The Man Who Could Work Miracles

by H.G. Wells

"The Man Who Could Work Miracles" is a British fantasy–comedy short story by H. G. Wells first published in 1898 in The Illustrated London News. The story is an early example of Contemporary fantasy. Wikipedia

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Classics, Audiobook, Literature

20 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1898

About the author

Herbert George Wells was born to a working class family in Kent, England. Young Wells received a spotty education, interrupted by several illnesses and family difficulties, and became a draper's apprentice as a teenager. The headmaster of Midhurst Grammar School, where he had spent a year, arranged for him to return as an "usher," or student teacher. Wells earned a government scholarship in 1884, to study biology under Thomas Henry Huxley at the Normal School of Science. Wells earned his bachelor of science and doctor of science degrees at the University of London. After marrying his cousin, Isabel, Wells began to supplement his teaching salary with short stories and freelance articles, then books, including The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898).

Wells created a mild scandal when he divorced his cousin to marry one of his best students, Amy Catherine Robbins. Although his second marriage was lasting and produced two sons, Wells was an unabashed advocate of free (as opposed to "indiscriminate") love. He continued to openly have extra-marital liaisons, most famously with Margaret Sanger, and a ten-year relationship with the author Rebecca West, who had one of his two out-of-wedlock children. A one-time member of the Fabian Society, Wells sought active change. His 100 books included many novels, as well as nonfiction, such as A Modern Utopia (1905), The Outline of History (1920), A Short History of the World (1922), The Shape of Things to Come (1933), and The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind (1932). One of his booklets was Crux Ansata, An Indictment of the Roman Catholic Church. Although Wells toyed briefly with the idea of a "divine will" in his book, God the Invisible King (1917), it was a temporary aberration. Wells used his international fame to promote his favorite causes, including the prevention of war, and was received by government officials around the world. He is best-remembered as an early writer of science fiction and futurism.

He was also an outspoken socialist. Wells and Jules Verne are each sometimes referred to as "The Fathers of Science Fiction". D. 1946.

More: http://philosopedia.org/index.php/H._...

http://www.online-literature.com/well...

http://www.hgwellsusa.50megs.com/

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._Wells

Reviews

[Cecily · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all know the frustration of trying to argue with those who just bat facts away with a derisory “So you say”. And we’ve grown up with tales of the unintended consequences, sometimes comic, sometimes dark, of misusing wishes or superpowers. This short story from 1898 combines both elements, then uses physics to add a Wellsian twist.

Be careful what you wish for

George McWhirter Fotheringay, is a 30-year old clerk who is “greatly addicted to assertive argument”, especially to deny the possibility of supernatural occurrences, such as miracles. He cites the impossibility of a lamp burning upside down - only to make it happen!


Image: “The lamp hung inverted in the air, burning quietly with its flame pointing down.” (Source.)

He returns home to test the extent of his powers in modest and quirky ways such as levitating a sheet of paper, turning a glass of water pink and green, and creating a snail. Powers confirmed, he is proud, a little scared, and secretive, so resolves to limit himself to “unostentatious acts of creation” to improve his domestic comforts.

Unintended consequences

Inevitably, things become more complex. There’s a dash of slapstick, plenty of drama, moral conundrums involving a priest, and ultimately, inescapably, unintended consequences of a spectacular degree.

Image: “I want things to be different… Oh no” (Source.)
The ending raises questions about free will versus destiny.

Warning!

“The reader [that’s me, and maybe you]... must have been killed in a violent and unprecedented manner more than a year ago.”

Nearly Nobel

Wells was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature four times (1921, 1932, 1935, and 1946), though he never won.

Film

I’ve not seen it, but there was a film of this in 1936.



Details on imdb HERE.

Quote

“He was a little man, and had eyes of a hot brown, very erect red hair, a moustache with ends that he twisted up, and freckles.”

Read it free on Gutenberg

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27365/...

[Connie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

The entertaining story, "The Man Who Could Work Miracles" is a reminder that we should remember the advice, "Be careful what you wish for." The miracles started out small, but eventually had the power to cause an apocalypse. It's human nature to want more and more, but more does not always make us happy if we make foolish wishes. 3.5 stars.

[Owlseyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve watched the movie (1936) with the same title. It seems, the opening scene is about a conversation between two angels, way up in the atmosphere, about men.



They are considering men “silly little creatures”. But there’s one third angel who is an exception: he favors men: “I like them …their life” being “so short”. He wants to give power to men. But the other two oppose:”don’t”…”just try one”.

So the third angel picks the lucky [?] one: Mr Fotheringay. He gets the “touch”, when about to get into a bar.

At the bar, there’s a discussion going on…which touches on “miracles”. Most of them don’t believe it. Until Mr. F tries his move on the lamp (using his “willpower”)…and manages to get it suspended in the air, levitating, upside down.



Then at home he tries again the use of his wishing/will powers: he thinks of rabbits…and they appear; he thinks of huge grapes and they materialize. He discovers he can also make things disappear. ..and turn small things into bigger things. He manages to put on a levitation state: both bed and table. Amazing. He could make money with that, he wonders. He contacts the girl (Maggie) at the clothings shop: “something happened to me”.

-How will he use those powers?

Let’s see, what has accomplished, so far, this simple-minded mister F? Of his own volition nothing that important; he’s been led by others.

A banker tells him that people must be kept in a state of “want”…of “need”. To mister F it would be simple: “why can’t we just make it (money)?; he had just made it: a bill out-of-the blue in his own hands. The banker got furious: that’s forgery, illegal!

His boss, too, proposes him a deal:”a monopoly of miracles”; it would mean “big money”; but not with that healing part.

The thing is that F has almost no limits to what he can do: he’s just sent a British police to the other side of the Atlantic: landing in the streets of San Francisco. It makes some Americans wonder about the 4th dimension.

Yet, there are two limits. He likes Maggie, but in truth the one he really wants is Ada Price, a co-worker; he makes some tricks for her: a tiara and other jewelry stuff; but he cannot win her love, she tells him, even when he gets her Cleopatra-like dressed. Plus, F cannot get into people’s minds: “inside”.



Discussions about what to do with his abilities continue; an adviser tells him: why not banish disease?

The rich Chairman of the bench of the place has a conversation with F, he wants an explanation for the “outbreak of miracles” police is complaining about. He’s skeptical about F’s powers. F changes a garden of roses into a Bombay landscape. Now he believes.

Soon he’ll be concocting a plan to kill F: a lunatic, a dangerous one (especially to the rich),who wants to start a Golden Age, an era of Peace and Plenty.

F is fed up of advice and others' views. So he finally does it in his own way: a world “according to his dreams” …he wants also some fun. HIS own way, otherwise he threatens…everyone.

“I was born small, and grew small”. He’s a common “vulgar fellow”; what’s his share, so far?; now on he’s like a king, in his own huge palace.



He’s just started summoning the world´s leaders, the bankers, the military, judges, …into his own palace: “if you don’t do what I tell you: I’ll wipe you out!!”.He orders them, all of them: “run it better!”,[the world].



The magic gets to an end when F thinks he can “stop the sun”…even Earth from rotating. Maggie had told him: don’t be selfish. But he does the final blow: Earth stops rotating…and that’s the crumbling and crashing of the Golden Age.

The three angels watch. The third angel’s experiment has failed. Not totally ,because one “final wish” still materializes: F asks for the world to get back to the moment when he was for the first time touched by the “will power”. And so, mister F's final request is exactly this one: (turning his eyes to heaven): no more miracles (please implied).

The critical angels comment: F has been egotistical, vindictive and lustful. Yet the third angel has got some hope on men: they were “once apes”, “give them time”. The 3rd angel will grant power only “bit by bit”, now on.

This is one of the best of Wells, using comedy to speak about social class, mankind’s deepest wishes and misery, and God.

I know somewhere he may be cheering up, laughing out loud….in silence, there, seated in the audience's place,... while we (the readers) are caught in this stage which is “reading his books” and inevitably wondering too: “what would I do if I had the power, the “willpower”?.

