Tasmanian Devil (comics)
Encyclopedia
Tasmanian Devil is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

, a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...

 in the 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...

 universe. He is unrelated to the Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...

 character
Tasmanian Devil (Looney Tunes)
The Tasmanian Devil, often referred to as Taz, is an animated cartoon character featured in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes series of cartoons. The character appeared in only five shorts before Warner Bros...

, although both characters are owned by Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...

. He first appeared in Super Friends
Super Friends
Super Friends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1986 on ABC as part of its Saturday morning cartoon lineup...

#7. His first canon appearance is Infinity, Inc. #32 (November 1986).

Fictional character biography

Hugh Dawkins is a born metahuman
Metahuman
Metahuman is a term to describe superhumans in DC Comics' shared universe, the DC Universe. It is roughly synonymous with both mutant and mutate and posthuman in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. Use of the term in reference to superheroes was coined in 1986 by author George R. R...

 with the ability to turn into a supernaturally large and intelligent Tasmanian Devil
Tasmanian Devil
The Tasmanian devil is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae, now found in the wild only on the Australian island state of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, it became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936...

, in a fashion similar to a werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...

. An alternate origin has jokingly been offered, claiming that Hugh's mother was a were Tasmanian Devil who raised him in a Tasmanian Devil cult, which gave him a Tasmanian Devil amulet after selling his soul to a Tasmanian Devil and injecting him with a radioactive Tasmanian Devil musk from a race of alien Tasmanian Devils which gave him his powers. While Hugh is a pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...

, his alter ego of the Tasmanian Devil is aggressive and bestial. His parents had a hard time with him until he saved his father's life.

He works as a superhero in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

 until he is contacted by a man named Doctor Mist
Doctor Mist
Doctor Mist is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. He was created by E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon, first appearing in a cameo in Super Friends #12 . Doctor Mist is based on both the Guardian of the Gate and the character of King Noot introduced in Chapter...

 to join the Global Guardians
Global Guardians
The Global Guardians is a team of fictional DC Comics superheroes whose members hail from countries around the world. The concept originated in the Super Friends Saturday morning cartoon, in which several heroes were added to the Justice League to give it more ethnic diversity.-History:The...

. He fights alongside the team until their base is destroyed and the team disbands.

League and Guardians

Dawkins helps to rebuild the Justice League Embassy which had been destroyed during an alien invasion. His affiliation with the Justice League causes his rejection by the Queen Bee
Queen Bee (comics)
Queen Bee is the name of four different DC Comics supervillains.-Queen Bee :The leader of the hiveworld Korll, Zazzala lives only for the interstellar expansion of her species. Zazzala first appeared in Justice League of America #23...

, ruler of Bialya
Bialya
Bialya is a fictional country appearing in many comic book series published by DC Comics. It was notably featured in issues of Justice League International as written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis. It originally appeared in Justice League #2 -Fictional history:It has existed as a country since...

, who is reforming the Guardians. Her efforts seem beneficial but are for her own selfish gain, as she is using brainwashing techniques to put the Guardians under her control. This affects the Devil again, as his close friend Tuatara
Tuatara (comics)
Tuatara is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics universe.-Fictional character biography:Tuatara's first appearance took place in Super Friends #8 , which is set outside the mainstream DC Comics continuity. Jeremy Wakefield is a young New Zealander who can predict the future with the help of a...

 falls into a coma after destroying a neo-Nazi compound and attacking the League. Tuatara is taken care of by an Australian medical facility.

Dawkins, along with his friend Joshua Barbazon, were preparing the Justice League Australian embassy. Their plans include transferring Tuatara to the medical lab, as soon as it was set up. The Queen Bee recalls Tuatara before this could happen. Dawkins is infuriated by these circumstances, which he doesn't fully understand.

Dawkins would be there when Tuatara recovers his true mind. Called up in a League effort to stop an international incident, Dawkins and many other League members travel to Bialya
Bialya
Bialya is a fictional country appearing in many comic book series published by DC Comics. It was notably featured in issues of Justice League International as written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis. It originally appeared in Justice League #2 -Fictional history:It has existed as a country since...

. It turns out that Captain Atom
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...

, Elongated Man, Ice and Blue Beetle had been fired by Ambassador Heimlich, a mole placed into U.N. power by the Queen Bee. They had illegally invaded Bialya to find out what was going on.

The backup team enters, with the permission of Queen Bee, just in time to be caught in a devastating explosion, which destroys an entire city block. The League and many innocent people are saved by Ice creating a shield but so many others are not so lucky. Dawkin's former friends regain their minds and the Bee's massive brainwashing efforts are literally uncovered. He also learns that Doctor Mist
Doctor Mist
Doctor Mist is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. He was created by E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon, first appearing in a cameo in Super Friends #12 . Doctor Mist is based on both the Guardian of the Gate and the character of King Noot introduced in Chapter...

 was a robot, Jack O'Lantern, dead, is an impostor and Owl-Woman is missing. It is said that Little Mermaid is also missing, though both sides in the conflict had seen her die from a misfired shot by Lantern. Queen Bee, the one that has caused so much problems is deposed and slain by Sumaan Harjavti, the brother of the man the Queen had slain and deposed herself.

