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Turbo (comics)
Encyclopedia
Turbo is the name of two fictional character
s in the Marvel Comics
universe. One a comic book
superheroine, the other a superhero
. Michiko "Mickey" Musashi debuted in New Warriors
#28 and her ally Michael "Mike" Jeffries in New Warriors
#33.
.
However, Jones eventually decided to hide himself and his family from the people seeking the armor, and went to live in the town of Clairton, West Virginia
, where he encountered Rom the Spaceknight
and learned about the Wraiths. Jones agreed to help Rom protect the town from the Wraiths, and Rom altered the costume so its lenses would allow the user to see a Dire Wraith's true form.
However, Jones was eventually found and killed by the Wraiths anyway. Some of Jones' effects were passed on to his relative Phillip Jeffries, whose son Michael found the armor and gave it to his friend Michiko to use as a Halloween costume. When Michiko donned the armor, it began broadcasting on a wavelength that allowed human scientists from the lab that developed the armor to track it, and they attacked Michiko and Mike at a college costume party, where Michiko discovered the suit's abilities and fought off her attackers.
Mike encountered the Warriors as Turbo when Darkling
put Manhattan
under siege with the energies of the Darkforce
Dimension, and the two Turbos were attacked by Air Force when they trained with Nova
. Mickey became a reserve Warrior, helping rescue the team twice alongside other back-up heroes, before being offered a full-time membership by the team. Mickey continued to share the armor with Mike, but often had to borrow it for missions with the Warriors.
On one mission, the Warriors fought Volx, the queen of the Dire Wraiths, who recognized the Torpedo armor and desired it for the power-boost it would give her. She tracked the armor to Mike Jeffries and killed him, absorbing his memories. Posing as Mike, she tricked the Warriors into giving her the armor, which she used in a plot to depower Earth's superhuman population, before she was ultimately killed by Night Thrasher. Mickey pledged to be the sort of hero Mike wanted to be to honor him.
Mickey later met and fell in love with a young man named Dalton Beck, who unfortunately turned out to be Firestrike
, a member of the armored criminal team Heavy Mettle
. When the Warriors clashed with Heavy Mettle, Firestrike turned on his allies and employer to protect Turbo. Beck was then put in the Federal Witness Protection Program, preventing the two of them from continuing their relationship.
, she got a job at the Los Angeles Times
newspaper (though she would later quit this job to relocate to New York for reasons unexplained). She founded the group called Excelsior, a support group
for retired teenage superheroes; their lives were briefly the focus of the short-lived LONERS miniseries.
Within the first issue of Loners; Mickey was talking with Phil regarding Julie Power's
recent lapse in using her flying powers. And in the second issue, Mickey was going on a date with Chris Powell
after their latest support group meeting.
Within the third issue; Mickey learns about Chris, Mattie and Johnny's involvement about the MGH Ring and the events leading to where Julie was stabbed by Hollow (originally known as Penance from Generation X
). Mickey also prevented Hollow's recapture by the group responsible for her imprisonment by talking to their leader - a CEO named Fuyumi Fujiwaka - in she and Mickey's 'native' Japanese language - though Mickey is an American citizen by birth and why she would refer to the Japanese language as her 'native' tongue is not addressed. The fourth issue has Mickey talking with Chris about her concerns with Mattie within the support group, as well as making up for the recent tensions between them afterwards.
Within the fifth issue; Mickey was almost strangled by Nekra when she was saved by a mysterious girl who called herself "Namie". And although she was terrified of dying (since she wasn't wearing the Turbo suit at the time); Mickey was also angered by the facts that Julie revealed the truth that she wasn't a registered hero and that Chris refused to remove the Darkhawk amulet from himself. She was also surprised to learn that Phil harbored feelings for her and witnessing his attack on Chris, in which he grabbed the amulet and transformed into an alternate version of Darkhawk.
by Hawkeye
after the school moves into the former headquarters of the West Coast Avengers
.
, and invented by the first Torpedo, Michael Stivak, employing both Earth and Dire Wraith technology.
The Torpedo battle suit is commanded via cybernetic circuitry built into the cowl/headpiece and bonds to its wearer allowing for greater degrees of control depending on the wearer's individual body chemistry compatibility and skill in manipulating the cybernetic bond, determined by the degree to which his or her brain pattern interacts with its technology. Brock Jones
, the suit's first heroic user and the original Torpedo, had a sufficient degree of compatibility and skill to access most functions of the suit. Mickey, however, possesses a far greater natural compatibility and this combined with her greater length of time using the suit has enabled her to access functions Brock could not, such as the suit's limited ability to reconfigure itself cosmetically according to the wearer's wishes. The helmet and suit are both useless without one another.