Wells knows our thoughts,…because we read him.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of early magical realism, before it had the name. Like The Monkey's Paw, this one seems to have the moral that sometimes it is not good to get what you wish for, but Wells does it with a bit of humor.

[Amr Mohamed · Rating 2 out of 5]

قصة بسيطة عن رجل يؤمن بالمعجزات فتتحول كل أمنية منه إلى معجزة تتحقق ، من رأيي ان قصد الكاتب بتلك القصة أن القوة فى يد السفهاء أو غير المدركين لتلك القوة ستؤدي للهلاك

بس الرجل اتمني أول حاجة فلوس وأكل وده أكيد يبقي راجل واعي ومدرك للأشياء

[C. (Comment, never msg). · Rating 3 out of 5]

* I work hard on my writing. I DO NOT want empty like button clicks. Comments, if you have them, are this writer's reward. :) *

Any language pupil worth their salt, heard about H.G. Wells: Herbert George. Any “Back To The Future” fan worth their flux capacitors, would explore his related novel. I am also keen to see what “The Invisible Man” is like; the abridged children’s version I have for now.

Early films of his enthrallingly visual adventures surely delighted non-readers but is his famous, false alarm “War Of The Worlds” radio broadcast what catapulted him into the status of a “classic”? It is not from what I see, for adeptness at explaining his admirable but hollow speculative musings.

I eagerly anticipated “The Time Machine” and read it in April. I am discussing it with my friend and reading partner, Kerri. We appreciate the impressive ideas but none is explained.... at all. Does an idea count without having substance? My paperback comes with “The Man Who Could Work Miracles”, 1898. Three years newer, this 23 page story amazed me similarly but struck similar drawbacks. I admire its sheer originality. Herbert exuded trepidation, fear, and overwhelming planetary consequences in a palpable atmosphere, with humble characters.

Three stars commend this and critique either this author’s fear, inadequacy, or laziness for not thinking logistics through. Bob Gale’s screenplay divulged how everything worked for Emmett Brown & Marty McFly. Herbert could have fabricated his plots’ who, what, when, where, why. Whence does this gift come? Does everyone have it?

I love that Mr. Fotheringay sought spiritual wisdom from Reverend Maydig. I am very moved that they promenaded around, curing alcoholism! I would bestow their powerful compassion four stars! Herbert’s sole attempt to explain something, however, was picky in the extreme. Miracles understand what we ask and work safely, without specificity. Outrageously, Mr. Fotheringay attempted a monumentally serious phenomenon, entirely out of cowardice to avoid facing an uncomfortable explanation.

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: This story, published in 1898, rather than sci-fi tells about the literal character of magic, and the care one must have to ask for magic boons, by defining exactly what one wishes, otherwise one can cause catastrophes, as in The Monkey's Paw by W.Jacobs. In this version of Wells, this is an interesting quote: as a matter of fact, the reader was killed in a violent and unprecedented manner in 1896. I'd say this could have been "credible" when the story was published, but not now, as I (the reader) had not been born in 1896, and wouldn't for half a century :-)

ESPAÑOL: Este cuento, publicado en 1898, en lugar de ciencia-ficción, trata sobre el carácter literal de la magia, y el cuidado que uno debe tener al pedir dádivas mágicas, definiendo exactamente lo que uno desea, porque de lo contrario puede causar catástrofes, como en "La pata de mono" de W.Jacobs. En esta versión de Wells, aquí tenemos una cita muy interesante: de hecho, el lector murió en 1896 de forma violenta y sin precedentes. Yo diría que esto pudo haber sido "creíble" cuando se publicó el cuento, pero no ahora, ya que yo (el lector) no había nacido en 1896, y no lo haría hasta medio siglo más tarde :-)

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

'A hurtling cow hit one of the larger blocks and smashed like an egg.'

😂 I love H. G. Wells - now, if that line doesn't sell you, then I don't know what will.

A wonderful novella; a witty, humorous and intelligent account of a hapless man who forgets to consider the variables and possible mishaps of performing miracles. Episodes include transfiguration, trips to Hades and, of course, a typically comic Wellsian apocalypse.

