Terra-Man (Tobias Manning) is a supervillain appearing in media published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of Superman.

Publication history

Terra-Man first appeared in Superman #249 (March 1972) and was created by Cary Bates, Curt Swan, and Dick Dillin. According to Bates, the character was inspired by Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name, who appeared in three Spaghetti Western films from 1964 to 1966.

Fictional character biography

Pre-Crisis

The pre-Crisis Terra-Man is a boy from the Old West who the alien Currency-Criminal adopts after accidentally killing his father Jess. As an adult, Manning kills the alien, becomes an interstellar outlaw, and tames the pegasus-like alien Nova. He is later killed by the Parasite sometime before the events of Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?.

Post-Crisis

The post-Crisis version of Terra-Man is a businessman who attacks enterprises to protect the environment. He wields weaponry that can manipulate the environment and an army of "Terra-Men" robots. In Infinite Crisis and its follow-up series 52, Terra-Man joins the Secret Society of Super Villains before Black Adam kills him.

Powers and abilities

The pre-Crisis version of Terra-Man has an altered physiology that slows his aging and allows him to survive unprotected in space. He wields a special six-shooter that can fire tracer bullets, energy-leeching tumbleweeds, and laser lassos. Terra-Man uses an Arguvian space steed named Nova for transportation. The post-Crisis version of Terra-Man uses weapons that manipulate the environment (i.e., plants and the earth).

In other media