TEDDY MASTERSON
Real Name: Teddy Masterson (first name presumably short for Theodore)
Identity/Class: Human (mutate? mutant?)
Occupation: Prisoner of own family
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Anton Cartier, Layla
Enemies: Zombie
Known Relatives: Eric Masterson (father, deceased), Joan Masterson (mother)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: A cabin in the bayou, New Orleans, Louisiana
First Appearance: Tales of the Zombie#6 (July, 1974)
Powers/Abilities: Teddy was unusually strong, and had sharp nails on his fingers and toes. He was fond of leaping with both legs, and behaved like an animal in combat.
History: (Tales of the Zombie#6 (fb) - BTS) - The circumstances of how Teddy Masterson came to be deformed are unrevealed. He was apparently born deformed, but his parents spoke of him as an "experiment." They kept him locked up in a shack outside their cabin for nearly 20 years.
(Tales of the Zombie#6) - When the voodoo priestess Layla came to the Masterson cabin, Eric Masterson decided to give Layla to Teddy so that he could see what Teddy would do with a woman. When Simon Garth, the Zombie, companion of Layla, arrived, Eric released Teddy to fight the Zombie. Teddy put up a ferocious battle, breaking some of the Zombie's bones and tearing at his flesh, but it had no effect upon his foe's undead state. Fearful, Eric hid himself in the shack while Joan refused to abandon her son. As Joan spoke to Teddy she seemed to calm him, but they were interrupted by a scream from the shack-- Layla, whom Eric had thought dead, had actually befriended Teddy, and killed Eric when he entered the shack. Layla told Joan that Eric was the real monster, not Teddy, and the mother and son embraced each other. Layla and the Zombie then departed.
(Tales of the Zombie#9 - BTS) - When Simon Garth was temporarily released from his state as a zombie, he arranged for his fortune to help provide for Teddy, and for his friend Anton Cartier to look after him.
Comments: Created by Steve Gerber and Pablo Marcos.
Daredevil I#113 reveals that the shack that provided
the setting for this story
was the same shack in which Ted Sallis did his research. by
--John McDonagh
CLARIFICATIONS:
Teddy Masterson and his family should not be confused with:
Eric and Joan Masterson were the parents of Teddy, and kept him in a shack for nearly 20 years because of his deformity, while Eric performed "experiments." Eric gave Layla to Teddy to see what he would do with a woman, and this drove Joan away from him, until she ran into the Zombie. Eric tried to fight the Zombie, but found it immune to harm, and unleashed Teddy to kill him. When even Teddy proved ineffective he tried to hide in his son's shack, but found Layla was still alive. He tried to kill her with an axe, but she got the better of him and killed him instead. Joan managed to appeal to Teddy's humanity, and hoped help Teddy adjust.
--Tales of the Zombie#6
Images taken from:
Tales of the Zombie#6, page 19, panel 5
Eric/Joan- Tales of the Zombie#6, page 15, panel 3
Last updated: 11/12/05
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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