Fastback (comics)
| Fastback | |
|---|---|
|
Fastback, from Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew #7. Art by Scott Shaw and Al Gordon. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | New Teen Titans #16 (February 1982) |
| Created by |
Roy Thomas Scott Shaw |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Timmy Joe Terrapin |
| Team affiliations | The Zoo Crew |
| Notable aliases | The Terrapin Torpedo, The Reptilian Rocket |
| Abilities | Various superspeed powers |
Fastback (real name Timmy Joe Terrapin) is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe, an anthropomorphic turtle. Fastback is a superhero who lived on the otherdimensional world of Earth-C (now Earth-26), an alternate Earth populated by sentient animals. His first appearance was in a special insert in The New Teen Titans #16 (February 1982).
Fictional character biography
While trying to catch a bus to Kornsas City (Earth-C's Kansas City, Missouri), Timmy Joe Terrapin, a resident of the "Okey-Dokey" swamp (Earth-C's Okefenoke Swamp) in the American south, found a meteor fragment lodged in his shell, said fragment launched by Starro the Conqueror. Ironically, the fragment gave the notoriously slow (both in mind and body) Timmy Joe superspeed powers. Upon hearing of other animals across the country endowed with similar powers from other meteor fragments, Timmy joined them as the superhero "Fastback," and helped to defeat Starro. Afterwards, Fastback joined the others in creating the superhero team the Zoo Crew.[1]
Despite his increase in physical speed, Timmy Joe Terrapin was still quite laid-back in personality and slow-witted. He was a somewhat stereotypical depiction of an ignorant country bumpkin, but often his ignorance was more naïveté than stupidity. Furthermore, he is inventive using his speed to defeat his enemies.
During a time-travel storyline, Fastback was sent back in time to the Second Weird War, where he discovered his uncle Merton McSnurtle was in reality the Terrific Whatzit, a Golden Age DC Comics funny-animal superhero.[2]
In Teen Titans #30-31 (December 2005-January 2006), Fastback is mentioned in a series of pages purporting to be a Zoo Crew comic published in the mainstream DC Universe, and follows the adventures of the Zoo Crew teammates in a grimmer, darker version of Earth-C, parodying the recent trend toward "grim and gritty" superhero comics. In these pages, Fastback is shown to have been sent to the future unwillingly by an evil feline magician, "Dark Alley," who impersonated his teammate Alley-Kat-Abra.
In the 2007 miniseries Captain Carrot and the Final Ark, he is revealed to have been rescued and returned to the present by his teammates. At the conclusion of that story, he, along with the rest of the Zoo Crew are stranded on Earth-0, losing both his powers and humanoid appearance. Both are returned by the Monitor Nix Uotan in the finale of the Final Crisis.
Fastback later makes an appearance in the 2015 series The Multiversity, as a member of the army of Flash (comics) analogues summoned from across the multiverse to free Nix Uotan from the Gentry's control
Fastback is featured in the two issue series 'Flash: Convergence'. While on a recon, he assists pre-Flashpoint Wally West in saving his adopted Gotham City from a small army of murderous Amazons.[3]
Powers and abilities
Fastback possesses various superspeed powers, similar to those of the DC Comics superhero Flash. However, it is unknown if his powers are derived from the Speed Force (though Fastback was included in a montage of speedsters in Speed Force #1 (November 1997)). Fastback's powers include the ability to make superspeed-generated afterimages of himself and (when retracting his body parts inside his shell) launch himself at foes like a torpedo. His shell is highly resistant to damage, and Fastback will instinctively draw his head and limbs into his shell when endangered (though his small tail will often be left exposed). If necessary, Fastback can remove the shell from his body, and his costume has an inner section that covers his inner body that are usually contained by the shell. It is unknown if the unusual strength of Fastback's shell is a result of his powers or a feature of all turtles native to Earth-C.