Of every superhero out there,Batmantends to come to mind when thinking of those with the saddest backstories, butDog Manmight have an even more tragic origin than the Dark Knight. He may lack the perceived edginess of Bruce Wayne’s vigilante alter ego, yet the story of how an unassuming dog became the hero Dog Man is haunting enough to put Batman to shame.
Dog Man was created by Dav Pilkey and first appeared inCaptain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousersas a character invented by George and Harold in their younger years. Then, he made his official debut in 2016’sDog Man, which kicked off a franchise that has gone on to become themost popular children’s book seriesglobally.
WhileDog Manis geared towards a child demographic, there are themes at play in the titular hero’s backstory that are seriously unnerving.Thankfully, this aspect tends to go over kids' heads, but older readers will pick up on the eerie implications of Dog Man’s lore.
Dog Man’s Backstory Is One of the Most Horrifying of Any Superhero
Sorry, Batman, But Dog Man’s Origin Is Even Darker Than Yours
In the firstDog Mangraphic novel, George and Harold explain how their superhero came to be. A cop named Officer Knight and his dog, Greg, fight crime together and earn the ire of Petey the Cat. to get rid of them so he can enact his villainous schemes freely, Petey attempts to blow them up with a bomb. Officer Knight and Greg are caught in the explosion, but they manage to survive. However, Greg’s body is severely injured beyond salvaging, as is his owner’s head.The surgeons solve this problem by sewing Greg’s head onto the officer’s body, thus creating Dog Man.
Look Out, Superman - Dog Man Might Be the World’s Most Successful Superhero, As New Book Is #1 Worldwide
Superman may be one of the greatest superheroes of all time, but Dog Man is the greatest hero right now, and it’s unlikely he’ll lose that title soon.
Although Dog Man seems unaffected by this turn of events, his fate can be disturbing to readers upon further reflection. Essentially,a dog is trapped on his owner’s dead body, enacting heroic deeds while forever tethered to the corpse of his closest friend.Batman watching his parents get murderedis undoubtedly dark, but at least his head isn’t attached to their bodies. Granted, this story is told from the perspective ofCaptain Underpants' George and Harold, so the frightening implications aren’t explored as a result of that childlike lens. Still, it can’t be denied that Dog Man’s origin story is an unsettling one.
Dog Man’s Villain Has a Tragic Backstory As Well, Mirroring Batman’s
Despite Being a Kids' Story, Dog Man and Friends Have Heavy Histories
Aside from Dog Man’s unexpectedly chilling backstory, there are other examples of the series touching on complex narrative threads that most stories targeted towards children would veer away from.Petey the Cat’s past, for instance, is similarly heartbreaking - albeit in a different way than Dog Man’s.His father, referred to as Grampa, abuses him throughout his childhood until his mother takes him and flees to a shelter. Petey eventually loses his mother, just as Batman does, but in his loneliness he ends up turning to villainy rather than heroism. For a story as lighthearted asDog Man, the characters' origin stories are shockingly bleak.