There's a mild whiff of Wells's quintessential themes of socialism lurking in the background, but it's certainly not focal. This isn't especially thought provoking as with his other works, but endlessly entertaining all the same.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fun short story. A bit like "The Monkey's Paw" in that great power doesn't always bring great happiness, but not as gruesome. It was rather long-winded, but typical for Victorian writing.

[Britt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Niemand:
HG Wells: "Ik wil graag beginnen door te zeggen dat het hoofdpersoon kort is."

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The subsequent meditations of Mr. Fotheringay were of a severe but confused description. So far, he could see it was a case of pure willing with him. The nature of his experiences so far disinclined him for any further experiments, at least until he had reconsidered them. But he lifted a sheet of paper, and turned a glass of water pink and then green, and he created a snail, which he miraculously annihilated, and got himself a miraculous new tooth-brush."

"The Man Who Could Work Miracles" is the most wonderful sort of ridiculous.
In an English pub, George McWhirter Fotheringay-a skeptic and rationalist- vigorously asserts the impossibility of miracles. He then neatly wraps up the argument for the opposition by performing an actual- unintentional- miracle. Fotheringay returns home pondering the 'twist' inside him and begins to make use of his incredible new force of will.
Fotheringay, however, is a simple sort of fellow. His imagination is by no means boundless and his early 'miracles' are some of my favorite moments in the story.
And really, who among us hasn't, at some point, had their fondest wish be the ability to just will yourself straight into bed? Bless him, it never even occurred to the man not to carry on to work the next day as usual.
Loved it.

[Laura L. Van Dam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Debido a falta de tiempo para leer, me puse a escuchar algunos audiolibros mientras hago otras cosas. Hoy encontré algunos cuentos de fantasía y ciencia ficción en forma de audiolibros online. Este es el primero de ellos y me gustó mucho. Es entretenido y bastante original. Tiene un estilo que me recuerda a otros relatos de Wells (como The Time Machine) aunque no sé exactamente porqué, la historia es bastante distinta.
¿Qué harías si de repente descubrieras que tenés superpoderes para hacer cualquier cosa? Lo primero que me llama la atención de este cuento es que Wells es bastante optimista: el protagonista usa sus poderes para el bien, y si hace el mal es por accidente. Segundo, unas instrucciones mal formuladas, aunque bienintencionadas, pueden llevar al desastre (como sabe cualquiera que haya programado computadoras :P )- cuidado con lo que se desea porque se puede volver realidad.

[Tim Pendry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is a mash-up between a magical fantasy set in the 'modern world' (the publication date was 1898) and science fiction insofar as the fantasy (the sudden arrival of a minor clerical worker's miracle-working skills) reaches its first climax in a scientific fact.

Avoidance of spoilers means I cannot say what that scientific fact is but Wells cleverly adds something else to the mix of local Kippsian colour, comedic fantasy and apocalyptic Wellsian science fiction - a variant on the time loop, his 'punch line'.

Indeed, we might even claim a dash of another genre - horror - not only in the working out of the apocalyptic fact but the grim implications for us, the reader, of that time aspect although somehow we must know (because we are reading the story) that we came out of it all OK in the end.

A surprisingly full and creative story that shows all the skills of the master, mostly in making gentle fun of the young lower middle class males, chapel ministers and bobbies of his day, and yet it is essentially a lightweight tale that amuses more than it inspires.

The ideas are good and woven together effectively but the desire to entertain periodical readers means that what we have here is a bag of tricks rather than a masterpiece. Still, the story is fun!

[Eng Fatima Hikmat · Rating 4 out of 5]

