Red Tornado is a codename for different characters appearing in

American comic books An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of '' Action Comics ...

published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

that appear in the mainstream and other realities. The most common of them is

Ma Hunkel Abigail Mathilda "Ma" Hunkel is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Debuting during the Golden Age of Comic Books, she first appeared in her civilian identity in All-American Publications' ''All-American ...

and the android version.

Character histories

Ma Hunkel

Created by

Sheldon Mayer Sheldon Mayer (; April 1, 1917 – December 21, 1991) was an American comics artist, writer, and editor. One of the earliest employees of Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's National Allied Publications, Mayer produced almost all of his comics wo ...

, she

first appeared In American comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status. Reader intere ...

in her civilian identity as Abigail Mathilda "Ma" Hunkel in

All-American Publications All-American PublicationsThe name is spelled with a hyphen per its logo (pictured) and sources includinat Don Markstein's ToonopediaArchivedfrom the original on April 15, 2012. was one of two American comic book companies that merged to form t ...

' ''

All-American Comics ''All-American Comics'' was a comics anthology and the flagship title of comic book publisher All-American Publications, one of the forerunners of DC Comics. It ran for 102 issues from 1939 to 1948. Characters created for the title, including Green ...

'' #3 (June 1939), and became the Red Tornado in ''All-American Comics'' #20 (Nov. 1940). As the Red Tornado, she was one of the first superhero

parodies A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its su ...

, as well as one of the first female superheroes (possibly the first), and, when occasionally disguised as a man, comics' first cross-dressing heroine.

Android

Created by writer

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for ...

and artist

Dick Dillin Richard Allen Dillin (December 17, 1928 – March 1, 1980)Richard Dillin
at the United States

Justice League of America The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceive ...

'' #64 (August 1968). The 1968 Red Tornado was a sentient android able to generate tornado-speed winds enabling it to fly and perform other wind-related feats. Originally a member of the

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA, or Justice Society (JS)) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Boo ...

, it moved to another dimension and joined the

Lois Lane of Earth 2

In 2011 DC rebooted its continuity as part of

the New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cross ...

. In the series ''Earth 2'', set on the world of that title, Red Tornado's body is said to be under construction in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

and is a

gynoid A gynoid, or fembot, is a feminine humanoid robot. Gynoids appear widely in science fiction film and art. As more realistic humanoid robot design becomes technologically possible, they are also emerging in real-life robot design. Name A gyno ...

. On Earth 2 Red Tornado appears similar to the pre-reboot version, except for its being a feminine robot inhabited by the consciousness of Superman's wife

Lois Lane Lois Lane is a Character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1 (June 1938). Lois ...

. Lois's father

Sam Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional c ...

transfers his daughter's mind into the robot's body, who must contend with her existence as a robot and the reappearance of her now-evil ex-lover. After Red Tornado removes Superman from Darkseid's control, Superman and Lois leave for the Kent family's farm. Later, Lois bands together with Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Batman (Thomas Wayne), Accountable (Jimmy Olsen) and the other gathered heroes to fight against the forces of Apokolips. After a protracted battle with what was thought to be a surviving brainwashed Superman, Lois realizes he is, in fact, a

Bizarro Bizarro () is a supervillain/anti-hero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman, and first appeared in '' Superboy'' #68 ( ...

, and takes advantage of his deteriorating form to disintegrate him with a cyclone blast.

Other versions

Besides the versions above, the following characters that went by the name Red Tornado are listed below: * On the genderbent Earth-11, there is an unnamed Red Tornado that is a female. * Different versions of Red Tornado were featured in the ''

Elseworlds ''Elseworlds'' was the publication imprint for American comic books produced by DC Comics for stories that took place outside the DC Universe canon. Elseworlds publications are set in alternate realities that deviate from the established con ...

'' stories: ** In the series ''

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

'', an unnamed Red Tornado is a member of the Justice League. ** In the series ''Nightwing: The New Order'', an unnamed Red Tornado is a member of the Crusaders. * In the alternative timeline of '' Flashpoint'', the Red Tornadoes are androids created by Doctor Morrow. * On Earth 10 where World War II was not won by the Allied Forces, there is an unnamed Red Tornado who is a member of the New Reichsmen. * On Earth 23, there is an unnamed Red Tornado who is a member of its Justice League led by Superman (the superhero identity of President Calvin Ellis). * On Earth -22 of the Dark Multiverse, there is an unnamed Red Tornado who was a part of its Justice League until he was among those killed by a plot carried out by

The Batman Who Laughs The Batman Who Laughs (Bruce Wayne) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the evil counterpart and alternate version of Batman within the Dark Multiverse. He is depicted as a hybrid of both Batman (Bru ...

.''The Batman Who Laughs'' #1. DC Comics.

Character histories

Ma Hunkel

Android

Lois Lane of Earth 2

Other versions

See also

References

Bibliography

External links