This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2009)
Tobias Whale is an African American kingpin with albinism, who works his way up from the rackets to head the Metropolis branch of the 100. A school teacher named Jefferson Pierce speaks out against the 100's drug trafficking, and, as a response, they make an example of one of his students: Earl Clifford. Joey Toledo leads his men into attacking Earl and hits him with a car. Seeking to avenge the murdered student and receiving help from his tailor friend Peter Gambi, Pierce becomes Black Lightning and attacks Joey and his men. After defeating his henchmen, Joey Toledo is grabbed by Black Lightning, who arranges for Toledo to meet him at Garfield High School's gymnasium to inform on the 100 to him.[3]
When Black Lightning meets with Joey Toledo, Malcolm Merlyn the Dark Archer also appears after being hired by Toledo to kill Black Lightning. Their fight is crashed by Talia al Ghul and the League of Assassins, who are after Merlyn since he left the group after failing to kill Batman. The resulting battle ended with Joey Toledo being killed by a League of Assassins operative. Afterwards, Pierce is so successful in avenging Earl's death that Tobias Whale is sent to jail.[4]
When he breaks out of prison some months later, he teams up with Syonide II in order to distribute a new highly addictive drug. The drug's formula was supposedly in the possession of a woman named Violet Harper. Tobias sends Syonide to retrieve the formula. Unable to gain any information or find any trace of the formula, Syonide kills Harper. Violet Harper later comes back to life when an Aurakle possesses her lifeless body; this new being called herself Halo. Once he learned of Harper's resurrection, Tobias assumed that she must have memorized the formula. But since Harper had no memories from before her death, a frustrated Syonide killed her parents during the Outsiders' fight with Tobias Whale's henchmen.[5]
Often called "the Great White Whale" behind his back, Tobias Whale weighs close to 400lbs. However, most of his considerable bulk is muscle.
It is unknown whether Tobias Whale ever was associated with the 100's successor group, the 1000.
Whale returned in the miniseries Gotham Underground[6] and has moved to Gotham City, where he is attempting to become the Capo di tutti capi boss of bosses, following the death of Black Mask I. After taking over both the Galante and Odessa crime families, he ends up in a gang war with Intergang. They buy him out and make him the CEO of Kord Enterprises which has become a front for Intergang's criminal activities.
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Tobias Whale is re-introduced when he gets word that a drug deal done by his representatives was disrupted by both Black Lightning and Blue Devil. He decides to have them hunted down in order to get revenge on them.[7]
In DC Rebirth, the real Tobias Whale was seen in the pages of Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands. This version was not an albino and the Tobias Whale that encountered Black Lightning and Blue Devil was his unnamed nephew who used his identity during his reign in the Los Angeles criminal underworld. Tobias respected his nephew enough as a blood relative to kill him personally. Tobias later told his unnamed sister that her son was dead for using his name for his "half-assed" ventures and that he was an idiot.[8]
Powers and abilities
Tobias Whale does not possess any superhuman abilities but has strength and muscular prowess far exceeding that of a normal human being. He has fought Black Lightning on several occasions with nothing but his bare hands. Whale is a master hand-to-hand combatant who is skilled in boxing, street fighting and judo. Combined with his great physical strength, this makes him a highly dangerous foe for Black Lightning and several other heroes in the DC Universe like Batman and Booster Gold. Tobias Whale is a highly intelligent criminal strategist who is a skilled planner and mastermind. Whale has vast knowledge of criminal strategies and planning and possesses vast knowledge in political science. Even though Whale is a formidable physical opponent, it is his strategic mind and wealth that makes him a true force to be reckoned with.
Whale has access to a variety of weapons, but his personal favorite weapon is his harpoon which he is dangerously skilled with.
Other versions
Convergence
During the 2015 Convergence storyline, the Pre-Zero-Hour version of Tobias Whale has been trapped in his Metropolis for a full year. He has taken over the criminal underground. He struggles to gain influence over the mysterious food deliveries, as this is something the city values. Tobias Whale is opposed by the vigilante Jean-Paul Valley and the stranded playboy Bruce Wayne. Whale is unaware that Wayne is secretly Batman.[9]
Edgar Mandragora, a character partially inspired by and resembling Whale, appears in the Batman Beyond episode "Mind Games", voiced by John Rhys-Davies. He is a telepathic and telekinetic metahuman and member of the Brain Trust, a secret society of psychic metahumans who secretly kidnap children with similar gifts, claiming to the parents that they will help them. When Batman discovers their operations, Edgar lures him into a trap, but is defeated and arrested by Neo-Gotham authorities.
Edgar returns in The Zeta Project episode "Ro's Gift", voiced again by John Rhys-Davies. Having escaped from prison by this time, he and fellow Brain Trust member Bombshell continue their operations until they are foiled by Rosalie Rowan and the children the Brain Trust had kidnapped and arrested by the authorities once more.
A young Edgar and his father Steven Mandragora appear in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Double Date", with the latter voiced by Glenn Shadix while the former has no dialogue. Steven is a crime lord with immense strength and endurance who killed Helena Bertinelli's parents when she was young, which led to her becoming the Huntress and joining the Justice League. After discovering he is in federal custody as an informant, Bertinelli sets out to kill him despite being ousted from the League. Upon reaching him amidst an escape attempt however, she relents due to Edgar and sees Steven put back in federal custody.
Tobias Whale appears in Beware the Batman, voiced by Michael-Leon Wooley. This version is Gotham City's leading crime lord who employs criminals such as his lawyer / enforcer, Phosphorus Rex. In addition, Humphry Dumpler used to work as his accountant before Whale mounted a failed attempt on Dumpler's life, leading to him seeking revenge.
Tobias Whale appears in Black Lightning, portrayed by Marvin "Krondon" Jones III.[10] This version received his anti-aging serum from Dr. Helga Jace and is a former politician who rose through the ranks of Freeland's local government through corruption before he was brought down by Black Lightning's father, Alvin Pierce. After killing Alvin, Whale was removed from the government and became the leader of the 100 after receiving ownership from crime boss Lady Eve, with Joey Toledo and Syonide serving as enforcers and Whale's sister Tori (portrayed by Edwina Findley) as support. Over the course of the series, Whale battles Black Lightning alongside different allies until he is eventually killed in battle against him.
The Penguin is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character made his first appearance in Detective Comics #58 and was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The Penguin is one of Batman's most enduring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery.
The Scarecrow is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the character first appeared in World's Finest Comics #3 as an adversary of the superhero Batman. He has since become one of Batman's most enduring enemies belonging to the collective of villains that make up his rogues gallery.
Black Lightning is a superhero appearing in American comic book published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Tony Isabella with artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in Black Lightning #1, during the Bronze Age of Comic Books. Although his precise origin story has varied over the years, he is generally depicted as a metahuman superhero who uses the ability to generate and control electricity to defend his community – and the world – as Black Lightning. Although not the first black superhero to feature in DC Comics stories, Black Lightning was DC's first African-American superhero to headline his own series.
Intergang is a fictional organized crime syndicate appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Armed with technology supplied by the villainous New Gods of the planet Apokolips, they consistently appear as enemies of various DC superheroes.
Black Mask is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Doug Moench and Tom Mandrake, the character debuted in Batman #386. He is commonly depicted as a brutal and ruthless crime lord in Gotham City who has a fixation with masks and derives sadistic pleasure from the act of torture. Black Mask is one of the most enduring enemies of the superhero Batman and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.
Joe Chill is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #33.
Renee Maria Montoya is a character appearing in media published by DC Entertainment. The character was created by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Mitch Brian for Batman: The Animated Series and was preemptively introduced into mainstream comics before the airing of her animated debut in 1992 in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU) series Batman: The Animated Series / The New Batman Adventures, voiced by Ingrid Oliu, and later Liane Schirmer. Originally conceived of as a heterosexual widow, she was later redeveloped as a lesbian and primary love interest of Kate Kane / Batwoman.
Merlyn, also known as the Dark Archer, is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is a deadly bow-wielding assassin and contract killer and the archnemesis of Green Arrow, though writers have developed him over the years as an adversary of other superheroes as well, such as Batman and Black Canary.
The 100, The 10, and The 1,000 are fictional organized crime groups appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The 100 debuted in Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #105 and were created by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru. The 1,000 debuted in Booster Gold #2 and were created by Dan Jurgens. The 10 debuted in Superman #665 and were created by Kurt Busiek and Rick Leonardi.
Orca is the name of two fictional anti-hero characters who appear in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly known as one of the adversaries to the superhero Batman.
Bruno "Ugly" Mannheim is a supervillain appearing American comic books published by DC Comics. He is an Intergang crime boss who is the son of Moxie Mannheim and one of Superman's enemies.
Gotham Underground is a nine-issue limited series from DC Comics, written by Frank Tieri, with art by Jim Califiore.
Tiger Shark is the name of three DC Comics characters.
Circus of Strange is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
Phosphorus Rex is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
Peter Gambi is a character appearing in comics published by DC Comics and is a supporting character of Black Lightning. He is the brother of Paul Gambi. Peter Gambi first appeared in Black Lightning #1 and was created by Tony Isabella and Trevor von Eeden.
Dr. Helga Jace is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe. She is a supporting character of the Outsiders and was the scientist responsible for giving Princess Tara/Terra and her elder brother Prince Brion/Geo-Force their earth-controlling powers.
References
↑ "Interview: Tony Isabella and Black Lightning". Back Issue (#114). TwoMorrows Publishing: 47–49. August 2019.
↑ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. pp.347–348. ISBN0-8160-1356-X.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
