Turner D. Century

Last updated
Turner D. Century
Turnerdcentury.jpg
Turner D. Century.
Art by Stephen Leialoha and Bruce D. Patterson
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Spider-Woman #33 (Dec 1980)
Created by J.M. DeMatteis
Steve Leialoha
Bruce D. Patterson
In-story information
Alter egoClifford F. Michaels
AbilitiesNone:
Flame-throwing umbrella
Flying bicycle
Horn intended to kill anyone under age 65

Turner D. Century is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Contents

Publication history

Turner D. Century first appeared in Spider-Woman #33 (December 1980). [1] The character later appeared in Marvel Team-Up #120 (August 1982). Turner was killed by the Scourge of the Underworld in Captain America #319 (July 1986) but resurrected by The Hood in Punisher Vol. 7 #6 (2009). He was created by J. M. DeMatteis, Steve Leialoha, and Bruce D. Patterson.

Turner D. Century received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #16. [2]

Fictional character biography

He was born Clifford F. Michaels, the son of a millionaire's chauffeur. His father's employer, Morgan MacNeil Hardy, had been responsible for rebuilding much of San Francisco after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and was disturbed by the alleged degeneration of manners and mores in subsequent decades. After a failed movement that Hardy started to correct the social decline, he retreated with a young, recently orphaned Clifford as a surrogate son, whom he sheltered from the current world and taught to idealize earlier times. [3]

Turner D. Century was a young man with dark hair worn in the style of 1900, and a handlebar moustache of the sort popular at that time. He wore a costume consisting of typical summer clothing as would be worn by a young man of the middle classes in the year 1900 in the United Statesa straw boater, a striped jacket, and white trousers.

His motivation was a hatred of the social changes that had come about since the time-period he idealized (the period just before World War I) and many of his crimes involved striking out at things or people that represented, in his view, these changes. To that end, he terrorized businesses in San Francisco that he deemed impure, [3] and later tried to use a hypersonic weapon of his own design he dubbed The Time Horn that was meant to kill anyone in New York City under the age of 65. It was there in NYC that he was opposed by Spider-Man and the aging adventurer Dominic Fortune, and his scheme turned out to be in vain; although the horn affected all within its range, it had only rendered them unconscious, not killed them. [4]

Turner D. Century was killed by the assassin Scourge of the Underworld along with several other villains in the "Bar with No Name". [5] Later, he became one of the deceased people cloned and used as servants by Arnim Zola. The clone was later killed by the mercenary Deadpool. [6]

Turner D. Century later appears among the eighteen resurrected criminals, all murdered by the Scourge at the Hood's meeting of a squad assembled to eliminate the Punisher. [7]

He survived that mission and later battled Spider-Man and The Superior Spider Man in San Francisco. He attempted to use a presumably working version of The Time Horn against The Superior Spider Man who was left unaffected by the horn due to his real age. [8]

Powers and abilities

Century had no inherent superpowers. He owned and used an umbrella that concealed a flamethrower, and rode a tandem bicycle (the rear seat was taken by a dummy wearing fashionable women's clothes of the pre-World War I era) that could fly using "mini-rockets". [3]

Turner also built a "time horn," a device intended to kill those under the age of 65 by ultrasonic waves, but instead induced unconsciousness.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kraven the Hunter</span> Fictional character appearing in Marvel Comics

Kraven the Hunter is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #15 as an adversary to the superhero Peter Parker / Spider-Man. He since endured as one of the web-slinger's most formidable foes, and is part of the collective of adversaries that make up Spider-Man's rogues' gallery. Kraven has also come into conflict with other heroes, such as Black Panther and Tigra. He is the half-brother of the supervillain Chameleon, and is one of the founding members of the Sinister Six.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shocker (character)</span> Fictional Marvel supervillain

The Shocker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr, the character debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #46 in March 1967. He is usually depicted as an enemy of the superhero Spider-Man, and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.

<i>Marvel 2099</i> Marvel Comics imprint

Marvel 2099 was a Marvel Comics imprint, started in 1992, that was originally about one possible future of the Marvel Universe, but later revealed to be the Earth of the main Marvel continuity in the distant future. It was originally announced by Stan Lee in his "Stan's Soapbox" column as a single series entitled The Marvel World of Tomorrow, which was being developed by Lee and John Byrne. This later changed to a line of books under the banner Marvel 2093 before finally being published as Marvel 2099.

The Scourge of the Underworld is the name of a series of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shriek (character)</span> Marvel Comics supervillainess

Shriek is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is usually depicted as an enemy of Spider-Man, and the lover of Cletus Kasady.

The Foolkiller is the name of four fictional characters, vigilantes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, consisting of Ross G. Everbest, Greg Salinger, and Kurt Gerhardt in the primary continuity Marvel Universe, and Mike Trace in the MAX imprint.

Cyclone is the alias of a number of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

The Human Fly is the name of three fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. One is a supervillain that was an occasional antagonist of Spider-Man, and the other two were superheroes, one of which was the title of a short-lived series in the late 1950s reprinting some of Fox's Blue Beetle strips from the 1940s. It was published by Super Comics.

Death Adder is the name of two supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original Death Adder first appeared in Marvel Two-in-One #64, created by writers Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio. The second Death Adder, first appeared in Civil War Files #1 and was based on the concept of the original Death Adder.

Grizzly is the name of four unrelated characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first is a wild west villain, the second is an A.I.M. Agent, the third is a foe of Spider-Man, and the fourth is a mutant and member of Six Pack.

Kangaroo is the name of two fictional supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Both are noted for their leaping ability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firebrand (Marvel Comics)</span> Fictional character in comics by Marvel Comics

Firebrand is the name of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and most prominent, Gary Gilbert, is an enforcer for corrupt industrialist Justin Hammer and a former activist who turned to violence after believing peaceful protest produced no results.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctor Bong</span> Fictional Marvel Comics villain

Doctor Bong is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character possesses an advanced knowledge of genetic engineering, and his bell-shaped helmet can be struck to create a number of effects. Intended as a parody of Doctor Moreau, he is an archenemy of Howard the Duck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miracle Man</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

The Miracle Man is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby as one of the first enemies of the Fantastic Four. He was originally depicted as a stage magician with megalomaniacal desires, capable of convincing others through hypnosis that he has amazing powers. In subsequent appearances, he appears to obtain actual, significant superpowers that allow him to mentally control and rearrange matter, but this turns out to be yet another illusion. The Miracle Man becomes one of the many minor Marvel Comics supervillains to be killed by the Scourge of the Underworld, but is resurrected much later by the demon Dormammu.

Mirage is the name of two fictional villains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Letha is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as a former member of the female villain team the Grapplers.

Megatak is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Hijacker is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

References

  1. DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 385. ISBN   978-1-4654-7890-0.
  2. "Century, Turner D.". Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe, the. 2 (16): 44. 1987.
  3. 1 2 3 Spider-Woman #33
  4. Marvel Team-Up #120
  5. Mark Gruenwald  ( w ), Paul Neary  ( p ), Dennis Janke  ( i )."Overkill" Captain America ,vol. 1,no. 319(July 1986).Marvel Comics.
  6. Deadpool Vol. 3 #0
  7. Punisher Vol. 7 #6
  8. Superior Spider-Man II #9