HARMONY WHYTE
Real Name: Harmony Whyte
Identity/Class: Normal human
Occupation: TV news reporter
Group Membership: West-TV
Affiliations: Arnie Berman, Carl
Braden, Human Fly
(Rick Rojatt), Blaze Kendall, Ted Locke, Alex Marks
(loose), Willie
Silver (loose)
Enemies: Cyrus
Barker, David
Dreir, Mike
Flynn, Malik
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Mobile in the USA,
occasionally Canada
First Appearance: Human Fly I#1 (September,
1977)
Powers/Abilities: Harmony Whyte is an able and
unflinching television news reporter capable of measured analysis and
live news production. She
is always seen with green-colored eye lenses (see comments).
Height: 5'6"
(by approximation)
Weight: 140 lbs. (by
approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Blond
History:
(Human Fly I#6 (fb) - BTS) - Noted West-TV reporter
was assigned to do a smear piece on costumed stuntman the Human Fly and
unmask him.
(Human Fly I#1 (fb)) - During an interview before a
plane stunt, Harmony Whyte suggested the Human Fly sought glory,
ignoring the
Human Fly's charity work and desire for anonymity, but this earned the
ire of the Fly's support team, Arnie Berman, Blaze Kendall and Ted
Locke.
(Human Fly I#1) - Whyte reported on the Mercenary's
hijacking of the press plane and the Human Fly's death-defying efforts
to stop him and save lives, although she skewed it with a negative
perspective. When the stuntman was back on the ground, she doubted his
sincerity and resolved to expose him.
(Human Fly I#2 (fb)) - Whyte checked on the
background story of the Human Fly to determine his true
identity, discovering five men hospitalized in similar conditions.
(Human Fly I#2) - Whyte derided the Human Fly's flame
stunt in Nevada, set a day before a car race, and quietly refuted his
claims to charity. Believing racer Alex Marks to be the stuntman, she
confronted him in his trailer, but was disappointed. The next day,
still suspicious, she told her camera operator to focus on Marks. As
the race descended into deadly chaos due to the machinations of corrupt
organizer Cyrus Barker, Whyte followed a hunch and followed Barker just
as he was about to steal the prize money. She accepted Marks was
not the Human Fly and remained resolute to reveal the stuntman's real
identity.
(Human Fly I#3 (fb)) - Whyte followed the Human Fly's
shark stunt, where he met the deceitful David Dreir, who claimed rival
arms manufacturer Marion Martinet had kidnapped his daughter, Alexandra.
Dreir requested the Fly's help in rescuing her, but Whyte stepped in
and pushed her agenda that the Fly was a fraud. The stuntman
nevertheless agreed to investigate.
(Human Fly I#4) - Dreir had Whyte and Berman escorted
to his palatial home to secretly act as hostages to secure the Fly's
further aid. Whyte and Berman deduced Dreir's plan and resisted, but
were tied up and placed in a military tank. They eventually escaped and
joined the Human Fly, Locke and Kendall at Martinet's fortress once
Alexandra had been rescued.
(Human Fly I#5 (fb)) - Whyte asked for a few words
from the Human Fly before he began his tightrope stunt between two
Quebec skyscrapers. She was impressed that the disabled children
watching were inspired by his efforts.
(Human Fly I#5) - Whyte was one of the people held
hostage by disgruntled former stuntman Malik atop a burning skyscraper.
After Malik was overpowered, she helped the Human Fly's rescue effort freeing the disabled children.
(Human Fly I#6) - Whyte was called back to see her
boss Carl Braden in his Los Angeles office, where he berated her for
not yet filing a story showing the Human Fly to be a fraud. Whyte
admitted she no longer saw the stuntman as a charlatan, but Braden
threatened she would be fired if she didn't deliver.
(Human Fly I#7) - Whyte encountered the Human Fly at
his Vermont snowmobile stunt and apologized for her bad press coverage
of him. She later stood by his support crew and watched as he changed
his routine to rescue two people imperiled by a bear. She followed the
troupe on borrowed skis and comforted the rescued blind boy, Andy
Evans.
(Human Fly I#8) - Whyte documented the Human Fly's
jet-powered skateboard stunt at the New York museum hosted by Margarita
Mercado.
The Human Fly acknowledged Whyte's more recent friendlier coverage, but
yielding to her boss' demands, she then suggested the stuntman was
seeking only glory. Violent actions by the criminal Copperhead
then saw attendants scatter for safety.
(Human Fly I#11 (fb)) - Whyte joined the press before
the Human Fly's bus-jumping attempt. When the Fly's motorbike's
faulty engine caused the stunt's failure, Whyte became very regretful
of her harsh press of him.
