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The Bionic Man is an American comic book series published by Dynamite Entertainment beginning in August 2011. The series adapts an unproduced 1998 screenplay for a Six Million Dollar Man feature film by Kevin Smith, who is best known for films such as Clerks. as well as writing for Spider-Man and many other comic book franchises.

The story is being presented in serialized form, and updates the adventures of Steve Austin to the 2010s.

In January 2012, Dynamite announced it would be launching The Bionic Woman, a comic book spin-off of this series.

By early 2014, Dynamite had ceased publishing The Bionic Man, replacing it in March 2014 by The Six Million Dollar Man Season Six, a continuation of the original TV series.

Press Release[]

Dynamite Entertainment is pleased to announce the latest legendary characters to join Dynamite's roster of incredible properties - The Bionic Man and The Bionic Woman! Licensed by NBC Universal Television Consumer Products Group, both characters became pop culture icons in the 1970's with their popular television programs! After last year's critically and commercially successful collaboration on the Green Hornet, Kevin Smith and Dynamite Entertainment are reuniting once again, with the creative team that brought the flagship Green Hornet series to fans; Phil Hester, Jonathan Lau, and Alex Ross on covers! The Bionic Man is based on the Universal Television Series “The Six Million Dollar Man.”

"True story: when I turned in a script for The Six Million Dollar Man back in '98, there was an exec who dismissed it as being more like a comic book than a movie," said acclaimed film director and writer Kevin Smith. "It's an honor to head back into the trenches with the same creative team at Dynamite that made my Green Hornet script so readable and fun. It makes me moist."

"I'm one of those kids who grew up with The Six Million Dollar Man toys all over my house," said cover artist Alex Ross. "I still prize them as one of the favorite parts of my youth for the amazing variety of things that Steve Austin could use or fight against. The Six Million Dollar Man is one of the coolest original superhero properties invented for television."

"When I heard about The Bionic Man, my initial thought was how to make him stand out from the rest of the cyborg genre, and that's where my style comes into play," said artist Jonathan Lau. "Hopefully this will be a fun ride showcasing a more extreme play of action than I used to do!"

"I'm thrilled to help bring Kevin's unique vision for Steve Austin and company," said Phil Hester. "Fans of the original will find all the classic elements they long for, while those hungry for new elements will get a healthy dose of bionic action for the 21st century."

"I grew up LOVING The Bionic Man," said Dynamite President and Publisher Nick Barrucci. "As a child I wanted to be him, but since that hasn't happened, the next best thing is publishing The Bionic Man. Dynamite will also be bringing The Bionic Woman to stores in 2012! Wait until you see what we have planned!"

The Bionic Man is based on the Universal Television Series “The Six Million Dollar Man.” The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic prosthetics working for the OSI. It aired on the ABC network as a regular series from 1974 to 1978, following three television movies aired in 1973. The title role of Steve Austin was played by Lee Majors, who subsequently became a pop culture icon of the 1970s. A spin-off of the show was produced, The Bionic Woman, as well as several television movies featuring both characters.

Story notes[]

Trivia[]

  • As part of the updated / re-imagined SMDM concept in Issue 5, Steve is briefed Mission Impossible style by a recorded voice & relevant information is shown on a tablet computer. It even ends with the speaker, presumably Oscar Goldman, saying "Good Luck, Steve."
  • Issue 11 shows Steve going home to see his parents & sister Karen. One panel shows Carl & Helen Austin, living in Ojai at Marsden Ranch, a call back to (The Bionic Woman (episode), The Bionic Woman (Part II)).
  • Issue 12 shows Steve wearing the red sweat suit he is seen with in the SMDM opening credits.
  • Presumably Steve weights quite a bit more than the average human, just as is mentioned in Caidin's books. When he does a bionic jump into the Patriot's camp, his landing point is broken up & forms depression in the ground. When he returns from the camp, he opts to run the rest of the way instead of spoiling the gas mileage of compact car, Jaime rented.
  • Steve destroys a tennis ball in issue 13

Bionic Abilities[]

  • Both Austin's eyes are bionic for "optimum binocular performance," & have similar capabilities that were shown used by Michael Austin & Kate Mason in the reunion movies, with a maximum range of three miles. The eyes can also scan & create a disguise, possibly in reference to the Mission Impossible TV series & films.
  • Both of Austin's arms are replaced, due to "weight displacement issues" & each is capable of "manipulating" 1 ton.
  • Steve now has a computer implanted in him with three Terabytes of memory, containing "million dollar apps," including translation software.

Cover Gallery[]

Click a cover for more information about the issue.

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