صانع المعجزات: رحلة عبر الإيمان والشك
رواية صانع المعجزات للكاتب الإنجليزي هربرت جورج ويلز رحلة فلسفية رائعة تأخذنا عبر دهاليز الإيمان والشك، وتطرح أسئلة عميقة حول ماهية المعجزة ودورها في حياة الإنسان. تدور أحداث الرواية حول شخصية السيد فوثرينجاي، وهو رجل عادي لا يؤمن بوجود قدرات خارقة أو معجزات.
رحلة الاكتشاف:
تبدأ رحلة السيد فوثرينجاي عندما يكتشف فجأة قدرته على تحريك الأشياء بذهنه. في البداية، ينكر هذه القدرة ويعتبرها مجرد هلوسة، لكن مع مرور الوقت، يبدأ في استخدامها لإحداث معجزات حقيقية، مثل شفاء المرضى وإحياء الموتى.
صراع داخلي:
سرعان ما يجد السيد فوثرينجاي نفسه في صراع داخلي. فمن ناحية، يشعر بالمسؤولية لاستخدام قدراته لمساعدة الآخرين، ومن ناحية أخرى، يخاف من عواقب ما يفعله.
تأملات فلسفية:
تثير رواية صانع المعجزات العديد من التساؤلات حول ماهية المعجزة، ودور الدين في المجتمع، وطبيعة الإيمان.
رسالة الرواية:
لا تقدم الرواية إجابات قاطعة على هذه الأسئلة، بل تترك للقارئ مساحة للتأمل والتفكير.
ختامًا:
صانع المعجزات رواية رائعة تستحق القراءة لمحبي الخيال العلمي والأدب الفلسفي. إنها رحلة ممتعة مليئة بالتشويق والتفكير، تترك أثرًا عميقًا في نفس القارئ.

[Jacca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine short story but lacking the intrigue and thrill that marks HG Wells' dominance as a brilliant author. It's an interesting enough, and very, short story but it didn't do much to grip me for the half hour it took to read.

[Sara Al-Abri · Rating 4 out of 5]

H.G.Wells is a
L E G E N D.

[Lyonette · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would love to have an ability like this one. Good idea but really nothing was remarkable in the book.

[Ⰰⱃⰿⰰⱀⰴ Ⱆⰾⰴⰵⱃⰻⰽⱁ Ⱅⰵⱄⰾⰰ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Penguin books, 2007.
A well written short story.
An interesting theme of changing the reality.
All in all, nothing so special.
Hasta luego mis murciélagos!

[Thedesibookthief · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic short story by Wells. Could have been shorter. Serves as another reminder to be careful of what we wish for.

[Tonari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bel racconto, molto divertente. Un po' dunsaniano anche questo, ma un Dunsany diverso, diciamo quello di "The man who ate the phoenix". Brillante, bel ritmo, arguto.
Mi ha fatto ridacchiare un bel po' in treno. Wells non l'ho mai esplorato più di tanto, ma questo racconto mi ha fatto venire voglia.

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a pretty interesting twist on the "Be careful what you wish for, because it just might come true," genre of literature. The only difference is that this story examines more man's ineptitude to take into account all the variables in performing miracles.

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I could do that magic stuff...

[نيرمين الشافعي · Rating 3 out of 5]

خلاصتها :
﴿ ۞ وَلَوْ بَسَطَ اللَّهُ الرِّزْقَ لِعِبَادِهِ لَبَغَوْا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَٰكِن يُنَزِّلُ بِقَدَرٍ مَّا يَشَاءُ ۚ إِنَّهُ بِعِبَادِهِ خَبِيرٌ بَصِيرٌ﴾

[Liam James · Rating 5 out of 5]

It might seem obvious and old to us now -the reversal, the dissolution of an entire chain of events that lead up to a catastrophe- but keep in mind, this device was miraculously -pun intended- penned and then first published in The Man Who Could Work Miracles in 1898. I'm personally convinced this "Pantoum in Prose" was one of the first to dazzle with this device. Oh, but the dawning of wisdom at the penultimate moment, for such a dullard like George Fotheringay, just priceless. Consider the dialogue as Fotheringay pleads for the removal of his powers as he lands on the dilapidated earth: "let me lose my miraculous power, let my will become just like anybody else's will, and all these dangerous miracles be stopped. I don't like them. I'd rather I didn't work 'em. Ever so much." Classic, as in a work of art of recognized and established value, indeed, because Wells established this himself, before Frankenstein, before Count of Monte Cristo, etc. Even in It's a Wonderful Life there's the scene where George Bailey pronounces he wants to live again and everything goes back to how it was. You get a taste of it in Back to the Future, in countless others. Again, this is such a familiar device to us now, but as stated, this was done in 1898, this was H.G. Wells, original author of The Time Machine and The Invisible Man. No wonder F. Scott Fitzgerald's Amory Blaine raves about him so much!

