TUC
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Limbo) mutate (possible Space Phantom)
Occupation: Agent of Immortus
Group Membership: Space Phantoms
Affiliations: Avengers (Crystal, Deathcry, Hercules, Magdalene, Quicksilver, Swordsman (Jarvert), Vision), Lockjaw, Luna, Marilla;
In reality: See enemies, Elder Cotati/Swordsman imposter, Luna imposter, a Priest of Pama (possibly a Space Phantom)
Enemies: Immortus (posing as Kang), Malachi, Mantis imposter, Tobias
In reality: See affiliations
Known Relatives: Space Phantoms
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Limbo
First Appearance: Avengers I#390 (September, 1995)
Powers/Abilities: As a Space Phantom he would've possessed like all Space Phantoms the power to assume the appearance and powers of virtually any single mortal being. At the point that it assumed a being's likeness, the model was automatically shunted to Limbo until such time as the Phantom assumed its own form or that of someone else. The person dispatched to Limbo had no recollection of being in Limbo and materialized exactly where he or she was when "shunted". With Immortus help the Phantom could also assume appearance and powers of not existent beings. Through Immortus it also gained a full set of memories for each personality so that it couldn't be unveiled by telepaths because it really believed its own lies.
As Tuc he was very athletic and was able to render others unconscious by merely waving his hands in front of their faces (a whacky hypnosis trick or something else?). He was also a fortune teller, though his fortune telling skills had more to do with the fact that he allegedly came from the future (or at least knew the future from someone like Immortus). He was seemingly also a teleporter, although it is possible that he was just teleported around by Luna (or his true master Immortus).
History:
(Avengers Unplugged#2 (fb) - BTS) - (made-up background/or maybe it was the truth) Tuc was the not-yet-born son of Crystal and therefore the younger brother of Luna. The identity of his father was big a secret (Hm, pointy ears! Who was supposed to be the father? Nightcrawler? Namor? Pip the Troll?)
(Avengers I#390) - Tuc was found in the forest near Stark's house in the Adirondacks by Lockjaw and Hercules. Hercules was surprised and Tuc told him that he was a friend to all the Avengers. Tuc showed Hercules a deck of cards with the Avengers logo. Hours later at dusk Hercules and Lockjaw arrived with Tuc at the campfire of the other Avengers. Tuc revealed himself to be a fortune teller and told the present Avengers (Crystal, Deathcry, Hercules, Magdalene, Swordsman (Jarvert), Quicksilver) and their friends Marilla, Luna and Lockjaw what the future held for them. On his cards the Avengers recognized themselves and Tuc asked them to look into the fire. Smoke engulfed them and he talked to anyone about something from their future, which was connected to their past. Tuc had tears in his eyes when he talked to Marilla, who realized that death awaited her. Suddenly the smoke disappeared as well as Tuc and the Avengers were back at their campfire. Shortly before dawn Tuc visited Luna in her room to tell his "big sister" that he did everything he could. He asked her to pray for everyone and left again.
(Avengers I#391) - Drawn into the woods by Tuc's flute Swordsman arrived sleepwalking in front of Tuc and a Priest of Pama. Tuc talked to the priest how much Swordsman was like the man he had lost. The priest then told gave Swordsman a cryptic message he should deliver to his fellow heroes.
(Avengers I#392) - Tuc watched from the bushes Vision fight Malachi and Tobias. He was ready to interfere, but his older sister Luna told him that it was not yet his time.
(Avengers I#393) - Tuc appeared at the Van Dyne residence in Southampton, Long Island shortly after Iron Man had attacked his former teammates. He warned Crystal and Quicksilver that all would be lost if they stayed where they were and told them that he had to take little Luna with him to keep her safe. Crystal and Quicksilver didn't want to allow this, but Tuc knocked them out with a wave of his hands and left with Luna.
(Avengers I#395) - After Kang had been defeated they Avengers were suddenly back in the Temple of Agaphaur where Tuc appeared with Luna (the small child) to return her to her mother Crystal. He told the Avengers that they had changed the future and then teleported away with the Elder Cotati/Swordsman imposter.
Comments: Created by Bob Harras, Terry Kavanagh, Mike Deodato & Tom Palmer.
Although Tuc wasn't seen among those characters from the Crossing that were retconned to have been Space Phantom, it is very likely that he was one too. He helped the Swordsman/Cotati imposter which is a little bit strange if he wasn't a Space Phantom and his alleged sister Luna (another likely, but unrevealed candiate to have been a Space Phantom) ran around with the bad guys although she also helped the good guys. Maybe they were both tricked into playing their role in Immortus' scheme, but I will go the easy way and just assume that Tuc and Luna were both Space Phantoms like Tobias, Malachi, Mantis, the Elder Cotati/Swordsman and Moonraker.
He was supposed to be one of the good guys, but with the Avengers Forever retcon he was exactly what he acted like. A deceiver! And the Avengers of that era look even more stupid.
He went from red eyes, pointy ears and blond hair to brown eyes, normal ears and brown hair. The pointy ears returned BTW. He really couldn't hide that he was a shapeshifter. And what about the Peter Pan look?
All the powers he used could be explained with technological means provided to him by Immortus. He could've used the same teleportation technology as many other agents of Immortus during the Crossing (Luna imposter, etc.).
The info from Avengers Unplugged came after the issues' main story on a page that tried to explain the many connection between the characters participating in the Crossing. I'm not sure if the issue's regular creative team was responsible for these two pages or not.
The character of Tuc was inspired by the Golden Age character Tuk the Caveboy,
a creation of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who first appeared in Captain America
Comics#1. Tuc's animal skin clothing resembles that of Tuk's. Tuk originated
from a location called "Attilan," over two decades before Kirby recycled the
name for the home of the Inhumans. Hence, the character of Tuc is part-Inhuman
as the "son" of Crystal.
--Prime Eternal
Profile by Markus Raymond.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Tuc should not be confused with:
images: (without ads)
Avengers I#395, p23, pan1 (main image)
Avengers I#392, p17, pan4 (head shot)
Avengers I#390, p8, pan3 (red-eyed, blonde elf?)
Appearances:
Avengers I#390-391 (September-October, 1995) - Bob Harras & Terry Kavanagh (writers), Mike Deodato (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Avengers Unplugged#2 (November, 1995) - Ralph Maccho (editor)
Avengers I#392 (November, 1995) - Bob Harras & Terry Kavanagh (writers), M.C. Wyman (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Avengers I#393 (December, 1995) - Bob Harras, Terry Kavanagh & Ben Raab (writers), Mike Deodato (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Avengers I#395 (February, 1996) - Bob Harras & Terry Kavanagh (writers), Mike Deodato (pencils), Emir Ribeiro (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
First Posted: 04/15/2007
Last updated: 07/05/2014
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.!