Terra-Man
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Terra-Man (real name Toby Manning) is a supervillain who appears in Superman stories published 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 ...
.


Publication history

Terra-Man first appeared in ''Superman'' #249 (March 1972) and was created by Cary Bates, Curt Swan, and Dick Dillin. Bates says that the character was inspired by Clint Eastwood's
Man with No Name The Man with No Name ( it, Uomo senza nome) is the antihero character portrayed by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's "''Dollars Trilogy''" of Italian Spaghetti Western films: ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964), ''For a Few Dollars More'' (1965), ...
, who appeared in a trio of Spaghetti Western films from 1964 to 1966.


Fictional character biography


Pre-''Crisis''

The Pre-''Crisis'' Terra-Man was noted for using futuristic weapons modeled after those used in the
Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
as well as riding an Arguvian space steed (a type of alien
winged horse The following is a list of fictional or mythological winged horses. Mythology *The ancient Pegasus is a mythological winged horse. *The Hippalectryon is a half-horse, half-rooster hybrid depicted in ancient Greek art. *Devadatta is the win ...
) named Nova. As revealed in ''Superman'' #249, Tobias "Toby" Manning was born during the Old West era. An alien known as the Currency-Criminal accidentally killed Toby's father Jess and took young Toby as his ward, raising him from childhood and teaching him the use of alien weapons, which were created to resemble the 19th century weapons with which Toby was familiar. After Manning had grown to adulthood and learned what he could, he killed the alien and began a career as an interstellar outlaw called "Terra-Man", a name chosen to refer to Manning's Earthly origins. For transportation, he tamed the Arguvian space steed named Nova. Eventually his travels took him to Earth, where he became an enemy of Superman. Throughout his Pre-''
Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...
'' career, Terra-Man periodically returned to Earth in attempts to outfight or outwit Superman; otherwise, he remained at large in outer space, committing crimes to carry the legend of the Wild West outlaw across the stars. Terra-Man spoke in an exaggerated "cowboy" drawl with liberal use of Old West slang and colloquialisms, lending a humorous air to his deadly activities. Following a fight with Superman, Terra-Man enlisted his counterpart from Earth-377, a world where the inhabitants can perform magic, to help him fight Superman. This version of Terra-Man is revealed to be dead by the time of '' Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow''.
Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning journalist for ...
mentioned that Terra-Man and the
Parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...
(a frequent partner in crime) had ended up killing each other at some point before the start of the story.


Post-''Crisis''

The Post-''
Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...
'' version of Terra-Man was a businessman whose conscience began to bother him about the damage he was causing to the Earth's environment. He decided to save Earth and began attacking enterprises which were dangerous to the environment. Although this version has a different origin, his name (Tobias Manning) remained the same and he still retained a western theme, including a thick accent and the cowboy-esque way that he handled his guns. His weapons, however, were now focused primarily on turning the environment against his opponents (i.e., plants and the Earth element). Terra-Man also had a robotic army dressed in western garb, called the ''Terra-Men''. Like his modus operandi, his new background was ecologically based. The weapons and equipment he developed enabled him to use a pair of jet packs mounted on his armor for flight, create a teleportation vortex resembling a small tornado and wield guns that can cause shockwaves and earthquakes or spout specially-tailored
flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...
at a target. He engineered numerous forms of plant life to meet his needs, including one that can actively drain other lifeforms of energy derived from sunlight, allowing it to drain power from Superman when in contact with him. Another form of plant life he created could liquify organic material. He also developed a process to quickly and cleanly remove all dangerous poisons from toxic sites and renew nutrients in soil. At times, Manning respected Superman's common desire to preserve nature. At other times, Terra-Man feared that Superman was contaminating the Earth with extraterrestrial germs and viruses and tried to end the Man of Steel's life before any more "harm" could be done to the environment. In addition to battling Superman, Terra-Man assisted the
Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...
Special Crimes Unit, as seen in that miniseries. In ''
Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...
'', Terra-Man became a member of the Secret Society of Super Villains. 15 days after the end of ''
Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...
'', Terra-Man hijacked Ferris Air Flight 456 over the Mediterranean Sea and
Power Girl Power Girl, also known as Kara Zor-L and Karen Starr, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books by DC Comics, making her first appearance in ''All Star Comics'' #58 (January/February 1976). Power Girl is the cousin of the superhero Supe ...
gave chase. Terra-Man escaped capture thanks to
Black Adam Black Adam, real name Teth/Theo-Adam, is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck, and first appeared in the debut issue of Fawcett Comics' ''The Marvel Family'' comi ...
, who forbade Power Girl from entering
Khandaq Khandaq ( fa, خندق) is a village in Charuymaq-e Sharqi Rural District, Shadian District, Charuymaq County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country ...
airspace. Later, Terra-Man appeared to ally himself with Black Adam. However, when Black Adam later addressed the media in front of Khandaq's embassy in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, he suddenly ripped Terra-Man in half, killing him.''52'' #3 During the ''
Blackest Night "Blackest Night" is a 2009–10 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous central miniseries, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis, along with a number of tie-in issues. ''Blackest Ni ...
'' storyline, Terra-Man was identified as one of the deceased entombed below the Hall of Justice.


