History: (Kamandi #10 (fb), 1) - In the aftermath of the nuclear Great Disaster most of humanity perished, and the majority of survivors devolved into feral savages, while animals evolved intelligence. Ben Boxer was from a group of mutants who retained normal intelligence and were a natural atomic pile. They were born with their powers after a series of experiments by Hiram Boxer and the Planners, who hoped their offspring could survive in the new world. He was discovered by Dr. Canus, a scientist who served the Tiger Empire, and Canus constructed a suit that dampened and controlled his radiation emissions as well as a protective covering for his cyclo-heart, an organ on his chest that served as an atom-smasher. Ben was lonely without human conversation, but that ended when Canus introduced him to Kamandi, who was raised in a bunker in the aftermath of the Great Disaster and also had normal intelligence. Kamandi was ready to die rather than live in the AD world, but a brief talk with Boxer changed his mind.

(Kamandi #2) - Canus brought Kamandi and Ben to the GWB, where Rat-Men were raiding a dirigible that belonged to Ben's people. Canus passed along the information he'd gathered from the Tiger-Men, who frequently clashed with the rats. Tiger soldiers were not keen on seeing two humans running loose, even with Canus' privlaged status, and tried to bring Ben and Kamandi to the kennels. Ben fought back, turning into his steel form, and quickly scattered the soldiers. Canus told them that reinforcements would arrive soon, and urged them to leave because he could no longer protect them. Ben took Kamandi to the mini-sub he used to travel in and out of the Empire through the Hudson River. They followed a series of underground tunnels to a central lair of the Rat-Men, but were quickly captured and placed in an electrified cage. Ben was hoping they'd end up with the other members of his people that had been captured. When the Rat-Men brought them to Renzi and Steve, Ben transformed and freed his friends. They escaped the rat tunnels, and the Rat-Men decided to stop pursuing them because they didn't want to waste ammo. Reclaiming the dirigible, Ben prepared to return to his home; Tracking Site. Kamandi joined Ben, knowing it would be a better situation for him than being lost among wild humans and brutal beasts.

(Kamandi #3) - Boxer and his friends landed in Nevada, a site that legend said was instrumental to the creation of their people. Kamandi volunteered to scout ahead, but ran afoul of Gorilla-Men and was captured. Boxer and Renzi explored the Diggins, the underground chambers that housed the remains of NASA's Apollo 20 project. They encountered the Rock-Buster, an alien brought back from the moon as an egg, and it instinctively attacked them. They chased each other through the tunnels when they met up with Kamandi, who was fleeing his gorilla captor Chaaku. Chaaku and the Rock-Buster engaged in mortal combat, resulting in both their deaths as the underground tunnels collapsed around them. Ben was upset that the history of his people was now destroyed, but he told Kamandi his destiny would go on.

(Kamandi #8) - Ben Boxer, Renzi and Steve made their escape from captivity during a conflict between the Tiger-Men and Gorilla-Men. Assuming Kamandi dead they continued on their mission, exploring the Atomiktest site in Washington, built by their ancestors. They ran into Kamandi, who was being abducted by Bear-Men looters, and saved him. They were headed nonstop back to their home of Tracking Site, and Kamandi was eager to join them.

(Kamandi #9, 10) - Kamandi and friends reached Tracking Site in Central America, a globe floating above Earth's surface. Bat-Men attacked them, but were repelled by Tracking Site's sonic laseron. The Serviteks, created to serve the mutants, greeted them, and they replayed the rituals of their astronaut ancestors, from being ferried to an artificial air carrier to being saluted by a crowd of Serviteks. Ben, Renzi and Steve fed cartridges in their suits containing info from their survey into the NASA Mind computer, telling Kamandi that once the NASA Mind had enough information it would have a clear picture of Earth after the Great Disaster. Serviteks ambushed them, and paralyzed Ben, Renzi and Steve with a para-shock ray. Their fellow mutant Misfit, who suffered from severe deformities, had reprogrammed the Serviteks using mind control, and intended to practice his powers on his fellow mutants. The Serviteks restrained Kamandi and Misfit showed him his batch of Morticoccus, the deadliest bacteria known to man. It had wiped out all the non-mutant members of Tracking Site, and he planned to use it to control the fate of Earth. Kamandi shoved Misfit into Tracking Site's electric control, disabling him, but also the laseron. The Bat-Men were free to attack Tracking Site, and Misfit revived Ben and the other mutants, telling them that if the Bat-Men damaged the Morticoccus container it would mean the end of life on Earth. Misfit was mauled by the Bats, and Kamandi took him to safety, placing him behind a steel door. Thousands of Bats poured in, despite Ben and the mutants best try at fighting them off, and they decided Tracking Site had to be abandoned. They realized Misfit was in the same room as the Morticoccus, and he was once again in control. He allowed only Kamandi in the room before shutting the door with his telekinesis, and bragged that when Morticoccus was released only he and his fellow mutants would inherit the Earth. He showed Kamandi a film of Morticoccus ravaging the humans from Tracking Site, infecting and killing Ben's father Hiram. Ben used a shaft beneath the room to rescue Kamandi, and they proceeded to activate the Site's magnetic-repulsion engine, sending it into space as they escaped on a hover-jet. Morticoccus escaped its' prison, killing Misfit and the Bats, but it was destined to starve in space with no more life to infect.

