let the powers fade away in the

1980s and retired to a fantastic house in the Rocky Mountains with his new bride. It wasn’t Lori

Lake, but a TV reporter named Arlene Arliss. Now, he turned to using his army of robot doubles to

fight. The marriage eventually failed, Arlene not liking the solitary life and becoming fearful of the

radiation effects on her and their baby when Ultiman ended his retirement.

Ultiman rarely uses mechanical aids, though he does have a extraordinary items stored in his

Secret Citadel- including the “Mirror Gun” leading to Reverse-Earth created by Dexter Cortex, and

the Ultranium Meteor that gave him his powers, as well as the Atomic Chair seen in BB #3.

Ultiman also has a number of Robot Duplicates of himself. Some have all of his powers, some

specialize in just one or two. They are powered by ultranium and are quite powerful, but not as

powerful as Ultiman when he's powered up. The most powerful was the prototype, Number One.

**Powers and Abilities:**

Ultrastrength, invulnerability. ultraconstitution, ultrabreathing, ultrasenses, Fluoroscopic vision, laser vision and ultra-hearing. Able to fly, possesses ultraspeed, as well as a skilled inventor and astronaut.