Mal Duncan

Fictional character biography

He joined the Titans but felt unworthy due to lacking superpowers. He later discovered a strength-enhancing exoskeleton and the Guardian costume, becoming the second Guardian. After battling Azrael, the angel of death, he obtained the horn of Gabriel, which granted unspecified powers when odds were against him, and assumed the name Hornblower. He soon returned to the Guardian identity because too many people knew who he was.

Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Mal's uncostumed adventures remained unchanged, but in post-Crisis canon he never became Guardian, and the Gabriel's Horn received a different origin. While other Titans were on a mission, Mal inadvertently released the Gargoyle from Limbo. He recaptured the villain but found plans for a high-tech horn that created spatial warps. With Karen Beecher, he built the horn and became Herald.

The Gargoyle had implanted a computer virus that weakened boundaries between the mortal world and Limbo, so Mal destroyed the horn. He and Karen retired and moved to California. During the JLA/Titans event, Mal acquired a new Gabriel's Horn, and later he and Bumblebee joined Titans LA. In an alternate timeline, a version of Mal became president of the Eastern United States.

They encountered a rift caused by Alexander Luthor Jr., who was re-creating the multiverse. The team temporarily stopped Luthor, but in the chaos Mal and Karen were among those scattered.

Reception

In his debut, Mal kissed the Caucasian Lilith Clay goodbye, a scene considered the first interracial kiss in comic book history. Editorial director Carmine Infantino objected, thinking it too controversial, but editor Dick Giordano kept the scene, coloring it blue as a night scene to draw less attention. Giordano recalled receiving many letters about the kiss, including hate mail with one death threat, as well as many supportive letters approving of the kiss.

In other media

Mal Duncan as Herald appears in Teen Titans, voiced by Khary Payton, as an honorary member of the group. He appears as Guardian in Young Justice, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, initially a high school student before joining the Team as a mission coordinator; in the episode "Cornered" he assumes the Guardian suit to battle Despero, and in the third season he retires to focus on his wife Karen Beecher and their daughter Rhea. He also appears as Herald in Teen Titans Go! and makes non-speaking appearances as Guardian in DC Super Hero Girls as a student of Super Hero High.