UNCLE PYKO

Real Name: Pyko

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Halfworld) fauna

Occupation: Inventor, chief toysmith of the Keystone Quadrant

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Awful Eight, Black Bunny Brigade, "Croaker", Drakillars, Good Humor Men, Hulk (Bruce Banner) Head Robot, Lylla, Keystone Kops, Killer Clowns/Psycho Circus, Blackjack O'Hare, Robohorse, Robomower, Rocket Raccoon, Simian Sentries, Wal Russ, various unidentified animals, humans, and robots

Enemies: Lord Dyvyne, Judson Jakes.

Known Relatives: None (see comments)

Aliases: "Traitorous toysmith" (nickname used by Lord Dyvyne)

Base of Operations: Halfworld, Keystone Quadrant

First Appearance: Incredible Hulk I#271 (May, 1982)

Powers/Abilities: Uncle Pyko is a mutated, anthropomorphized tortoise possessing genius level intellect and a natural aptitude for robotics, mechanical engineering and both weaponry and toy design. Pyko created the massive, orbital Spacewheel base, the murderous Psycho Circus, a gamma powered galactic transport beam, various weaponry for Judson Jakes including blasters and vacuusleds. He outfitted his own shell with a deadly array of autoblasters and a motorized tricycle to increase his limited speed and mobility. Cunning and clever, Pyko's only loyalty is to himself and his personal goals, unafraid to switch sides if he feels that would help him achieve his goals. Pyko is a smoker.

Height: 5'2" (by approximation)
Weight: 150 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Green
Hair: None

History:

(Rocket Raccoon I#3 (fb) - BTS) - Uncle Pyko is a descendant of the many animals brought to the planet of Halfworld in the Keystone Quadrant of the universe. His ancestors were originally intended to serve as companion animals for the mental patients that inhabited Halfworld and were cared for by legions of robots. However, over time the robots evolved and decided to genetically engineer the animals so they could take over their care tasks.

(Incredible Hulk I#271 (fb) - BTS) - Thanks to his great intellect, Pyko quickly made a name for himself as a brilliant inventor. He came into the service of Judson Jakes, the criminally ambitious head of Inter-Stel Mechanics. Working for Jakes, he built his gigantic orbital base the Space Wheel, as well as the Psycho Circus, filled with robotic killer clowns and the dreadful Drakillars. Like Jakes, Pyko wanted to get his hands on the incomprehensible Gideon's Bible, written by the Firstcomers and filled with the secret origins of the Keystone Quadrant and its inhabitants.

(Incredible Hulk I#271 (fb) - BTS) - Pyko one day learned how to decrypt the Gideon's Bible when he accessed deeply-submerged memories from an addled Keystone Cop he was mind probing. He learned the Kops were descendants of the Firstcomers, the race that had written the Bible after establishing Halfworld.

(Incredible Hulk I#271 - BTS) - While Rocket Raccoon and his friends dealt with the unexpected arrival of the Hulk, they left their base at the Cuckoo's Nest unprotected. This allowed Jakes to send in the Black Bunny Brigade and capture Gideon's Bible. They not only took the book, but Rocket Raccoon's girlfriend Lylla as well.

(Incredible Hulk I#271) - Uncle Pyko was tasked with deciphering the Bible when Jakes concluded the book made no sense at first glance. Realizing it was only a matter of time before Rocket and compatriots would storm Spacewheel, Jakes had Pyko prepare to send out the Psycho-Circus. However, thanks to the Hulk fighting on their side, Rocket Raccoon and the others made short work of their otherwise superior foes. On board Spacewheel, Pyko quickly concluded what had to be done. He lured away Hulk from his newfound allies and tempted the emerald behemoth with the promise of returning him to Earth. Uninterested in Pyko's reasons, Hulk accepted the offer and stepped on the tortoise's gamma powered teleportation platform.

(Incredible Hulk I#271)  - After zapping the Hulk back to Earth, Pyko was on hand to sheepishly return the Gideon's Bible to Rocket Raccoon. As far as anyone knew, not even Pyko had managed to crack the Bible's code. However, Pyko had gained substantial information he'd one day plan to use to reign supreme himself.

(Rocket Raccoon I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Under unrevealed circumstances, Jakes, Pyko and their forces lost control of Spacewheel to Lord Dyvyne.

(Rocket Raccoon I#1 - BTS) - Judson Jakes was eager to beat his rival toymaker Lord Dyvyne and claim his orbital base Spacewheel for himself. To weaken Dyvyne, he had one of Pyko's killer clowns travel to Space Wheel to assassinate Dyvyne's chief toymaker. This sparked a bitter conflict between Dyvyne and Jakes who was now the CEO of Mayhem Mekaniks CEO

(Rocket Raccoon I#1) - Taking advantage of the chaotic struggle between Jakes and Dyvyne, Pyko managed to sneak into the Cuckoo's Nest to steal the Halfworld Bible. Still fascinated by its many secrets, he replaced it with a fake copy and quickly got away. He was nevertheless spotted by Lylla who sounded the alarm. 

(Rocket Raccoon I#1 - BTS) - Dyvyne struck back by kidnapping Lylla, daughter of the founders of Mayhem Mekaniks. By marrying her, Dyvyne would automatically own the company, fire Jakes and reign supreme. Because Lylla was the girlfriend of Rocket Raccoon, he and his rebels joined the fight.

(Rocket Raccoon I#1) - Figuring Judson Jakes was behind all this, Rocket and his allies sought him out only to get into a fierce fight with Jakes and the Psycho Circus. Pyko was disgusted by the needless destruction of his creations and halted the confrontation. Halfworld Bible in hand, he proceeded to read everyone the riot act until he was interrupted by an incoming call from Dyvyne who showed that he was the one holding Lylla.

