Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: Assassin
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Crime-Wave (Mason Hollis)
Enemies: Daredevil (Matt Murdock), Willie Lincoln
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Manhattan, New York;
Los Angeles, California
First Appearance: Daredevil I#59 (December, 1969)
Powers/Abilities: The Torpedo was a skilled athlete and hand-to-hand combatant.
His weaponry included his handgun, and his hat--it was unrevealed if his belt contained any additional weapons.
Height: Unrevealed (6' 3"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Unrevealed
History:
(Daredevil I#59) - The past of the
mysterious Torpedo is unrevealed, but Crime-Wave had the assassin
brought in from Los Angeles in order to kill Willie Lincoln, a blind
ex-cop who had encountered Crime-Wave and reported his location and
operations to the police and the press.
As he was the "star-witness" against Crime-Wave, Willie was placed in protective custody by the police; he was taken to a room at the top-floor of a downtown "flea-trap" hotel, where no one would ever think of looking for him--but unknown to Willie's two police bodyguards, the Torpedo was already there, hiding in the closet.
Torpedo suddenly kicked the closet door open and sprayed the room with knockout gas, rendering the three men temporarily unconscious. The hit-man was about to lift up and carry Willie to the hotel's roof, where he planned to drop him down six stories; but Daredevil (who had been working with Lincoln as Matt Murdock) burst into the room in time and saved Willie by engaging the Torpedo in a physical fight.
Using his handgun, Torpedo fired energy bursts at Daredevil, but the hero easily dodged the blasts and flipped out the room's window; looking outside, Torpedo could find no trace of Daredevil, so he figured the hero was on the roof--deciding that he would "take care" of Lincoln later, the assassin climbed the stairs to the roof to go after Daredevil, because "nobody gets away from the Torpedo that easy," and he had a reputation to protect.
When Torpedo reached the roof, Daredevil swung at him from a flagpole, intending to use the momentum to increase his kicking force; but Torpedo threw his hat and sliced the pole in half (see comments). Daredevil fell and just barely caught the edge of the roof to stop himself from falling towards certain death...but then Torpedo began stomping on his fingers.
Meanwhile, Willie Lincoln--revived, but still groggy from the gas--followed the sound of the fight and found his way to the roof; he then targeted Torpedo's voice as the assassin kept taunting Daredevil. Willie tackled the hit-man from behind and knocked him off the roof...but went over with him as well.
Daredevil managed to grab hold of Willie and saved him...but he was unable to save Torpedo, who fell to the pavement below, screaming like a little girl (EEEEE) the whole way down (see comments).
(Daredevil I#60) - While Daredevil drove a launch boat to Crime-Wave's headquarters aboard the gambling ship S.S. Lady Luck, he reminisced about the people and events involved in the Crime-Wave case, including his recent battle with the Torpedo.
Comments: Created by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan.
In the criminal underworld, a "torpedo" is slang for a hired gunman/professional killer.
In Daredevil I#126, Daredevil was battling the new Torpedo (Stivak), and when his opponent mentioned his name, Daredevil replied, "I've already battled a different dude with that name. And he may [present tense] just be a bit peeved at your using it."--that would seem to imply that the original Torpedo survived his fall...but I'll bet he had to retire from his occupation because of the injuries he probably sustained.--Ron Fredricks
When Torpedo used his razor-edged hat on Daredevil, DD commented that he "didn't expect him to pull an oddjob" on him--this is an obvious reference to Oddjob, the razor-edged-hat-throwing villain who fought James Bond in the movie Goldfinger. Random Task, the shoe-throwing villain from the movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, is an obvious parody of Oddjob (...much like Alotta Fagina for Pussy Galore).
Profile by Snood. Expansion by Ron Fredricks.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Torpedo has no known connections to:
Torpedo's hat has no known connection to:
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The assassin Torpedo had a dual-function handgun--it could be set to fire a destructive energy-beam, or switched to spray knockout gas; he carried it holstered on the left side of his waist. He first used it to spray knockout gas in Willie Lincoln's hotel room, rendering Lincoln and his two police bodyguards unconscious. When Daredevil intervened, Torpedo switched the gun to energy-beam-mode and fired at him, but he was unable to hit the acrobatic hero. --Daredevil I#59 |
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Torpedo wore a hat with a razor-edged brim, which he used as a throwing weapon (see comments); it could slice through flesh, wood, and metal. He could throw it in such a way that it would return to him (much like a boomerang), and he wore specially padded gloves to catch it. While Daredevil was swinging at him from a flagpole, Torpedo threw the hat and sliced the pole in half, then caught the hat when it returned and placed it back upon his head. --Daredevil I#59 |
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images: (without ads)
Daredevil I#59, p14, pan1 (main image - Torpedo)
Daredevil I#59, p20, pan1 (headshot - Torpedo)
Daredevil I#59, p20, pan1 (Torpedo stomps on Daredevil's fingers, as Willie Lincoln sneaks up behind him)
Daredevil I#59, p20, pan3 (Daredevil saves Willie Lincoln, as Torpedo [off panel, boot only seen] falls screaming)
Daredevil I#59, p14, pan4 (inside darkened closet, Torpedo adjusts his handgun)
Daredevil I#59, p15, pan1 (Torpedo sprays knockout gas from his handgun)
Daredevil I#59, p17, pan1 (Torpedo fires energy bursts from his handgun at Daredevil)
Daredevil I#59, p18, pan5 (Torpedo's thrown hat slices through flagpole)
Daredevil I#59, p19, pan2 (Torpedo catches his returning hat)
Appearances:
Daredevil I#59 (December, 1969) - Roy Thomas (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Syd Shores (inks), Artie Simek (letters), Stan Lee (editor)
Daredevil I#60 (January, 1970) - Roy Thomas (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Syd Shores (inks), Artie Simek (letters), Stan Lee (editor) [seen in memory flashback only]
First posted: 10/29/2003
Last updated: 09/02/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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