The Torpedo battle suit allows Mickey to fly at speeds up to and including supersonic
levels; the exact top speed of the armor has yet to be classified. While in flight, the suit generates a low level force field to protect her from the adverse physical stress of moving at such speeds; it also provides a great deal of durability for combat applications, and can disperse radiation directed against it.
Using the small nuclear-powered turbines built into the gauntlets and boots of the suit, Mickey is able to project a pulsed concussive force blast nicknamed a "Turbo Punch" which is essentially a jet-powered punch, enabling her to strike opponents or objects with a tremendous amount of force. Using a dual-fisted double Turbo Punch delivers force equal to a full-powered punch from a superhuman with Class 100 strength. The wearer can regulate these hyper-punches so as to strike a person without causing serious injury. The wearer can also use these turbines to create blasts of high-speed air, projecting both wide wind gusts and narrow gusts and simulating concussive force.
Assisted by the power of the turbo jets, the suit is capable of providing the wearer with superhuman strength, as well. The level of superhuman strength conferred is again based on the wearer's compatibility with the suit and familiarity with its functions. Brock Jones was capable of lifting (pressing) approximately 1 ton; Mickey is able to optimally lift (press) 20 tons.
Built into the suit's visor is a device able to detect Dire Wraith
s (a divergent branch of the Skrull
race) no matter what form they take that was given to Brock Jones by Rom the Spaceknight in order to better protect the town of Claireton, West Virginia during the Wraiths' attempted conquest of the Earth. It is possible that it may be able to detect Skrulls, as well.
, Zero-G
, Lightspeed
and Darkhawk
.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
s in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universe. One a comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
superheroine, the other a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
. Michiko "Mickey" Musashi debuted in New Warriors
New Warriors
The New Warriors is a Marvel Comics superhero team, traditionally consisting of young adult heroes. They first appeared in The Mighty Thor #411 .-General publication history:...
#28 and her ally Michael "Mike" Jeffries in New Warriors
New Warriors
The New Warriors is a Marvel Comics superhero team, traditionally consisting of young adult heroes. They first appeared in The Mighty Thor #411 .-General publication history:...
#33.
Torpedo Armor
The Torpedo armor was a creation of the Dire Wraiths, their attempt to counter the cybernetic armor of the Spaceknights. They employed a human scientist to develop it, combining both Wraith and human technology. It had collapsible turbines mounted around the wrists and ankles, allowing the user to fly and fire powerful blasts of air. Upon discovering that the suit was going to be used for criminal purposes, its inventor stole it but died while escaping, and he gave it to the first person he stumbled onto, a man called Brock Jones, who used it to battle crime as the superhero, the TorpedoTorpedo (Marvel Comics)
Torpedo is the name of five fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The first version of the Torpedo was not related to subsequent versions and debuted in a one-shot story in Daredevil #59 Torpedo is the name of five fictional characters that...
.
However, Jones eventually decided to hide himself and his family from the people seeking the armor, and went to live in the town of Clairton, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, where he encountered Rom the Spaceknight
Rom the Spaceknight
Rom is a fictional character, a cosmic superhero in the . He first appears in Rom, Spaceknight #1 and was created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema.-Toy:...
and learned about the Wraiths. Jones agreed to help Rom protect the town from the Wraiths, and Rom altered the costume so its lenses would allow the user to see a Dire Wraith's true form.
However, Jones was eventually found and killed by the Wraiths anyway. Some of Jones' effects were passed on to his relative Phillip Jeffries, whose son Michael found the armor and gave it to his friend Michiko to use as a Halloween costume. When Michiko donned the armor, it began broadcasting on a wavelength that allowed human scientists from the lab that developed the armor to track it, and they attacked Michiko and Mike at a college costume party, where Michiko discovered the suit's abilities and fought off her attackers.
The New Warriors
Michiko and Mike began sharing the armor, Mike wishing to be a superhero, while Mickey used it to travel the world. Although she considered heroism as a "ridiculous calling", Mickey did not wish to see innocent people hurt when she could have prevented it. This is one of the reasons which got her mixed up with the New Warriors: After a gang of weapon smugglers under the command of the mercenary Sea Urchin involved an innocent in their dealings, she set out to stop them and ran into the team, who were also tailing the criminals. Mickey helped the Warriors to bring them down, capturing the Sea Urchin.Mike encountered the Warriors as Turbo when Darkling
Asylum (comics)
This article is about the Marvel Comics characters. For the Image Comics anthology, see Asylum .Asylum is the name of two characters in the Marvel Comics Universe.-Fictional character biography:...
put Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
under siege with the energies of the Darkforce
Darkforce
-Description:It is a powerful, extra-dimensional energy that can be manipulated in slightly different ways by a handful of beings that are attuned to it. There are slight yet inconclusive hints that it may be a corruptive influence of some kind and perhaps even sentient...
