Turtle (comics)

Last updated
The Turtle
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance All Flash #21 (Winter 1945)
Created by Gardner Fox
Martin Naydel
In-story information
Alter egoUnknown
Jai West
Team affiliations(Unknown)
Secret Society of Super Villains
Legion of Doom
Legion of Zoom

The Turtle is the name of two supervillains appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, who were primarily enemies of the Flash.

Contents

Two original incarnations of the Turtle appeared in The Flash , portrayed by Aaron Douglas and Vanessa Walsh.

Publication history

The first Turtle debuted in All-Flash #21 (December 1945), and was created by Gardner Fox and Martin Naydel. [1]

The second Turtle (the Turtle Man) first appeared in Showcase #4 (October 1956), and was created by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino.

Fictional character biography

Golden Age version

The original Turtle is an old man and enemy of the Golden Age Flash (Jay Garrick) who lacks powers and primarily relies on methodical planning. [2] After a few clashes with the Flash, the Turtle fades from the public eye.

Years later, the Turtle Man carries on his legacy. After the debut of the third Flash (Wally West), the original Turtle returns, now with the younger Turtle Man as his henchman, to take over Keystone City from underground. A final clash with Wally and his allies results in the Turtle destroying his own headquarters and apparently himself with it. [3]

Silver Age version

The Turtle Man (sometimes simply calling himself "the Turtle") is the first gimmicked Rogue fought by the second Flash (Barry Allen) and appears in Central City shortly after Barry's debut as the Flash. Originally using his natural slowness as a weapon, such as returning to rob a bank vault later to place people off guard, Turtle is also an independently wealthy scientific genius who creates fantastic devices based on slowness. After some years, the first Turtle returns and meets his "successor". Impressed with the latter's scientific talent, the first Turtle becomes an ally in an attempt to take over Keystone City. A lab accident seriously cripples the Turtle Man during this time. After Wally West and his allies find the Turtle's underground headquarters, the original Turtle seemingly kills himself while the younger Turtle Man is taken into custody. [3]

The Turtle Man later resurfaces, having recovered from his injuries and developed the ability to 'steal' speed, slowing down others around him to a crawl no matter how fast they are moving. During Infinite Crisis , he joins Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains.

Still Force entity

In Scott Snyder's Justice League series, the Turtle is re-imagined as using the Still Force, the embodiment of inertia and entropy and the Speed Force's opposite. [4] It is later revealed that Turtle is a child prodigy who came from an abusive household. He spent most of his time with his wife and two children, slowing down his career and allowing his peers to surpass him. [5] Growing jealous of his peers, he began experimenting with a mysterious energy force that he believed kept the universe moving forward. His experiment quickly meandered out of control, which rapidly aged him into an old man, but prevented him from aging further. His family helped him through the recovery process, which allowed him to regain his mobility.

He experimented with this energy force for decades, discovering he could negate any form of motion, including the progression of life. Eventually, he became disillusioned with human life, knowing that he would outlive everyone he loved. This led him to kill his family, as he saw them as a needless distraction from his work.

Jai West

A possible future version of Wally West's son Jai West who became a superhero called the Turtle appears in Doomsday Clock . [6]

Powers and abilities

The second Turtle wears a device that can project force fields and has small jets built into his armor. He additionally wields two guns that respectively slow movement and make others perceive the world faster.

The third Turtle wields the Still Force, enabling him to negate motion, drain life force, and create energy constructs.

Other characters named the Turtle

Several unrelated villains who called themselves the Turtle:

In other media

Television

Film

An original incarnation of the Turtle, Victor Vesp, was planned to appear in David S. Goyer's cancelled Flash film. [10]

References

  1. ↑ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains . New York: Facts on File. p. 354. ISBN   0-8160-1356-X.
  2. ↑ All-Flash #21 (December 1945)
  3. 1 2 Showcase #4 (October 1956)
  4. ↑ Justice League (vol. 4) #4 (July 2018)
  5. ↑ The Flash (vol. 5) #73 (August 2019)
  6. ↑ Doomsday Clock #12 (February 2020)
  7. ↑ Star Spangled Comics #17 (February 1943)
  8. ↑ Adventure Comics #122 (November 1947)
  9. ↑ Abrams, Natalie (January 11, 2016). "The Flash casts Battlestar Galactica alum Aaron Douglas as The Turtle". Entertainment Weekly.
  10. ↑ Kendall, Gene (May 17, 2023). "Before Green Lantern, Before Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds as -- the Flash?". Comic Book Resources.
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