Time Commander
Encyclopedia
The Time Commander is the name of two DC Comics
supervillain
s. The first appeared in Brave and the Bold #59 (April–May, 1965). He was created by Bob Haney
and Ramona Fradon
. The second appeared in JSA Classified #34 (2008).
Calling himself the Time Commander, the “Modern Monte Cristo
,” Starr’s criminal career focused on rewriting his past: making himself appear “railroaded” into prison, and killing his former employer. These early schemes were foiled by the Batman
and Green Lantern
Hal Jordan
.
" #16, (Oct 1989). He affects the clocks of Paris, France, freezing them all at 11:55. Animal Man, on a walk around Paris with his wife, notices many time discrepancies, including a T-Rex, which he defeats. Elongated Man
, Metamorpho
and Rocket Red
join up with Animal Man and they track down Time Commander. He is reversing time in positive ways, such as granting one woman youth and bringing back a dead man. Time Commander swiftly defeats most of them, even destroying Rocket Red's armor. There is one left, Animal Man, who tries to talk him down off of his rampage. Animal Man notices the positive effects but is not sure if it is a good idea in the long run. Time Commander notes he is making life more interesting in general; furthermore that Animal Man doesn't seem like a bad person, just that Starr doesn't want any more psychiatric help.
Metamorpho, recovered, smashes Time Commander's hourglass. He is very distressed, claiming he was going to take the whole world back to the Garden of Eden. Metamorpho knocks Starr out with one punch; not noticing that his positive time reversals are now no more.
freed Starr from prison to join with the Clock King
and Chronos
as the Time Foes. The villains aimed to recover the Hourglass, but were prevented by the Team Titans. In truth, the entire scheme had been secretly masterminded by a future-time villain, Lazarium.
The Time Foes are featured in Team Titans
#14 (Nov 1993), heading into the Hudson River Mall. Their goal is to retrieve Starr's valued hourglass. They go relatively unnoticed, as Halloween costumes are prevalent that day. Attention is only brought to them when Starr smacks a woman who was confronting him over purchasing the hourglass. The heroes swiftly confront the villains. Calendar Man asks Starr to use his hourglass in battle. He claims he cannot do it, as it is an instrument for good (despite him having used it to smack around the heroine Redwing moments earlier). Also, the hourglass is broken.
Starr is not seen actually fighting in the resulting battle, he is admonished later by his captured allies for just having surrendered. Starr explains he is misunderstood, at heart he is a peaceful man.
As a result of the "Zero Hour" crisis in time, the Time Foes became stuck in a temporal loop. Unable to free himself or his teammates, John Starr seemed doomed to perish there.
#27 (2006). Waverider
is in a clock store when time freezes. Starr appears inside of an hourglass and berates Waverider for his failed promises to make Starr, Chronos
and other villains a Time Master in exchange for joining his fight. Starr then dissolves into sand, killed by Skeets
, the robot ally to the time-travelling Booster Gold
(really, a disguised and timetravelling Mister Mind). Waverider is swiftly killed as well.
in an attempt to steal Hourman's hourglass. Time Commander beat Hourman and took the hourglass from him. After releasing the tachyon particles from the hourglass, Fry disappeared. Whether his exposure to the particles killed him or not is not known at this time.
Time Commander appears in Justice League of America 80-Page Giant
#1 (Nov 2009), in which he rescues the League, who have been scattered through time by Epoch
. Although he appears to be acting as a hero, it transpires that in addition to acquiring Epoch's time displacement gauntlet, he also recovered the original Time Commander's hourglass from the JLA trophy room. Due to the nature of time travel, it is not clear if this Time Commander is Starr, Fry or a new character.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
s. The first appeared in Brave and the Bold #59 (April–May, 1965). He was created by Bob Haney
Bob Haney
Robert G. "Bob" Haney was a US comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics. He co-created the Teen Titans as well as characters such as Metamorpho, Eclipso, Cain, and the Super-Sons.- Early life and career :...
and Ramona Fradon
Ramona Fradon
Ramona Fradon is an American comic book and comic strip artist, known for her work illustrating Aquaman and Brenda Starr, and co-creating the superhero Metamorpho. Her career began in 1950, when it was even more unusual for women to illustrate superhero comics.-Career:Fradon entered cartooning...