Powers and abilities

The Pre-''Crisis'' version of Terra-Man has an altered physiology that slows down his aging process, and allows him to survive unprotected in space. He wields a special six-shooter that can fire tracer bullets, energy-leeching tumbleweeds, and laser lassos. Terra-Man uses an Arguvian space steed named Nova as his mode of transportation. The Post-''Crisis'' version of Terra-Man uses weapons that focused mainly on turning the environment against his opponents (i.e., plants and the Earth element).


In other media

* Although not referred to as Terra-Man, Tobias Manning appears in the ''
Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe ...
'' episode "The Once and Future Thing", voiced by
Ed O'Ross Ed O'Ross (born Edward Orss; July 5, 1949) is an American actor. Some of his prominent roles are as Itchy in '' Dick Tracy'', Colonel Perry in '' Universal Soldier'', Lt. Touchdown in '' Full Metal Jacket'', ruthless Georgian mobster Viktor Ros ...
. An old west outlaw, he steals
Chronos Chronos (; grc-gre, Χρόνος, , "time"), also spelled Khronos or Chronus, is a personification of time in pre-Socratic philosophy and later literature. Chronos is frequently confused with, or perhaps consciously identified with, the Tita ...
' time-traveling gear to use for ruling a western town. Batman,
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
, and
Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
(who were pursuing Chronos at the time) team up with
Bat Lash Bartholomew "Bat" Aloysius Lash is a fictional Western (genre), Western superhero character in the DC Universe. A self-professed pacifist, self-professed ladies' man, and gambler, Bat Lash's adventures have been published by DC Comics since 19 ...
,
Jonah Hex Jonah Woodson Hex is a fictional antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is scarred on the r ...
, El Diablo, and Sheriff Ohiyesa Smith to defeat Tobias Manning and take back the town. * Terra-Man appeared in the '' Legion of Super Heroes'' episode "Unnatural Alliances", voiced by Jeff Black. He is a powerful, self-repairing android that is very hard to destroy. He is from in the 41st century, who was sent by the sentient artificial intelligence known as K3NT (the same being who created Superman X/Kell-El). Terra-Man is sent back in time to kill a boy named Abel (voiced by
Madison Davenport Madison Danielle Davenport (born November 22, 1996) is an American actress and singer, best known for her role as Kate Fuller in '' From Dusk till Dawn: The Series''. She also appeared in '' Kit Kittredge: An American Girl'' as Kit's best friend ...
), who would one day invent the technology that would result in the creation of the warlord known as
Imperiex Imperiex () is a supervillain character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He was initially introduced as an adversary to the superhero Superman before becoming a main antagonist for DC Comics' the "Our Worlds at War" crossover. ...
. This forces both Kell-El and Imperiex to protect him, with Imperiex's motive being to ensure his own survival and Kell's to protect an innocent. In the end, Terra-Man is destroyed by the unlikely team-up of Superman X and Imperiex.


References


External links


Terra-Man (Earth-One)
at DC Comics Wiki
Terra-Man (New Earth)
at DC Comics Wiki
Terra-Man
at Comic Vine {{DC Western Characters Characters created by Cary Bates Characters created by Dick Dillin Characters created by Curt Swan Comics characters introduced in 1972 DC Comics supervillains DC Comics male supervillains DC Comics Western (genre) characters DC Comics orphans Superheroes who are adopted Superman characters