(Kamandi #11) - The hoverjet's engine caught on fire, and Kamandi and his allies were forced to jump off, landing in the Atlantic. Kamandi was separated from Ben, Steve and Renzi, being picked up by a Leopard-Men pirate vessel.

(Kamandi #22, 23) - Boxer, Steve and Renzi met the civilized dolphins of Seaway and went to work for them as a Radiation Rescue Squad, saving those who'd gotten to close to the radioactive Barrier that separated the former US from Canada and served to keep out the Devils, giant mutant insects that lived in the north. The mutants destroyed a Devil that made its' way past the barrier, and saved Kamandi, dolphin Inspector Zeel and his squire Ahab, who'd wandered too close to the Barrier. They were thrilled to see their own friend, and made their way back to Seaway. Kamandi, Zeel and Ahab were placed in a decontamination unit to remove excess radiation, and when they recovered the mutants gave Kamandi a tour of the dolphin's peaceful utopia. The killer whales warred with them, and Zeel discovered the base of their main raider, a human named Red Baron, in Monster Lake. Ben showed Kamandi the squires' quarters, where humans were trained as warriors and assigned to a dolphin. Dolphin Teela had a crush on Kamandi, and received a permit to make him her squire, but he bristled at the idea of being a servant. Teela told him humans were partners, not slaves, but as she talked Red Baron attacked, killing her with a speargun and blowing up one of the squire quarters. Ben and the others prepared to fight back, and Kamandi demanded to join them to avenge Teela. Kamandi went on a ski-team patrol, strapping on water-skis and being led by two dolphins in search of raiders. He found the Red Baron, who killed Kamandi's two dolphins and nearly drowned him before Ben, Steve and Renzi saved him. Kamandi wanted another crack at him, saying he hated men like Red Baron who made war a way of life. The Baron ambushed another ski-patrol, killing a number of humans, including Ahab. Zeel was heartbroken when Kamandi broke the news to him, having become inseparable from his squire. Ben, Steve and Renzi decided to go after the Baron themselves, changing into their metal forms. Kamandi joined them, and they soon found the Baron. During the fight Ben leapt on the Baron and his supply of explosives detonated. The Baron was dead, but Kamandi could find no trace of his friends. The Red Baron's killer whale master found him dead and sunk Kamandi's ship, preparing to kill him for destroying his perfect murder machine. Kamandi told him the Baron's death was his fault for engaging in meaningless brutal war, and the stunned whale swam off.

(Kamandi #25) - Ben Boxer, Steve and Renzi walked onto shore, having walked the entire sea bottom in their organic steel form until they walked onto land, where they were reunited with Kamandi. Kamandi had washed ashore on the small island that formerly housed the Reim Institute, a government outpost. He’d met ape Flim-Flam and his trained humans. Flim-Flam and his companions hid until Kamandi assured them his mutant friends were no threat. Flim-Flam mentioned that he had a popular traveling show with Dukei, Lukie and Jukie performing acrobatic tricks and a juggling act, Flim -Flam said if Kamandi and his mutant friends joined his act people would call him Flim-Flam the Great, but everyone was insulted by the offer. A giant mutant sea creature attacked them, before being dragged under the sea by an equally gigantic rival mutant. Kamandi and his friends knew they had to get off the island fast, and searched the Reim Institute grounds until they found a hovercraft. After saving the vessel from a mutant eel they set set course away from the island. The engine gave out just as they were confronted by flying sharks that battered the hovercraft. Kamandi managed to fight them off long enough for Ben Boxer to get the engine running again, and they soon spotted land protected by a great wall.