(Rocket Raccoon I#2) - Judson Jakes was displeased with Pyko, feeling his chief toysmith ought to be busy designing new, lethal murder weapons to aid him in his ongoing toywar. Instead, Jakes found Pyko studying the Halfworld Bible and he proceeded to chew him out. Annoyed, Pyko defended his studies, claiming he'd gleaned so much knowledge from the ancient shrinks it made Jakes' conflict seem so petty and small. He then chewed out Jakes for his deranged greed that lead to the current war. In order to satisfy his boss and gain some more peace and quiet to study the Bible, Uncle Pyko provided Jakes with his new vacuusleds that can clean up anything or anyone he likes.

(Rocket Raccoon I#3 (fb) - BTS) - Analyzing the situation, Pyko realized Rocket Raccoon and his friends could help him achieve his dream: become chief toysmith of the Keystone Quadrant. He decided to change allegiances and made arrangements to switch sides. Pyko took the Bible, left his lab and discreetly traveled to the robot side of Halfworld where Raccoon and his allies were hiding

(Rocket Raccoon I#3) - Pyko located Rocket and the others at a local cantina and presented his case: he would help them end the war between Jakes and Divyne if they helped him become Chief Toysmith of the Keystone Quadrant. To convince his former enemies, he handed over the Halfword Bible and shared what he'd learned from it, stunning Rocket with the knowledge of his origins. At that moment, Rocket's temporary ally Blackjack O'Hare turned on him, and joined by his Awful Eight tried to seize Pyko and the others. Activating the autoblaster weapons in his shell, Pyko held them at bay long enough for the others to fight back. Quickly reducing the Awful Eight to the Terrible Trio, their enemies were left in disarray. Pyko told Rocket and the others to join him in making a run for it. In order to increase his speed, Pyko turned his shell into a motorized tricycle that allowed him to speed ahead.

(Rocket Raccoon I#3) - Pyko led Rocket and the others to Assembly Line, the main construction area where the Robots built the toys the animal inventors came up with for the Loonies. There, they encountered the Head Robot which was ready to receive instructions for new toys. Pyko explained that the key to ending the toy war was hidden in the Halfword Bible, which actually contained the notes of the psychiatrists who had diagnosed the original Loonies left on the planet. If they used the Bible as a manual, they'd construct a 'toy' that would cure the Loonies of their madness. Pyko went on to explain he didn't want to profit from the Loonies as toysmith, he simply wanted to design toys for the pleasure of the task itself. In fact, he'd give away the toys for free. Convinced by Pyko's good intentions, Rocket then fed the information in the Bible to the Head Robot which ordered the Assembly Line robots to start mass producing the wonder toy.

(Rocket Raccoon I#4) - Uncle Pyko joined Rocket, Wal Rus and Lady Lylla as part of a traveling circus, touring all the Loonies facilities in the Cuckoo's Nest. Pyko served as pitchman for the wonder toy, calling it the ultimate amusement and even using Rocket to show its supposedly miraculous effects. All the Loonies they encountered quickly wanted one and were willing to pay anything, but Pyko and the others handed them out for free.

(Rocket Raccoon I#4 - BTS) - Unbeknownst to Pyko, one of his Killer Clowns was hiding among the Loonies he'd recently visited. The automaton quickly informed Judson Jakes who was furious the treacherous Pyko was giving toys away for free. Just as he was planning his revenge, he was joined by his opponent Dyvyne who offered a truce. Once they'd rid themselves of their common enemies, they'd share dominance of Halfworld.

(Rocket Raccoon I#4) - Pyko was pleased to see the effects of the wonder toy: the device was curing the Loonies of their various mental issues. Soon they'd all be productive member of society no longer in need of toys. Moments later, they were attacked by the forces of Judson and Dyvyne who sent their Killer Clowns to attack Pyko and the others. The animals fought a hopeless fight against their opponents until the battle came to an abrupt stop when Halfworld's robots arrived aboard their newly completed humanoid spacecraft. Along with the newly cured Loonies, they ended the ongoing toy war. In the aftermath, Uncle Pyko saw Rocket and his friends off ass they left Halfworld along with the robots aboard their massive ship.

Comments: Created by Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Jim Novak (inks).

Out of all of Rocket Raccoon's animal f(r)iends, Pyko is no doubt the most intriguing one. As the creator of the Psycho Circus, he's arguably the biggest villain in the Keystone Quadrant, responsible for a murderous reign of terror. He's also self serving, arrogant and obsessive. Yet, there's something so lovable about Pyko that even his creators were willing to overlook all his atrocities. Uncle Pyko ended up getting everything he ever wanted without paying for his crimes. Must be the little glasses. Two questions though: if the Wonder Toy helped cure the Loonies, would they even need a Chief Toymaker to keep them entertained? And whose uncle is he anyway?

Profile by Norvo

CLARIFICATIONS:
 Uncle Pyko has no known connections to

• Any other "Uncle" or "Pyko" characters

images: (without ads)
Rocket Raccoon I#3, p21, pan6 (main image)
Incredible Hulk I#271, p12, pan4 (Gideon Bible)
Incredible Hulk I#271, p20, pan6 (sends Hulk home)
Rocket Raccoon I#1, p21, pan3 (killer clowns)
Rocket Raccoon I#3, p16, pan6 (fires his shell blaster)
Rocket Raccoon I#4, p4, pan2 (hawks the Wonder Toy)

Appearances:
Incredible Hulk II#271 (May, 1982) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Jim Novak (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Rocket Raccoon I#1-4 (May-August, 1985) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Mike Mignola (pencils), Al Gordon (inks), Carl Potts (editor)

First Posted: 08/05/2020
Last Updated: 08/09/2020

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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