RANDY RANDY
Real Name: Randy (surname unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Human (1930s era)
Occupation: Unrevealed
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Virginia
Enemies: Jeffrey Winters
Known Relatives: Hester (aunt), Fred (uncle)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Manhattan
First Appearance: Marvel Preview#16 (Fall 1978)
Powers/Abilities: Randy displayed no special skills or abilities in the short time before he was murdered.
Height: 5'10" (by approximation - see
comments)
Weight: 175 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Unrevealed
History:
(Marvel Preview#16
(fb) - BTS) - As a child Randy had listened to his Aunt Hester rail
against his Uncle Fred when the latter wasn't around, hearing her
declare that all men were beasts and that women had to suffer their
lusts. She told him he was a good boy, but soon he would become a man
and be like all the rest. Repeated and prolonged lectures like this had
impacted on the impressionable young boy, causing him to become a
messed-up adult.
By 1937 (see comments) Randy had developed an unrequited attraction for a women called Virginia.
(Marvel
Preview#16) - One night lit by
a full moon, having apparently been rejected by Virginia (see
comments), and lost in thought as he grieved over the painful
memories, Randy made his way to the 8th Avenue El train, unaware he had
drawn the attention of a young werewolf, Jeffrey Winters, who liked to
target commuters on the El. Randy climbed the steps to the train
platform, failing to spot the sinister shadow of the beast stalking him,
and on to the platform, which still held a few people despite the late
hour, arriving just as the next train pulled in. Still trapped in his
bitter reverie, Randy boarded, crying out for Virginia as he did so.
Suddenly embarrassed, Randy glanced at the other people in the
compartment and wondered if he had spoken aloud or merely in his
thoughts, then bitterly decided it didn't matter, concluding that the
whole world hated him just as (he believed) Virginia did.
Deciding he needed air and solitude,
Randy stepped out onto the gangway between the carriages, but this
sudden isolation left him vulnerable. With no witnesses now to catch him
in the act, the werewolf now attacked. A hairy arm plunged through the
window in the next carriage's door and grabbed the unfortunate Randy by
the throat, picked him bodily up, and smashed his head hard against the
side of the train, killing him almost instantly.
(Marvel
Preview#16 - BTS) - The werewolf left Randy's body in
the next carriage, which was otherwise empty, making no effort to hide
it beyond its isolated location. Returning to human form, Jeffrey moved
into the carriage Randy had originally entered.
(Marvel
Preview#16) - A short while
later the detective Hodiah Twist boarded the train, there because he had
deduced the pattern of the recent slayings Jeffrey had perpetrated, and
coincidentally entered the same carriage Randy had formerly occupied.
Jeffrey was also in the carriage, now back in his human form, and the
young boy "accidentally" discovered Randy's corpse and drew the
detective and other passengers attention to it.
Comments: Created by Don McGregor (writer, uncredited), Richard Marschall (editor, credited instead) and Gene Colan (penciller) and Tony de Zuniga (inker).
We never see Randy standing up next to any other characters, so it's hard to judge his height. As such I've just ASSumed a middling, average height, since there's nothing to suggest he was exceptionally tall or short.
Because we only get a limited, out of context, mention of Virginia, we don't really know the situation between her and Randy. He wonders if his Aunt Hester's estimation that men were all beasts was true, adding "Virginia thought so tonight, that was for sure"; he also recalls that "the caress of her hand haunts him so," which sounds like they have had some level of physical contact. So was she someone he'd had a crush on that he made a failed pass at, or was she an actual girlfriend who'd now rejected him and broken up with him? Or was it potentially even more sinister than that - had he been obsessing about some woman, and that night had gone too far and attacked her, prompting his subsequent bout of self-loathing? Given his swift demise, we're unlikely to ever get more information to clarify what was really happening with Randy and Virginia.
The date of the werewolf incident isn't given
in the story, but we do have some clues as to when it took place. One of
the characters, Gladys, mentions that if they die on the train they'll
never know if La Guardia will get re-elected as mayor; while she could
be saying this any time after he was initially elected (1933), her
comment gives the impression that it's close to the time that he needs
to run for office again, which happened in 1937 and 1941. Gladys, who
appears to be no older than he late twenties, remembers his previous
campaign, in 1933, and recalls that the repeal of prohibition (in
December 1933) temporarily put her out of work, which counts against the
story taking place in 1941. Additionally,
the elevated trains went into serious decline around the late 1930s,
with the Sixth Avenue line closing in 1938 and other following over
the next few years. So it would seem most likely that the
werewolf on the El incident took place some time in 1937.
Profile by Loki.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Randy has no known connections to:
images: (without ads)
Marvel Preview#16, p7, pan3
(main image)
Marvel Preview#16, p6,
pan5 (headshot)
Marvel Preview#16, p7,
pan4 (grabbed by werewolf)
Marvel
Preview#16, p7, pan6 (head smashed, killing him)
Marvel Preview#16, p10, pan1
(corpse)
Appearances:
Marvel Preview#16 (Fall 1978) - Don
McGregor (writers), Gene Colan (pencils), Tony DeZuniga (inks),
Richard E. Marschall (editor)
First Posted: 10/24/2021
Last updated: 10/24/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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