Dimension, and the two Turbos were attacked by Air Force when they trained with Nova
Nova (comics)
Nova is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Upon becoming a member of the galaxy's Nova Corps , the youth gained enhanced strength, flight, injury resistance, and a specialized uniform with life support.In May 2011, Nova placed 98th on IGN's Top 100 Comic...
. Mickey became a reserve Warrior, helping rescue the team twice alongside other back-up heroes, before being offered a full-time membership by the team. Mickey continued to share the armor with Mike, but often had to borrow it for missions with the Warriors.
On one mission, the Warriors fought Volx, the queen of the Dire Wraiths, who recognized the Torpedo armor and desired it for the power-boost it would give her. She tracked the armor to Mike Jeffries and killed him, absorbing his memories. Posing as Mike, she tricked the Warriors into giving her the armor, which she used in a plot to depower Earth's superhuman population, before she was ultimately killed by Night Thrasher. Mickey pledged to be the sort of hero Mike wanted to be to honor him.
Mickey later met and fell in love with a young man named Dalton Beck, who unfortunately turned out to be Firestrike
FIRESTRIKE
The FIRESTRIKE laser, introduced by Northrop Grumman on November 13, 2008, is purportedly the first, combat ready, solid state laser weapon. FIRESTRIKE is a 15kW modular laser "building block" which can be combined with other systems for specific missions, or 7 more FIRESTRIKEs for a single 100kW...
, a member of the armored criminal team Heavy Mettle
Heavy Mettle
Heavy Mettle is a fictional team of supervillains in the Marvel Universe.-Fictional organization history:Heavy Mettle was formed by Joseph Manfredi, who orders Firestrike to obtain Turbo's costume. Heavy Mettle attacks the New Warriors; they are defeated but escape. Nova disguises himself as...
. When the Warriors clashed with Heavy Mettle, Firestrike turned on his allies and employer to protect Turbo. Beck was then put in the Federal Witness Protection Program, preventing the two of them from continuing their relationship.
Excelsior (Loners)
Deciding that she would do more good with her education in journalism than adventuring, Mickey retired the Torpedo armor. With the help of Phil UrichPhil Urich
Philip Benjamin "Phil" Urich is a Marvel Comics character whose first appearance was in Web of Spider-Man #125. He once was the second person to use the Green Goblin identity as a superhero instead of a supervillain...
, she got a job at the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
newspaper (though she would later quit this job to relocate to New York for reasons unexplained). She founded the group called Excelsior, a support group
Support group
In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic...
for retired teenage superheroes; their lives were briefly the focus of the short-lived LONERS miniseries.
Within the first issue of Loners; Mickey was talking with Phil regarding Julie Power's
Julie Power
Julie Power is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in Power Pack #1 and was created by Louise Simonson and June Brigman.-Publication history:...
recent lapse in using her flying powers. And in the second issue, Mickey was going on a date with Chris Powell
Darkhawk
Darkhawk is a fictional comic book superhero who first appeared in his own self-titled series, Darkhawk #1...
after their latest support group meeting.
Within the third issue; Mickey learns about Chris, Mattie and Johnny's involvement about the MGH Ring and the events leading to where Julie was stabbed by Hollow (originally known as Penance from Generation X
Generation X (comics)
Generation X is a fictional comic book superhero team, a spin-off of the X-Men franchise published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Chris Bachalo, the team formed during the 1994 "Phalanx Covenant" storyline, and appeared in their own monthly series in September 1994...
). Mickey also prevented Hollow's recapture by the group responsible for her imprisonment by talking to their leader - a CEO named Fuyumi Fujiwaka - in she and Mickey's 'native' Japanese language - though Mickey is an American citizen by birth and why she would refer to the Japanese language as her 'native' tongue is not addressed. The fourth issue has Mickey talking with Chris about her concerns with Mattie within the support group, as well as making up for the recent tensions between them afterwards.
Within the fifth issue; Mickey was almost strangled by Nekra when she was saved by a mysterious girl who called herself "Namie". And although she was terrified of dying (since she wasn't wearing the Turbo suit at the time); Mickey was also angered by the facts that Julie revealed the truth that she wasn't a registered hero and that Chris refused to remove the Darkhawk amulet from himself. She was also surprised to learn that Phil harbored feelings for her and witnessing his attack on Chris, in which he grabbed the amulet and transformed into an alternate version of Darkhawk.
