Mr. A

Mr. A is a fictional comic book hero created by Steve Ditko. Unlike most of Ditko's work, the character of Mr. A remained the property of Ditko, who wrote and illustrated the stories in which the character appeared entirely himself. The character first appeared in Wally Wood's witzend #3 (1967). Mr. A was inspired by Objectivism, the philosophical system and ethical egoism of the philosopher-novelist Ayn Rand. Ditko has been quoted as saying that his creation The Question was intended as a version of Mr. A that would be acceptable to the Comics Code Authority that censored mainstream comics during the era. Ditko explained: "Where other ‘heroes’ powers are based on some accidental super-element, The Question and Mr. A’s ‘power’ is deliberately knowing what is right and acting accordingly", and "Where other heroes choose to be selfmade neurotics, The Question and Mr. A choose to be psychologically and intellectually healthy."