WHISTLER
Real Name: Whistler (first name is presumably Abraham; see comments)
Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Earth-92131) human
Occupation: Vampire-Hunter
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Black Cat (Felicia Hardy), Blade, Detective Terri Lee, Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
Enemies: Miriam, Michael Morbius, vampires
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: An unidentified movie theater in New York City
First Appearance: Spider-Man: The Animated Series: Season 2, Episode 9 (February 3rd, 1996)
Powers/Abilities: Whistler had no superhuman abilities. He was in great physical shape for his age aside from leg problems, which forced him to work with a cane. He was a trained vampire-hunter and used a variety of weapons of his own making including a gun that could permanently leave a vampire in a quasi-comatose state (the way Whistler created weapons it was probably lethal, but killing was not something they liked to mention in the series), sunburst grenades and garlic grenades. He created all the weapons Blade used against vampires including his explosive garlic crossbow bolts and a massive device that could trap a vampire in a force field of photosynthetic particles. He also created a serum to suppress a vampire's hunger for plasma, which could serve as a replacement for plasma, but over time lost its effectiveness. He drove a van on a regular basis.
Height: 5' 8" (by approximation)
Weight: 185 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown
History:
(Spider-Man: The Animated Series: Season 2, Episode 9 (fb) - BTS) - In his youth Whistler was trained to fight vampires. At some point Whistler found the half-vampire Blade, the child of a human woman (who was later turned into a vampire against her will) and a vampire (who looked very similar to the comics' Deacon Frost) on the streets of New York. Blade possessed the quickness, strength and agility of a vampire, but was unaffected by sunlight and immune to the venom of other vampires. Whistler raised Blade and focused Blade's anger to protect innocent people from vampires by teaching him the vampire fighting traditions. Whistler and Blade worked as vampire-hunters on their own for years. To keep Blade's growing hunger for human plasma in check Whistler provided him with a serum to make his urge to consume human plasma go away, but the older Blade got the more the serum lost its effectiveness.
(Spider-Man: The Animated Series: Season 2, Episode 9) - Blade returned angry to their secret hideout in a movie theater's backroom because he had failed to destroy Morbius. Whistler told him to stay calm because it didn't matter if they destroyed Morbius right now or after many battles. Blade told Whistler how Spider-Man claimed to have created Morbius. Though Blade didn't know how this was possible Whistler reminded him how despite all they had learned during their ongoing battle against vampires there were still many things they didn't know yet. Spider-Man, who had attached a Spider-Tracer to Blade's motorcycle, appeared in the theater when Blade wondered why all of Morbius' attacks happened around Empire State University. Whistler convinced Blade to stop his attacks on Spider-Man because the webslinger might have the answers on Morbius they were looking for and suggested Blade continued refining the weapons on his motorcycle. Spider-Man had a few answers of his own about who Blade and Whistler were and Whistler gave them to him. Whistler revealed his history with Blade and how people all over the world carried the mutant gene responsible for the vampire disease. Blade was against Whistler telling Spider-Man so much, but Whistler went on because he believed Spider-Man needed to know. Whistler further explained how vampirism caused deadly reactions to certain plant-life (garlic), alloys and ultraviolet rays and that they needed to consume human plasma because their bodies burnt iron too quickly. Spider-Man realized how similar this was to Morbius and told Blade and Whistler how Morbius was the result of an experiment with the Neogenic Recombinator. Blade was shocked a machine existed that could create vampires while Whistler saw it as an explanation for the territorial proximity of Morbius to ESU. Blade decided destroying the machine was the only viable option, but Spider-Man still wanted to use it to return Morbius to human form. Blade had enough of Spider-Man protecting Morbius and shot a rocket at him. At the last moment Whistler stepped in to divert the shot and Spider-Man fled the scene. Whistler reasoned with Blade that if Spider-Man could transform Morbius into a human again the machine could possibly help Blade as well, since Blade became more vampire-like with age and his hunger became harder to control. Blade wanted to hear nothing of becoming human because he needed to stay a vampire to find his mother and would destroy anything in his way. Whistler reminded Blade to learn to act on what was right and not satisfy his lust for revenge. While Blade and Whistler left the room Spider-Man stole the garlic-bacteria poison Blade used against vampires to examine it (he later used a weakened version against Morbius).
