TOOTHER

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Former petty criminal

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: "Choocho" Colon, Kirk Eden, Jim Palmetto, Randolph

Enemies: Ghost Rider (Dan Ketch/Noble Kale), Joey, Lisa, Luz "Lucy" Santos

Known Relatives: Unidentified mother (deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: St. Jude's Church, New York City, New York, USA; formerly the Bronx, New York, USA

First Appearance: Ghost Rider III#70 (February, 1996)

Powers/Abilities: Toother had no superhuman powers though he was a skilled thief and criminal, not above using force to get what he wanted. He often carried a knife. Following his experience with Ghost Rider, he became meek and timid, afraid to commit any sort of sin.

Height: 5'7" (by approximation)
Weight: 135 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown (some slight graying at temples)

History: (Ghost Rider III#70 (fb)) - Growing up, Toother gained his nickname from his very crooked teeth. As a child, Toother beat up his secret crush Lisa when she made fun of his teeth and later betrayed and robbed his best friend Joey. Becoming a petty criminal, Toother deceived his good-natured mother of his true nature, eventually robbing her as well, until the day she died sad and lonely. Attacking and robbing bystanders on a regular basis, Toother once attacked a homeless man.

(Ghost Rider III#70) - Toother, Randolph and their friend "Choocho" Colon attempted to rob their neighbor Lucy as she went out in the middle of the night looking for her cat. Ignoring Randolph's suggestion that they check out what appeared to be a fire in the distance, Toother struck Lucy, warning her that whatever happened to her would be her own fault for not giving them cash. The fire turned out to be Ghost Rider, who slammed down onto the street in front of Toother and his allies. After his allies fled, Toother attempted to shoot Ghost Rider before fleeing as well. Ghost Rider quickly caught up and used his penance stare on Toother, forcing him to relive the memories of every crime he had committed. After the stare, Ghost Rider left the sobbing and guilt-ridden Toother, warning him that his friends would be next. "Choocho" and Randolph later came back for Toother, who was still sobbing and guilt-ridden over his past crimes. Randolph kicked Toother in an effort to get him out of there before the police showed up.

(Ghost Rider III#86 (fb) - BTS) - Terrified of sinning again and his experiences with Ghost Rider having turned his temples prematurely grey, Toother devoted his life to God and began regularly visiting St. Jude's Church.

(Ghost Rider III#86) -  Months later, while at St. Jude's Church, Toother was approached by Damage Control agents Jim Palmetto and Kirk Eden, who were trying to learn more about the Ghost Rider in order to assess damage done to 321 Boerum Ave. in the Bronx. Worried that they were spies sent by Ghost Rider, Toother asked who the two men were. Eden and Palmetto introduced themselves and asked about Toother's contact with Ghost Rider. Toother immediately began rambling about contact then commented that Ghost Rider had set his soul on fire and cleansed him of sin. Toother then rambled "I will sin no more," repeatedly asked the two men's forgiveness, then got up and moved to another pew in the Church, still begging forgiveness.

Comments: Created by Ivan Velez, Jr., Salvador Larroca and Sergio Melia.

In the flashbacks showing Toother's various crimes, the art made it difficult to determine which victim was Joey and which was Lisa. Originally, I had assumed that Joey was the little kid being beaten up by Toother and Lisa to be the teenager being threatened at knife point by Toother (due to the long hair, which might have suggested a girl). The text specifically mentioned that Toother had beaten up Lisa and robbed Joey. Therefore, I chose to show Joey as the teenager being threatened at knife point despite the long hair because one would think a robbery would warrant a weapon such as a knife and the long-haired teenager seemed to look a bit too muscular for a woman. I chose to show Lisa as the short-haired (possibly long hair just covered up by Toother in the image) child being beaten up by Toother because the text mentioned that Toother beat up Lisa for making fun of teeth, suggesting that the crime could have happened in Toother's much younger days.

Randolph's name was misspelled "Randolf" in Ghost Rider III#72.

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Toother has no KNOWN connections to:


Joey

Joey was a friend of the younger Toother but was betrayed and robbed by Toother.



--Ghost Rider III#70 (fb)

Lisa

As a young child, Lisa was the secret crush of Toother but, unaware of the crush, Lisa made fun of Toother's crooked teeth. In retaliation, Toother beat Lisa to a bloody pulp.

--Ghost Rider III#70 (fb)

Randolph

Randolph was a criminal friend of Toother's and aided him during his attempted robbery of Luz Santos. During the robbery, Randolph was distracted by the fire that signified the impending arrival of Ghost Rider. When Ghost Rider arrived, the terrified Randolph and his friend "Choocho" Colon ran for it, leaving Toother behind to deal with Ghost Rider. After Ghost Rider had used his penance stare on Toother and warned that Randolph and "Choocho" would be next, Randolph returned to Toother and helped get him back on his feet before the police arrived. Later, Randolph and "Choocho" met with the gangster Makusa, who offered them  money to kill college student Melissa Maro. Finding Melissa leaving college with fellow student Dan Ketch, Randolph put on a ski mask and pressured "Choocho" to shoot both of them. Leaving Dan and Melissa for dead, Randolph and "Choocho" made a run for it but Dan (in his guise as the Ghost Rider) soon caught up to them and used his Penance Stare on Randolph. After Ghost Rider left, "Choocho" ran to the guilt-ridden Randolph to check on him.

--Ghost Rider III#70 (#71, #72,

images: (without ads)
Ghost Rider III#70, p3, pan1 (Toother during his criminal days, main image)
Ghost Rider III#86, p18, pan2 (Toother, headshot)
Ghost Rider III#70, p7, pan1 (Joey)
Ghost Rider III#70, p7, pan1 (Lisa)
Ghost Rider III#70, p3, pan3 (Randolph)

Appearances:
Ghost Rider III#70 (February, 1996) - Ivan Velez, Jr. (writer), Salvador Larroca (pencils), Sergio Melia (inks), James Felder (editor)
Ghost Rider III#86 (June, 1997) - Ivan Velez, Jr. (writer), Pop Mhan, Jason Martin, Andrew Pepoy (pencils), Tom Brevoort (editor)

Last updated: 10/27/14

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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