THE PTERODACTYL
Real Name: None
Identity/Class: Animal (Pterosaur), (228-65,000,000 BC, modern era)
Occupation: Animal in search of others of its kind
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: None
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: A NASA base somewhere around New York City
First Appearance: Monsters on the Prowl#15 (February, 1972)
Powers/Abilities: The Pterodactyl was an enormous member of its species with a wingspan around 200 feet. Its skin was immune to gunfire.
History: (Monsters on the Prowl#15/3) - The Pterodactyl's bones were discovered by men working on a tunnel from Manhattan to New Jersey, and a pair of paleontologists, Thomas and Henry, were brought in to examine the find. Thomas recognized the fossils as the remains of a pterodactyl, and he began to have the site dug up to find more of the skeleton. As he and Henry began to assemble the fossils at their museum lab, they realized it was much too large for their facilities.
NASA came through for the paleontologists, and provided space in a hangar where it could be assembled at full size. Also being held in that facility were samples from the moon which NASA was performing experiments on. When there was a short-circuit in one of the computers, a fire broke out, and gases from the moon experiment mixed in. This somehow caused the fossils of the Pterodactyl to become reanimated, with flesh and all.
The Pterodactyl rose from the burning building, and set out on a rampage. It attacked a ferry boat at Staten Island, smashed buildings with its enormous wingspan, and smashed an Air Force helicopter which opened fire on it. Finally, it saw a giant mirror being used in an advertisement, and mistook its reflection for another pterodactyl. It smashed into the buiding the mirror rested on, and was killed.
Comments: Created by Steve Englehart and Syd Shores.
This was the first story by Steve Englehart that Marvel published.
This story is somewhat ripped off from Ray Bradbury's short story "The Fog Horn," which was also about a dinosaur searching for another of its kind.
I showed this story to a friend of mine from the Tyrrell Museum who considered it a laugh riot, particularly references to the pterodactyl as "the infamous monster-bird!"
I kind of have to call in to question the so-called palaeontologists in the
story. Pterodactyls did not have head structures as seen in the picture; the
picture is a giant Pteranodon. Of course, you could argue that the radiation
accelerated bone growth atop its head. by
--Will U
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Pterodactyl should not be confused with:
Thomas and Henry were the paleontologists who found the remains of the pterodactyl and had it fully assembled at a NASA hangar. Thomas followed the Pterodactyl as it went on a rampage from an Air Force helicopter, and witnessed its death. It was Henry who realized that what the Pterodactyl was after was another one of its kind.
--Monsters on the Prowl#15/3
Images taken from:
Monsters on the Prowl#15/3, page 4, panel 3
Thomas/Henry- Monsters on the Prowl#15/3, page 2, panel 2
Appearances:
Monsters on the Prowl#15 (February, 1972) - Steve Englehart (writer), Syd Shores (pencils), Stan Lee (editor)
Last updated: 10/31/05
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!