Fisherman (comics)

The Fisherman is a name used by a number of different comic book supervillains in DC Comics.

Fisherman
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceAquaman #21 (May 1965)
Created byHenry Boltinoff (writer)
Nick Cardy (artist)
In-story information
SpeciesHuman
Team affiliationsSecret Society of Super Villains
AbilitiesAlien Xenoform grafted to human hosts. Uses advanced technology

Publication history

The best-known Fisherman first appeared in Aquaman (vol. 1) #21 and was created by artist Nick Cardy and an uncredited writer.[1]

Fictional character biography

Kurt Hartmann

Kurt Hartmann is a fisherman-themed criminal and an enemy of Doctor Mid-Nite.[2]

Fisherman

The Fisherman's real identity has never been revealed. The character's modus operandi is mainly involved with stealing high tech equipment, then selling it on the black market.[3]

The concept and first character, created by Joe Greene and Stan Aschmeier, first appeared in All-American Comics #69 (November–December 1945) as a single-use thief in the Doctor Mid-Nite strip.[4] The name was reused for a single appearance character in Blackhawk #163 (August 1961),[5] and later for a character that became a recurring opponent of Aquaman.[6] Within the context of the stories, this latter Fisherman is originally presented as an international criminal specializing in the theft of rare objects and scientific inventions. He utilizes a high tech pressure suit, collapsible fishing rod, and gimmick "lures" in his crimes. While his identity is never revealed, enough is known about him for the Gotham City coroner to state that a man wearing a copy of his equipment that is killed in Gotham is not the same person who faced Aquaman.[7]

In his first encounter with Aquaman, the Fisherman uses an explosive lure on Aquaman, almost killing him, but Aquaman escapes on a blue whale.[8] The Fisherman returns many times to fight Aquaman, as well as Blue Devil.[9] The Fisherman confronts the canine Green Lantern G'nort.[10] He appears in "Roulette"'s gladiatorial gamehouse.[11]

The Fisherman is one of the many supervillains to take advantage of the "villain-friendly" atmosphere of the fictional country of Zandia. He becomes involved in a large confrontation when the team of Young Justice leads a superpowered army against the country for various reasons.[12]

Impostor

In Infinite Crisis #1 (2005), the Fisherman, along with the Riddler, the Body Doubles, the Scavenger, Red Panzer and Murmur attack Gotham police officers in Cathedral Square.

The attack is elaborated upon in the series Gotham Central. After a magical accident devastates Gotham, the villain goes on a rampage. Over the prone forms of other officers, the Fisherman confronts Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen. While strangling Allen, the Fisherman is shot dead by Detectives Marcus Driver and Josie MacDonald. Allen and Montoya survive. During an autopsy it is revealed that the dead man is not the original villain of that name.[13]

Xenoform

A new, more deadly version of the villain appears in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #48-49 (2007), written by Kurt Busiek. The Fisherman's helmet is revealed to be a xenoform parasite, a Lovecraftian alien that attaches itself to every incarnation of the Fisherman and uses telepathy to instill fear in its victims.[14]

Powers and abilities

The Fisherman utilizes specialized lures and a fishing rod with a razor sharp hook and titanium-steel line as weapons to "catch" his enemies.

Other versions

Flashpoint

In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, Fisherman is a member of Deathstroke's pirates.[15][16]

In other media

Television
  • The Fisherman appeared in several episodes of The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, an animated series that ran from 1967 to 1968. These episodes were later reused in Aquaman, a 1968 to 1970 animated series that was created by running only the Aquaman segments of The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure.
  • Fisherman appeared in Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Aquaman's Outrageous Adventure" voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. He was featured in a flashback holding a submarine over an underwater volcano only to be defeated by Aquaman. He later appears in "Joker: The Vile and the Villainous!" where he attempts to steal a gem from Batman in Atlantis, but is foiled. Before he is arrested, Fisherman teams up with Joker to escape.

Film

Video games
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gollark: Superior programming.
gollark: I think I messed up the bit manipulation stuff.
gollark: Hmm, I accidentally made the new `potatOS.random.random` function return 0 to 0.5 instead of 0 to 1, *somehow*.
gollark: If you do not, it will index it as a string, because it's a string.

References
  1. Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
  2. All-American Comics #69. DC Comics.
  3. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 130. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
  4. Joe Greene (w), Stan Aschmeier (p). "The Fisherman's Folly!" All-American Comics #69 (November–December 1945), DC Comics
  5. Dick Dillin (p)"The Fisherman of Crime" Blackhawk #163 (August 1961), DC Comics
  6. Nick Cardy (p)"The Fearful Freak from Atlantis" Aquaman (vol. 2) #21 (May–June 1965)
  7. Greg Rucka (w), Steve Lieber (p). "Sunday Bloody Sunday" Gotham Central #37 (January 2006)
  8. Aquaman vol. 2 #21 (May–June 1965)
  9. Blue Devil #17 (October 1985)
  10. Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #3 (winter 1992)
  11. JSA #28 (November 2001)
  12. Young Justice #50 (December 2002)
  13. Gotham Central #37 (2005)
  14. Wallace, Dan (2008), "Dominus", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5, OCLC 213309017
  15. Flashpoint #2 (June 2011)
  16. Flashpoint: Death and the Curse of the Ravager #1 (June 2011)
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