Sergeant Police Pat Barr is killed while trying to stop some gangster. His mother, the wife of the late Sergeant Barr, having died years before, Jim Barr, their son, is left orphan.
Jim vows to follow the steps of his father, and becomes a scientist... but with advantages and disadvantages. His studies left him frail, and so, he isn't accepted as a policeman, but becomes a brilliant criminologist, although a very ignored one.
Using his knowledge on chemistry, Jim decides to create an 'anti-criminal' serum, since he thinks that this new substance, will allow the 'bad' people, to suppress their dark side and become good. At last, when he considers this drug to be done, he drinks it and goes to sleep.
The next morning, Jim Barr has changed. From being of five eight feet to six four, has gained 60 pounds of pure muscle, thus, gaining extraordinary strenght, and his brain has been enhanced.
With this new extraordinary abilities, Jim decides to create a costume to 'terrorize' criminals, and constructs the Gravity Regulator Helmet that enables him to fly and deflect the bullets that even your own helmet attracts.
Bulletman helps during his first years to combat crime. He even helps the famous Spy Smasher into getting him back to his senses after he looses his mind during a time.
One year later, Bulletman is joined in his battle against evil by his girlfriend, Susan Kent, the daughter of a police sergeant, who, more or less, discovers the true identity behind the heroic Bulletman, and she insists to be the sidekick of the Flying Detective.
Jim Barr then, invents an smaller helmet, that gives her the ability to fly and bounce off the bullets, donning a very much alike costume as the one Bulletman uses, but without the powers Bulletman has.
Both heroes formed part of the Squadron of Justice and the Crime Crusaders Club.
During some time around 1944, a friend of them, joined them as Bulletboy and their pet, Bulletdog, a dog that flies courtesy of an anti-gravity collar.
The crimefighting couple, first appeared in Nickel Comics # 1 in 1940 and is one of the many heroes that took a drug to obtain his incredible abilities, such as Captain America and Hourman.
In post-Crisis continuity, it has been revealed that Jim Barr enjoys of a little celebrity-like fame in Fawcett City. He is now a widower, since Susan has died some years ago, but both of them have a baby daughter, who by the time the series of The Power of Shazam! was published, is far from being a little girl. Bulletman even aids the Marvel Family, the wizard Shazam and Ibis the Invincible, in a terrible battle at the Rock of Eternity.
Deana Barr, daughter of Bulletman and Bulletgirl, who is an airforce test pilot, she disspapears along with a secret jet, Jim approachs Billy asking him to try to find his daughter and clear her name, since she's the main suspect in this stealing.
After a search, Captain Marvel finds Deanna piloting the device and trying to sell it to some traitors, both have a brief aerial battle that finishes with the World's Mightiest Mortal calling down the magic lightning, but it is revealed that all was a plan into discovering who were the traitors to the Air Force, so Deanna is innocent. Cap apologizes for almost ruining the mission. Deanna and Captain Marvel then discover a mutual attraction and begin to date.
But their relation do not goes very far, when one day, Billy is kidnapped by some thughs, thanks to the power of Shazam and the timely intervention of Gangbuster, Billy is freed, and discovers, that the responsible of all of this, is Jim Barr who is not very happy seeing Billy dating his daughter. Billy is dissappointed when he finds this, and this problem almost represent an obstacle in his next mission.
A purpotedly never seen film from the World War II revealing Bulletman as a traitor to the Nazis is projected, the people wants to punish the World War II hero. Things worsen before get better, when Bulletman do not wants to state anything about those times, people begins to ask for Jim's head.
But the reason behind Bulletman's silence, is loyalty to his country, since he was then on a secret mission. Captain Marvel is asked to bring Bulletman to justice, and Starman, the first one, I mean, being friend of Bulletman, ask his son to stop as much as he can to the World's Mightiest Mortal. Their intention, trying to get permission of Minuteman, who works for the government, so he could clear his name.
Both young heroes battle, but even though, Captain Marvel tries to calm down, and talk with Starman, trying to make him understand that Bulletman must go to the justice, to clear the charges, or to face the fair trial (although Billy isn't very objective by this moments, in light of the recent events).
Once more, Starman and Captain Marvel are going to battle between them, when Mary Marvel joins the fight, but telling them that it has been discovered that the film is a fake. Finally, Bulletman decides to talk, specially, since Minuteman isn't available anymore to help him. A German actor, who incidentally is a shape shifter and impersonated Bulletman in the video, declares the innocence of Bulletman, just moments before being shot by another Neo-Nazi.
By the end of the series, it was revealed another secret story of Bulletman and Minuteman, who retrieved a secret armor, the secret armor that Mr. Mind used against the Marvel Family in the Monster Society of Evil.
Ever since, we must assume, that Jim Barr lives at Fawcett City. This was one of the former Fawcett's characters most frequently used after the new series of POS! began.
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