Dawkins and the League help with relief and recovery efforts. After this he would return to Australia, but soon rejoins a team of Guardians to rescue those still endangered by the secret machinations of Harjavti. The entire group is endangered as those left behind had been implanted with subliminal orders to kill. Fortunately, nobody is actually harmed and the Guardians are reformed again.

It is also revealed that Hugh is openly gay in Justice League Quarterly #8.

He rejoins the Justice League International
Justice League International
Justice League International is a DC Comics superhero team written by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis, with art by Kevin Maguire, created in 1987.-Publication history:...

 after aiding them against the villain Sonar.

Bloodlines

Later, Dawkins works with the Justice League during the Bloodlines
Bloodlines (comics)
"Bloodlines" was a 1993 comic book story arc published by DC Comics. It was an intracompany crossover that ran through DC's superhero annuals and concluded with a two-issue 'Bloodbath' miniseries written by Dan Raspler. The antagonists were a race of monstrous xenomorph-like aliens, incorrectly...

 event. He teams up, mainly with Elongated Man
Elongated Man
The Elongated Man is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC universe. He is a reserve member of the Justice League. His first appearance was in The Flash vol. 1, #112...

 and Metamorpho
Metamorpho
Metamorpho is a fictional character, a superhero in the . He is a founding member of the Outsiders, and has also joined multiple incarnations of the Justice League.-Publication history:...

 to stop a group of murderous aliens terrorizing London. The other adult female team members, Power Girl
Power Girl
Power Girl is a DC Comics superheroine, making her first appearance in All Star Comics #58 ....

 and Doctor Light, are unavailable to assist due to previous commitments. The men don't do so well, as dozens of citizens vanish or are killed. The toll, which includes a missing school bus, deeply affects all three. During one investigation, they attacked by the rookie, armored hero Lionheart, who mistakes Taz's unusual form (and the changing forms of his friends) for the eyewitness reports of the aliens.

The aliens attack the League's headquarters, a (seemingly haunted) castle. Summoned by the energy flares of their youngest member, Maya
Maya (comics)
Maya is a fictional Indian comic book superheroine in the DC Universe. She first appeared in Justice League Europe #47 , and was created by Gerard Jones and Ron Randall.-Fictional character biography:...

, the group returns and fights the creatures. Lionheart, though his secondary mission is to discredit the League, sees the nobility in Taz and the others and helps them chase off the aliens. No pursuit is possible, as all are injured; Taz himself has been impaled through the shoulder. Lionheart, before fainting from his injuries, summons medical help through an emergency Justice League communications channel. Tas recovers in time to help his JLE teammates and other heroes defeat the Bloodlines aliens.

Funerals and Risk

Around this time, Dawkins goes on a JLI goodwill tour to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. They resist him at first. Soon, he and his contact, Raylene Mackenzie, stumble upon the villain Phobia
Phobia (comics)
Phobia is a fictional DC Comics supervillain of the New Teen Titans.-Fictional character biography:Born a member of the British aristocracy with the power to make people experience their worst fears, Angela Hawkins III was a "bad seed" who rejected any help from her family.When the Brain came to...

 and Tas literally sniffs out one of her recent murders. The two get into a back-and-forth fight with the fear-casting killer. Raylene confronts a fear of drowning, while Tas' hallucination concerns the abusive treatment his mother heaped upon his father. Working together, the two defeat Phobia. Tas' efforts to save a New Zealander endears him to the entire country.

Dawkins later assists the Justice League in battling Overmaster
Overmaster
The Overmaster is a DC Comics supervillain. He first appeared behind the scenes in Justice League of America #233 , and was created by Gerry Conway and Chuck Patton.-Fictional character biography:...

. There, the team loses Ice
Ice (comics)
Ice is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in publications from DC Comics. Created by Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire, she first appeared in Justice League International #12 ....

. The group falls apart and Dawkins soon leaves too, not wanting to stay in a group so small and unestablished. He does not see the point.

Tas is one of the mourners at the funeral for Maxwell Lord
Maxwell Lord
Maxwell Lord IV is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is a shrewd and powerful businessman who was very influential in the formation of the Justice League International in DC Comics.-Before the League:...

.

After some time missing, he is shown attending the funeral of Sue Dibny
Sue Dibny
Susan "Sue" Dearbon Dibny is a fictional character from DC Comics associated with the Elongated Man. Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, the character first appeared in Flash vol. 1 #119...

