TURTLE-MAN
Real Name: Rocks Rico
Identity/Class: Normal human (World War II era)
Occupation: Criminal mastermind
Group Membership: Leader of the Turtle Gang, pet giant snapping turtles
Affiliations: Killer Bane
Enemies: Bucky, Captain America
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: The Snapper, the "Strangler"
Base of Operations: Swamp Sinister, a swamp near New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
First Appearance: Captain America Comics#23/3 (February, 1943)
Powers/Abilities: Rocks Rico was a normal man with no superhuman powers. He seemed intelligent enough to design his "Turtle-Man" costume but lacked any formal education. His costume consisted of an exoskeleton shaped like a turtle shell. This provided him with an excellent form of protection from physical attacks and showed to be resistant to bullets from small caliber firearms. The shell was large enough for Rocks Rico to pull himself inside for added protection. Rocks Rico was ruthless and sadistic, and had little regard for human life. He had no special combat skills but was a competent street fighter. The Turtle-Man was able to train large wild snapping turtles that he could command to attack his enemies (maybe he had latent mutant abilities after all.)
History:
(Captain America Comics#23/3 (fb) - BTS) – Rocks Rico was serving time in a Louisiana prison for committing vicious acts of robbery and murder. One day, when working on a chain gang in a swamp outside of New Orleans, Rocks Rico made his escape and remained at large for two years. While hiding out in the swamps, he fashioned a turtle costume and assumed the identity of the Turtle-Man. He trained a group of giant terrapins to do his bidding and then began to help other prisoners on work details escape. The Turtle-Man was successful in freeing dozens of prisoners who he then organized into a gang with him as the leader.
(Captain America Comics#23/3) – The Turtle-Man assisted in aiding the prison escapee called Killer Bane from being apprehended by Captain America and the pursuing prison guards. The guards' guns were useless against him and he was able to escape using a pack of trained, giant killer turtles to attack Captain America and Bucky. Making his way to his secret hideout alongside Killer Bane, he introduced him to the dozens of other prisoners he had already freed and inducted him into his gang. As night fell, the Turtle-Man formulated a plan of mayhem and murder during the New Orleans Mardi Gras in order to steal jewelry from people taking part in the festivities.
During the parade, the Turtle-Man and his gang violently attacked a float that was showing off some expensive jewelry on loan from a rich plantation owner. His gang, armed with guns, knives and clubs, attacked and killed anyone who got in their way. Watching from the crowd in their civilian identities, Captain America and Bucky rushed the Turtle-Man and his gang. Fighting a fierce battle against the two heroes, the Turtle-Man fled to the nearby waterfront and made his way by boat back to his swamp hideout. While en route, he managed to force Captain America and Bucky to fall into quicksand and left them for dead. Much later, Turtle-Man and his gang were surprised by Captain America and Bucky. His gang was quickly defeated, thus forcing him to do battle. Captain America managed to knock the Turtle-Man into a tree with enough force to break his shell and knock him out. The police and prison guards soon arrived, and the Turtle-Man and his gang were once again sent to prison.
Comments: Created by unknown writer and Syd Shores (?) (art).
Profile by AvatarWarlord72.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Turtle-Man has no known connections to:
Killer Bane was a cold blooded murderous criminal who was rescued by the Turtle-Man as he escaped from the prison chain gang deep in the Louisiana swamps. He joined the Turtle-Man’s gang and later attacked a Mardi Gras float attempting to steal the valuable jewels on display. He was later recaptured by Captain America and Bucky and returned to prison.
--Captain America Comics#23/3
The Turtle Gang consisted of dozens prisoners from a Louisiana penitentiary who were rescued by the Turtle-Man. They all were serving time for a variety of crimes and all had worked on the prison chain gang in a swamp outside New Orleans. The Turtle Gang attacked a Mardi Gras parade in order to rob valuable jewelry that were being used on a float and viciously used guns, knives and clubs to beat and kill anyone in their way. Captain America and Bucky arrived and desperately tried to end their rampage but the crowds were too large to get to them. Escaping back into the swamp with the Turtle-Man, their reign of terror soon ended as Captain America and Bucky took them by surprise and put them all out of commission. Soon after, they were escorted by the local prison guards and returned to their awaiting jail cells. None of them was named in the story.
--Captain America Comics#23/3
Turtle-Man trained a sizable group of giant snapping turtles to attack on command. They were unusually large in size and were able to easily fight off a bunch of dogs and prison guards using their powerful jaws to attack. They were all defeated by Captain America and Bucky who knocked them all over onto their backs, rendering them unable to move.
--Captain America Comics#23/3
images:
(without ads)
Captain America Comics#23/3, p31, pan1 (Turtle-Man)
Other Appearances: None
Last updated: 11/01/07
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