The Mock Turtle

History

Origin

While growing up in Brixton, London in the early 1960's, young Martin Chefwick was fascinated with stories about children who were transported to magical lands - from The Wizard of Oz to The Chronicles of Narnia. The strange, lonely boy was so enamored with these stories that he actually spent hours trying to find his way to Oz, Narnia, Wonderland and other fantasy realms, presumably in an attempt to escape his otherwise dreamy life. As a result of his behavior, the socially-inept Martin was victimized by bullies and viewed as feeble-minded by his father, who could not recognize that his son was actually extremely bright, inquistive, and well-read. When Martin met Lucia, his red-headed neighbor, he was immediately smitten. But his feelings for Lucia blinded him to her true personality and motives: even as children, Lucia manipulated Martin and made him an unwitting accomplish to her petty crimes. As Martin grew older and accepted that fantasy worlds from his childhood were not real, he threw himself into science; the study of math, physics, and engineering became his new escape. Lucia continued to use Martin, gleaning whatever knowledge he was willing to share in order to make her burgeoning (and still secret) criminal enterprises easier.

The Mock Turtle

Unaware of Lucia's true motives, Martin continued to pine for her romantically. In an attempt to impress Lucia, Chefwick took a job at a geological firm and spent three years creating an all-environment suit that would allow him to become a "daring adventurer" and explorer. When he learned that his firm had hired an accomplished diver to pilot his invention instead, he stole the suit. Now a fugitive, Chefwick modified the armor to embark on a life of crime as The Mock Turtle - a persona modeled after a character from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Though Chefwick joined forces with various English crimelords (like the Headmaster of Crime, Aunt Acid, The Toff, and Clever Dick) and clashed with superheroes such as The Lion and The Unicorn, he always viewed himself as a dashing rouge and "hi-tech Robin Hood", primarily from the rich - giving most of his ill-gotten gains to Lucia. When Lucia offered to to become the Mock Turtle's partner, the chivalrous Chefwick refused, insisting that she remain "innocent and pure". Frustrated, Lucia created her own secret identity --The Red Queen-- and began building a small criminal empire. She even obtained the advanced Chessmen armor after the villains were defeated by Samaritan, and (as Lucia) convinced the still-clueless Martin to rebuild the suits.

The Last of the Mock Turtle

When the Red Queen began threatening the territory of Chefwick's allies, Clever Dick assigned Martin the task of tracking down and defeating her. Seeking Clever Dick's respect, and still unaware that Lucia was in fact the Red Queen, Chiefwick agreed. He systematically dismantled the Red Queen's operations and routed her forces, but when he visited Lucia to celebrate his "victory", she revealed her duel identity and attacked. Enraged that her schemes had been foiled, and tired of flirting with the naive Chefwick, the Red Queen unleashed her enforcers -- the newly-rebuilt Chessmen. She ordered the Chessmen to kill the Mock Turtle and they relentlessly pursued him all over the world. Eventually, Chefwick fled to Astro City's Kiefer Square. Assuming that the Chessmen were responsible for a recent string of neighborhood murders, ex-con Steeljack rallied the locals, who ambushed and soundly defeated the armored attackers. Convinced he had finally found a magically Emerald City, Chefwick resolved to stay in Kiefer Square and began taking work from information broker and middleman Donnelly Ferguson. Sadly, soon after, the Mock Turtle was murdered.

Powers & Skills

Chefwick had no innate powers, but relied o his Mock Turtle armor to become a costumed criminal.

Chefwick was a competent scientist and inventor who specialized in mathematics, physics, and engineering. He was also skilled at piloting his armor, had some tactical skills, and was fair combatant.

The Mock Turtle armor provided Chefwick with enhanced strength.

Chefwick wore a heavily-modified all-environment suit boasting several special abilities, including:

• Life Support and Survival Gear: The Mock Turtle suit was originally designed for geological exploration and study in a wide range of environments, "from the stratosphere to the ocean floor." The armor could withstand great pressure, such as those found in the ocean depths, and presumably included temperatures regulation systems and a self-contained oxygen supply.
• Armor: Heavy armor - resembling a turtle's shell - protected Chefwick's back and chest, while a series of flexible armored.
• Flight: Chefwick could fly by activating twin jets o the back of the Mock Turtle's "shell". The armor was highly maneuverable in flight, could travel at high speeds, and allowed Chefwick to cross the Atlantic and literally travel the globe.
• Underwater Travel: The armor was espcially well-suited for underwater exploration. Chefwick could easily reach the bottom of the Thames and survive underwater for extended periods of time. The suit's rockets enabled Chefwick to travel at high speeds underwater.
• Blaster Gauntlets: His bulky gauntlets could fire bursts of energy capable of cracking open an armored truck.
• Sensors, oboard computers, and other gear: The original suit had the ability to "conduct all kinds of experiments," which suggests that the armor had a wide range of scanners, sensors, and other devices. The armor also included an onboard computer that tracked abd recorded Chefwick's exploits for later review.
• Weapons: None, aside from those incorporated into his armor.
• Vehicles: None, the armor allowed Chefwick to travel wherever necessary.

Statistics

Height: ?' ?"

Weight: ? lbs.

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Blond

Weaknesses

The system aboard the Mock Turtle's armor could be shorted out by specific types of attack (presumably electrical).