(Spider-Man: The Animated Series: Season 2, Episode 10) - After Morbius escaped once again after another battle against Blade and Spider-Man, the duo met up at the movie theater again, followed by Detective Terri Lee. There Whistler explained to Lee that vampires existed. Lee wondered if they were going to use the stakes laying to stop him, but Whistler told her these were only historic relics and they would be using one of his newest inventions, a device that could shoot a force field of photosynthetic particles, which could trap vampires. Unfortunately it was still too large for Blade's motorcycle. Whistler suggested to make a new plan to hunt down Morbius. Spider-Man left while Terri Lee watched as Blade crumpled in pain. Whistler gave Blade a serum and told him to rest. Detective Lee was shocked to learn from Whistler that Blade was a vampire as well and he took his time to explain Blade's origins to her. Lee saw a photograph of Blade's mother and Whistler explained Blade was still searching for her, since he had been devastated by her abandoned him. He told Lee that Blade needed regular injections of the serum to prevent him from needing human plasma himself.
(Spider-Man: The Animated Series: Season 2, Episode 10 - BTS) - Peter Parker arrived at the movie theater, claiming Spider-Man had sent him, and Lee confirmed him as an ally of Spider-Man. Using a Daily Bugle van to transport Whistler's force field device Parker, Blade and Lee lured Morbius into a trap, but it failed when the generator short-circuited and Morbius abducted Aunt May. Blade wasn't pleased when he learned Whistler had told Lee about his mother when she used it against him when he called Aunt May a necessary sacrifice. Blade and Spider-Man got into a fight over saving Aunt May and went separate ways to fight Morbius. They managed to save Aunt May and Felicia Hardy, who had been kidnapped by Morbius as well, but failed to capture Morbius, who was accidentally mutated even further by the Neogenic Recombinator.
(Spider-Man: The Animated Series: Season 4, Episode 6) - Black Cat sought out Whistler at his movie theater hideout. Whistler pulled a rifle on her until she revealed to know him because she was a friend. Over a cup of tea Whistler told Black Cat that Blade was currently hunting a vampire in Europe. Black Cat didn't care because she wanted to handle Morbius herself, but she needed Whistler's help in case Morbius was still a vampire when he awakened. She didn't want anybody to get harmed and Whistler agreed to help her. When Black Cat revealed her feelings for Morbius Whistler was disturbed by the fact she loved this creature. Black Cat asked Whistler for a way to end Morbius' agony and Whistler gave her an energy gun that would return Morbius permanently to a state between life and death.
(Spider-Man: The Animated Series: Season 4, Episode 6 - BTS) - Black Cat shot Morbius with the gun provided to her by Whistler, but he was barely affected and escaped. Black Cat tracked down Morbius to a park and shot him again before revealing her true identity to Morbius, which calmed him down. She asked him to meet her later at the clock tower.
Upon meeting at the clock tower Black Cat revealed the purpose of the gun to Morbius, but Herbert Landon and Shocker appeared and captured Morbius for Kingpin.
Black Cat and Spider-Man found Morbius, already returned to his humanoid state, at the Rigor & Sons Mortuary where Landon had a secret lab. After Shocker was defeated by Spider-Man and Landon lost some plasma to an angered Morbius (he got mad when Kingpin attacked Black Cat and Kingpin fled), Black Cat had another shot at using the gun against Morbius, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Morbius flew away.
(Spider-Man: The Animated Series: Season 4, Episode 7) - When it seemed like Morbius was attacking people again (it was actually Blade's mother Miriam, who had traveled to the US to gain possession of the Neogenic Recombinator to create more vampires), Black Cat asked Whistler for help to stop Morbius once and for all. Black Cat and Spider-Man both asked Whistler for weapons to stop Morbius, but he reminded them his weapons were best used to destroy vampires and asked them if they were ready to do that. Black Cat still wasn't ready to destroy Morbius and asked for something that would only stop him. They were joined by Detective Lee to ask Whistler for a weapon to destroy Morbius, unlike Black Cat and Spider-Man. The quartet tracked down Morbius in Whistler's van. During the ride Whistler revealed to Lee that Blade was currently tracking down a vampire in Eastern Europe and that he was worried because he had lost contact with him. They found the vampire responsible for the attacks at Kishi Electronics to their surprise. They attacked the vampire, but it was Miriam, who was holding the computer printouts of the Neogenic Recombinator, which she had stolen. Miriam overpowered all four until Whistler threatened her with a sunburst grenade. Blade arrived to stop him and the others because Miriam's locket had proven to him that she was his mother. Miriam recognized him, but Whistler reminded Blade that she was now evil. Blade agreed and promised to kill her after taking her away, but Detective Lee wanted her to pay for her crimes in the US. The in-fighting between the heroes gave Miriam another shot at attacking and she tossed Black Cat against Whistler, but Morbius arrived to save Black Cat from Miriam's lust for her plasma. Miriam then fled with the parts she needed to activate the Neogenic Recombinator. Blade urged the others not to follow him as he went after Miriam on his own. Whistler was disappointed in Blade. On Black Cat and Spider-Man's plea the vampire-hunters took Morbius to the theater where Whistler gave Morbius the serum usually used to prevent Blade from becoming a full vampire. The serum worked, but Whistler didn't like saving a vampire. Morbius promised to help the others find Miriam, whom he could sense since she tapped into his mind to find the Neogenic Recombinator. The others considered Blade an enemy now because he wouldn't allow them to destroy Miriam, but Whistler reminded them that Blade was just a lost child, who had finally bonded with a mother he never knew. Whistler was sure he would help them if they explained Blade that she would always be a vampire. Detective Lee met Blade to convince him Miriam was lying to him.
