The Human Target
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The Human Target is an American comic book character created by Len Wein and Carmine Infantino: a unique private detective and bodyguard named Christopher Chance who operates by impersonating his clients in order to eliminate threats to his principal.
Chance's early appearances came in back-up stories in Action Comics, a title much better known for featuring Superman tales published by DC Comics. Later, the feature appeared in Batman titles such as The Brave and the Bold and Detective Comics. Christopher Chance recently starred in an ongoing Human Target series written by Peter Milligan and published under DC's Vertigo imprint.
Human Target has twice been adapted as a television series: once briefly in 1992, starring Rick Springfield, and one scheduled for 2010 starring Mark Valley.
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Introductions
Christopher Chance was introduced to audiences as the secondary star of DC Comics' Action Comics, where he served in assorted back-up features while the title's primary focus remained on the character of Superman. Chance would go on to appear an a variety of other DC productions, most notably (along with a slew of other DC gumshoes) in a special story, "The 'Too Many Crooks...' Caper", in the 500th issue of Detective Comics.
TV shows
A television pilot, starring former pop star Rick Springfield, was produced in 1990. Springfield starred as Chance, who was now a Vietnam vet as well as a P.I/bodyguard. In this version, for ten percent of a client's annual income ("whether you're a busboy or the king of England"), Chance would take the client's place and protect his or her life. Philo Marsden was an eccentric computer genius who helped Chance by designing high-tech masks, and Jeff Carlyle was the chauffeur, cook and pilot for Chance's mobile base of operations, the Blackwing (designed by Mike Kaluta). Lilly Page was an ex-CIA agent who helped coordinate Chance's missions. The show was created by Warner Brothers and Pet Fly Productions, producers of Viper and the Sentinel, but aired on ABC. Though produced in 1990, the show aired only briefly in 1992 (7 episodes aired in the summer of 1992 although the pilot itself was never aired). The version of the show which aired in 1992 had a slightly different cast from that of the unaired pilot episode. Guests stars included the late David Carradine who unleashed some of his Kung Fu moves on Springfield in the episode entitled "Second Chance."
In November 1991, prior to the show's debut, Chance appeared in his own book, a 48-page one-shot titled The Human Target Special #1, an ostensible tie-in to the television show (the cover advertised that it was "Coming soon to ABC-TV!"), in which Chance and his cohorts protected a DEA agent from harm. It was written by Mark Verheiden, with pencils by Rick Burchett and inks by Dick Giordano.
It was announced in February of 2009 that a new FOX television series was in the works starring Mark Valley, Jackie Earle Haley, and Chi McBride. In May 2009 it was confirmed that FOX has placed an episode order and it will be on their 2009-2010 schedule. A press release states that the series will deviate from the comics version in that Chance will assume nondescript cover identities that keep him close to the "target", rather than taking on the target's identity himself.
2010 TV Human Target
Cast
- Mark Valley as Christopher Chance
- Chi McBride as Winston
- Jackie Earle Haley as Guerrero
On May 18, 2009, Fox announced that Human Target would premiere midseason. Mark Valley plays a security guard hired to protect clients by integrating himself into their lives. The show is filmed in Vancouver, BC.
On July 25, 2009, Bear McCreary announced on his blog from ComicCon that he would be scoring Human Target. He noted that the epic pilot score had been recorded with a full orchestra.
Human Target (Vertigo)
The Vertigo series was based on the Human Target character created in 1972 by Len Wein and Carmine Infantino. The original Vertigo miniseries yielded an original graphic novel and later, an ongoing series.
Mini-series
Christopher Chance, alias the Human Target, was a back-up feature created for Superman's title Action Comics comics in the 1970s. In 1999, writer Peter Milligan and artist Edvin Biuković revived the character for the Vertigo imprint with a four-issue limited series. Human Target #1-4 saw Chance assaulted by an assassin, the end product of which was the loss of his face. While dealing with painful and lengthy reconstructive surgery, Chance uses his assistant, Tom McFadden, to impersonate him and draw out the assassin while protecting a Los Angeles reverend, which leaves all involved tormented both physically and mentally.
With the success of the limited series, Milligan returned to Christopher Chance in 2003 with the publication of an original graphic novel, Human Target: Final Cut, for which Milligan was joined by artist Javier Pulido. Chance, still reeling mentally from the aftermath of the previous limited series, works with a Hollywood family to save their missing celebrity son. Ultimately Chance fails in his mission, but adopts the guise of the boy's father, going so far as to have permanent reconstructive surgery to take on this, his final role. By doing so, Chance finds something he's never had before, a quiet life with a woman who loves him.
Chance returned in an ongoing series later in 2003, also published under the Vertigo imprint. The series was again written by Peter Milligan, and illustrated by Javier Pulido and Cliff Chiang.
With his deceptions following Final Cut discovered, Chance leaves behind Los Angeles to move to New York City, taking on a variety of jobs that test him physically and mentally, as he explores the psychological cost of becoming someone else. The series, which lasted 21 issues, closed with the three-part arc, "The Stealer," which features the return of Tom McFadden, who has decided only one identity will keep him sane -- that of Christopher Chance. The only problem is that the real Chance is in the way.
