Tawky Tawny
Tawky Tawny | |
---|---|
C.C. Beck. | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | Fawcett Comics (1948–1953) DC Comics (1972–present) |
First appearance | Captain Marvel Adventures #79 (December 1947) |
Created by | Otto Binder C.C. Beck |
In-story information | |
Species | Bengal tiger |
Team affiliations | Marvel Family |
Supporting character of | Captain Marvel |
Abilities | Traditionally none beyond the physical qualities of a tiger; some versions of the character give him shapeshifting abilities from man to tiger, or the ability to transform into a giant smilodon. |
Tawky Tawny is a fictional character, an
Publication history
Created by
Fictional character biography
Fawcett Comics and pre-Crisis DC Comics
Mr. Tawny made his first appearance in Captain Marvel Adventures #79 (1947), published by Fawcett Comics. The story "The Talking Tiger" introduced Mr. Tawny as a humanoid talking Bengal tiger who travels from his native India to the United States in hopes of integrating himself into American society. Although he makes every effort to be sociable, the simple presence of the talking tiger in the city terrorizes the public, leading to Captain Marvel intervening. Upon learning through the Wisdom of Solomon that Tawny is a friendly and reasonable fellow who did not mean to cause trouble, Captain Marvel helps Tawny become a respectable part of society and secures a job for him as a tour guide at the local museum.
Tawny became a regular recurring character in Captain Marvel Adventures, appearing as the best friend of Captain Marvel and his juvenile alter-ego Billy Batson, until it ceased publication in 1953. As a respectable gentleman, Tawny typically dressed in a
Following the end of the publication of Captain Marvel Adventures when Fawcett Comics discontinued all of their superhero comics (see
Post-Crisis DC Comics
Tawky Tawny was
The subsequent comic series features the stuffed doll gaining the power from the evil demon
Following the cancellation of The Power of Shazam! in 1999, Tawny only appeared sporadically in DC Comics stories. In 52 #16 (2006), he appears as a guest of the wedding of reformed Marvel Family villain
The New 52
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Tawny appears as a recurring character in the Shazam! backup stories published in Justice League (vol. 2) from issue #7 through #21. In these stories, Tawny is a regular tiger at the Philadelphia city zoo who is a friend of young Billy Batson. When Billy gains the power to transform into Shazam (the Captain Marvel character's name was changed at this time), Shazam finds that he can share his power with anyone he considers family. When a fight with Black Adam lands them in the zoo, Shazam attempts to give Tawny the power to turn into a giant smilodon but casts the spell incorrectly.[6]
DC Rebirth
The anthropomorphic version of Tawky Tawny makes his proper post-Flashpoint return in Geoff Johns' Shazam! series, making his first appearance in Shazam! (vol. 3) #4 (May 2019).
This Tawny is a citizen of the Wildlands, one of the Seven Magiclands connected to each other via the
Tawny finds himself stripped naked and thrown into an enclosure where he tries to appeal to the other tigers there, declaring they can rise up against prejudice and should not be judged for what their predecessors have done. The other tigers refuse to cooperate out of fear of the mayor executing them, ignoring Tawny's protests. Tawny befriends the Shazam Family after Freddy and Darla find themselves trapped in the Wildlands and sentenced to be fed to tigers. Instead of eating them, Tawny saves the two children from his fellow tigers (all the while expressing his distaste of violence) and accompanies them on their adventures through the Magiclands after proper introductions.[7] Tawny later moves in with Victor and Rosa Vasquez. He helps to make dinner at the time when the Marvel Family was fighting King Kid.[8] When Tawky Tawny tries to attack Doctor Sivana during the Shazam Family's fight with the Monster Society of Evil, a Mister Mind-controlled C.C. Batson regressed Tawky Tawny to a cub.[9] When Mister Mind is defeated, the spell used on Tawky Tawny was undone.[10]
Other versions
Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil
In
Flashpoint
In the Flashpoint reality, Tawky Tawny is a companion of Captain Thunder. He appears to be an ordinary tiger, kept on a leash by one of six children who each possess one of the powers of Shazam. When the children transform into Captain Thunder, Tawny becomes a Smilodon in armor.[11] Pedro Peña, the child who keeps Tawky on a leash, claims that due to the magic surrounding the tiger, most people only see him as a regular tabby cat.
Kingdom Come
In Mark Waid and Alex Ross' Kingdom Come miniseries, Tawky Tawny makes an appearance in the Teen Titans meta-human bar.[12]
In other media
Television
- Tawky Tawny appears in The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam!, voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.
- Tawky Tawny appears in the Young Justice episode "Alpha Male". This version is a genetically enhanced Bengal tiger that Captain Marvel freed from Brain and Monsieur Mallah's control.
- Tawky Tawny appears in the "Shazam" segment of DC Nation Shorts, voiced by Brian George.
Film
- Tawky Tawny appears in Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. This version is a mystical tiger and servant of Shazam.
References
- ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ISBN 0-13-275561-0. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ "THE HISTORY OF CAPTAIN MARVEL (all of them) Mr. Tawny".
- ^ Sims, Chris (September 12, 2013). "Otto Binder And C.C. Beck's Mr. Tawny Captain Marvel Newspaper Strip Spin-off That Never Was". ComicsAlliance. Archived from the original on September 17, 2013.
What you might not know is that in 1953, Binder and Beck tried out a newspaper comic strip starring Tawny as a solo act, completely without his superheroic pal.
- ^ Final Crisis #6 (January 2009)
- ^ Justice League (vol. 2) #21 (August 2013)
- ^ a b Johns, Geoff (writer): Shazam! (vol. 3) #4-7 (2019). Burbank, CA: DC Comics.
- ^ Shazam! (vol. 3) #10 (January 2020). DC Comics.
- ^ Shazam! (vol. 3) #11. DC Comics.
- ^ Shazam! (vol. 3) #12. DC Comics.
- ^ Flashpoint #1 (July 2011). DC Comics.
- ^ Kingdom Come #2 (June 1996)
External links
- Tawky Tawny at DC Wiki
- Tawky Tawny at Comic Vine