. The second appeared in JSA Classified #34 (2008).
Fictional character biography
John Starr was a brilliant scientist who turned to crime after the demise of the artificial humanoid project which employed him. He was soon imprisoned, and while incarcerated perfected the Hourglass, which harnessed celerity and gave control over time itself.Calling himself the Time Commander, the “Modern Monte Cristo
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is often considered to be, along with The Three Musketeers, Dumas's most popular work. He completed the work in 1844...
,” Starr’s criminal career focused on rewriting his past: making himself appear “railroaded” into prison, and killing his former employer. These early schemes were foiled by the Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
and Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
Hal Jordan
Hal Jordan
Harold "Hal" Jordan is a DC Comics superhero known as Green Lantern, the first human shown to join the Green Lantern Corps and a founding member of the Justice League of America. Jordan is the second DC Comics character to adopt the Green Lantern moniker...
.
Paris, France
Starr’s agenda then took a turn for the grandiose, as he began resurrecting the dead by reversing time’s flow, with the goal of returning humanity literally to Eden in "Animal ManAnimal Man
Animal Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily “borrow” the abilities of animals...
" #16, (Oct 1989). He affects the clocks of Paris, France, freezing them all at 11:55. Animal Man, on a walk around Paris with his wife, notices many time discrepancies, including a T-Rex, which he defeats. Elongated Man
Elongated Man
The Elongated Man is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC universe. He is a reserve member of the Justice League. His first appearance was in The Flash vol. 1, #112...
, Metamorpho
Metamorpho
Metamorpho is a fictional character, a superhero in the . He is a founding member of the Outsiders, and has also joined multiple incarnations of the Justice League.-Publication history:...
and Rocket Red
Rocket Red
The Rocket Red Brigade is a DC Comics superhero team. They first appeared in Green Lantern Corps #208 , and were created by Steve Englehart and Joe Staton.-History:...
join up with Animal Man and they track down Time Commander. He is reversing time in positive ways, such as granting one woman youth and bringing back a dead man. Time Commander swiftly defeats most of them, even destroying Rocket Red's armor. There is one left, Animal Man, who tries to talk him down off of his rampage. Animal Man notices the positive effects but is not sure if it is a good idea in the long run. Time Commander notes he is making life more interesting in general; furthermore that Animal Man doesn't seem like a bad person, just that Starr doesn't want any more psychiatric help.
Metamorpho, recovered, smashes Time Commander's hourglass. He is very distressed, claiming he was going to take the whole world back to the Garden of Eden. Metamorpho knocks Starr out with one punch; not noticing that his positive time reversals are now no more.
Hudson River Mall
The Calendar ManCalendar Man
Calendar Man is a fictional comic book supervillain, and an enemy of Batman, who appeared in books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Detective Comics #259...
freed Starr from prison to join with the Clock King
Clock King
Clock King is a title used by two fictional characters, supervillains published by DC Comics. The first Clock King debuted in World's Finest Comics #111 , and was created by France Herron and Lee Elias.-Publication history:...
and Chronos
Chronos (comics)
Chronos is the name of several fictional characters of DC Comics, both supervillains who take their name from the Greek personification of Time and have the ability of time travel and can manipulate history.-David Clinton:...
as the Time Foes. The villains aimed to recover the Hourglass, but were prevented by the Team Titans. In truth, the entire scheme had been secretly masterminded by a future-time villain, Lazarium.
The Time Foes are featured in Team Titans
Team Titans
Team Titans was a comic book published by DC Comics that spun out of DC's New Titans series. It began in September 1992 and ended in September 1994. The Team Titans were first introduced as a shadowy group stalking the Titans...
#14 (Nov 1993), heading into the Hudson River Mall. Their goal is to retrieve Starr's valued hourglass. They go relatively unnoticed, as Halloween costumes are prevalent that day. Attention is only brought to them when Starr smacks a woman who was confronting him over purchasing the hourglass. The heroes swiftly confront the villains. Calendar Man asks Starr to use his hourglass in battle. He claims he cannot do it, as it is an instrument for good (despite him having used it to smack around the heroine Redwing moments earlier). Also, the hourglass is broken.
Starr is not seen actually fighting in the resulting battle, he is admonished later by his captured allies for just having surrendered. Starr explains he is misunderstood, at heart he is a peaceful man.
