Wave 1 - Red Tornado
The Red Tornado emerged from the sci-fi laden late 60’s era of Silver Age DC Comics. As such, his origins are… well… interesting, to say the least. The Red Tornado is ultimately the product of an alien entity merging with an android body.
On a planet called ‘Rann’ there existed a powerful alien entity known as the Tornado Champion. This Tornado Champion came to Earth and merged with the body of an android called the Red Tornado, a sentient being created by the villain T.O. Morrow to infiltrate and destroy the Justice Society of America. The merging, however, had the unexpected side effect of erasing the Tornado Champion’s memory. So, the Red Tornado became a new being altogether. Feeling the compulsion to do good, he rebelled against his creator T.O. Morrow and eventually became a valued member of both the JSA and the Justice League of America.
Over the years, the Red Tornado adopted the alias of ‘John Smith’ and even began a relationship with a human woman named Kathy Sutton. As he matured as an artificial lifeform, he began to show strong paternal instincts as both an adoptive father and a mentor/teacher for young heroes in the Justice League. All the while, neither the Red Tornado nor his Justice League companions realized that he was actually a living being.
The Red Tornado is a supremely powerful being, capable of flying at speeds that rival those of Superman or Green Lantern. He uses his ability to manipulate his body at great speeds to create tornado-like vortices, channeling these winds through his arms and legs to attack his foes with high-velocity gusts of concentrated wind. His android body possesses superhuman strength and can withstand the concussive force blast of a rocket or missile.
Red Tornado is another ‘knock out of the park’ for Mattel and the 4 Horsemen. It’s becoming difficult to think of new things to say apart from “Great sculpt! Great paint detail! Great articulation!” What’s interesting about Reddy is that he shares the same base body as both Batman and Orion, but it’s tough to tell unless you put them side-by-side and really examine the sculpt of the musculature. His trim and paint job do more than enough to set him apart from the other figures in the Wave. And Mattel hooked him up with an accessory – a little swirling orange ‘tornado blast’ effect that snaps on his wrist. Pretty nifty. I consider this guy another ‘must have’ figure for any fan of DC Comics or superarticulated action figures in general.
