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Toyman was an adversary of Superman that used deadly toys and gimmicks.
History
Toyman's father, Winslow Schott, was a kindly toymaker, who dreamed of building a magnificent toy factory. Bruno Mannheim approached Schott and offered to finance the factory, which he accepted. However, the factory became the front for a numbers racket. After the racket was exposed, Schott was arrested and imprisoned, while Mannheim was suspected, but never charged with a crime. Schott later died in prison.
His young son, Winslow Jr., was left on his own, and spent several years in foster homes.
When he reached adulthood, Winslow Jr. had become obsessed with "reclaiming" his lost childhood, and created a childlike persona for himself. He also inherited or adopted his father's mechanical talent, but the "toys" he created were also sophisticated and deadly weapons.
He first appeared in Metropolis seeking vengeance against Mannheim, who had ruined his and his father's lives. When Lois Lane wrote an unflattering description of him in an article about mysterious attacks on Mannheim, Toyman kidnapped her and explained his story to her, wanting her to bear witness when he executed Mannheim. Superman appeared and saved them both, but Toyman escaped in the explosion that destroyed his hideout.[2]
Toyman piloting his helicopter.
At some point, he created a sophisticated android named Darci to be his companion. He had programmed her to be lifelike, and implanted a fail-safe which prevented her from harming him.[3]
Toyman ordered Darci to capture Static's friend Daisy so she could be Darci's new body. After Superman and Static confronted Toyman, she betrayed Toyman, but the fail-safe caused her to self-destruct. Her body melted, and Toyman was taken to jail.[4]
Toyman later became a member of the Superman Revenge Squad, and created a giant robot equipped with a disintegrator beam that had the unexpected effect of sending Superman into the future. In a rage, Wonder Woman nearly killed Toyman, but the Flash managed to stop her.[1]
Toyman later joined the Legion of Doom, controlled first by Grodd and later by Lex Luthor. When Grodd escaped his bonds and incited a mutiny against Luthor, Toyman decided to side with Luthor and held his own against several of the mutineers with his toys, including Killer Frost. He helped Luthor operate the machine built to resurrect Brainiac,[5] and later joined both the Legion and the Justice League in helping to repel Darkseid's invasion of Earth.[6] He was one of the surviving Legion members allowed a five-minute head start by Batman, and was last seen fleeing the Metro Tower.
Powers and abilities
Toyman possessed incredible technological expertise and inventiveness, and specialized in robotics, though he had also shown expertise in biological weaponry. Despite the childish motif which he usually insists on incorporating, Toyman's creations were incredibly sophisticated and deadly. In addition, most of his inventions had an innocuous, or even comical appearance that causes his opponents hesitation or confusion, often to their regret.
Though he is slight of stature and physically unprepossessing, his creepy voice and perpetual 'smile' give him a psychological edge over his opponents. Furthermore, his toys were usually powerful enough to give him an edge in almost any form of personal combat. His face was never revealed.
Background information
Toyman has been a name borne by three people: the original (Winslow Schott), a second one in the seventies (Jack Nimball) and more recently, the morally ambiguous technological genius Hiro Okamura. Though the DCAU character is named Winslow Schott, his origin and appearance is greatly different. In the comics, Schott was a British toymaker who was fired due to LexCorp interference, and sought revenge. In Action Comics #837, a robot, later revealed to be made by Schott, appears resembling the DCAU version of the character.
In the Justice League Unlimited episode Alive!, Toyman is one of the 13 surviving members of the Legion of Doom. This could be a tribute to the fact that a Toyman based on the Jack Nimball version (voiced by Frank Welker) was a member of the original Legion in the Hanna-Barbera TV show Challenge of the Super Friends.
Appearances
Superman: The Animated Series
- "Fun and Games"
- "Action Figures" (Cameo)
- "Obsession"
Static Shock
Justice League
- "Hereafter, Part I"
- "Hereafter, Part II" (Mentioned Only)
Justice League Unlimited
- "I Am Legion" (Cameo)
- "To Another Shore" (Cameo in flashback)
- "The Great Brain Robbery" (Cameo)
- "Alive!"
- "Destroyer"
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 In Justice League, "Hereafter, Part I"
- ↑ In Superman: The Animated Series, "Fun and Games"
- ↑ In The New Superman Adventures, "Obsession"
- ↑ In Static Shock, "Toys in the Hood"
- ↑ In Justice League Unlimited, "Alive!"
- ↑ Idem, "Destroyer"
| Members of the Secret Society |
|---|
| Leaders |
| Grodd • Lex Luthor |
| First Group |
| Clayface • Giganta • Killer Frost • Parasite • Shade • Sinestro |
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| Angle Man • Atomic Skull • Bizarro • Black Mass • Blockbuster • Bloodsport • Cheetah • Copperhead • Crowbar • Devil Ray • Doctor Cyber • Doctor Destiny • Doctor Polaris • Doctor Spectro • Dummy • Electrocutioner • Evil Star • Fastball • Giganta • Gentleman Ghost • Goldface • Heatwave • Hellgrammite • Javelin • The Key • KGBeast • Killer Frost • Lady Lunar • Livewire • Major Disaster • Merlyn • Metallo • Mirror Master • Monocle • Neutron • Nightfall • Parasite • Psycho-Pirate • Puppeteer • Puzzler • Queen Bee • Rampage • Shade • Shark • Silver Banshee • Sinestro • Sonar • Sportsmaster • Star Sapphire • Tala • Tattooed Man • Thinker • Top • Toyman • Tsukuri • Volcana • Weather Wizard |