Super-Turtle (or Super Turtle) is a fictional character from

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 ...

, created by

Henry Boltinoff Henry Boltinoff (February 19, 1914 – April 26, 2001) was an American cartoonist who worked for both comic strips and comic books. He was a prolific cartoonist and drew many of the humor and filler strips that appeared in National Periodical c ...

; he is depicted as a

bipedal Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin ''bis'' 'double' ...

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked ...

wearing a

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. T ...

like Superman's. His emblem, which is on his cape, is a letter T in a shield.

Publication history

Created to be a lighthearted parody of Superman, Super-Turtle appeared mostly in one-page comic stories in Silver Age comic books, starting in ''

Adventure Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), m ...

'' #304 (January 1963). An accepted part of DC Comics history, Super-Turtle tends to show up once in a while in one form or another; e.g., a Super-Turtle figure hangs from the ceiling of the Planet Krypton restaurant in '' Kingdom Come'' and he had a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

in the one-shot '' Superman and Batman: World's Funnest''. Two one-page Super-Turtle stories were created for and appeared in the 2000 '' Silver Age'' series. His most recent comic book appearance was in issue #3 of the 2008 miniseries '' Ambush Bug: Year None'', in which he plays a role like the one

Superboy-Prime Superboy-Prime (Clark Kent, born Kal-El), also known as Superman-Prime or simply Prime, is a DC Comics superhero turned supervillain and an alternate version of Superman. The character first appeared in '' DC Comics Presents'' #87 (November 19 ...

played in ''

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordwa ...

''; after living in Limbo with

Kal-L Superman of Earth-Two is an alternate version of the fictional superhero Superman, who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was introduced after DC Comics created Earth-Two, a parallel world that was retroactiv ...

and company, Super-Turtle (who now calls himself Clark Kent) starts destroying anyone he considers to be a phony Super-Turtle, including

Bat-Mite Bat-Mite is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Bat-Mite is an imp similar to the Superman villain Mister Mxyzptlk. Depicted as a small, childlike man in an ill-fitting Batman costume, Bat-Mite posses ...

and Connor Kent. Super-Turtle makes a cameo in the final issue of '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' as Bat-Mite is upset of the comic book's cancelation and states several missed crossover opportunities, including Super-Turtle. Super-Turtle has since appeared in ''Sleepy Time Crime'' from Capstone Publishing's DC Super-Pets line of children books.

Fictional character biography

On the planet Galapagon (a parody of

Krypton Krypton (from grc, κρυπτός, translit=kryptos 'the hidden one') is a chemical element with the symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas that occurs in trace amounts in the atmosphere and is often ...

and the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands ( es, Islas Galápagos) are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the Equator west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with ...

), the scientist Shh-Ell (a parody of

Jor-El Jor-El, originally known as Jor-L, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Jor-El first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 with Superman ...

) of an advanced race of turtles realized that their planet was doomed, and convinced the Science Council that they should build 1,000 spaceships to evacuate it. Slow by nature, the turtles only managed to build one spaceship, in which Shh-Ell's infant son, Tur-Tel (Kal-El), was sent to Earth. Found by a kindly homespun farming couple, the turtle grew up and gained super-powers, becoming Super-Turtle, the Reptile of Steel. Super-Turtle's enemies and allies include parodies of Superman's (such as Brainy-

yak The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin St ...

, who is a parody of Brainiac and

Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in '' Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: ...

) and, in curious circumstances, Superman himself.

Powers and abilities

Super-Turtle has the same powers as Superman, including flight, invulnerability, superhuman speed and strength, and vision powers.

Appearances

Super-Turtle appeared in the following comics:

Bronze Age

* ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/ magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics Publication ...

'' #299, 301, 305, 309, 318, 321, 336, 374, 381 (1963-1969) * ''

'' #304, 312, 316–317, 326, 329, 341–342, 363, 377, 379 (1963-1969) * ''

Superboy Superboy is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comicbooks published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series featuring ...

'' #103, 105, 107–108, 110, 113–114, 127, 130, 156 (1963-1969) * '' Superman'' #159, 162, 170, 175, 181, 188, 190 (1963-1966) * ''

World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michae ...

'' #149, 151–152, 154, 156, 158, 166, 181 (1965-1968) * ''

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from September–October 1954 until March 1974, spanning a total of 163 issues. Featuring the adventures of Superman supporting character Jimmy Olsen, it ...

'' #90-91, 115 (1966-1968) * ''

The Brave and the Bold ''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by two mini-series in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing title in 2007. The focus of the series has varied ...

'' #70 (1967)

Modern Age revivals

* ''

Ambush Bug Ambush Bug is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. His real name is supposedly Irwin Schwab, but he has mental problems that prevent him from truly understanding reality around him, so even his true identity might ...

'' #1, 3 (1985) * '' Silver Age 80-Page Giant'' #1 (2000) * '' Silver Age Secret Files and Origins'' #1 (2000) * '' Superman and Batman: World's Funnest'' (2001) * '' Ambush Bug: Year None'' #3 (2008)

References

External links

Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe: Super-Turtle

Unofficial Super-Turtle Chronology
*{{comicbookdb, type=character, id=6577
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(with Super-Turtle comic pages) Animal superheroes Comics characters introduced in 1963 DC Comics animals DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics extraterrestrial superheroes DC Comics superheroes Fictional characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Fictional turtles Parody superheroes Parodies of Superman Comics about animals Children's comics