(Kamandi #26-28) - Kamandi and friends tried to figure out how to scale the vast walls, and fell in luck with a giant mutant eagle. Ben Boxer and a more reluctant Kamandi agreed they’d use the eagle to fly up the wall, and hoped to reunite with their friends later. Flim-Flam, his men and Renzi and Steve said their goodbyes as Ben and Kamandi flew into the Dominion of the Devils. They found a gorgeous, yet twisted rainforest inhabited with giant insects and mutated vegetation. A helicopter fired down on them, and  Ben turned into his steel form, downing the helicopter with a thrown log. Leopard-Men scrambled out of the crashed copter, which was marked with the Sacker’s Company logo, and Kamandi realized Sacker must have sent them to despoil and loot the rainforest. Kamandi confiscated their guns, but everyone had to flee when someone stampeded insects towards them. Ben Boxer was trampled by a herd of giant grasshoppers, but was unharmed, and Kamandi shed a tear remembering his friend Kliklak. They spotted more Leopard-Men riding a thresher, mowing down the forest and spraying it with defoliant. Sacker had ordered the Leopard-Men to clear the forest to build a processing plant, and Kamandi badly wanted to shoot them, but Ben held him back. They ran into Captain Pypar, a bulldog, and his bayonet wielding servant, an ant named Aborigine. Pypar was a member of the Horse Marines, and was in conflict with the Leopard-Men because they’d violated their Atlantic Testament. He volunteered Kamandi and Ben Boxer as the latest recruits into the Marines, and gave them their marching orders, leading them to Aborigine’s ant-hill. Aborigine used his “look-see” power to locate Leopard-Men outside the ant-hill, so Pypar set dynamite and told his troops to march away from danger. Kamandi said they should be running, but Pypar replied that there was no breaking of ranks in his army. Outside the ant-hill they found the surviving Leopard-Men, who were occupying a well-armed citadel, running to find the source of the explosion. Pypar discovered their vast weapons cache, but some Leopard-Men guards caught them. Kamandi, Ben and Pypar were saved when Aborigine burrowed under the guards, causing a cave-in that swallowed them. Kamandi panicked, saying they were trapped, but Pypar had Aborigine use his “look-see” power to transmit images of the Brittaneks, bulldog members of the Horse Marines, riding to the rescue. They snuck through the citadel, observing more Leopard-Men gassing giant insects and processing their corpses in a power plant. Kamandi was disgusted to see a virtual Eden ruined, but Captain Pypar reminded him the cavalry was on the way, and pointed to the Brittaneks arriving. Other armies arrived and Pypar met with his commanding officer in the Brittaneks. Kamandi kept piping up, which was not appreciated by the CO, so Pypar sent him and Ben away. Kamandi and Ben explored the newly set-up army barracks, with Kamandi wishing they could extricate themselves. Aborigine’s presence annoyed Kamandi, who compared him to Gunga Din. In the barracks Kamandi red up on the Brittaneks, Germaneks, Napoleoneks, Garibaldeks, Spandars, Greks, and Torks, who formed the Band of Brothers or Nations of the Atlantic Testament Orders. They were divided by animal species, with each army having modeled themselves on a different pre-Disaster national army, and Kamandi realized they’d drawn their inspiration from a garbled version of world history. NATO laid claim to the Dominion of the Devils, and put it under their protection, explaining their conflict with Sacker’s Company. Pypar kicked them out of the barracks for snooping, and Kamandi got increasingly frustrated, saying the Great Disaster changed nothing, and that animals had adopted all the bad behaviors of man. Ben and Kamandi admired the parts of the rain forest not ruined by the Leopard-Men when they spied the Leopard-Men building up their defenses in preparation for war with NATO. Ben started ripping up their artillery, and he told Kamandi to flee. NATO approached, but were being butchered by the Leopard-Men. Unable to watch anymore senseless carnage, Kamandi stole a Leopard Man’s gun and aimed it at their ammo, acting like the animal they all thought of him as, and threatening to blow it sky-high. The panicked Leopard-Men broke ranks, and Captain Pypar chided Kamandi for not following command, but commended him for leaving the Leopard-Men vulnerable. NATO rode on the fleeing Leopard-Men, gaining the advantage. Ben and Kamandi were pleased with themselves, but decided to walk away from the whole mess.

