TOM BAKER

Real Name: Tom Baker

Identity/Class: Normal human (1950s Era)

Occupation: Gardener

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Lou Macklin, Harry Parris, Lamond Chemical Company, possibly Fate (see comments)

Enemies: None

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Somewhere in the USA

First Appearance: Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/3 (April, 1957)

Powers/Abilities: Tom Baker displayed no unusual abilities but was a man of consistent habit.

History:

(Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/3 (fb) - BTS) - Tom Baker was a gardener respected by locals and bought the same products from store-owner Harry Parris.

(Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/3) - On a Saturday, Tom Baker reluctantly bought a new insecticide, Shur-Kil made by Lamond Chemical Company, at the recommendation of Parris. Very soon after Baker left, Parris received a phone call from Lamond warning him of the extreme danger the can's contents posed. Parris frantically searched for Baker but with no luck. Meanwhile, Baker was unable to open the five-pound can of what he believed was insecticide, progressively but unsuccessfully using a nail and then an ax. Believing the can to be made of a new metal, he went to several friends like Lou Macklin for help, using a drill, jack-hammer, power press and a steam roller, in unsuccessful but increasingly stubborn efforts to open the can. Parris finally caught up with Baker on Sunday just as the frustrated gardener threw the can out into the dump where it exploded. Parris then told Baker that Lamond had mistakenly put nitroglycerine in the can instead of insecticide. However, Baker was unharmed because it wasn't his time to die...

Comments: Created by uncredited writer and Sol Brodsky (art).

The story was told by an old man carrying a scythe, apparently Fate (or Death).

This short story was reprinted in Creatures on the Loose#32 (November, 1974), which is where the images are from.

Profile by Grendel Prime.

CLARIFICATIONS :
Tom Baker has no known connections to:

• Baker - partner of Alpha and Charlie @ X-Force I#108
• Baker, Al (Earth-93060) - publisher of Ultra Monthly @ Prime I#13
• Baker, Anne-Marie - research assistant to Dr. Evan Swann @ Amazing Spider-Man I#310
• Baker, Floyd - father of Sandman, career criminal @ Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man#17
• Baker, Glenn (New Universe) - paranormal, killed by Pitt explosion @ Justice#18
• Baker, Dr. Hiram - physician, treated Sheriff Morgan @ Rawhide Kid III#1
• Baker, Dr. Jerry - helped create the giant garbage creature Sluj @ Namor I#7
• Baker, Lt. Jim - US helicopter pilot, rescued by Captain America @ Tales of Suspense I#61/2
• Baker, John - Two-Gun Kid foe, leader of the Unlucky Thirteen Gang @ Marvel Comics Presents I#116/4
• Baker, Pvt. Lee - Leatherneck Raiders member @ Captain Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders#1
• Baker, Mart - student manipulated by Grizzly via hypno-ray @ Captain America I#120
• Baker, Lt. William - US Navy @ Navy Combat#1
• Baker - gangster, defeated by Heimdall and Kamorr @ Thor I#202
• Baker, Mrs. - mother of Sandman @ Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Annual#1
• Sandman (William Baker) - Spider-Man foe @ Amazing Spider-Man I#4
• Baker, Tom, real-life actor who played Doctor Who, his incarnation @ Doctor Who Monthly#61
  
• or any other "Tom" or "Baker" characters

images: (without ads)
Creatures on the Loose#32/2, p2, pan6 (main image)

Other Appearances: None

Last updated: 04/24/10

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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