Avengers Academy
Alongside Julie and the other members of the Loners, Mickey is eventually inducted into the Avengers AcademyAvengers Academy
Avengers Academy is a Marvel Comics comic book series that debuted in June 2010 as part of the "Heroic Age". The series is written by Christos Gage, with artwork by Mike McKone and tells the story of a group of young super-powered persons who were selected to join a training academy for the...
by Hawkeye
Hawkeye (comics)
Hawkeye , also known as Goliath and Ronin, is a fictional character that appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Tales of Suspense #57 and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck. Hawkeye joined the Avengers in Avengers Vol. 1 #16 Hawkeye...
after the school moves into the former headquarters of the West Coast Avengers
West Coast Avengers
The West Coast Avengers is a fictional group of superheroes that appear in publications published by Marvel Comics. The team first appear in The West Coast Avengers #1 and was created by Roger Stern and Bob Hall.- Publication history :...
.
Powers and abilities
Mickey Mushashi and Mike Jeffries are both normal humans with no superhuman powers. As Turbo, they both wear a helmet and battle suit previously worn by TorpedoTorpedo (Marvel Comics)
Torpedo is the name of five fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The first version of the Torpedo was not related to subsequent versions and debuted in a one-shot story in Daredevil #59 Torpedo is the name of five fictional characters that...
, and invented by the first Torpedo, Michael Stivak, employing both Earth and Dire Wraith technology.
The Torpedo battle suit is commanded via cybernetic circuitry built into the cowl/headpiece and bonds to its wearer allowing for greater degrees of control depending on the wearer's individual body chemistry compatibility and skill in manipulating the cybernetic bond, determined by the degree to which his or her brain pattern interacts with its technology. Brock Jones
Torpedo (Marvel Comics)
Torpedo is the name of five fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The first version of the Torpedo was not related to subsequent versions and debuted in a one-shot story in Daredevil #59 Torpedo is the name of five fictional characters that...
, the suit's first heroic user and the original Torpedo, had a sufficient degree of compatibility and skill to access most functions of the suit. Mickey, however, possesses a far greater natural compatibility and this combined with her greater length of time using the suit has enabled her to access functions Brock could not, such as the suit's limited ability to reconfigure itself cosmetically according to the wearer's wishes. The helmet and suit are both useless without one another.
The Torpedo battle suit allows Mickey to fly at speeds up to and including supersonic
Supersonic
Supersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound . For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C this speed is approximately 343 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,235 km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound are often...
levels; the exact top speed of the armor has yet to be classified. While in flight, the suit generates a low level force field to protect her from the adverse physical stress of moving at such speeds; it also provides a great deal of durability for combat applications, and can disperse radiation directed against it.
Using the small nuclear-powered turbines built into the gauntlets and boots of the suit, Mickey is able to project a pulsed concussive force blast nicknamed a "Turbo Punch" which is essentially a jet-powered punch, enabling her to strike opponents or objects with a tremendous amount of force. Using a dual-fisted double Turbo Punch delivers force equal to a full-powered punch from a superhuman with Class 100 strength. The wearer can regulate these hyper-punches so as to strike a person without causing serious injury. The wearer can also use these turbines to create blasts of high-speed air, projecting both wide wind gusts and narrow gusts and simulating concussive force.
Assisted by the power of the turbo jets, the suit is capable of providing the wearer with superhuman strength, as well. The level of superhuman strength conferred is again based on the wearer's compatibility with the suit and familiarity with its functions. Brock Jones was capable of lifting (pressing) approximately 1 ton; Mickey is able to optimally lift (press) 20 tons.
Built into the suit's visor is a device able to detect Dire Wraith
Dire Wraith
The Dire Wraiths are a fictional extraterrestrial species published by Marvel Comics. The Dire Wraiths first appeared in Rom #1 , and were created by Bill Mantlo and Al Milgrom. The Dire Wraiths are the main opponents of Rom the Spaceknight....
s (a divergent branch of the Skrull
Skrull
The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby....
race) no matter what form they take that was given to Brock Jones by Rom the Spaceknight in order to better protect the town of Claireton, West Virginia during the Wraiths' attempted conquest of the Earth. It is possible that it may be able to detect Skrulls, as well.
House of M
Mickey appears as a member of the Wolfpack; along with Speedball, RageRage (comics)
Rage is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. He is African American. Rage was created by Larry Hama and Paul Ryan in The Avengers vol. 1 #326...
, Zero-G
Alex Power
Alexander "Alex" Power is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe. He first appeared in Power Pack #1 and was created by Louise Simonson and June Brigman.-Publication history:...
, Lightspeed
Julie Power
Julie Power is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in Power Pack #1 and was created by Louise Simonson and June Brigman.-Publication history:...
and Darkhawk
Darkhawk
Darkhawk is a fictional comic book superhero who first appeared in his own self-titled series, Darkhawk #1...
.