Tremor is a fictional character from the comic book series, Spawn

Spawn (comics)

Spawn is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in a monthly comic book of the same name published by Image Comics. Created by writer/artist Todd McFarlane, Spawn first appeared in Spawn #1...

. He is a former Mafia enforcer and associate of Antonio "Tony Twist" Twistelli, the Don of New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, and is now a vigilante seeking revenge on The Family.

Background

Richard Masullo was always the muscle, from his days with his brother David till his time with Twist. When he wanted out of the mob Twistelli had him captured and shipped to Germany where he was used as the guinea pig for Project: TREMOR, the mafia's first attempt to create a supersoldier. This was the predecessor of the highly successful OvertKill project. Richard was subjected to numerous experiments, mostly gene manipulation but spliced with some cybernetics. The result appeared more demonic than human. The newly dubbed "Tremor" was a failure, as his free will and disgust for what he had become overwhelmed any type of loyalty he had for the mafia. As a result, Twist killed the rest of Tremor's family except for his brother David. Not long afterwards an enraged Tremor broke free from the laboratory. Twist told David that Tremor was the one who slaughtered his family, including Richard, and David went to work hunting Tremor across the globe.

Role in the Story

Tremor arrived in New York and heard news of dealings between Spawn and Twist. While treking the globe he had been taking out facilities belonging to Twist. This work continued in New York. He attacked Spawn, mistaking him for an ally of the mob. The two came to a sort of understanding and teamed together to go after Twist. They slashed through Twist's men and almost took him out, but David stepped in and fought against Tremor. As Richard revealed himself to his brother, David couldn't understand or believe what was going on because of his own guilt and his hatred for Tremor and began to unload his weapon into him. This wounded Tremor but due to his mutated, cybernetically enhanced condition the damage was only minor. Spawn only saw part of what had happened and attacked David, severely injuring his leg and enraging Tremor. This led to a falling out between the duo and what has been a very uneasy tension between them since.

Tremor is both one of Spawn's greatest allies and deadliest enemies depending upon his mood. He's never forgiven Spawn for injuring David.

Recent Whereabouts

Tremor has been notably absent from the book for a very long time. This is most likely because of the legal issues surrounding the Tony Twist character, since Tremor's role in the book is to chase after Twist. Todd McFarlane has also stated in the past that he feels the character is very "cartoony" and thus not suited for current storylines. Tremor made a cameo as a new member of the Image comics team, The Brigade, and more information on this part of his usage in comics is being investigated.

Tremor supposedly made a brief cameo in the latest Spawn arc, however the Tremor that appeared to Spawn while he was being tortured by Thamuz was instead a low-level demon under the guise of an illusion caused by Thamuz' magic.

Manga Counterpart

In the Shadows of Spawn manga, the government and the local mob also make a deal to create a super-soldier. Dubbed "Tremor II", it has little or no speech freedom. It appears to be mindless, until it melds with a character from Ken Kurosawa's past named Terry. Only then is he able to speak, but in very broken sentences.