ELDERLY MAN

Real Name: Willy Watson 

Identity/Class: Human magic user

Occupation: Newsboy 

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: None 

Enemies: Unrevealed 

Known Relatives: None 

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed 

First Appearance: Crazy Magazine#71 (February, 1981)

Powers/Abilities: Apart from his ability to transform between teenager Willy Watson and the adult (very adult) Elderly Man, he possesses no other powers, though he is capable of remembering how much better things used to be in the good old days, and grumbling incessantly about it.

History: (Crazy Magazine#71) - Young newsboy Willy Watson was given a special power by an ancient wizard: By saying the magic word "Jerital" a bolt of lightning would strike him, transforming him into Elderly Man (granted, this wasn't a particularly useful power). In his transformed state he could recall when a dollar was worth a dollar, walking sixteen miles to school each day, and when Orson Welles was thin. The only thing he had trouble remembering was his magic word, so that he could transform back. What was it again? Geronimo? Geranium? Jericho? Gerbil? Jezebel? 

Comments: Created by Paul Kirchner.

A pastiche of Fawcett's Captain Marvel / Billy Batson, Elderly Man was one of several heroes to appear in a four page feature in Crazy#71, titled "Marvel Heroes Who Didn't Quite Make It." A follow-up feature in Crazy #78 introduced several more of these guys. It's almost certainly a sign of my increasing insanity, but I'd personally love to see them all get introduced into the Marvel universe proper, possibly taking on the heroes who "didn't make the cut" from Marvel Year in Review '93, the Hostess villains, Crazy and Not Brand Ecch's regular characters (Obnoxio, Forbush Man, Behemoth Jack, Teen Hulk, Aunty Nuke, etc.), and all the other "fringeworthy" characters (such as Cougar or Puzzle Man). It's not like some of them haven't already made it into 616 (Phone Ranger, Lectronn, etc), and these guys are no more bizarre than many of the others who preceded them into 616 canon.

What might be of interest to note is that "Jerital", the magic word Willy Watson uses to transform into Elderly Man, is a thinly veiled (for legal reasons) reference to Geritol, a brand of vitamin supplements popular among the elderly because it was supposed to help combat fatigue.
--Norvo

Profile by Loki.






CLARIFICATIONS:
Elderly Man has no known connections to

images: Crazy Magazine#71, p21, pan4 (main)
Crazy Magazine#71, p21, pan2-3 (Willy Watson and his transformation process)

Other Appearances:
None

Last updated: 03/19/14

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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