[James Kevin Andersson · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Man Who Could Work Miracles" by H.G. Wells was my first foray into his works, and it left me with a somewhat lukewarm impression. The story's pacing was notably slow for a short story, and this hindered my overall engagement. Throughout the narrative, I found myself yearning for more excitement and urgency. It wasn't until the conclusion that the plot finally delivered an interesting twist, which, unfortunately, came too late to fully salvage the reading experience.

Furthermore, the descriptions within the story left much to be desired. As a first-time reader of Wells, I was hoping for vivid and immersive world-building, but I found the details lacking. It made it challenging to immerse myself in the setting and get a clear mental picture of the characters. While the concept of the story had potential, the execution, especially in terms of pacing and description, left me wanting more from my introduction to H.G. Wells' work.

[Shaimaa أحمد · Rating 1 out of 5]

في بداية القصة يعرّف الكاتب المعجزة قائلاً

«اسمع يا سيد بيميش، دعنا نفهم بوضوح ما هي المعجزة. إنها شيء يَتعارض مع مسار الطبيعة وتُحقِّقه قوة الإرادة، شيء لا يُمكن أن يحدث دون إيعاز من إرادة خاصة.»

هذا التعريف غير صحيح جملة و تفصيلاً لأن إرادة الإنسان لا يمكنها تغيير مسار الطبيعة.. و المعجزة هى الشئ الذي لا يستطيع الإنسان تحقيقه فإن تمت فلن تصبح معجزة

كما نسب الكاتب اكتساب المعجزات لإرادة الإنسان!! كيف !!

و في القصة يريد الكاتب أيضاً أن ينسب معجزات الأنبياء إلى الموهبة و ليس للإرادة الإلهية

… لطالما كنتُ أتعجَّب من معجزات النبي محمد، ومعجزات مُمارسي اليوجا، ومُعجزات مدام بلافاتسكي. ولكن بالطبع — أجل هي موهبة تمامًا! إنها تَدعَم بروعةٍ شديدة النقاشاتِ الخاصةَ بذلك المُفكِّر العظيم 

[Santiago Szulman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bien narrado. Algo cándido el protagonista, pero no deja de tener su encanto. El final es alucinante.

Un hombre escéptico descubre que con su fuerza de voluntad puede hacer realidad lo que desee.

Es tierno cuando el otro está pensando todo tipo de milagros, pero el protagonista está compungido porque a un policía lo mandó primero al infierno y luego a San Francisco (primero desnudo, luego con ropa) .

Genial cuando en el medio del relato mete " el lector puede haber fallecido" o algo así. Y mientras seguís leyendo te quedas pensando... Eh? Que dijo? Está mal editado esto y es de otro cuento? Y al final entendés.

[Jason Comely · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately these stories from H.G. Wells, when translated to Polish, require a very high comprehension level. I spend most of my time either translating or making a wild guess as to what any given passage is about. Still, I understood enough to know this is my least favorite of his stories.

I used Readlang to translate and Natural Reader's excellent TTS feature to narrate it. More on my method here: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

[Maria Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conto narrado em terceira pessoa, mas onde o narrador, por vezes, também intervém dirigindo-se ao leitor. Quanto a definição de milagre, sob o ponto de vista religioso não é bem como o autor conclui na voz da personagem principal: “um milagre é algo contrário à força da natureza realizado pelo poder da vontade”. De facto, os episódios descritos como milagres são magia em situações simples. Uma boa leitura, sem dúvida.

[DW · Rating 2 out of 5]

Naturalist George McWhirter Fotheringay is given miraculous powers and uses them for his own selfish benefit, and to aid his fellow Londoners. Later, he accidentally kills the human race after wishing for the Earth to stop its motion so he could have more time in the day. Wanting everything to go back to normal, he relinquishes his powers, loses his memory in the process, and returns to being a skeptic.