Quentin Turnbull
Encyclopedia
Quentin Turnbull is a comic book
western criminal created by Michael Fleisher
and Tony DeZuniga
and published by DC Comics
and first appearing in Weird Western Tales
#22 (March–April 1974).
for causing the death of Turnbull's son during the Civil War
. Turnbull enlists the aid of various criminals including El Papagayo
and The Chameleon.
. Working alongside the Black Lantern Hex, Turnbull tracks down his own great-great-grandson, Joshua, and kills him.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
western criminal created by Michael Fleisher
Michael Fleisher
Michael L. "Mike" Fleisher is an American writer known for his DC Comics of the 1970s and 1980s, particularly for the characters the Spectre and Jonah Hex.-Early life and career:...
and Tony DeZuniga
Tony DeZuniga
Tony DeZuniga is a Filipino comic-book artist best known for his work for DC Comics, where he co-created the characters Jonah Hex and Black Orchid.-Early life and career:...
and published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
and first appearing in Weird Western Tales
Weird Western Tales
Weird Western Tales is a Western genre comic book title published by DC Comics which ran from June-July 1972 to August 1980. It is perhaps best known for featuring the adventures of Jonah Hex until #38 when the character was promoted to his own eponymous series...
#22 (March–April 1974).
Fictional character biography
Quentin Turnbull is a Virginian plantation owner who swears vengeance upon Jonah HexJonah Hex
Jonah Woodson Hex is a Western comic book antihero created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga and published by DC Comics. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is horribly scarred on the right side. Despite his poor reputation and personality, Hex is bound by a personal...
for causing the death of Turnbull's son during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Turnbull enlists the aid of various criminals including El Papagayo
El Papagayo
El Papagayo is a fictional character, a comic book western criminal created by Michael Fleisher and José Luis García-López and published by DC Comics and first appearing in Jonah Hex #2 .“El Papagayo” is Spanish for “The Parrot”....
and The Chameleon.
Blackest Night
During the Blackest Night event, Turnbull is reanimated as a Black LanternBlack Lantern Corps
The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of revenants appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The group is composed of deceased fictional characters that seek to eliminate all life from the DC Universe.-Publication history:...
. Working alongside the Black Lantern Hex, Turnbull tracks down his own great-great-grandson, Joshua, and kills him.
Film
- Quentin Turnbull is the main antagonistAntagonistAn antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
of the 2010 film Jonah HexJonah Hex (film)Jonah Hex is a 2010 post-Civil War antihero Western film loosely based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film is directed by Jimmy Hayward and stars Josh Brolin as the title character, Jonah Hex, and also stars John Malkovich, Michael Fassbender,...
, portrayed by John MalkovichJohn MalkovichJohn Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
. According to that film's storyline, Turnbull is a former general officer in the ConfederateConfederate States of AmericaThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
Army, who, after the Battle of GettysburgBattle of GettysburgThe Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, intentionally targets civilians - hospitals, churches, schools - in an attempt to turn the Union's people against their government (in effect, becoming a proto-terrorist). During the final years of the WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, he orders Jonah Hex to burn down a hospital, but Hex refuses, and is forced to kill Turnbull's son, Jeb. Hex later turns Turnbull and his men in to the Union military. Swearing vengeance, Turnbull ties up Hex outside his house and forces him to watch as his house is burned down with Hex's wife and son inside. He then brands Hex's face with the initials "QT" and leaves him to die. Hex later removes the initials by searing his face with a heated tomahawkTomahawk (axe)A tomahawk is a type of axe native to North America, traditionally resembling a hatchet with a straight shaft. The name came into the English language in the 17th century as a transliteration of the Powhatan word.Tomahawks were general purpose tools used by Native Americans and European Colonials...
. Turnbull fakes his death and lies low for several years, resurfacing to mastermind a terrorist attack on the United States during its centennial celebrations. He steals a "superweapon" designed by Eli WhitneyEli WhitneyEli Whitney was an American inventor best known for inventing the cotton gin. This was one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution and shaped the economy of the Antebellum South...
, and plans to use it, mounted on an ironclad, to level Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. He is killed when Hex traps him aboard the ship and detonates the magazine, exploding the ship.