King Faraday is a fictional secret agent featured in DC Comics. Faraday first appeared in Danger Trail #1, and was created by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino. Faraday's last appearance in the 1950s was in World's Finest Comics #64. He was picked up again after more than twenty-five years, in Batman #313.
He was named "King" by his father as a joke, a play on the phrase "King for a day". An ex-soldier, he took a position as a counter-espionage agent for the U.S. government and engaged in a variety of standard spy-type capers. Some of his Danger Trail adventures were reprinted in Showcase #50 under the title "I-Spy". Faraday has since been incorporated full-bore into the DC Universe as a member of the Central Bureau of Intelligence. At one point, he was Nightshade's mentor. In fact, he had a hand in both her and Bronze Tiger being recruited into Task Force X. He has also teamed up with Batman a few times. On two of the occasions he has helped Batman in the capture of Two-Face. One Year Later, he is a member of Checkmate, serving as the Bishop for White Queen Amanda Waller. Faraday is part of . He is working with Grifter to investigate alien and cross-dimensional spies on Earth.
Skills and abilities
Faraday possessed no superhuman abilities but was a trained espionage agent and an expert hand-to-hand fighter and marksman.
Other versions
New Frontier
Faraday plays a prominent role in the alternate universe series . He leads an effort to contain and corral the large amount of super-powered entities appearing. He uses various illegal methods, such as laying a trap for Barry Allen, even though he has not committed any crimes. Despite all this, he forms a friendship with the Martian Manhunter. He is killed in the last issue of the series while defending his friend from a psychic attack.
Smallville
King Faraday appears in Smallville Season 11, based on the TV series. Faraday is a Checkmate agent who looks after a female White Martian, and raises her as a daughter, naming her Megan Morse. After Zod's attack on the Castle during Season 9 episode "Sacrifice", she and Faraday stay locked inside the facility. Faraday ends up dying, and Megan escapes. His last transmissions were later found by Batman and Martian Manhunter in the remains of the Castle.
Tangent
King Faraday appears in the 1997 Tangent ComicsOne ShotGreen Lantern. In this depiction he is a Moldavian exile who is fascinated by mysteries and has his own magazine "King Faraday Digest" based around his investigations and published by "The House Of Mystery" which was managed by Roy Raymond and originally owned by Alfred Pennyworth, until Pennyworth was bought out by "Ralph Digby" an obvious play on the Elongated ManRalph Dibny. In his appearance in Tangent Comics he is resurrected from the grave by the Green Lantern after his death during a plane malfunction. He is resurrected with the intention of completing his last mystery so he can return to the afterlife in peace.
In other media
Television
King Faraday appears in Justice League Unlimited, voiced by Scott Patterson. His first appearance was in the episode "Double Date", in which he was a federal agent assigned to guard Steven Mandragora, but he escaped. It was established in the 3rd season opener "I Am Legion" that he was appointed as the Justice League's official liaison with the U.S. government. In the episode "To Another Shore", he and a group of government agents wearing jet packs appear in a scene, helping Wonder Woman in a fight against members of the Secret Society. One point of interest in the scene is when he refers to his fellow agents as "goldbrickin' yahoos", a catchphrase more associated with Nick Fury, a Marvel Comics character Faraday preceded.
King Faraday appears in the Young Justice episode "Performance", voiced by Clancy Brown. He is shown as an Interpol agent investigating Jack Haly's Circus where everyplace that they had visited has had their tech robbed. King Faraday later arrives in Geneva with his fellow agents to arrest Parasite and places an inhibitor collar on him.
Film
King Faraday appears in , voiced by Phil Morris. In the film, Faraday is a Federal Agent who initially is against super powered beings who are not affiliated with the government. He and others agents take custody of a government rocket scientist that fled to Gotham. He later oversees the classified Mars mission and after noticing J’onn Jon’z attempting to board the rocket and attempts to apprehend the alien. J’onn ends up saving Faraday from being incinerated after knocking him unconscious. This act changes Faraday’s view of him and the two become friends. Faraday and J’onn soon arrive at an air force base to stop a standoff between US Soldiers and Heroes attempting to assist. Agreeing with Superman that the fear and paranoia between both sides must come to an end, Faraday shakes hands with Superman to end the hostilities. He later leads the ground forces against the Centre’s dinosaur army. Faraday is gravely wounded by a T-Rex while protecting J’onn from a psychic attack by the Centre. Unable to escape from the T-Rex, Faraday ignites two grenades before being swallowed whole by the dinosaur, killing them both.
