Buddy Baker, or Animal Man, had powers bestowed upon him by aliens to be able to tap into any animal and gain its abilities. While at first, this was limited to nearby animals, soon Buddy Baker learned how to tap into the larger network of animals, into something called The Red. Much like the Green for Swamp Thing, the Red is like an index and interconnected network of all animals in the world and the universe as well. Through this, Buddy is able to use the abilities of not only animals that are nowhere in his vicinity, but also animals he may have never had contact with. However there have been numerous times where his connectedness to the Red has either rendered bad situations or problems in his ability to connect to this.Buddy is a family man. One of the things that have been unique about his stories has been his connection to family. Buddy has a wife and two young kids. Throughout the years, and even in his first stories, he has been relentlessly devoted to them, which is impressive considering the Amazonian like superwomen he often shares ranks with. His children have run up against the superhuman community as well, and writer Jeff Lemire promises no changes from past habits with that regard. Animal Man is about the superhero struggle and how that affects and envelops the family.
