Listen, Ellen, I've been doing some thinking over the last couple of months... about my Animal Man powers and stuff... and, well, I've come to a decision. I want to go full time into the super-hero business. 
Animal Man #1 is an issue of the series Animal Man (Volume 1) with a cover date of September, 1988.
Synopsis for "The Human Zoo"
Somewhere in San Diego, a mysterious figure calling himself the Beast seems to be in some kind of pain, and is searching for the source of the sound of screaming monkeys that he hears in his head.
Meanwhile, Buddy Baker, no longer content with operating as a "small-time" hero, strives to make his way into the big leagues. He begins practicing his powers by tapping into the physical characteristics of cats, birds, fish and spiders. To further promote himself, he makes an ill-advised guest appearance on the Dick Griffith Show. Griffith humiliates him on national television and Buddy decides to beef up his look by adding a leather jacket to his costume.
Elsewhere, in an alleyway, the Beast is attacked by a mugger, who he kills without hesitation, before finding his way to a S.T.A.R. Labs facility, the apparent source of the sound he had been tormented by.
Later, Buddy responds to an emergency at S.T.A.R. Labs. There, Doctor Myers - who had been working on a cure for the AIDS virus - tells him that he was actually hoping for Superman, but will settle for Animal Man regardless. He shows him one of the lab's animal testing facilities, which has been ransacked with broken cages and emptied medical containers all over the floor. All of the test monkeys have somehow been fused together into a gelatinous ball.
Appearing in "The Human Zoo"
Featured Characters:
- Template:Apn
Supporting Characters:
- Cliff Baker (First appearance)
- Ellen Baker
- Maxine Baker (First appearance)
- Roger Denning
Villains:
- None
Other Characters:
- Template:Apn
- Stevie Wonder (Cameo)
- Justice League International (Cameo)
- Dick Griffith
- Doctor Myers
- Lew
- Morris Weidemeir
- Ray
- Rufus the cat
- Skip the dog
- Tricia Denning
- Violet Weidemeir
Locations:
Items:
- None
Vehicles:
- None
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in Animal Man: Book One.
- Stevie Wonder and the members of Justice League International appear as photographs in a copy of Rolling Stone only.
- Roger Denning appears next in Animal Man #6.
Trivia
- This story takes place in the month of May.
- Buddy Baker is twenty-nine years old at the time of publication.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
- Animal Man series index at the Grand Comics Database
- Animal Man series index at Comicbookdb.com
- Animal Man article at Wikipedia
- Animal Man article at Toonopedia
- Animal Man article at Sequart
- Animal Man series index at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
- Animal Man profile at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
- B'Wana Beast profile at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe