Terra-Man

Terra-Man (real name Toby Manning) is a fictional character and supervillain who appears in Superman stories published by DC Comics. Terra-Man first appeared in March 1972 in Superman (volume 1) #249.

Fictional character biography

Pre-Crisis

The Pre-1985 Terra-Man was noted for using futuristic weapons modeled after those used in the Old West as well as riding an Arguvian Space Steed (a type of winged horse) named Nova.

As revealed in Superman #249, Tobias "Toby" Manning was born during the Old West era. An alien known as the Currency-Criminal accidentally killed Toby's father Jess and took young Toby as his ward, raising him from childhood and teaching him the use of alien weapons, which were created to resemble the 19th century weapons with which Toby was familiar. After Manning had grown to adulthood and learned what he could, he killed the alien and began a career as an interstellar outlaw called "Terra-Man," a name chosen to refer to Manning's Earthly origins. For transportation, he tamed the Arguvian Space Steed named Nova. Eventually his travels took him to Earth, where he became an enemy of Superman. Throughout his pre-Crisis career, Terra-Man periodically returned to Earth in attempts to outfight or outwit Superman; otherwise, he remained at large in outer space, committing crimes to carry the legend of the Wild West outlaw across the stars. Terra-Man spoke in an exagerated "cowboy" drawl with liberal use of Old West slang and colloquialisms, lending a humorous air to his deadly activities.