Everyone around the world let out a collective gasp on April 21, 2016, when the news hit that Prince Rogers Nelson had died at the age of 57. The man was an enigma — a musical genius, a style icon, and, it turns out, a legend of the comic book cameo. That’s right; Prince didn’t just break musical boundaries.
During the ’80s and the early ’90s, there were very few artists bigger than Prince. He had his own hit movie, Purple Rain, and a number of hit records under his belt. With the purple fandom continuing to grow, it only made sense that His Royal Badness got his very own comic book, too. And so, Alter Ego and Three Chains of Gold were born. We remember that time Prince became a comic book superhero!
Alter Ego
Release Dates: 1991
Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Pencils: Denys Cowan
Covers: Brian Bolland
Story: It’s a fantasy epic in which Prince is locked in mortal combat with a man from his past who can turn music into the greatest destructive force the world has ever seen.
Released by DC Comics, writer Dwayne McDuffie and penciler Denys Cowan sought to reimagine the purple-wearing musician as Batman. Yes, Batman! Take Purple Rain and mash it with Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, and you’ve basically got Alter Ego.
Basically, the plot for Alter Ego involves Prince’s evil twin, Gemini (who has recently escaped from an asylum — kinda like The Joker), returning to Minnesota and causing all sorts of chaos – also, he steals Prince’s girlfriend. His music is powered by hatred, and so Prince is forced to stop him before things get out of control.
Of course, there is a rock-off, and we also get to see The Artist doing a few kung-fu moves on gang members. The comic compares him to Batman about four times. Why? Probably because The Artist has been a fan of The Dark Knight for some time, including working on the soundtrack for Tim Burton’s Batman.
Prince and the New Power Generation: Three Chains Of Gold
Release Date: 1994
Pencils: David Williams, Steve Carr and Joe Rubinstein
Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Covers: Steven Parke
Three Chains of Gold is even weirder. It involves a chain, Princess Mayte, and a king from the Middle East. The prince must help the princess collect all the chains so that she can rule her country.
When it comes down to it, Prince could do just about anything he wanted to do – film, TV, books, music, and even comics. Pity that these got such a short run.
Prince Loved Comics
Before the two great comic books mentioned above, in 1987, he took a jump into the Marvel Universe, giving us a moment that’s nearly as iconic as the music he made. In Captain America #327, the Super-Patriot was being a real problem, but it wasn’t just Cap who had our eyes on him. No, in the midst of all this action was Prince, doing his best to be seen.
The artist known as Prince was always about more than just the music. He made it very clear that it was cool to embrace our weirdness, to be unapologetically ourselves. His fashion? Legendary. His tunes? Timeless! His influence? Unmatched! The man made individuality a thing to aspire to, and in doing so, changed our very expression on so many levels!
Therefore, if you possess Captain America #327 or any other issues from that era, it would be wise to no longer let them gather dust. Instead, let us lift a glass — or perhaps a microphone — in tribute to the character who has undergone such a monumental transformation: Prince.
Tell us, would you like to see more comic books with Prince as a superhero?