, wife of the Elongated Man
Elongated Man
The Elongated Man is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC universe. He is a reserve member of the Justice League. His first appearance was in The Flash vol. 1, #112...

.

Tas joins the Ultramarine Corps
Ultramarine Corps
The International Ultramarine Corps, formerly the Ultramarine Corps, is a fictional team of superheroes published by DC Comics. They first appeared in DC One Million #2 , and were created by Grant Morrison and Howard Porter....

 and lives for a time on their floating city of Superbia. When the entire city is conquered by Gorilla Grodd
Gorilla Grodd
Gorilla Grodd is a supervillain appearing in DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of The Flash. He debuted in Flash v.1 #106 , and was created by writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino....

 and his forces, Tas and the other surviving heroes are sent to cause destruction. His mind and the Corps are rescued by the Justice League. Soon after, he takes part in the Corps' mission into the infant universe sometimes known as Nebula Man
Nebula Man
Nebula Man is a fictional character in DC Comics. He first appeared in Justice League of America #100-101 .Originally a villain responsible for the disappearance of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, he has since reappeared as Neh-Buh-Loh, a primary antagonist in the 2005-2006 mega-series Seven...

. Their efforts later allow the villain to be destroyed.

After the events of Infinite Crisis
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 Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...

, Tas is shown at a memorial service/headcount.

Tas helps out in the OMAC Crisis. He is one of many superheroes who go to the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...

 as "bait" for the legions of meta-human killing machines. This scheme works and many OMACs are destroyed without harming the hosts within.

During the 52
52 (comics)
52 was a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen...

 maxi-series, Tas and other powered beings, including Gloss
Gloss (comics)
Gloss is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Millennium #2 , and was created by Steve Engelhart and Joe Staton.-Fictional character biography:...

 and Manticore, face a rage-maddened Black Adam
Black Adam
Black Adam is a fictional comic book character, created in 1945 by Otto Binder & C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. Originally created as a one-shot villain for Fawcett Comics' Marvel Family team of superheroes, Black Adam was revived as a recurring supervillain after DC Comics began publishing Captain...

 in Sydney, Australia. They are shown unconscious and buried in debris.

Later, Tas once again rejoins the Global Guardian.

In Detective Comics
Detective Comics
Detective Comics is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics since 1937, best known for introducing the iconic superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27 . It is, along with Action Comics, the book that launched with the debut of Superman, one of the medium's signature series, and...

#852 (2008), Tas has a brief cameo fighting hostile gunmen on the streets of Australia.

In the 2009 mini-series Justice League: Cry for Justice
Justice League: Cry for Justice
Justice League: Cry for Justice is a seven-issue comic book limited series, written by James Robinson, drawn by Mauro Cascioli, and published by DC Comics in 2009...

, it is revealed that Tas was skinned and his pelt was made into a rug by the villain Prometheus
Prometheus (comics)
Prometheus is the name of three fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.The first Prometheus debuted in New Teen Titans vol. 2, #24 and was created by Marv Wolfman and Eduardo Barreto . The second version debuted in New Year's Evil: Prometheus Prometheus is the name...

.

In the 2011 Starman
Starman (comics)
Starman is a name used by several different fictional DC Comics superheroes, most prominently Ted Knight and his sons David and Jack.Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Jack Burnley, the original Starman, Ted Knight, first appeared in Adventure Comics #61...

/Congorilla
Congorilla
Congorilla, originally a human character known as Congo Bill, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and Vertigo Comics. Originally co-created by writer Whitney Ellsworth and artist George Papp, he was later transformed into Congorilla by Robert...

one-shot, it is revealed that Prometheus had his body, put into a stasis pod. He was fully healed and awakened after a citizen of Gorilla City
Gorilla City
Gorilla City is a fictional city in the DC Comics Universe. The city, hidden in the jungles of Africa, is home to a race of super-intelligent gorillas, that gained their powers from a meteorite. The supervillain Gorilla Grodd is also from the city. Gorilla City first appears in The Flash vol...

 named Malavar placed his comatose body in a Lazarus Pit
Lazarus Pit
A Lazarus Pit is a fictional natural phenomenon in the . They are primarily found in the Batman titles and are commonly used by Ra's al Ghul for their restorative powers.-Fictional history:...

. He rises from the Pit just in time to help Starman, Congorilla, Malavar and Animal Man
Animal Man
Animal Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily “borrow” the abilities of animals...

 fight off a group of enemies, and then returns to Australia to tell his mother that he is still alive.

Following his resurrection, Tas appears as a member of the Justice League's reserve roster during the battle against Eclipso
Eclipso
Eclipso is a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. The character is the incarnation of the Wrath of God and the Angel of Vengeance that turned evil and was replaced by the Spectre...

's shadow army.

Powers and abilities

Hugh Dawkins can turn into a large humanoid tasmanian devil. In this form, he has enhanced strength, sharp claws, and fangs.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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