CARETAKER

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Normal human (fringe character)

Occupation: Zookeeper

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: None

Enemies: Briefly Care Bears (Cheer Bear, Funshine Bear, Grumpy Bear, Wish Bear)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Metro Zoo (exact location unrevealed)

First Appearance: Care Bears#12/3 (September, 1987)

Powers/Abilities: The Caretaker manages a large zoo but is devious in achieving his aim of getting large attendances to raise money for the welfare of his animals.

Height: 5'7"
Weight: 155 lbs.
Eyes: Dark brown
Hair: White (black mustache)

History:

(Care Bears#12/3 (fb) - BTS) - The Caretaker ran the new Metro Zoo but was concerned there wasn't enough money to cover the good care of his animals, so he hatched a plan to kidnap Care Bears to display at his zoo to attract crowds and gain more entrance fees. He sent an invitation to the Care Bears to attend the grand opening.

(Care Bears#12/3) - The invitation reached Cheer Bear, Funshine Bear, Grumpy Bear and Wish Bear, who happily confirmed their attendance although Grumpy Bear was cynical about the weather and chose not to go. The Caretaker greeted the three Bears and gave them a tour of the closed zoo, emphasizing the Metro Zoo's focus on keeping animals calm so visitors can learn about them. The Caretaker duped the Bears into inspecting an empty cage, then quickly locked them inside to keep them as a the sole exhibitor of Care Bears. Aware of the Bears' powers, he triggered a "Not Quite Light" that drained their magical powers. Meanwhile, back at the Bears' cloud kingdom, Grumpy Bear heard a radio bulletin that Care Bears would be at the Metro Zoo's opening. Grumpy rushed down and switched off the light, allowing the others to escape. They ran up and confronted the Caretaker in their usual cheerful manner, surprising him as he putting up signage. The Caretaker immediately broke down and confessed why he had kidnapped the Bears, then declared that "Badness never pays!" All four Bears were still happy to contribute to the zoo's opening, ensuring a large crowd, much to the delight of the Caretaker.

Comments: Created by Michael Gallagher, Howie Post, Roberta Edelman.

Profile by Grendel Prime.

CLARIFICATIONS :
Caretaker has no known connections to:

• CARETAKER - Blood, allegedly created Medallion of Power, acted as mentor to John Blaze and Ghost Rider/Dan Ketch--Ghost Rider III#28
• CARETAKER - granddaughter of previous Caretaker, gained memories on contact with Caretaker's library, succeeded him--Ghost Rider VI#26
  
• CARETAKER - teacher of Yokai-Raida, committed sepuku than reveal true origin of Ghost Rider powers--Ghost Rider VI#30
• CARETAKERS OF ARCTURUS - three survivors of starship sent to Earth years ago by Beyonders to watch over Savage Land--Adventures into Fear#21
• CARETAKERS' AGENTS - men and women "cloned" from cells of the Caretakers--Adventures into Fear#25
  
• CARETAKERS of Asylum of Earth-Guardians (Dr. Pazz-Ko, Dr. Roh-Ma) - orbit planet and supervise its existence--Marvel Presents#5
• CARETAKERS - slaves of the Masters of the Black Stars--Thor I#219
  
• CARETAKERS - robotic servants of Mainspring, maintain his satellite--Warlock III#1
• or any other "Caretaker" characters

images: (without ads)
Care Bears#12/3, p3, pan3 (main image)
   p2, pan4 (headshot)

Appearances:
Care Bears#12/3 (September, 1987) - Michael Gallagher (writer), Howie Post (pencils), Roberta Edelman (inks), Sid Jacobson (editor)

First posted: 08/02/2025 - celebrating the 40th Anniversary of  the first Marvel Care Bears comic!
Last updated: 08/02/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
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