Charles "Chuck" Brown, alias Kite Man, is a super villain in Gotham City that commits crimes by arming himself with kite weapons.
History
Charles "Chuck" Brown is a man who armed himself with kite weapons to be used to commit crimes. He flies with a big kite strapped to him. He also uses a barrage of kites to overwhelm his enemies. He ran afoul of Batman and Robin on different occasions.
Kite-Man first appeared in Dick Sprang-illustrated story in Batman #133 (Aug 1960). He possessed a variety of gimmicked kites, including a jet-powered hang glider that allowed for quick escapes,a mammoth kite that the Kite-Man used to shuttle criminals out of Gotham's prison,a "flash bulb" kite,and a trap net kite. Using kites of his own, Batman tracked down and captured the criminal after he rescued some crooks from prison. He next appeared in Batman #315 (Sept 1979); this time with a visor over his eyes, which he didn't have in the original story. After betraying some of his hired goons, Batman deafeated him again, flying his own bat-shaped kite.
He might have remained in obscurity but for the reprinting of that episode in 1975's Batman Family #3. Len Wein brought the villain back in Batman #315 (1979), this time setting Kite-Man's sights on a high-rise payroll heist. The more gimmicky kites were restricted to a fireworks display used as a distraction while Kite-Man primarily operated with a hang-glider.
Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Zatanna encountered him next, in Hawkman (second series) #4 (1986). In this story his real name was revealed: Charles Brown. It was also revealed that when he was a small boy, Charles Brown was fascinated with kites,thus causing him to adopt and use kites as part of his guise as a costumed villain.In his encounter with Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Zatanna, The Kite-Man's target was a treasure known as the Golden Eagle, but he was thwarted by the three heroes. Crash-landing into a tree, Kite-Man cried, "Rats!"
Kite-Man later made several cameos at a gangland bar, but otherwise was not featured again until later issues of the "Young Justice" storyline, living in the country of Zandia, a country populated entirely by super villains.
In Infinite Crisis, The Joker reported that Kite-Man was thrown off Wayne Tower without his kite by Deathstroke, after he firmly refused to join the Secret Society of Super Villains.
Kite-Man, however, survived his fall and reached some low rank in post-crisis Gotham City's underworld in the pages of 52. He is one of a few criminals, including Sewer King, Mirage, and Rawson, beaten to death by Intergang boss Bruno "Ugly" Mannheim when the villains refused to immediately submit to Intergang. Intergang proceeded to wipe Kite Man's name from the public records, as if he had never existed. This is during Intergang's continuing rise to power in Gotham City outlined in that series.
Gallery
- See: Kite Man/Gallery
In Other Media
- Kite Man appears in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Terror on Dinosaur Island." In a flashback, he equipped his gang with high-tech glider kites that allows them to commit crimes. Kite Man is stopped by Batman, and his former henchman Eel O'Brian (who Batman rescued after he fell into a vat of chemicals) testified against him in court, and was later arrested. Kite Man later appears in "Day of the Dark Knight" as an inmate trying to escape Iron Heights prison, but was foiled by Batman and Green Arrow. Kite Man also has a heroic counterpart in Earth-3, and joins a group of heroes in battling the Injustice Syndicate, but is defeated in "Deep Cover for Batman", and later imprisons Black Lightning while helping Owlman.
Kite-Man reappears in the episode "Legends of the Dark Mite." He, along with The Joker, Catwoman, The Riddler, Killer Moth, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, Mad Hatter, Penguin, Catman, and several other villains are shown briefly in Bat-Mite's imagination.
- A LEGO version of Kite-Man will appear in The Lego Batman Movie.