The Red Torpedo
Personal information
Real Name: James (Jim) Lockhart
Residence: A series of unnamed coves
Occupation: Adventurer, engineer, submariner
First Appearance (Golden Age): Crack Comics #1 (May 1940)
First Appearance (Post-Golden Age): All-Star Squadron #31 (May 1984)
Character History
Little is known of the life of Jim Lockhart prior to his life as a
naval officer in 1940. An amateur engineer, he designed a small
torpedo-inspired submersible and sought the Navy’s investment via his superior
officer Captain Wells. Declined, he
resigned from the Navy and with his fiancee’, builds a prototype of his ship's design in a hidden
cove. He christens the ship "The Red Torpedo".
As World War II consumes Europe,
refugee ships flood the seas and become a target for Axis forces. Unaligned with any military, Lockhart adopts
the identity of the Red Torpedo after his ship and begins to patrol the Atlantic. In May, a large refugee ship is targeted by
two Nazi subs but the Red Torpedo intercepts them and destroys both before
serving to escort the ship to a rendezvous with an American naval vessel
captained by Wells, who becomes suspicious as to who the Red Torpedo might be
(Crack Comics #1).
In the months that followed, the Red Torpedo becomes a scourge of
the criminal seas, sinking an Axis prototype super-cruiser (Crack Comics #2),
breaking up a network of pirate subs operating an insurance racket by Eutonia
Steamship Line (Crack Comics #3) and destroying an Axis submarine base hidden in
New York Harbor (Crack Comics #4).
In
1941, the Red Torpedo spent some time in the Pacific working the Asian Axis
front. He disrupted a sabotage operation
on Vandamm Island (Crack Comics #11) and destroys a Japanese oil depot (Crack
Comics #12). In some of these early cases, he is assisted by his fiancée, who
was skilled enough to pilot the torpedo herself (Crack Comics #4).
IThe most recurrent foe of the Red Torpedo was a scientist-pirate
known variously as the Shark, the Lone Shark or the Black Shark. His first recorded encounter occurs him in
late 1940 when he is engaged in a series of thefts along the coast of Virginia.
After a series of interruptions by the Torpedo, the Shark challenges him to an
undersea duel where he is ultimately defeated and turned over to the
authorities in Norfolk (Crack Comics #5). He encountered a race of underwater warrior
woman called Mermazons when he found the Black Shark working with their ancestral adversaries, denizens of
undersea canyons (Crack Comics #7). He
even collaborated with the Shark by force, coercing his long-time enemy to aide
him against Axis forces (Crack Comics #8).
By 1941, however, World War II was in full swing and the Black Shark
became an ardent agent of the Axis Powers. When the Red Torpedo moved his
primary sphere of operations to the Pacific, the Shark soon followed (Crack
Comics #12) engaging in plots to undermine Allied Forces (Crack Comics #15) and
supplying Axis agents with high technology for maritime warfare include
experimental ships (Crack Comics #14, 15) and amphibious assault vehicles
(Crack Comics #16, 20).
n 1942, the Red Torpedo returned to the Atlantic Theatre, again engaging in
conflict with the Black Shark (Crack Comics #19-20). In April of that year, the
Red Torpedo was contacted by a man claiming to the be the living spirit of
America, Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam alleged that he had seen a world in far more dire straits that Earth-Two, one in which
the Axis forces were making steady in-roads into Allied Territory. The
Red Torpedo, along with several other regional actors, were beseeches Lockhart to join
the fight on the other Earth, named Earth-X, to slow the Axis advance. The Red Torpedo agreed, taking his ship with
him across the multiversal void. Fate
favored the Axis in the new world however and the initial corps of Uncle Sam’s
“Freedom Fighters” were quickly defeated and thought dead. Hourman was later shown to have
survived the assault so whether the Red Torpedo was truly dead on Earth-X has
never been verified and what became of his technology of Earth-Two is
unrevealed.
Powers and Abilities
Jim Lockhart was a highly trained office of the United States Navy, possessing both military acumen and high-level combat training. He was also a talented and accomplished engineer, capable of building a vehicle as sophisticated as the Red Torpedo. His knowledge of oceanography was superb. He was sufficiently resourced to create his sub, largely in secret, the origins of which funds are unknown. The submarine itself was remarkably advanced for the 1940’s, able to withstand crushing pressure of the ocean’s depths, remain submerged with full life support for extended periods and move at high speed. Defensively, the sub was well-armored although it relied mainly on maneuverability in combat. Offensively, it possessed underwater firearms, could deploy restraints and had a spear on the tip that could pierce hull armor of military grate ships. It’s full complement of abilities has not been fully described.
Weaknesses and Limitations
Jim Lockhart was an ordinary, even if highly trained, human and separated from his equipment and sufficiently overwhelmed could be defeated. The limitations of the Red Torpedo sub are not fully known, tho it could be captured and with Lockhart’s engagement it was either inert or could be used by others.
Multiversity
Earth-0
In the Post-Crisis timeline, Red Torpedo was also involved in a battle lead by Uncle Sam and other “Freedom Fighters” but in this case was injured and survived. He abandoned the role of the Red Torpedo and began a career in engineering initial with Lockhart Navionics, making him a billionaire. At one point, he provided technology for the heroes serving as substitute Starman in the early 1950’s (Starman Vol. 2 #77) In later years, he used his wealth to create Windward Home, a floating city-sized facility that serve as think tank and based of operations for individuals seeking to preserve justice and prevent destruction of marine environments. He has hosted the Sea Devils and individuals from Atlantis under the leadership of Aquaman among others (Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #42-43. #50-56). His final fate in this timeline is unknown.
Earth-2
A version of James Lockhart exists in this time, likely born toward the end of 20th century. In this timeline, the military endorsed his idea and he became a designer for them, including the creation of the Red Torpedo (Earth 2 Vol. 1 #13)
Earth-22
The Red Torpedo of this Earth has origins similar to his Earth-Two counterpart but as there was no cross-over with Earth-X, he remained active throughout the war and survived into the 1950’s, when he participated in Senator Tex Thompson (secretly the Ultra-Humanite)’s effort to organize all costumed adventurers under his authority. Whether the Red Torpedo participated in the conflict after the Humanite’s unmasking and whether he survived that conflict on Earth-22 has not been revealed (The Golden Age LS).
Golden Age Appearances of the Red Torpedo