 (Kamandi #29) - Kamandi and Ben found a stone relief depicting the story of the Mighty One, Kla-Kent, who used his superhuman powers to fly into the Earth during a fiery eruption, dragging boulders to the surface to form a new continent, but perishing during the task. Kamandi recognized the Might One from his study of history as Superman. The Mighty One’s worshippers, a cult of Gorilla-Men, were watching Ben and Kamandi, and their elder, seeing Ben’s strange costume, proclaimed that he was the Might One reborn. Cultist Zuma had long claimed to be the reincarnation of the Mighty One and was furious at the thought of being usurped, and attacked. The elder broke up the battle and told Ben he’d have to go to the proving grounds of Nashnil to demonstrate he was the one they worshipped. Ben was not interested in being a messiah, but Kamandi convinced him it was in their best interest to play along. According to prophecy the Mighty One could leap higher than the tallest building, and the elder had them watch a claimant hop onto a catapult and get flung into the air. The elder admitted he was most likely dead, as were all those who had tried in the past to prove they were the messiah. Ben refused to get on the catapult, but Kamandi told him to show them his “secret identity,” and he pressed his cyclo-heart to turn into organic steel. The elder was astonished, but Zuma claimed it was a trick, challenging him to the feat of strength, moving the Daily Planet, a giant boulder. Zuma strained until he was nearly unconscious, but Ben used his foot to smash a hollow beneath the boulder, making it unstable enough for him to push. Most of the Gorilla-Men tribe were convinced he was their savior, but there were a few doubters, so the elder demanded a final test. Zuma helped set up the test, hoping it would kill Ben. The elder said he had to prove he was faster than a speeding bullet, and Zuma shot him repeatedly with a Gatling gun. Ben’s steel body was unscathed, and the elder proclaimed he’d dodged the bullets even though Zuma protested he’d been hit by all of them. The elder led Ben and Kamandi to their catacombs, which led to an active volcano where Superman’s suit was kept until he came to reclaim it. Zuma couldn’t stand to see the object of his greatest desire taken away from him, and grabbed the suit. Kamandi’s admiration of Superman kicked in, and he realized he couldn’t let Zuma have the suit. Kamandi and Zuma struggled, and when Zuma stepped on Superman’s cape, Kamandi yanked it from under him, tossing Zuma into the volcano. Kamandi was convinced that Superman must still be alive somewhere, and convinced the elder to stop looking for him, saying he’d present himself in his true form. The elder agreed to keep the suit untouched until the real Superman returned.

(Kamandi #30) - Kamandi and Ben wandered into what they thought was an old bunker and fell fast asleep. The bunker was actually a UFO, and its’ owner, an extraterrestrial being in a containment suit named “Me,” flew them up into outer space before traversing the globe and landing on a small beach next to the ocean. Ben and Kamandi explored their new environment, amazed that the beach contained wonders from mankind’s history including the Great Wall of China, the Titanic and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. They theorized that the beach was a museum of man’s accomplishments, and they were brought there as representatives of the human race. They his in a plane when a ball of energy appeared in the sky, opening a wormhole to “Me’s” homeworld and sucking up the monuments on the beach. The plane was filled with the corpses of its passengers, seemingly frozen to death before the Disaster. One of the thawing corpses fell over, revealing an atomic satchel bomb. They knew the man was about to commit an act of terrorism before he died, and they fled the plane, with Ben saying he’d be immune to the explosion as a mutant, but buried Kamandi in sand for his safety. The wormhole sucked up the plane as the bomb exploded, shutting the wormhole. “Me” blamed Ben and Kamandi for interfering in its plans and attacked them. Ben and Kamandi ripped “Me’s” containment suit, revealing the alien as an energy being. The breech of the suit caused an explosion of strange energy. Kamandi was briefly knocked unconscious, and he woke to find Ben mutated into a giant metal goliath.

(Kamandi #31) - Prince Tuftan, his Tiger-Men soldiers and Dr. Canus were out exploring the ocean when Canus spotted “Me’s” island. They departed Great Caesar’s flagship on a motorboat and made ground where Canus was the first to run into Kamandi and the giant Ben. Ben picked up Canus, only releasing him when Kamandi pleaded with him. Ben soon grew restless and released an energy bolt from his eyes. Kamandi and Canus dodged the blast, which turned the sand around them into glass, and watched the mutate Ben, who didn’t seem to be in control of himself any longer, wander off. Kamandi explained how they’d been abducted in a UFO and led the eager Dr. Canus to it. Canus immediately set about exploring the wonder from space when Tuftan and his men encountered Ben, tossing explosives at him before being forced to flee. Tuftan grabbed Kamandi, claiming he was rescuing him, and the sped back to the flagship. Tuftan commanded his mean to ready their arms and bombard the island, but Kamandi didn’t want to see his friend hurt, and warned him that Caesar would be displeased if Canus died due to Tuftan’s hotheadedness. Canus met “Me” in the UFO, and the being showed that it could exist as a single entity or multiple ones, and Canus realized “Me” had fused part of itself to Ben, controlling him. Ben continued to grow larger and walked along the ocean floor until he reached Caesar’s flaship, at which point Tuftan ordered his men to fire. Kamandi thought Tuftan was acting big for his boots for a teenage prince, but Tuftan assured him he’d left childish ways behind, and was no longer a hip teen but his father’s very son. Ben nearly capsized the boat before emanating glowing energy, returning to the island and shrinking to normal size as “Me” left his body. Dr. Canus had convinced “Me” to cease hostilities, and said it had nothing to fear from them.

