Torpedo is the name of five fictional characters appearing in

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s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

Creation

Co-creator Marv Wolfman recalled the characters creation stating: "''

King of the Rocket Men ''King of the Rocket Men'' is a 1949 12-chapter movie serial from Republic Pictures, produced by Franklin Adreon, directed Fred C. Brannon, that stars Tristram Coffin, Mae Clarke, Don Haggerty, House Peters, Jr., James Craven, and I. Stanf ...

'' was a movie serial back in the 1940s. The lead character,

Commando Cody Commando Cody is the hero in two 12-chapter science fiction serials made by Republic Pictures, played by George Wallace in ''Radar Men from the Moon'' (1952) and Judd Holdren in '' Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe'' (1953). ''Zombi ...

, went on to more movies/TV. I really liked Cody and yes, he inspired Torpedo, but only in the fact that Torpedo wore the rocket pack as did Cody. Other than that, we went off in different directions."

Publication history

A separate character called the Torpedo was not related to subsequent versions and debuted in a one-shot story in '' Daredevil'' #59 (Dec 1969). The second version debuted wearing the Torpedo suit that was to become a feature for successive characters, but also only appeared in one story in ''Daredevil'' #126 (Oct. 1975). The third version, Brock Jones, appeared in ''Daredevil'' #126, #127 (Nov. 1975) and #134 (June 1976) and then starred in a storyline in ''

Marvel Premiere ''Marvel Premiere'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own ser ...

'' #39-40 (Dec. 1977 – Feb. 1978). After a guest appearance in ''

Defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: * Defense (military) * Defense (sports) ** Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre Film * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The D ...

'' #62–64 (Aug. – Oct. 1978) plot threads from the ''Marvel Premiere'' story were resolved in ''

Rom Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

'' #21–22 (Aug. – Sept. 1981). After appearing sporadically in the title, the character was killed in ''Rom'' #50 (Jan. 1984). The battlesuit reappeared in ''

New Warriors The New Warriors are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to Avengers (comics) ...

'' #28 (Oct. 1992), now shared between two characters under the alias of

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Fictional character biography

The first version of the Torpedo is a

hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

sent by a crime boss to

assassinate Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

a witness, but is defeated by the hero Daredevil. The second version is Michael Stivak, a young scientist brought to the

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by his uncle,

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Eugene Stivak. Asked to design a battlesuit for national defense, Michael Stivak develops a costume equipped with turbo-jets that can propel the wearer through the air and magnify physical blows. Learning that his uncle is the leader of the criminal organization the

Corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

, Michael Stivak designs an inferior battlesuit for his uncle and secretly develops another suit. Using the alias "Torpedo", Michael Stivak attempts to destroy the plans for the suit and flaunts the suit's power by attacking two policemen. Following Stivak's path of destruction, Daredevil attacks. During their battle the building collapses on them.''Daredevil'' #126 (Oct. 1975) Brock Jones witnesses the battle between Daredevil and Torpedo and frees the dying Michael Stivak. He explains the history of the battlesuit, and entrusts the completion of his mission to Jones. Once in costume, Jones is mistaken for Stivak and becomes a wanted criminal for both Stivak's crimes and killing Stivak. Jones acquires the final set of plans, but is attacked by Daredevil before he can escape. When their battle lays waste to a suburban family home, Jones surrenders his mission, gives the plans over to Daredevil, and retires from superheroing. However, shortly after, a chance sighting of the

Chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...

tempts Jones into going back on his vow to never wear the suit again. Senator Stivak sends another squad of Rocketeers to attack the new Torpedo, but after several skirmishes Jones defeats them (with Stivak dying of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

). Torpedo briefly aids superhero team the

and reappears in the town of Clairton as an ally of the Spaceknight

. It is revealed that the alien

Dire Wraiths The Dire Wraiths are a fictional extraterrestrial species appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing. The Dire Wraiths are the main opponents of Rom the Space Knight. Publication history The Dire Wraiths firs ...

instigated the creation of the battlesuit with the intent to use it against Rom. The Torpedo allies with Rom and together they battle a squad of Rocketeers. The Torpedo acts as the guardian of the town of Clairton in Rom's absence, and after thinking the Wraith threat ended, retires. Jones is then murdered by a group of newly arrived Wraiths who use

sorcery Sorcery commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Goetia, ''Goetia'', magic involving the evocation of spirits ** Witchcraft, the ...

. The battlesuit is bequeathed to Jones' first cousin Phillip Jeffries and is found in storage by his son Michael Brent Jeffries. Michael and friend Michiko "Mickey" Musashi shared the suit and adopted the codename

. Michael was murdered by the Dire Wraith queen Volx, who was posing as Brock Jones' son Danny (Michael's second cousin).''The New Warriors'' #73

References

External links

* *{{Marvunapp, http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/torpedos.htm, Torpedo II Characters created by John Romita Sr. Characters created by Marv Wolfman Comics characters introduced in 1975 Marvel Comics scientists Marvel Comics superheroes Marvel Comics supervillains