What Might Have Been: Hippie Freaks

"What Might Have Been: Hippie Freaks" from Brother Power, the Geek #1 (DC, 1968) by Joe Simon and Al Bare

Frankenstein's Monster by way of Silver Surfer's wandering philosopher and the whole hippie cultural phenomenon, Brother Power was almost called the Freak, but DC got cold feet because that name seemed to imply drug use (as opposed to eating the heads off live chickens). In any case, DC never really felt comfortable with a series that featured a "Psychedelic Circus" and a youth movement some editors equated with drugs, so they canned it after only two issues. Judging from a lot of 70s comics I've read, Brother Power was just a little bit ahead of his time, that's all.

The straw pacifist has since appeared many times, often as an inside joke, or else in darker, Vertigo form. Most recently (2009) he's appeared alongside Batman in a an issue of The Brave and the Bold.