TUATARA
Real Name:
Araoha Tepania
Identity/Class: Mutated Human, Mutant(?)
Occupation: Mercenary
Affiliations:
Mandarin (employer)
Enemies: Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), Iron Man, S.H.I.E.L.D
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "Commander"
Base of Operations: Currently unknown, Formerly a prison camp in the Australian Outback.
First Appearance:Iron Man III#6 (July, 1998)
Powers: Araoha Tepania can morph from a human female with scale-like markings on her face into a huge, humanoid lizard (appox 11' tall) with a thick hide and a 7' tail. In this form, Tuatara possesses superhuman strength (at least @ Class 85). Her thick, scaly hide affords her great resistance to injury. She withstood multiple blasts from Iron Man's repulsor rays with virtually no ill effects, and easily held her own in hand-to-hand combat with him. Iron Man felt she could hold her own against the Hulk. However, she proved to be especially vulnerable to tight beam sonic attacks. Tepania also displayed excellent unarmed combat skills as Tuatara, and boasted of her organizational skills.
History: Little is known about
the life or career of Araoha Tepania before Tony Stark
encountered her in her capacity as warden of the Mandarin's
forced labor camp in Australia. During her battle with Iron
Man, she mentioned that "Tuatara" is the name of the
lizard she was bonded with since birth.
(Iron Man III#6) Iron Man's encounter with Tuatara began when S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate) and the Black Widow recruited him (as Tony Stark) as "bait" to investigate the kidnappings of several prominent scientists. However, Stark was kidnapped while the Widow was distracted by a battle with Iron Hand Hauptmann, who had been sent by Count Nefaria to attack Stark.
Stark awoke in a well hidden prison camp, where he first met Tepania in her human form. Tepania told Stark that he and the other scientists would build technical devices for her employer, or die. She also informed him that they knew of the Black Widow's involvement and had removed his tracking implant.
Stark, undeterred, used the
components of the device he was building to send a new
signal to the Black Widow and S.H.I.E.L.D. 
Stark and
the Widow were making quick work of the guards until Tepania
arrived and transformed into Tuatara. Stark donned the Iron
Man armor brought by the Widow and engaged Tuatara. The
battle seemed to be a stalemate, with Iron Man unable to
seriously injure Tuatara and lacking confidence against
her due to his time as her prisoner. The
stalemate was broken when Iron Man blasted her with tight beam
sonics. Tuatara screamed in pain, and Iron Man's
confidence returned. Seeing that the battle was lost,
Tuatara burrowed away into the ground after ordering
the destruction of all the records of her employer's
involvement.
Comments: Created by Kurt Busiek and Sean Chen.
Tuatara's employer was revealed to be the Mandarin in Iron Man v.3 #9. Tuatara is still alive, and Tony Stark has said that he wants a chance to finish his batttle with her. Sounds like a rematch should be in the works!
You may (or may not) care to know that a tuatara is the only surviving rhynchocephalian (a family of snout-nosed reptiles, the only remaining members of a family separate from snakes, lizards, crocodiles/alligators, and the other divisions of reptiles). They are native to islands off the coast of New Zealand. I thought I remembered reading from my "Safari Cards" when I was a kid, that they were the oldest surviving type of reptile, period...Snood.--and thanks to Flank for straightening me out on this.
Profile by Chuck D
Clarifications: none
Last updated: 12/19/02
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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