Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Who's Who: Tyroc

Tyroc
by Russell & Siskoid 

Real Name: Tyroc (Troy Stewart is given as his real name in Who's Who, but was never used in any story)
Super-Power(s): Super voice that allows him "to do miracles," such as causing explosions, creating force-field bubbles, and boomeranging space-crafts back to where they came from
Planet of Origin: Earth
Legion Seniority: Tyroc joined as Legionnaire #29, between Wildfire and Dawnstar.


Legion Log 
Tyroc was the hero of the island Marzal. a self-sufficient community populated entirely by Mediterranean Africans who wanted nothing to do with the outside world. The Legion met Tyroc when they had to visit Marzal in order to retrieve a fallen satellite. Tyroc, expecting racial prejudice, judges the Legionnaires harshly. However, as they work together to stop murderous jewel thieves, he begins to see the error of his ways. At the conclusion of their mission, he goes back to Metropolis with them and passes the admissions tests, becoming a Legionnaire. 

The number of missions Tyroc participated in were few, however, as he devoted most of his time to trying to integrate Marzal into mainstream Earth society. He eventually took "detached duty," a type of leave of absence. He did answer all red alerts when they were issued, however. 

A little more than a year after he joined the Legion, Tyroc received an urgent summons from Marzal. He explained to Dawnstar and Shadow Lass, who had followed him, that Marzal actually occupied a space shared between Earth and another dimensional plane, and that now Marzal was leaving Earth. He surmised that his sonic power had somehow weakened the link between the two planes. Although Tyroc managed to keep the portal open long enough to allow his friends to get back to Earth, as soon as they were gone he and all of the occupants of Marzal disappeared, seemingly forever. 

Tyroc served only one year as a member of the Legion. He was initially brash and angry, but as soon as he realized that his initial perceptions about society were incorrect, he became more and more friendly and easy-going. In the short time he was a Legionnaire, he did not make deep friendships, but he was on especially good terms with Superboy, Brainiac 5, Karate Kid, and Shadow Lass (the four Legionnaires he met initially), as well as Mon-El, Lightning Lad, Light Lass, and Dawnstar, whom he met when they went through training at the Legion Academy together.  

Marzal was drawn back into Earth's dimension when the Dominators, having taken the planet over, used recordings of Tyroc's voice against the Khunds. They then destroyed Marzal, claiming the city was full of Khund sympathizers. Tyroc and a few other survivors met up with Invisible Kid II's resistance fighters, and he became Jacques' second-in-command. After Earth was freed, Jacques was appointed interim president of Earth, with Tyroc as vice-president, taking over as president when Invisible Kid returned to the Legion. During Zero Hour, Tyroc tried in vain to created a dimensional warp big enough to save Earth before the time line was wiped out.

In the Reboot continuity, no version of Tyroc is known to exist.

In the Threeboot continuity, Tyroc only briefly appears as a character in a campfire story showing the Legion's influence, and the urban legends and myths that have sprung up around it. It is not known how, or even if, this cameo fits into continuity.
 

After Infinite Crisis, Tyroc's original history has more or less been reestablished. Under unknown circumstances, he has rejoined the Legion, and was one of the Legionnaires trapped in the 21st century while pursuing a time-traveling genetic terrorist. As of Justice League United Annual #1, Tyroc seems to have returned to the 31st century under unknown circumstances.

Tyroc had cameos in several episode of The Legion of Super-Heroes animated series, but no dialog.

Among the screams in Tyroc's arsenal:
   EEYYAAAHH! - pyrokinesis
   AHHRRRRRR! - force field
   OYYUUUUUU! - teleportation
   ARRRRHHHH! - explosions
   ZZZRRRUUGGHH! - telekinesis
   UIUUIEEEE! - transmutation
   ARRREEEEG! - weather manipulation
   IRRRRWWWW! - plant manipulation
   CCCIIIRRR! - vertigo
   RRRYYYY! - wind manipulation

Important Tyroc Stories:
Tyroc appeared in only eight storylines in the original series.

Superboy/Legion #216
 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 12)
Tyroc makes his debut as the Hero of Marzal Island

Superboy/Legion of Super-Heroes #218
 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 12)
Tyroc joins the Legion

Superboy/Legion of Super-Heroes #222
 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 12)
Tyroc helps defeat a terrorist

Limited Collectors' Edition C-55
Tyroc attends Saturn Girl & Lightning Lad's wedding, 
but then does not fight the Time Trapper

Superboy/Legion of Super-Heroes #250
Tyroc appears in a group shot 

Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes #1
Tyroc appears at RJ Brande's hospital bed

Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) #263
Tyroc participates in a mission

Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) #264
Tyroc must rush back to Marzal

Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) #265
Tyroc leaves forever

Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) #300
Tyroc is still a member in an alternate timeline

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #16
Five Years Later, Tyroc joins the Earth resistance during the Dominator occupation

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #35
Tyroc becomes vice-president of a liberated Earth under Invisible Kid II

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #41
Tyroc becomes president when Invisible Kid II leaves the position

Valor #22
Tyroc's plan to shunt Earth's population to Superboy's pocket universe during Zero Hour
ultimately fails

Legion of Super-Heroes (v5) #15
Tyroc is just an element of a campfire tale in the Threeboot universe

Legion of Super-Heroes (v6) #2
After the Retroboot, Tyroc is a member of the Legion once again,
appearing regularly through volume 6 of the series

Legion Lost (v2) #1-16
After Flashpoint, Tyroc is one of the Legionnaires trapped in the 21st century

Legion Lost (v2) #14
Tyroc faces a prophecy that says he will die 1,000 years before his birth

Justice League United Annual #1
Tyroc is once again a member of the 31st century team, sporting his pre-Flashpoint look

The Legion of Super-Heroes animated series
Tyroc had several background cameos in the series; right: his retro-look seen
in the flashback episode "In the Beginning"

2 comments:

  1. Always one of my favorites as a kid.
    I always liked the "minor" characters, haha.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Check out the surprint of that Who's Who illustration. I would LOVE to read that untold story where Tyroc helped the Legion battle the Fatal Five! Yowza

    ReplyDelete