Here is it is: the very first appearance of Captain Miracle. Except for the cover. And the opening splash page. And the drawings I did for Ozzy before he started work on the project.

His costume is designed to distinguish him from all of the false secular superheroes out there. Unlike the garish multi-colored costumes of Superman or Spider-Man, Captain Miracle wears white. Not off-white – no eggshell or cream or ivory – just pure, holy white. Plus golden yellow, symbolic of the richness that God grants to those who place their faith in Him. The symbol on his chest represents both the Holy Cross on which Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins, and the ray of light that transforms Billy into Captain Miracle.

Because yes: Billy Batista himself is also transformed. No longer held down by the darkness of sin, he stands tall and powerful, almost radiant with the light of God shining out thru his skin and hair and eyes.

One of the tricky things about writing a superhero with powers from God is to pay close attention to the source material. Sure, God is omnipotent, so in theory there isn’t anything He couldn’t do. He could give Captain Miracle the ability to create a rock so heavy that he (Miracle) can’t lift it. He could give Miracle X-ray vision or the ability to shoot webbing from his wrists or adamantium claws.

But there’s no evidence in the Bible that God ever gave those powers to any man, even when that man was Him. So maybe God has placed them off-limits. Or they might be powers that only the Devil would give to a man, and I don’t want to make that mistake. So the deal is only the kinds of miracles that were documented in the Bible. And none of that Apocrypha nonsense, either: just the real, canonical Bible.