| Terrible Trio | |
|---|---|
 The Terrible Trio as depicted on the cover ofDetective Comics #253. Art by Sheldon Moldoff andIra Schnapp. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #253 (March 1958) |
| Created by | Dave Wood Sheldon Moldoff |
| In-story information | |
| Base(s) | Portsmouth |
| Member(s) | Fox Shark Vulture |
TheTerrible Trio is a group ofsupervillains appearing incomic books published byDC Comics, first appearing inDetective Comics #253 (March 1958).[1] Individually known asFox,Vulture, andShark, their respective real names were originallyWarren Lawford,Armand Lydecker, andGunther Hardwick - though these have changed over the decades.[2]
The Terrible Trio first appeared inDetective Comics #253 and were created by Dave Wood andSheldon Moldoff.[3]
The Terrible Trio are originally three famous inventors inGotham City, who sought new challenges by starting a criminal career. As a gimmick, they dress up in business suits while wearing animal masks. From this, they become known as the Fox, the Shark and the Vulture.[4] Tapping into their respective areas of expertise, they base their technology on their respective animal themes. The Trio are recurrent foes ofBatman andRobin, but also battleG'nort andDoctor Mid-Nite.[5]
A second group of Terrible Trio are a group of thugs who take on the identities of Batman's old foes. Batman soon realizes that one of the members isLucius Fox's sonTimothy. He and two other friends co-opt the identities of the original Trio and attempt to rob guests of Bruce Wayne's penthouse before Batman defeats him.[6]
In theDoctor Mid-Nite miniseries, the Trio have moved their operations to Portsmouth and have become the industrial leadersFisk,Shackley, andVolper, heads of the investment firm Praeda Industries. The Trio adopt their guises as part of rituals they perform to bring good fortune to their endeavors, calling upon elemental spirits. The Trio attempt to destroy much of the city, leaving only the property in the worst sections of the city - which they own and can sell for profit. As part of their plan, the Trio also operate as drug lords, selling the steroid A39 to create zombie-like soldiers. WhenPieter Cross begins investigating their affairs, they attempt to kill him, but only succeed in blinding him. Doctor Mid-Nite foils the three's plans and they are sentenced to life imprisonment.
The presumed-to-be-deceased Shark is named as Sherman Shackley. In this issue, the Fox's last name is Fisk and the Vulture's last name Volper, though no first names are given for either character. The Shark, in an attempt to reinvent himself after suffering a psychotic breakdown, fakes his own death by replacing his teeth with shark teeth and attempts to murder his partners before Batman stops him. The Trio are imprisoned inArkham Asylum, where the Fox and the Vulture ally with theGreat White Shark and the latter replaces Shark in the group.[7]
In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth" which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". There are two different versions of the Terrible Trio:
A new Terrible Trio is introduced inGotham Academy: Second Semester. This Trio are three Academy students who are part of a secret society dedicated to the Academy's ghost Amity Arkham. Their leader isAmanda Lydecker (Fox), the descendant of the Dutch architectAmbroos Lydecker, who designed both the Academy and Arkham Asylum to honor Amity and who signed his work "Vos" (the Dutch word for "fox"). The other two members areWendy Lawford (Shark) andReiner Hardwick (Raven, rather than Vulture), who both immediately surrender when challenged by the Detective Club.[8]
A second Terrible Trio appeared in a lead-up to "Year of the Villain", consisting of unknown men operating as Fox and Shark and an unnamed female operating as Vulture, who are all humans with the heads of their namesakes. The Terrible Trio are first seen in the Fat and Flesh Gastropub in Burnside, where they discuss Cormorant's failure in silencing Congresswoman Alejo andBatgirl looking for them. When Batgirl finds where Fox is hiding, she attacks him until Shark comes up from behind her. The Terrible Trio take Batgirl hostage and hold a masked party for the wealthy and wicked to tell them that they are now being blackmailed into giving them a third of their profits. The Terrible Trio attempt to kill Batgirl by drowning her, but she escapes and fights the Terrible Trio. During the fight, the building they are in is set on fire. As the fire rages, Batgirl tries to open the gate to save the patrons only to be attacked by Vulture. With Shark badly beaten, Fox leaves him for dead and knocks out Vulture to guarantee everyone's survival. Batgirl evacuates Vulture and the remaining attendees, but fails to rescue Shark as the building collapses.[9]
Deep in theBlue Ridge Mountains, Fox and Vulture are with another Shark - Fox's second cousin Harry - as they find a robotic Oracle, whose creator previously discarded her. After a brief security error, Oracle persuades the Terrible Trio to take it to Gotham City. Upon arrival, the Terrible Trio learn that Oracle was created by Batgirl and set off an explosion in Burnside to lure her to them. As the Terrible Trio assist Oracle in looking for Batgirl withJason Bard as their hostage, they confront Batgirl at Burnside Park, only to find dummies in each location. After Batgirl subdues Fox and Shark, she goes to where the hostages are and fights Oracle and Vulture. After Oracle self-destructs upon being defeated by Batgirl, the hostages are saved while Vulture is arrested, claiming that she was the victim.[10]
There have been other groups in DC Comics who called themselves the Terrible Trio:
The Terrible Trio appear inBatman: The Brave and the Bold #11.[18]
