Real
Name: Ferris Wilder Hartke THE TOSSER
Real
Name: Ferris Wilder Hartke
Identity/Class: Human mutant (see comments)
Occupation: See comments
Group Membership: Anti-Registration Underground (All-Out/Unarmed Training Automaton, Attacker/Richard Taine, Awe-Striker/Cecily Johnson, Basic Black/Norman Gentry, Battlestar/Lemar Hoskins, Brain Spasm/Dennis Hoxie, Canasta/Henry Cavanaugh, Captain Kinship/Edward Randlebuck, Dahntu/Charles Luc Phan, Freeware/Kurt Duryea, Gladiatrix/Robin Braxton, Green Guardswoman/Natalie Bell, Harbormaster/Sean Beckett, Haunter/Mark Runnemyer, Human Haze/Steve Cochrane, Iguanid/Tom Boldstep, Johnny Justice/Jonadab Megyscol, Kruzado/Dorothy Cardoza, Lawman/Leon Frankfurt, Leather Angel/Andrew Mussawyr, Masked Rose/Josie Tyler, Natural/Beru Addison, Network/Valerie Martin, Orange Crusher/Andy Gardner, Panthrax/Alex Mitchell, Peace-Lover/Barry Kanczeski, Qiblah/Jared Nelson, Saint Hildegard/Sonya van Jagt, Scorecard/Bill Merrick, Skybolt/Zack Zimmerman, Solo/James Bourne, Spaceheat/Charles Yaméogo, Staten Island Star/Russell Feldman, Stone-Tough/Ted Pendleton, Typeface/Gordon Thomas, U.S. Annie/Harriet Best, Warbug/Bernard Van Buren, Winter Woman/Angela Stover, Xantippe/Mandy Atkinson, Zapster/Langley Saint-Margaret, others); see comments
Affiliations: See comments
Enemies: (At least formerly) S.H.I.E.L.D. and its
"Cape-Killers"
see comments
Known Relatives: See comments
Aliases: See comments
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
previously an unidentified Anti-Registration
Underground safehouse in Manhattan, New York
see comments
First Appearance: (Unidentified) Civil War: Front
Line#4 (September, 2006);
(identified) Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to
Z hardcover#14 (2010)
Powers/Abilities: See comments
Height: Unrevealed
(approximately 5'9"; see comments)
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 171 lbs.; see comments)
Eyes: Unrevealed (see comments)
Hair: Blond
History:
See comments.
(Civil War: Front Line#4 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel
Universe A to Z hardcover#14: Anti-Registration Underground (fb) - BTS)
- Following the Stamford disaster, where hundreds had perished during a
battle between New Warriors and four Raft escapees, Iron Man (Tony
Stark), Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards) and others worked with US
officials to develop the Superhuman Registration Act (SHRA), outlawing
any crimefighting activities by unregistered super heroes.
Vigilante Typeface, although his identity was already
known, resolved to fight a perceived assault on freedom, and he
organized an Anti-Registration Underground, beginning with ex-government
operative Battlestar and anti-terrorist Solo, to support super heroes
who continued fighting crime without SHRA approval. Their ranks were
soon supplemented by mystic-armored Freeware; bodysuit-enhanced Green
Guardswoman; Masked Rose, leader of super-team T,J,A.W. (Truth, Justice,
and the American Way), empowered by accidental mutant blood exposure;
exoskeleton-empowered Network; and cyborg Skybolt. Via a covert
interview with Alternative reporter Sally Floyd, ARU members publicized
their perspective, and several other anti-registration heroes joined,
including the Tosser.
(Civil War: Front Line#4) - Basic Black was present with the ARU when
S.H.I.E.L.D. raided the ARU's safehouse and arrested most of its
members.
As the ARU members debated whether to seek and join
Captain America (Steve Rogers)'s Secret Avengers, a better organized and
equipped anti-SHRA unit, or to remain independent, armored S.H.I.E.L.D.
Cape-Killers, accompanied by Iron Man, Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers),
Wonder Man (Simon Williams) and at least ten unidentified flying heroes,
raided the base. Caught by surprise, few ARU members managed to
effectively fight back against their more powerful and organized
opponents. Although S.H.I.E.L.D. captured over 40 members, the
Harbormaster, the Awe-Striker, Canasta, Dahntu, the Green Guardswoman,
and the Tosser evaded capture, as did the Masked Rose, who had been
absent seeking new recruits.
(Civil War#7 / Amazing Spider-Man I#538 / Civil War: Front Line#10-11 -
BTS) - The Secret Avengers penetrated Prison 42, freeing many prisoners.
