HEATHCLIFF ROCHESTER

Real Name: Heathcliff Rochester

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Real estate agent with Seven Gables Realty Corp. & All Nite Key Grinding Service

Group Membership: Seven Gables Realty Corp. & All Nite Key Grinding Service

Affiliations: Mrs. Dragonworth, Patsy Dragonworth, Howard the Duck, Beverly Switzler

Enemies: Arnie, the Gingerbread Man, Rev. Joon Moon Yuc

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "Cliffy"

Base of Operations: Pennsylvania, USA

First Appearance: Howard the Duck I#6 (November, 1976)

Powers/Abilities: Heathcliff Rochester had no superhuman powers but he was a skilled horse rider and real estate agent.

    He always carried a handgun that he used mostly to announce his entrance or ward off others.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'10")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 155 lbs.)
Eyes: Light brown (? - see comments)
Hair: Black

History:
(Howard the Duck I#6 (fb) - BTS) - Heathcliff Rochester became a real estate agent with the Seven Gables Realty Corp. & All Nite Key Grinding Service, specializing in decaying Victorian mansions of pernicious repute. He soon had business cards printed up that stated exactly that. When Rev. Joon Moon Yuc and his religious cult, the Yucchies, sought to purchase the Victorian Dragonworth property, Rochester was placed under strict orders to unload the property quickly. Rochester immediately rushed out on a horse to meet with Rev. Yuc.

(Howard the Duck I#6) - As Howard the Duck was encountering Rev. Joon Moon Yuc, who was praying for Howard to be struck down, real estate agent Heathcliff Rochester came riding up on a horse and presented Howard with his business card. Before Howard could even get a word in, Rochester, confusing Howard the Duck for Rev. Yuc, commented that they had no time to waste if he was still interested in securing the Dragonworth property for his unconventional religious cult. Explaining his orders, Rochester assured Howard Dragonworth was premium property and Howard barely considered the property before Rochester snatched Howard up onto his horse to make their way to the property despite Rev. Yuc's attempts to have the mistaken Rochester hold up. As Rochester returned to the Dragonworth property, he found being assaulted by local townspeople and he unleashed the property's hounds against the townspeople, ordering them back since the property was zoned residential. Howard eventually fell off Rochester's horse after seeing Beverly Switzler inside Dragonworth and Rochester routed the townspeople away from the property.

    Once inside the Victorian mansion, Howard confronted Heathcliff Rochester and demanded to know what was going on. Rochester happily obliged, informing Howard that the local townspeople suspected young Patsy Dragonworth of being a witch and that Mrs. Dragonworth had decided to sell the property and move away to lease another crumbling Victorian mansion in Wisconsin. When Rev. Yuc arrived and announced that it was he who planned to purchase the Dragonworth property in order to exorcise the evil forces contained within, Rochester spoke on behalf of Seven Gables Realty, admitting that they really didn't care who purchased the property as long as the down payment was sufficient and they got FHA approval for financing. Patsy Dragonworth then bade everyone to follow her into her lab to prove she was only making cookies not monsters and Rochester followed behind everyone else, witnessing Patsy activated her machines. When Patsy removed the sheet over her creation, revealing the human-sized Gingerbread Man, Rochester exclaimed "Son of a contractor...!" in surprise as the Gingerbread Man came to life.

(Howard the Duck I#7) - The Gingerbread Man stood up with smiling malice in its candy eyes and Rochester, Mrs. Dragonworth, Beverly Switzer and Howard the Duck made their way back upstairs. As Rev. Yuc prayed, Rochester remarked "There goes the sale, I guess." Howard soon ate the leg off of the Gingerbread Man, causing it to topple into Patsy's machinery and start a fire. Howard and Beverly managed to jump from the property's tower moments before an explosion claimed not only the Victorian property but all inside, including Heathcliff Rochester.

Comments: Created by Steve Gerber, Gene Colan and Steve Leialoha.

    Despite being shown up close multiple times, Heathcliff Rochester's eyes always seem to be colored a pale yellow or an extremely light brown, almost white. It seems unlikely that his eye color would actually be a pale yellow so I'm thinking perhaps it was a coloring error.

    I've seen several online sources (including both other profiles on the Appendix and the Marvel Database Wiki) that list Patsy's last name as "Dragonsworth" but Heathcliff specifically calls her mansion the "Dragonworth" property (without the "S") in Howard the Duck I#6.

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Heathcliff Rochester should be distinguished from:

• HEATHCLIFF - mischievous cat-- (originally) Heathcliff comic strip; (in Marvel Comics) Heathcliff I#1
  
• ROCHESTER - Jack Benny's valet & friend--The Jack Benny Show radio program
• other "Heathcliff" or "Rochester" characters, groups, items, races or events
  

Appearances:
Howard the Duck I#6 (November, 1976) - Steve Gerber (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Steve Leialoha (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Howard the Duck I#7 (December, 1976) - Steve Gerber (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Steve Leialoha (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)

First posted: 09/22/2025
Last updated: 09/22/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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