Black Cat checked on Morbius at the theater and Whistler told her that even though the serum would not cure him it could keep his desire for plasma in check. Whistler wondered about the attraction of women to vampires.
When Miriam began turning people into vampires with the Neogenic Recombinator she betrayed Blade and tried to turn him into a full vampire as well. Morbius sensed Miriam and led Whistler, Spider-Man and Black Cat to her. Spider-Man saved Blade from being turned into a full vampire while Miriam fled into the partying crowd at The Dungeon with the Neogenic Recombinator. Miriam fired accidentally at a disco ball, which deflected the ray and turned numerous party-goers into vampires. They came to Miriam's aid, who fled with the Neogenic Recombinator while Whistler, armed with the weapon previously used by Black Cat, Morbius and Blade fought the other vampires. Whistler tossed a garlic grenade into the crowd and the vampires fled to Miriam in the sky. From the top of a clock tower Blade tossed a sunburst grenade at Miriam, who dropped the Neogenic Recombinator when Spider-Man tried to take it from her while she was distracted. The Neogenic Recombinator exploded and all newly-turned vampires became human again. Back on the ground Whistler and Detective Lee joined Blade, who promised to find Miriam because he believed only he could save her. Whistler promised to create new weapons and serum for Blade to use. He asked Detective Lee if she was alright because she was crying after Blade had left her again.
Comments: Created by David S. Goyer (character), John Semper, Mark Hoffmeier, Stephanie Mathison (script) & Malcolm McDowell (voice).
Human plasma because they weren't allowed to say blood in the series.
His voice was in his first two appearances Malcolm McDowell as in Malcolm McDowell of A Clockwork Orange (1971) fame.
In the DVD Set I own episodes were sometimes switched around compared to their original airing date. In Season 2 it became really confusing when Blade the Vampire (Chapter 9 of the Neogenic Nightmare saga) and The Immortal Vampire (Chapter 10) were apparently aired after Chapters 11-12...
The movie theater Whistler and Blade used as their HQ was showing classic Horror movies on a regular basis. In Season 2, Episode 9 it showed Hammer Film Productions' Dracula (1958) directed by Terrence Fisher. In Episode 10 it showed The Horror of Dracula, which is just a different title for the same movie. In Season 4, Episode 6 the movie theater held a Jacques Turner Film Festival. Turner was a French director known for low-budget Horror movies like Cat People (1942), I walk with a Zombie (1943) or The Leopard Man (1943). In Episode 7 of Season 4 it showed Les Veux Sans Visage (1960) as part of a Georges Franju Film Festival.
Whistler never received a first name in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
Although Whistler first appeared in this series he was created by David S. Goyer as part of an early draft for the live-action Blade (1998) movie script. Goyer himself was inspired by John Semper's script for Blade the Vampire Hunter episode to even write a script for a movie adaptation of Blade. Upon learning of Whistler John Semper in return rewrote the script for Spider-Man's Blade the Vampire Hunter episode to include the character of Whistler.
Profile by Markus Raymond.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Abraham Whistler has no known connection to:
images (without ads)
Spider-Man: The Animated Series: Season 2, Episode 9, 10:30 (main image)
Spider-Man: The Animated Series: Season 2, Episode 9, (head shot)
Spider-Man: The Animated Series: Season 4, Episode 7, 9:01 (cane switch, with sunburst grenade)
Appearances:
Spider-Man: The Animated Series: Season 2, Episode 9 - Neogenic Nightmare Chapter 9: Blade the Vampire Hunter (February 3rd, 1996) - Malcolm McDowell (voice)
Spider-Man: The Animated Series: Season 2, Episode 10 - Neogenic Nightmare Chapter 10: The Immortal Vampire (February 10th, 1996) - Malcolm McDowell (voice)
Spider-Man: The Animated Series: Season 4, Episode 6 - Partners in Danger Chapter 6: The Awakening (May 10th, 1997) - Oliver Muirhead (voice)
Spider-Man: The Animated Series: Season 4, Episode 7 - Partners in Danger Chapter 7: The Vampire Queen (May 17th, 1997) - Oliver Muirhead (voice)
Last updated: 07/25/17
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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