(Human Fly I#11) - Whyte later attended the Human
Fly's next stunt in St. Louis, where she was once more confronted by
Braden. Seeing the stuntman try again despite the prior spectacular failure
inspired her to stand up to her bullying boss and she resigned to his
face. She saw the singer Willie
Silver get electrocuted and suspected foul play on the part of the
musician's manager, Mike Flynn. She punched Flynn down as he tried to
escape.
(Human Fly I#12) - Stating she was there as a friend,
Whyte wished the Human Fly luck for his railroad stunt and later joined
Arnie Berman in the train's dining car. Berman shared how he had been
inspired by the Fly and Whyte confided that she hoped to likewise
regain her confidence and job. The stuntman, Kendall and Locke
overheard and agreed to help.
(Human Fly I#13) - Whyte joined the Human Fly's
entourage, documenting all that was going on concerning stunts. She had
a nightmare about the Fly failing his next stunt to be the first to ski
America's tallest mountain, Mt. Whitney, but the stuntman dismissed it.
She focused on her task and ignored her ex-boss Braden, who was nearby
filming the Fly's movements
trying to generate negative press. She helped guide the Fly's troupe's
climb and stunt, but was aghast at the near mishap with the careless
Braden. The Human Fly and his troupe, including Whyte, visited Braden
as he
recovered in hospital. Impressed with Whyte's production efforts for
the Fly, Braden offered to take Whyte back without editorial
interference.
(Human Fly I#14) - Whyte reported live on the Human
Fly's stunt at the First International Airship Race across America,
which involved walking a tightrope between a piloted and a drone blimp.
However, two mute children had secretly hidden in the drone and
unwittingly
sabotaged the stunt, placing the Human Fly in serious danger. Whyte
continued reporting, adding to the dramatic coverage.
(Human Fly I#18) - Whyte typed a report she would soon
present regarding the Human Fly's appearance at the Hopi reservation
near Las Cruces, New Mexico, noting his sympathetic interaction with
the Native Americans Cha'tima
and Nakwach
(although Whyte had not personally attended the event).
(Human Fly I#19) - Whyte completed her report on the
Human Fly's stunt activity at the Hopi reservation, revealing the
murder attempt initiated by the exploitative Frank
Sturgis.
Comments: Created by Bill Mantlo (writer) and Lee Elias (pencils & inks).
Her colored eye lenses suggest the need to compensate for visual or neurological deficiency. It clearly did not detract from her ability to perform her job.
She likely worked at times with West-TV's noted camera operator Raf Abrams, but they're never clearly shown together.
It would be great to have this character drop in
again somewhere, or reveal if she wrote a biography of a certain
stuntman by having it appear on a bookshelf.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Harmony Whyte has no known connections to:
images:
(without ads)
Human Fly I#2, p4, pan4 (main image)
Human Fly I#13, p10, pan1 (headshot with earpiece)
Human Fly I#14, p12, pan4 (headshot with microphone)
Human Fly I#19, p17, pan2 (seated at typewriter)
Appearances:
Human Fly I#1 (September, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Lee Elias
(pencils & inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Human Fly I#2 (October,1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Carmine Infantino
(pencils), Dan Green (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Human Fly I#3 (November, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Lee Elias
(pencils), Don Perlin (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Human Fly I#4 (December, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Lee Elias
(pencils), Rod Santiago (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Human Fly I#5 (January, 1978) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Frank Robbins
(pencils), Rod Santiago (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Human Fly I#6 (February, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Frank Robbins
(pencils), Rod A. Santiago (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Human Fly I#7 (March, 1978) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Lee Elias
(pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Human Fly I#8 (April, 1978) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Frank Robbins
(pencils), New York Tribe (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Human Fly I#11 (July, 1978) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Lee Elias
(pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Human Fly I#12 (August, 1978) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Lee Elias
(pencils), F. Springer (inks), Jim Shooter (editor)
Human Fly I#13 (September, 1978) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Frank Robbins
(pencils), F. Springer (inks), Bob Hall (editor)
Human Fly I#14 (October, 1978) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Frank Robbins
(pencils), Steve Leialoha (inks), Bob Hall (editor)
Human Fly I#18 (February, 1978) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Lee Elias
(pencils), Ricardo Villamonte (inks), M.J. Duffy (editor)
Human Fly I#19 (March, 1978) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Lee Elias
(pencils), Ricardo Villamonte (inks), Allen Milgrom (editor)
First Posted: 10/19/2017
Last updated: 10/19/2017
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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