Red Torpedo is the name of two

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

s, one originally published by

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing company which operated from 1937 to 1956 and was a creative, influential force in what historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Notable, long-running titles published by Qualit ...

and another currently owned by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. The original is a superhero named Jim Lockhart while the second is an android created by

T. O. Morrow T. O. Morrow is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is responsible for the creation of the Red Tornado, Red Inferno, Red Torpedo, Red Volcano, and Tomorrow Woman androids, the last of these with the help ...

. Jim Lockhart debuted in ''Crack Comics'' #1 (May 1940).

Fictional character biography

Jim Lockhart

Jim Lockhart was a navy captain until he retired in 1940. Unable to settle down, he began building a one-man

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

known as "The Red Torpedo". Using the devices on board, he became the peacekeeper of the seas, the

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

of the deep. His run as a hero for Quality comics consisted of ''Crack Comics 1–20''. His most common enemy was the Black Shark, a pirate in scuba gear. He discovered the Atlantean city of Merezonia and its Mermazon population, he later fell in love with its ruler, his former nemesis, Queen Klitra. Hours before the attack on

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

, Red Torpedo was recruited by

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of ...

to join the Freedom Fighters in defending the base. He fell with the other heroes and was left for dead. Later, it was revealed that he was not dead, but he did retire after this. Red Torpedo was seen aiding the

Starman ''StarMan'' is a 1996 fantasy novel by Australian writer Sara Douglass. It follows the second book in the series, '' Enchanter'', with Axis marching north with his army to confront a formidable enemy. Background ''StarMan'' was first published ...

of 1951 in building his spaceship, The Flying Star. He was most recently seen as one of the administrators of Windward Home in '' Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis'' along with Elsa Magnusson, widow of Mark Merlin.

Android

A new female android Red Torpedo debuted in ''

Red Tornado Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to Orange (colour), orange and opposite Violet (color), violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the ...

'' (vol. 2) #1 (November 2009). This Red Torpedo was revealed to be the first elemental android created by

during the days of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, years before the conception of the Red Tornado. But much like her younger "sibling" the Tornado, the Torpedo rebelled against Morrow's control and he deactivated her, hiding her inside the sunken wreck of a battleship in the waters of

as a type of sick joke. The Torpedo spent years inside the ship when she managed to send out a beacon to the Tornado and her two other "siblings", the

Red Volcano Red Volcano is a fictional android supervillain published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''DC Universe'' #0 (April 2008), and was created by Grant Morrison, Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti from a concept by Greg Weisman. Publication history R ...

and the Red Inferno. She is eventually found and reactivated by the Tornado, and while she readjusts to the world, she informs the Tornado about the existence of the other two elementals and the Red Volcano's cruelty. At the same time, the Tornado is having a hard time keeping the Torpedo in check, as she exhibits somewhat more lethal methods, although she claims that she doesn't intend to kill people when she tries to defend herself.''Red Tornado'' (vol. 2) #1–3

In other media

A hybridization of the Jim Lockhart and android incarnations of Red Torpedo appear in the ''

Young Justice Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes. The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...

'' episode "Humanity", voiced by

Jeff Bennett Jeffrey Glenn Bennett (born October 2, 1962) is an American voice actor who voiced Johnny Bravo in the Johnny Bravo, eponymous television series, Dexter's Dad in ''Dexter's Laboratory'', Brooklyn in ''Gargoyles (TV series), Gargoyles'' and List o ...

. This version is a male hydrokinetic android that used the alias of "Jim Lockhart" and was created by

to infiltrate the

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...

sometime prior to the series, though its programming failed. In the present, Morrow reprograms Red Torpedo and sends him and Red Inferno to capture

. However, Red Tornado convinces his fellow androids to stop

before he causes the

Yellowstone Caldera The Yellowstone Caldera, sometimes referred to as the Yellowstone Supervolcano, is a volcanic caldera and supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park in the Western United States. The caldera and most of the park are located in the northwest corn ...

to erupt. Red Torpedo and Inferno sacrifice themselves to help Red Tornado avert the eruption.

References

External links

Cosmic Teams: Red Torpedo

DCU Guide: Red Torpedo

DCU Guide: Queen Klitra

Mike’s Amazing World of DC Comics: ''Crack Comics'' #1
{{GoldenAge Fictional military captains Fictional sea captains Fictional navy personnel DC Comics superheroes Golden Age superheroes Quality Comics superheroes Comics characters introduced in 1940 Comics characters introduced in 2009 DC Comics robots Robot superheroes