Red Torpedo

The Original Red Torpedo (Quality Comics)

There were two other Quality heroes who commanded fantastic vehicles. Before the Torpedo there was the brief “Swordfish” feature, about a one-man sub piloted by plainclothes Ensign Jack Smith (Hit #22, June 1942). The Blue Tracer came a year later in Military Comics #1 (Aug. 1941); it was part tank, part bomber, and part sub. The Red Torpedo was the only costumed man among Quality’s naval heroes, and the feature had more consistency in its supporting cast than many of its contemporaries. The hero’s arch foe, the Black Shark, appeared in almost all his adventures. Red Torpedo’s creator, Henry Kiefer, used the pen name “Drew Allen” and he did the strip for its entire run. (He also created “Blaze Barton” for Hit Comics #1.)

When U.S. Navy man Jim Lockhart invented a human-guided one-man sub, his superiors in the military rejected it. Not to be deterred, he took to the private sector, and with his fiancée, Meg, built it on their own. In their first mission, Lockhart donned a mask and saved an American ship from European aggressors. (Crack #1)

The Red Torpedo’s costume was quickly pared down and made more versatile. With Crack #4, his long-sleeved shirt became sleeveless, but frequently he chose to doff it altogether (but never his mask) and enter the water.

The Torpedo quickly made enemies with the sea marauder called the Lone Shark, who also had an underwater ship. The Shark docked his craft in a secret wharf and the two first did battle from within their ships. (#5) The next time they met, he was called the Black Shark. Lockhart followed him deeper into the sea than the Torpedo had ever gone and battled a giant sea creature. Both Lockhart and the Shark allied with different bands of undersea peoples. Jim was rescued by the Mermazons of Merezonia, a water-breathing tribe of women whose ruler was Queen Klitra. The Mermazons’ enemy, the King of Caverns, aided the Shark and stole the Red Torpedo. Lockhart defeated them with the help of the Mermazons. (#7)

Lockhart forced the Shark into aiding him against Axis treachery once by pinning the Shark’s sub. He then used its ability to release a screen of oil to surround Nazi submarines poised to attack the British. Afterwards, the villain beat a hasty retreat. (#8) Near Holland, the Torpedo intercepted enemy Asian sailors and used their ship to lead their fellows into a trap—in Africa. (#11) The super-sub must also have been unusually fast because its next mission found him all the way over in the South Seas, where he saved a native girl from the Black Shark and his Japanese cohorts. (#13)

With the constant recurrence of the Black Shark, this feature read more like a film serial. In fact, the feature was even titled “Red Torpedo vs. the Black Shark” in Crack #17-18. In these final two adventures the rivalry heated up. The Red Torpedo went fearlessly into the Shark’s lair via parachute without his ship. (#17) They were last seen in battle at Satan’s Island where the Shark had allied with a Mongol admiral who forced them to fight to the death. The Torpedo won, of course, but insisted that he spare the Shark’s life and take him prisoner. His arch enemy was ungrateful and once free tried to bomb the Red Torpedo. (#18)

Legacy

The Red Torpedo languished in obscurity until the early 1980s when Roy Thomas resurrected, then killed the character in one crack. In All-Star Squadron #32, the Red Torpedo joined Uncle Sam as one of the first members of the Freedom Fighters. Their mission was to stop the Japanese en route to Pearl Harbor. They nearly succeeded, but a surprise attack left Lockhart dead in the water. Or so it seemed (Secret Origins #26) Somehow, Lockhart survived and was known to aid other heroes in creating a new Starman in 1951. When Ted Knight was unable to continue his mission in Opal City, Lockhart helped Charles McNider (Dr. Mid-Nite) to build a fantastic “star-ship.” (Starman v.2 #77)

Jim Lockhart is still alive and now operates Winward Home, a city that floats on the oceans and serves all manner of maritime interests. It is also the home of the Sea Devils. When Lockhart met the new Aquaman, he said he’d created Lockhart Navionics after the war and made billions in military contracts. He built Winward to be a cross-specialization think tank. His associate Elsa Magnusson was the former wife of Prince Ra-Man. (Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #42)

 

Powers

The Red Torpedo had no super-powers. However, he was a gifted engineer and his submersible boasted many impressive features. Most of all, the torpedo was agile in the water. It could snare things with its spear-tip, emit a cloud into the water, grind through ice, and use its tip as a spear. 

Lockhart himself was an accomplished swimmer. He once dove into freezing waters and made it back to his sub. 

Red Torpedo II

In the post-war era, the robotics madman/genius T.O. Morrow also created an android Red Torpedo, a water elemental and predecessor to his Red Tornado. Given a female form, this Red Torpedo was made in an abandoned auto facility in Czechoslovakia. Morrow wanted to create an enforcer he could sell, but to his surprise he found that she was sentient! All the better for him; he commanded her to steal money, then weapons for him. She was first seen publicly in Prague, and named “Red Torpedo” by the press. The android soon developed a conscience and rebelled against Morrow. He responded by shutting her down and placing her body in the torpedo bay of a downed ship at Pearl Harbor. (Red Tornado v.2 #1-2)

The Red Torpedo lay there for decades until her “brother,” the Red Tornado, began picking up a signal emitted from her. Morrow confirmed the Torpedo’s existence and the Tornado freed her. (#2)

Red Tornado discovered that his “sister” lacked some concern for human life but they were fast allies against their creator’s other creation, the Red Volcano. Afterwards she departed with the intent of making a new life for herself. (#3-6)

Powers

The second Red Torpedo is a very powerful android with elemental control over water. Her body is exceptionally impervious and rust-proof. It was suggested that her sentience is the result of contact with the same Tornado elemental that now resides in the Red Tornado. 

Red Torpedo III: The New 52 (Earth-2)

On Earth 2 in DC's New 52, the Red Torpedo is also Jim Lockhart. He was one of several "Red Files." On this Earth, the World Army put together a task force as insurance against future aggressors (it also included the Red Tornado, Red Arrow, and Red Bee). Jim Lockhart was one of these, though he served more as an inventor than a costumed operative. He aided fellow agent, Captain Steel, by supplying a super-vehicle called the Red Torpedo for a mission into a smoldering firepit in Rio de Janeiro. (Earth 2 #13)

Powers

....