Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr. and Bob Wronski
Real Name: Michael Robert Bossman
Alias: Robert Edward Kowalski, Karate King, Boss
Current Occupation: Would be world conqueror
Parents: Edward (aka X-Man, presumed deceased) and Isabella Bossman (deceased)
Siblings: Joe and Jack Bossman (status unknown)
Spouse: Maureen (Hasser) Wrigley (ex-wife, deceased)
Children: Christopher Kowalski (aka Powerman II)
Group Affiliation: Interstellar Peace Organization, New Power Organization
Place of Birth: Worcester
Current Place of Residence: The new secret base of the New Power
First Appearance: Super Comics # 1 (November 1979)
Biography:
Michael grew up the oldest of three children raised by a single mother. Their father took off on them. What they didn't know was that their father was a top secret government agent code named X-Man, who worked for the National Heroes. He was last seen in Vietnam.
When Michael was 18, in 1969, one night he was witness to an alien about to shoot a strangely dressed human. He intervened and saved the human. It turned out that human wasn't so human. He was Krazel, a Kookoorongian member of the Interstellar Peace Organization. Michael's bravery in the face of encountering something extremely new to him impressed Krazel, who lobbied for the IPO to recruit Bossman, which they did.
Bossman became Krazel's partner, and the two were reassigned to the planet Hanguk. There, Michael fell in love with a native named Min-Hee, who gave birth to his child a few years later. They named the child Christopher.
Shortly after Chris' birth, an evil race of amazons called the Booers invaded Hanguk. Despite the best efforts of the IPO, they could not ward off the invasion. Michael tried to convince Min-Hee to come with him and Chris back to Earth, but she would not leave her home. She did insist that Michael take Robert to safety. Michael fled the warzone with his son, deserting his duties.
When he returned to Earth, to Worcester, he changed his name to Robert Kowalski as he feared the IPO tracking him down for desertion.
Shortly after his return to Earth, Michael/Robert met Maureen Hasser. The two quickly fell in love, and married. Maureen adopted Chris, and Chris was raised to think Maureen was his real mother. Neither Chris nor Maureen knew of Robert's real past or of Chris' alien heritage.
The family moved to Orange City, the better to avoid being found by moving from his home city. In fact, Michael cut ties with his real family before he joined the IPO, and they thought he might be dead.
Six years after Hanguk invaded Booer, there were rumors abounding about a super-hero called Super Bob in Orange City. Michael quickly surmised that his own son was Super-Bob, and upon confronting him, found out it was true. Micheal not only didn't forbid his son's activities, but he kept his secret and operated as his partner, the Karate King.
Michael operated as the Karate King for years. However, there were some things Chris/Super-Bob was not aware of. When a criminal was captured, Michael stole their money and drugs for himself. And at home, when Chris was not around, Michael was physically abusive of Maureen, something she kept from him.
In 1981, Michael tired of the secret life in Orange City, and returned to Worcester, where he began operating as an underworld figure known only as the Boss. As the Boss, Michael quickly became a powerful underworld figure, though many of his operations were often thwarted by the vigilante called the Unknown and private detective Peter Lebane.
While Michael was gaining a fortune in illegal funds, he began creating a "legitimate" business through those funds and by patenting technology that he had obtained during his time with the IPO.
He became a billionaire in just a few years, running Bossman Enterprises. While Bossman run his company, he used it to commit illegal activities of his own whim. Bossman himself lived on the top floor of Bossman Enterprises, which was located in the center of Orange City and was the tallest building. Bossman's apartment had a secret room that was a torture chamber where he would rape, torture, and murder women that he kidnapped.
Beginning in 1984, one of Bossman's projects was trying to get his son to work for him. By this time, Chris has changed his alter ego name to Powerkid, and was no longer an urban legend but was now public.
When Michael first revealed to Powerkid that he was his father, and tried to get him to join his empire, which Powerkid knew by this time may have evil motives, he flatly refused. After that, Micheal felt he could brainwash his son using alien technology. But to do that, he had to capture him. Michael then went about hiring villains, some already in Powerkid's rogues gallery and some were given powers or technology by Bossman, to capture his son. All failed.
After five years of this, Powerkid had had enough, and when he finally dug up enough damning evidence against his father, he apprehended him himself.
Michael Bossman was in prison for 18 years. Because of his money and the fact that he was a very scary evil killer, he was able to keep control of his company from the inside, though officially a proxy ran things in his absence. In 2007, Michael's legal team finally got his release, despite the fact her was in prison for several life sentences for murder, rape, theft, torture, kidnapping, false identity, ect.
Michael seemed to be reformed when he returned to society, and he tried to make amends with his family, which included a grandson, Connor, who he'd never met. Chris did not easily accept his father's supposed reformation. But the rest of the family was willing to take him at face value.
Michael resumed control of his company, and extended his good will by funding NighTforce, a team dedicated to taking down the New Power, and created a team called the Bad Guys, which consisted of reformed super-villains, like himself, all former enemies of Chris (whether when he was Super-Bob, Powerkid, or Powerman.)
However, this turned out to be all a ruse. The Bad Guys discovered that Michael Bossman was in fact a member of the inner council of the New Power Organization, the very organization the NighTforce was dedicated to stopping. In fact, he really funded the NighTforce to keep track of their activities, and created the Bad Guys not for the altruistic missions they were conducting, but in hopes of brainwashing them to do his bidding, which he failed to do.
Bossman went into hiding, where he plots for world domination as part of the inner circle of the New Power. However perhaps he wasn't all bad. As a clause that was kept secret until his evil was revealed, his company was left to his son and grandson. However, his son too was in hiding, for different reasons, and his grandson was a minor, and so Chris' half sister became president of the company, and Connor's mother became vice-president.
Comments:
The character of Michael Bossman is inspired by my father, and his stories are a reflection of my own personal feelings during the time.
At first, he was my hero, and then he left us, and became a villain in my mind. As I got older and learned how he used to treat my mom, he became a monster. Later, I came to have mixed feelings. People tell me he's a changed man. I'm not so sure. And thus, Michael's reformation and relapse into evil.
I should point out that my father may have been a vain, self-absorbed, and abusive man with a pot addiction, but he wasn't the monster Michael became in the comics. Michael was an exaggerated metaphor for my feelings, rather than a literal translation.
In fact, if you notice for creation credits, my father co-created the original version of the character. He came up with the idea for the Karate King as Super-Bob's partner.
My reasons for returning him to evil are partially because of my still mixed feelings about my father, but also as part of the larger drama that creates good stories, and it fits in with my concept that the inner circle of the New Power are all evil businessmen from various past and present Super Comics series.
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