PETER HOWARD
SHELBYPETER HOWARD
SHELBY
Real Name: Peter Howard Shelby
Identity/Class: Alternate Reality (Earth-13003) human
Occupation: Resort manager
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Richard, Ben, May, Mary
Known Relatives: Patty Shelby (wife)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: East Hamptons Resort, New York, United States
First Appearance: Trouble#1 (September, 2003)
Powers/Abilities: Peter Howard Shelby demonstrated
no superhuman abilities but possessed management skills commensurate
with his three decades in the hospitality business.
He was also proficient at tracking down
instances of rule violations on his property.
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 160 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
History:
(Trouble#1 (fb) - BTS) - Peter Howard Shelby worked 11 years in hotel
management before coming to the East Hamptons
Resort.
(Trouble#1 (fb) - BTS) - Peter and his wife, Patty, managed the exclusive East Hamptons Resort for nearly 19 years, catering to two U.S. Presidents, four Prime Ministers, and a disgraced former figurehead of the British Royal Family.
(Trouble#1 (fb) - BTS) - In his thirty years of experience in various forms of hotel management, Peter learned that intimacy led to distraction, which led to incompetence.
(Trouble#1) - Peter Howard Shelby introduced himself and his wife to the assembled newly hired staff as the managers of the East Hamptons Resort, noting their history at the exclusive hideaway. He described the resort as "one of the three most prestigious locales in an already prestigious area."
Shelby quickly informed the staff of the strict rules under which they would work, the first being "no intimate relations between unmarried members of the service staff." He stated how in his thirty years of experience in various forms of hotel management, the lesson he learned is that "intimacy breeds distraction and distraction breeds incompetence." Consequently, his advice to the staff boiled down to "keep your John Thomases safely in your trousers."
One member of the staff, Richie, jokingly inquired whether that advice applied to the female members of the staff as well, causing fellow staff member Mary to stifle a laugh, which she quickly apologized for after a glare from Shelby. Shelby himself was none too amused with the attempt at humor, and he informed Richie that he would be the first name Shelby would be writing down this season in what he termed his "Little Black Book," apparently a record of potential trouble-makers, saying he believed he would need to keep an eye on Richie and his brother, Ben, also on staff. Richie protested it wasn't possible to stop "a big gang of hormonally-charged teenagers" from doing what came naturally to them, to which Shelby retorted that he would work them so hard, they would not be able to do what came naturally.
The young staff members soon learned Shelby was serious about rule
enforcement after Mary's friend May led her, Richie, and Ben on a
skinny-dipping expedition into the waters of the nearby beach one night.
While the teens frolicked sans clothing, Shelby suddenly approached the
shore carrying a flashlight and calling out the names of the boys,
leading the teens to duck down in the water to avoid being seen. Shelby
found May's bra on the shore and exclaimed that he wanted to know what
kind of "orgiastic activities" had been going on, and what these
"animals" were doing to "those poor, naked girls." He vowed that when he
got his hands on them, he would have them out the door so fast their
feet wouldn't touch the ground. However, the teens managed to sneak out
of the water behind him and make their escape. Unaware they had left,
Shelby expressed confidence he could wait them out due to how cold the
water was. Unfortunately for him, at that point Mrs. Shelby arrived, and
Shelby was embarrassed to be found holding May's bra.
Having witnessed this interaction, now back in the safety of their quarters, Ben laughingly declared that Mrs. Shelby would have Mr. Shelby sleeping on the couch for six months after that, to which May suggested that perhaps they had opened up a whole new chapter in the couple's sex lives, since she saw a sparkle in Mrs. Shelby's eyes when she saw May's bra.
(Trouble#2 - BTS) - The
Shelbys went out on another of their "anti-sex expeditions" as Richie
described them, but once again failed to catch the culprits, as the
teens had chosen a locale a mile away from where they knew the patrols
to be conducted.
(Trouble#3 - BTS) - As Ben and May engaged in love-making on the resort's golf course, Ben asked how fast Shelby would fire them if he witnessed this happening on the fifteenth hole, to which May opined that she supposed it depended on whether they'd ruin his shot or not.
(Trouble#3) - Ben went to confront a guest who insulted May and was stopped by Mr. Shelby who asked him to help another guest who had spilled food to clean up in the restroom. Ben responded by telling Shelby, "Go screw yourself" and continued on to the confrontation.
(Trouble#3 - BTS) - Ben received a written warning from Mr. Shelby over the incident, although Shelby did not fire him.
(Trouble#3) - As May participated in a strip poker game with other staff members, Mr. Shelby spied on the gathering through a window, and declared he would like to kick in the doors and fire the whole lot of them. Mrs. Shelby sought to calm him, saying that if he put as much effort into their sex-lives as he did with other people's, she might crack a smile from time to time.
(Trouble#4 - BTS) - Ben quit the resort after finding out May had been sleeping with Richie, and May ran off as well due to her resulting pregnancy. Richard asked Mary where she and May had been, saying the Shelbys thought they had "done a Ben and just quit or something." Mary then revealed that May had indeed left.
(Trouble#5 (fb)) - Still working at the resort, Mary reconciled with May and convinced the Shelbys to take May on again as an employee.
(Trouble#5 - BTS) - Six months later, they had worked their way up to management trainee status, and were on their way to obtaining hotel and catering certificates by the end of the winter season. Mary arrived at Richie's home with a baby in her arms, and told him it was her baby and he was the father. She stated that her plan was originally to work for the Shelbys until he was born and then hand him over for adoption, but once she saw him, she couldn't give him up.
(Trouble#5 - BTS) - Mary chose the name "Peter" for her
baby.
Comments: Created by Mark Millar and Terry Dodson.
When
the Trouble series came out, it was meant to seem as if it were the
secret origin of Peter Parker. Of course, it was eventually confirmed
as just an alternate reality story.
--Snood
Earth-13003 (Ben, East Hamptons Resort, Mary, May, Peter, Richard, Peter Howard + Mrs. Shelby) Mary and May went to work as waitresses at a resort for the summer where they met Ben and Richard. May ended up getting pregnant from Richard, but couldn't go home as an unwed teenage mother, so May pretended to have had a miscarriage. Mary took the baby as her own, and made Richard believe the child -- whom they named Peter -- was theirs. Trouble #1 (2003)
This profile was completed 07/06/2026, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the
Appendix 25th anniversary's celebratory event to represent
the Trouble series and characters.
Profile by Matt Adler
CLARIFICATIONS:
Peter Howard Shelby has no known connections to:
images: (without ads)
Trouble#1, pg. 8, panel 1 (main image);
pg. 9, panel 5 (closeup);
pg. 8, panel 4 (advice);
pg. 18, panel 3 (flashlight);
Trouble#3, pg. 21, panel 2 (spying)
Appearances:
Trouble#1 (September, 2003) - Mark Millar (writer), Terry Dodson
(artist), Axel Alonso (editor)
Trouble#3 (November, 2003) - Mark Millar (writer), Terry Dodson
(artist), Axel Alonso (editor)
Trouble#5 (January, 2004) - Mark Millar (writer), Terry Dodson (artist),
Axel Alonso (editor)
First posted: 09/18/2026
Last updated: 07/11/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and � 1941-2099 Marvel
Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you
should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!