(Kamandi #32-34) - Canus introduced “Me” and the entity said it wished to return home, turning aggressive and firing bolts of energy and demanding Tuftan and Kamandi find its’ home until Canus calmed it down. Tuftan disliked being disrespected by an lien, but after sharing a laugh with Kamandi he broke his seriousness for a moment to say he missed his former carefree life. He was loyal to his father, the king, but the responsibilities of war and conquest were quite grim to him. A fleet of Gorilla-Men commandos, led by Ramjam, attacked Great Caesar’s flagship. Ramjam and some of his commandos used the distraction to storm the island and fire a concussion grenade that left Tuftan and company unconscious. Ramjam wanted Tuftan taken hostage and told his men to look for Dr. Canus, who’d returned to the UFO. Kamandi revived and began running to warn Canus. One of the commandos tried to catch him, but Ramjam ordered him to back off, saying they weren’t on the island to hunt animals. Kamandi found Canus tinkering with one of the UFO’s machines and Canus used the UFO’s scanner to show Kamandi the galaxy “Me” came from. Canus knew “Me” would help them defeat the gorilla commandos because they’d struck a bargain. Canus had promised to manufacture a physical body for “Me.” Ramjam and his men discovered the UFO and demanded admittance, but Canus was not intimidated. “Me” fused its’ energy with beach sand to create a temporary body. The sand being blasted the gorillas with sand and lightning until Ramjam surrendered. Tuftan and Ben had recovered and made mincemeat of their guards. They took Ramjam and his men prisoner and went to assist the flagship in fighting off the remaining commandos while Kamandi and Canus staid behind to help “Me.” While Kamandi and Dr. Canus created a body for “Me” Tuftan, his soldiers and Ben Boxer fought fiercely against the Gorilla Men. Ben threw a fuel tank at the gorillas, but a gorilla sharpshooter hit it in midair, creating an explosion that rocked Ben and Great Caesar’s flagship. Tuftran warned Ben that there was no time for wild card tactics, and he expected an animal like Ben to know his place, displeasing the mutant to no end. The Gorilla-Men boarded the flagship, but were driven off after a bloody battle. Tuftan told Ben he had no love for sacrificing his men, but he did Caesar’s duty, and Caesar loved war, linking it to the expansion of his great empire. Tuftan’s Tiger-Men dragged Ramjam from the prisoner’s hold and the gorilla promised his men would return, rescue him and massacre them. Tuftan tied Ramjam to a post, put dynamite around his neck, and said that if the Gorilla-Men attacked him again he’d light the explosives and push Ramjam overboard. Ben was horrified with Tuftan’s grisly idea, but Tuftan said he’d do whatever it took to keep more of his men from dying. “Me” admired her new form, that of a red-skinned, blonde-haired female. Kamandi wondered why a superior species would want an Earthly body, and Canus said he had no answer for Kamandi’s question, which worried him, as did the fact that she wouldn’t reveal why she was on Earth in the first place. She struggled to control her new body and tripped. Kamandi remarked to Canus that she was helpless in a corporal body, enraging her. She blasted them with flames which they barely dodged, and Canus named her Pyra for pyromaniac. Pyra demanded they stay put while she went away by herself to master her new body. Kamandi and Canus kept an eye of Caesar’s flagship, wondering if another attack was imminent. Ben Boxer continued to try and talk Tuftan out of his bloody plan, but the prince would not be gainsaid. The gorilla fleet returned with an armored rammer, and threatened to cut the flagshipo in two and kill every man aboard if Tuftan didn’t surrender. Tuftan presented Ramjam, threatening to blow him sky high. Watching from the shore Kamandi decided to take action. Canus and Kamandi commandeered Pyra’s UFO which they piloted mentally. Pyra saw them flying off, yelling that it was too dangerous for them to fly her spacecraft without her. They buzzed the Gorilla-Men, drawing their fire, and this distraction allowed Ben Boxer to untie Ramjam, who immediately dove overboard, swimming away as Tuftan tried to shoot him. Tuftan was enraged, but Ben stood by his actions. Pyra arrived, melting the armored rammer and raining fire down on the Gorilla-Men, who fled. Pyra took back mental control of her UFO, and after a surge of energy Pyra, the UFO and it’s former pilots vanished into thin air.

Comments: Created by Jack Kirby.

Ben Boxer received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #2.

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