When the combined anti-registration forces were confronted by Iron Man's
pro-registration forces, Secret Avenger Cloak (Tyrone Johnson)
teleported both groups to Manhattan. Freed ARU prisoners took part in
the battle between the pro and anti-registration heroes, spanning from
the Negative Zone prison to the streets of New York. In the ensuing
battle, which caused severe damage, the Thunderbolts' Venom (Mac Gargan)
apparently killed Typeface. Other fatalities may also have occurred.
Following Captain America's surrender to forestall further civilian
risk, Battlestar and possibly others avoided recapture.
The government offered amnesty in return for
registration. Although Gladiatrix rejected the offer, Network registered
under the 50 States Initiative, while Solo also registered but pursued
independent interests. Presumably additional ARU members followed
Gladiatrix's example, others followed Network's or Solo's, and still
more remained at large.
Comments: Created by Paul Jenkins and Ramon
Bachs.
Codename, real name, and nature provided by Ronald
Byrd
During the production of the Civil War: Battle Damage
Report (2007) writer Paul Jenkins provided Ronald with authorization to
provide identities, real names for the various background
Anti-Registration Underground characters, and to flesh them out as much
as he wanted. Ronald provided identities and real names for the
Anti-Registration Underground entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel
Universe A to Z hardcover#14 (2010). There wasn't room to provide much
more than that in that entry. However, Ronald had backgrounds and
histories in mind for these characters when he provided their names.
Sadly, Ronald recently passed away. I completed this
profile with aid from "Spider-Mike" Fichera as part of our tribute to
our friend Ronald to help complete his Marvel legacy, the
Anti-Registration Underground.
While the information is
unofficial until it sees print, here is the full story behind the
Tosser.
REAL NAME: Ferris Wilder Hartke
ALIASES: Air-Foreman, "Angel from Heaven," "Costumed Kook,"
Doomerang, In-the-Wind, Skypunch, Slam-Air, others
IDENTITY: Known to US authorities
OCCUPATION: Learning disabilities center attendant
CITIZENSHIP: USA
PLACE OF BIRTH: Mystic, Connecticut
KNOWN RELATIVES: Hubert Hartke (father), Deb Beller (formerly
Hartke, mother), Fidelia Hartke (nee Chall, stepmother); Alison
Hartke-Phirst (sister), Molly Hartke (half-sister); Jane Hartke-Phirst
(m. Alison, sister-in-law); Dallas Hartke-Phirst, Finn Hartke-Phirst
(sons of Alison and Jane, nephews); Kau Ruger (third cousin), Vaney
Ruger (nee Cholz, third cousin by marriage); Millie Ruger, Aredev Ruger
(children of Kau and Vaney, fourth cousins)
GROUP AFFILIATION: Formerly Anti-Registration Underground
EDUCATION: College degree
SHRA CLASSIFICATION: Mutant
FIRST APPEARANCE: Civil War: Front Line #4 (2006)
HISTORY: Ferris Hartke's mutant powers manifested just before he
started college. Feeling the X-Men presented society with an unbalanced
image of mutant super-heroes, he became a super-hero himself, acquiring
a costume but proving unable to decide on a suitable codename. He
ventured into action nevertheless in hope that bystanders or the press
might bestow a codename upon him, but he received little such input and
even less press coverage. Subsequently, in the wake of the robot
Sentinels' first attack upon Manhattan, British crimelord Vixen
sent mob enforcer Thomas
Fogg -- accompanied by superhuman mercenaries
Assassin-8,
Highwayman
(Horton), Magpie,
and Slaymaster
-- to search former bases of various major criminals -- including those
of Baron
Zemo (Heinrich), the Big Man (Fred Foswell), the Crime-Master
(Nick Lewis, Sr.), Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius), Dr.
Carlo Strange, Egghead
(Elihas Starr), the Green Goblin (Norman Osborn), the Hate-Monger
(clone), Francisco
"Lucky" Lobo, Magneto (Max Eisenhart), Count
Luchino Nefaria, the Owl
(Leland Owlsley), and the Wizard (Bentley Wittman) -- which had been
damaged during the attack and subsequently abandoned, with the intent of
salvaging any usable resources. However, after several days with little
to show for their efforts, Fogg to grew increasingly and audibly
impatient with the assignment. When they broke into the abandoned Chemco
Building, former base of the Organizer
(Abner Jonas), Hartke, still sans codename, noticed signs of the
break-in and investigated. Hartke confronted Fogg and his men at their
work, but the unexpected sight of so many costumed criminals left him
momentarily speechless, and Fogg, his last shred of patience gone,
angrily demanded, "Oh, and who's this tosser, then?!" As if on cue,
Hartke, freed from his daze, attacked the four villains. As the battle
moved out of the building and into the streets, Fogg's underlings
repeatedly and mockingly referred to their opponent as "the Tosser."
