Troy Ferman (werewolf foe; hunter circa 1973)

ferman_troy-full TROY FERMAN

Real Name: Troy Ferman

Identity/Class: Human;
pre-modern era (last seen active in 1973)

Occupation: Big game hunter

Group Membership: Unidentified hunting group

Affiliations: Formerly Tom Burke, Austin Whelton;

Enemies: Tom Burke, Austin Whelton

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Hunting cabin in an unspecified jungle location

First Appearance: Chamber of Chills#7 (November, 1973)

Powers/Abilities: Troy Ferman was an experienced big game hunter, skilled at tracking and in the use of a rifle.

Height: Unrevealed (no one of known height for reference; he appeared comparable in height to two other hunters)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Apparently blue
Hair: Brown (bald on top)

History: ferman_troy-hunter1973-full-run

(Chamber of Chills#7 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe hardcover#13: Werewolves entry) <1972> - Based out of their hunting cabin in an unspecified jungle location, Austin Whelton and Troy Ferman took the solid silver trophy in the annual big game hunting contest, bagging the largest cat in the competition's history.

(Chamber of Chills#7 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe hardcover#13: Werewolves entry) <1973> - Despite Whelton and Ferman's championship, others questioned whether Tom Burke -- regarded by many as the greatest big game hunter and who had not competed due to being hospitalized following being mauled by a wolf (actually a werewolf) -- might have won had he been able to compete. Tired of Burke's ongoing ranking as the greatest despite their recent successes and seeking to hunt the most dangerous game (a human), Whelton and Ferman invited Burke to their hunting lodge with the plan to prove their superiority by hunting him.

(Chamber of Chills#7) - Though suspecting treachery, Burke traveled to the hunting lodge, where Whelton and Ferman greeted him. After Burke complimented them on the place, Ferman confirmed that this was the place from which they had last year bagged the largest cat ever. Showing Burke last year's trophy, he offered sympathies that Burke couldn't compete in that one as he was torn up in the hospital at the time.

    They then revealed their true intentions and -- at gunpoint -- sent Burke running into the woods with a 10 minute lead.

(Chamber of Chills#7) - Ferman noted the depths of Burke's bootprints, but then they found Burke's boots laying on the ground, after which the tracks changed to non-human footprints. Hearing a howl, Whelton noted that there weren't wolves in the jungle, but Ferman told Whelton it must have been a werewolf that mauled Burke and that Burke was now a werewolf under the full moon. Though Whelton was skeptical and accused Ferman of being hysterical and losing his nerve, Ferman insisted that this was not a normal wolf and told him to either shut up or to slink back to the outpost and get out of his hair. Given those options, Ferman elected to head back to the outpost, but noted he was not slinking but rather going back because nothing but a silver bullet would stop a werewolf.

    Ferman made his way back to the outpost, melted the silver trophy, and poured the molten silver into a bullet mold.

    Just as Ferman rushed back out of the outpost, hoping he wasn't too late, he heard a shot fired, appreciated that Whelton's normal bullet wouldn't stop a werewolf, and noted, "God help me if this silver bullet doesn't prove substantial."

    Rushing to the sound of the shot, Ferman assessed the fallen and visibly slashed Whelton as being dead, noting that Whelton had paid for not believing.

(Chamber of Chills#7) - Ferman then followed the werewolf tracks, vowing the werewolf would die for killing Whelton.

(Chamber of Chills#7 (fb) - BTS) - As Ferman rushed off following the werewolf tracks, Whelton revived as a werewolf and followed him.

(Chamber of Chills#7) - As Ferman lost the werewolf's tracks in rocky ground, the werewolf Whelton growled at him from a tree above. Believing this werewolf to be Burke, Ferman warned him he had the means to kill him in his rifle, but the werewolf leapt at him nonetheless. Ferman fired, and the the silver bullet struck the werewolf in the chest; though the momentum carried the werewolf to crash into Ferman, its growl turned into a death rattle, and it transformed back to human before perishing. Horrified to see that Whelton had been this werewolf, Ferman realized what had happened. As he heard howling in the distance, Ferman lamented that he had not had time to make more than one silver bullet.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe hardcover#13: Werewolves entry) - Ferman was "presumably either slain or transformed" into a werewolf.

Comments: Created by Doug Moench, Ron Wilson, and Jack Abel.

He received the first name "Troy" in the Werewolves entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, which also noted that Ferman was "presumably either slain or transformed" into a werewolf.

During the time when Ferman and Whelton are hunting Burke side by side, there is confusion as to which man is which. The speech balloons sometimes don't point to the speaker clearly, but it becomes clear and consistent once they separate. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe confirmed that Burke first turned Whelton into a werewolf, and that the Whelton-werewolf was shot by Ferman.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Troy Ferman should be distinguished from:

other "Fer" or "Fur" characters...

hunting cabin

Located in an unidentified jungle that was home to a number of "big cats."

It served as the hunting cabin to Troy Ferman and Austin Whelton.

Whelton and Ferman invited Burke to their hunting lodge with the plan to prove their superiority by hunting him.

(Chamber of Chills#7) <1973> - Though suspecting treachery, Burke traveled to the hunting lodge, where Whelton and Ferman greeted him. After Burke complimented them on the place, they revealed their true intentions and -- at gunpoint -- sent Burke running into the woods with a 10 minute lead.

Realizing Burke was a werewolf, Ferman headed back to the outpost, melted the silver trophy, and poured the molten silver into a bullet mold.

As Ferman rushed back out of the outpost, hoping he wasn't too late, he heard a shot fired and rushed off in that direction.

--Chamber of Chills#7

hunting trophy

(Chamber of Chills#7 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe hardcover#13: Werewolves entry) <1972> - Austin Whelton and Troy Ferman took the solid silver trophy in the annual big game hunting contest, bagging the largest cat in the competition's history.

Whelton and Ferman invited Burke to their hunting lodge with the plan to prove their superiority by hunting him.

(Chamber of Chills#7) <1973> - Though suspecting treachery, Burke traveled to the hunting lodge, where Whelton and Ferman greeted him. After Burke complimented them on the place, Ferman showed off their trophy, and then Ferman and Whelton revealed their true intentions and -- at gunpoint -- sent Burke running into the woods with a 10 minute lead.

Attacked by a werewolf, Ferman fired and killed it with his silver bullet, but the dying werewolf reverted to Whelton. Hearing another howl, Ferman realized the werewolf Burke was still after him and that he had used his single bullet.

--Chamber of Chills#7

Note: Vampires often revive when you remove a stake, but I don't recall seeing werewolves reviving if you remove a silver bullet. Maybe Ferman could have dug out that bullet and reloaded it.

images: (without ads)
Chamber of Chills#7/2, pg. 1, panel 1 (full body, distant);
            panel 2 (face, full, somewhat distant)
            panel 3 (trophy);
        pg. 2, panel 1 (hunting cabin);
        pg. 6, panel 8 (face, closer; partial head);
        pg. 7, panel 1 (full, running with rifle);
        pg. 8, panel 2 (colliding with dying Whelton-werewolf)

Appearances:
Chamber of Chills#7 (November, 1973) - Doug Moench (writer), Ron Wilson (penciler), Jack Abel (inker); unlisted editor

Last updated: 02/26/15

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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