As a result of the "Zero Hour" crisis in time, the Time Foes became stuck in a temporal loop. Unable to free himself or his teammates, John Starr seemed doomed to perish there.
Death
Time Commander is featured in 5252 (comics)
52 was a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen...
#27 (2006). Waverider
Waverider (comics)
Waverider is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics universe, a time traveler who was merged with the time stream. Waverider first appeared in Armageddon 2001 #1 and was created by Archie Goodwin and Dan Jurgens....
is in a clock store when time freezes. Starr appears inside of an hourglass and berates Waverider for his failed promises to make Starr, Chronos
Chronos (comics)
Chronos is the name of several fictional characters of DC Comics, both supervillains who take their name from the Greek personification of Time and have the ability of time travel and can manipulate history.-David Clinton:...
and other villains a Time Master in exchange for joining his fight. Starr then dissolves into sand, killed by Skeets
Skeets
Skeets is a fictional artificial intelligence robot from the future in the . Usually seen as a companion to Booster Gold, he co-stars in the limited series 52 and the subsequent Booster Gold vol...
, the robot ally to the time-travelling Booster Gold
Booster Gold
Booster Gold is a fictional DC Comics superhero. Created by Dan Jurgens, he first appeared in Booster Gold #1 and has been a member of the Justice League, DC Comics' all-star team of heroes. The character is initially depicted as a glory-seeking showboat from the future, using knowledge of...
(really, a disguised and timetravelling Mister Mind). Waverider is swiftly killed as well.
Successor
Sterling Fry took up the Time Commander name after his mentor, John Starr, was killed. He kidnapped Liberty BelleJesse Chambers
Jesse Chambers is a fictional comic book character in the . Chambers, who first used the superhero name Jesse Quick and later Liberty Belle, is the daughter of Golden Age heroes Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle...
in an attempt to steal Hourman's hourglass. Time Commander beat Hourman and took the hourglass from him. After releasing the tachyon particles from the hourglass, Fry disappeared. Whether his exposure to the particles killed him or not is not known at this time.
Time Commander appears in Justice League of America 80-Page Giant
80-Page Giant
80-Page Giant was the name used for a series of comic books published by DC Comics beginning in 1964. The series was named for its unusually high page count. . The cover price was typically 25 cents, while other comics of the day were rarely above 12 cents...
#1 (Nov 2009), in which he rescues the League, who have been scattered through time by Epoch
Epoch (DC Comics)
Epoch, also known as The Lord of Time, is a comic book fictional character published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Justice League of America #10 and was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky....
. Although he appears to be acting as a hero, it transpires that in addition to acquiring Epoch's time displacement gauntlet, he also recovered the original Time Commander's hourglass from the JLA trophy room. Due to the nature of time travel, it is not clear if this Time Commander is Starr, Fry or a new character.
Powers and abilities
The Time Commander’s hourglass allows him to control time, allowing him to travel through time, move objects or beings through time and manipulate time in various ways.Other versions
- The Time Commander appears in Justice League Unlimited #19, where he attempts to kill the ancestor of VigilanteVigilante (comics)Vigilante is the name used by several fictional characters appearing in DC Comics. The original character was one of the first DC Comics characters adapted for live-action film, beating Superman by one year.-Greg Saunders:...
. - A version of Clock Commander appears in a flashback in JLA: Another NailJLA: Another NailJLA: Another Nail is a comic book mini-series published in the United States by DC Comics, a continuation of events seen in the original three-part mini-series JLA: The Nail. As with its predecessor, Another Nail occurs outside of the official DC Universe continuity, belonging to the Elseworlds...
. This version led a team called "The Warpists", which consisted of SportsmasterSportsmasterThe Sportsmaster is the name used by two DC Comics villains who used their sports skills for criminal purposes. The original Sportsmaster first appeared in All-American Comics #85 , and was created by writer John Broome and artist Irwin Hasen....
, AmazoAmazoAmazo is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in The Brave and the Bold #30 and was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson. An android, Amazo's special ability is to replicate the special abilities of various superheroes and...
and StarfireStarfire (comics)Starfire is the name of several fictional comic book characters published by DC Comics. The most prominent Starfire is Koriand'r, the fourth character to use that name...
.