After Hartke publicly defeated the four, media coverage popularized the
use of the name "the Tosser," and Hartke, deciding that the word was
applicable to his ability to "toss" himself around via altered density,
accepted it as his codename; he eventually learned that the word was, in
fact, a British insult, but by then he had become a moderately
well-known super-hero, and he felt no particular need to change
codenames.
The Tosser was one of the few mutants who retained his powers after
M-Day, at which time he was visiting relatives in a remote region of the
European nation of Lichtenbad;
as a result, he evaded government attention and thus, unlike most other
remaining empowered mutants, was not detained at the Xavier Institute in
the immediate aftermath of the crisis. Following the passage of the
Superhuman Registration Act (SHRA), the Tosser declined to register
because he erroneously believed that the X-Men, whom he still considered
bad examples of mutantkind, supported the SHRA. Eventually he was
recruited into Typeface's Anti-Registration Underground and was present
when SHIELD raided the ARU's safehouse and arrested most of its members.
The Tosser was one of the few ARU members to evade capture by SHIELD;
his current whereabouts and activities are unrevealed, although he is
believed to be considering a new codename, "the Thrower."
HEIGHT: 5'9" WEIGHT:
171 lbs.
EYES: Black
HAIR: Blond
ABILITIES/ACCESSORIES: The Tosser can alter the physical density
of any object or person, including himself. By lowering his density to
absolute minimum while in mid-motion, the Tosser can apply the force
originally propelling his unaltered form at normal speed toward the
acceleration of his near-weightless form to move at much faster speeds;
he can even use this ability to fly moderate distances by redistributing
his mass to change his direction and velocity. By magnifying the density
of his chest, back, or other select portions of his body, the Tosser can
render that portion impervious to bullets, blades, and most other forms
of physical injury; however, he can only maintain this state for a few
seconds at a time without the risk of potentially crippling muscular
pain. He can similarly simulate superhumanly strong punching ability by
magnifying the density of his fists, a state he can maintain for
slightly longer; this ability, combined with his ability to reduce
objects' densities, frequently gives observers the erroneous impression
that the Tosser possesses superhuman strength. Via diligent training,
the Tosser can redistribute a minimized or maximized density state to
any portion of his body almost instantaneously, enabling him to survive
a rapid succession of attacks from multiple directions.
Profile by Ronald Byrd, "Spider-Mike" Fichera and Loki.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Tosser has no known connections to:
images: (without ads)
Civil War: Front Line#4, p9, pan1 (main image)
Civil War: Front Line#4, p10,
pan2 (shot showing face)
Appearances:
Civil War: Front Line#3/1 - BTS (September, 2006) - Paul Jenkins
(writer), Ramon Bachs (penciler), John Lucas (inker), Cory Sedlmeier
(editor)
Civil War: Front Line#4/1 (September, 2006) - Paul Jenkins (writer),
Ramon Bachs (penciler), John Lucas (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Civil War: Front Line#4/3 (September, 2006) - Paul Jenkins (writer),
Sean Chen (penciler), Rick Magyar (inker), Molly Lazer, Aubrey Sitterson
(assistant editors), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Civil War: Front Line#5/2 (October, 2006) - Paul Jenkins (writer), Steve
Lieber (artist), Molly Lazer, Aubrey Sitterson (assistant editors), Tom
Brevoort (editor)
Civil War#6 - BTS (December, 2006) - Mark Millar (writer), Steve McNiven
(pencils), Dexter Vines (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Civil War#7 - BTS (January, 2007) - Mark Millar (writer), Steve McNiven
(pencils), Dexter Vines, John Dell & Tim Townsend (inks), Tom
Brevoort (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#14 (June,
2010) - Jeff Christiansen & Mike Fichera (head
writers/coordinators), Markus Raymond & Mike O'Sullivan
(coordination assistants), Stuart Vandal, Sean McQuaid, Michael Hoskin,
Ronald Byrd, Markus Raymond, Mike O'Sullivan, Madison Carter, Kevin
Garcia, Gabriel Shechter, Jacob Rougemont, Rob London, Rich Green, Chris
Biggs, David Wiltfong, Jeph York, Mark O'English, & Mike Gagnon
(writers), John Denning (associate editor), Alex Starbuck (assistant
editor), Theodore Kutt (copy editor), Mark D. Beazley (editor, special
projects), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editor)
First Posted: 10/29/2026
Last updated: 10/29/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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