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Terra-Man

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Terra-Man
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceSuperman #249 (March 1972)
Created byCary Bates
Curt Swan
Dick Dillin
In-story information
Alter egoTobias "Toby" Manning
SpeciesHuman
Place of originEarth
Team affiliationsSecret Society of Super Villains

Terra-Man (Tobias Manning) is a supervillain appearing in media published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of Superman.

Publication history

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Terra-Man first appeared in Superman #249 (March 1972) and was created by Cary Bates, Curt Swan, and Dick Dillin. According to Bates, the character was inspired by Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name, who appeared in three Spaghetti Western films from 1964 to 1966.[1]

Fictional character biography

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Pre-Crisis

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The pre-Crisis incarnation of Terra-Man as depicted in Superman #249 (March 1972). Art by Neal Adams.

The pre-Crisis Terra-Man is a boy from the Old West who the alien Currency-Criminal adopts after accidentally killing his father Jess.[2][3] As an adult, Manning kills the alien, becomes an interstellar outlaw, and tames the pegasus-like alien Nova.[4] He is later killed by the Parasite sometime before the events of Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?.[5]

Post-Crisis

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The post-Crisis version of Terra-Man is a businessman who attacks enterprises to protect the environment. He wields weaponry that can manipulate the environment and an army of "Terra-Men" robots. In Infinite Crisis and its follow-up series 52, Terra-Man joins the Secret Society of Super Villains before Black Adam kills him.[6]

Powers and abilities

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The pre-Crisis version of Terra-Man has an altered physiology that slows his aging 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 for transportation.

The post-Crisis version of Terra-Man uses weapons that manipulate the environment (i.e., plants and the earth).

In other media

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  • Tobias Manning appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "The Once and Future Thing, Part One: Weird Western Tales", voiced by Ed O'Ross.[7] This version is an outlaw from the 1880s. After stealing Chronos' future technology and running Sheriff Ohiyesa Smith out of Elkhorn, Manning takes over the town and imprisons Chronos until Smith joins forces with Bat Lash, Jonah Hex, El Diablo, and a time-traveling Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern to defeat him and retake Elkhorn.
  • Terra-Man appears in the Legion of Super Heroes episode "Unnatural Alliances", voiced by Jeff Black.[7] This version is a self-repairing android from the 41st century who the artificial intelligence K3NT created and sent back in time to the 31st century to kill a boy named Abel before he can create the technology utilized by Imperiex. Subsequently, Imperiex works with K3NT's other creation, Kell-El / Superman X, to protect Abel, destroy Terra-Man, and preserve the timeline.
  • Terra-Man appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Eury, Michael (2006). The Krypton Companion. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 96. ISBN 9781893905610.
  2. ^ McAvennie, Michael (2010). "1970s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Scripter Cary Bates and artist Curt Swan chose an inopportune time for Superman to meet Terra-Man, a Spaghetti Western-garbed menace who rode a winged horse and wielded lethal alien weaponry.
  3. ^ Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010). The Essential Superman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. p. 436. ISBN 978-0-345-50108-0.
  4. ^ Superman #377
  5. ^ Superman #423 (September 1986)
  6. ^ 52 #3
  7. ^ a b "Terra-Man / Tobias Manning Voices (Legion of Super Heroes)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved April 29, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  8. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 4, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
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