In a world where everyone has superpowers, the guy with absolutely nothing special becomes extraordinary. That's the brilliantly absurd premise of Normalman, a comic book character who crash-landed on a planet where he's the only person without abilities.

Created by Jim Valentino in 1983, Normalman first appeared as a four-page story in Cerebus #56 before getting his own 12-issue series. The setup is deliciously ironic: on the planet Arnold, a panicked junior CPA mistakenly calculated that their world would explode in eight hours. He built a rocket and launched his infant son into space to save him. Plot twist—Arnold didn't explode. His wife was understandably furious.

Twenty years later, that rocket crash-landed on Levram ("Marvel" spelled backwards—subtle, right?). Every single inhabitant of Levram has superpowers. Flight, super strength, telepathy, you name it. Everyone except the new arrival, who the locals dubbed "normalman."

The Ultimate Fish Out of Water

Imagine being the only person at a party who can't fly. That's normalman's entire existence. His name is intentionally lowercase to drive home just how unremarkable he is in this super-powered society. It's like naming someone "averageguy" and insisting it never gets capitalized.

What makes normalman fascinating is the inversion of the classic superhero origin story. Instead of a normal person gaining extraordinary abilities, he's an ordinary person stuck in a world where ordinary is the rarest thing imaginable. He's special precisely because he's not special.

A Superhero Parody Done Right

The series was essentially a love letter to—and roast of—the entire comic book industry. Valentino spoofed everything: DC, Marvel, EC Comics, Harvey Comics, The Spirit, Elfquest, Star Wars, even The Wizard of Oz. If it existed in geek culture, normalman probably made fun of it.

The comic ran from 1983 to 1989, published by Aardvark-Vanaheim and later Renegade Press. For decades it was a cult classic, the kind of thing comic book nerds would reference to prove their deep-cut knowledge. Then in 2024, Image Comics published a hardcover omnibus collecting the entire series in full color, introducing normalman to a new generation.

Why Normalman Still Resonates

There's something deeply relatable about a character who's surrounded by people who seem to have it all figured out while he's just... normal. In a media landscape obsessed with the next big power, the flashiest ability, the most extreme transformation, normalman is refreshingly human.

Key takeaway: Sometimes the most super thing about a character is that they're not super at all. Normalman proved you don't need powers to be a hero—just really good timing and a willingness to embrace your ordinariness in a world that demands extraordinary.

Related Tags