| T. O. Morrow | |
|---|---|
 T.O. Morrow as depicted in52 #46 (May 2007). Art byPat Olliffe (penciler) andDavid Baron (colorist). | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | The Flash #143 (March 1964) |
| Created by | Gardner Fox (writer) Carmine Infantino (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Tomek Ovadya Morah |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | Poland |
| Team affiliations | S.T.A.R. Labs Science Squad Injustice League |
| Notable aliases | Thomas Oscar Morrow |
| Abilities |
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Thomas Oscar "T. O."Morrow is asupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. He is responsible for the creation ofRed Tornado, Red Inferno,Red Torpedo,Red Volcano, andTomorrow Woman androids, the last of these with the help ofProfessor Ivo.
T. O. Morrow appeared in thefirst season of the live-actionArrowverse seriesSupergirl, portrayed byIddo Goldberg. Additionally,Jeff Bennett andIoan Gruffudd have voiced Morrow in animation.
The original T. O. Morrow (Thomas Oscar Morrow) debuted in "Trail of the False Green Lanterns",The Flash #143 (March 1964), and was created by writerGardner Fox and artistCarmine Infantino.[1][2]
The modern T. O. Morrow (Tomek Ovadya Morah) first appeared inThe Flash (vol. 2) #19 (December 1988) in a story by writerWilliam Messner-Loebs and artistJim Mooney. Both versions are usually referred to as "T. O. Morrow" as a play on the word "tomorrow". It is generally accepted that both characters are the same man and that the name alteration came about when Morahanglicized his name to Thomas Oscar Morrow.
Using his technological prowess and his immense inventing abilities, T. O. Morrow (full name:Thomas Oscar Morrow) created a special "television set" that would allow him to see a century into the future. He would examine many of the futuristic instruments and then replicate them for use in his present time. Morrow spent a lot of time trying to perfect a time machine that he could use, but he was unsuccessful. The majority of his inventions were used to commit various types of crimes. Morrow utilized one of the inventions that he stole from the future that would allow him to create duplicates of other people. He used this invention to successfully create duplicates ofGreen Lantern.[3] Morrow did this because he was bored with how easy it was to commit crimes and he wanted to do something that would give boththe Flash and Green Lantern a challenge. The three duplicate Green Lanterns each went off to different parts of the world to steal different items at the same time. They were easily stopped by the Flash's super-speed. Morrow was transported toEarth-Two and presumed dead.
Shortly after being defeated by the Flash and Green Lantern, Morrow createdRed Tornado to infiltrate theJustice Society of America so that Morrow would be able to rob the 20th Century Museum.[4] His television screen of the future showed that he would be defeated by the JSA unless he could infiltrate the group and cause them to be unable to defend the museum. Red Tornado was inadvertently successful in stopping the JSA. Morrow returned toEarth-One and attacked the JLA. He was able to defeat them by using his inventions and he then placed them all in stasis. Red Tornado was upset about Morrow's deception that caused him to defeat the JSA and followed him to Earth-One. Red Tornado freed the members of the JLA and captured Morrow. Morrow later escaped, and he manipulated Red Tornado several more times to try and destroy the JLA. The JLA was able to easily overcome Morrow and defeat him every time.
After one particular defeat by the JLA, Morrow was drawn into another reality and split into two different people. One of the Morrows conquered an alien world and fought the Flash,the Atom, andSupergirl. The "other" Morrow was taken into the nexus of time and mutated into a higher being. He was now referring to himself as Tomorrow the Future Man.[5] In his evolved state, his organs could not keep up with him and were failing. Morrow then transplanted his mind into the body of Red Tornado and assumed his identity. Red Tornado was able to fight back and he won his body back. The Future Man's body failed and he died.
InCrisis on Infinite Earths, the heroes call upon Morrow to heal Red Tornado, but his physiology (having been altered by theAnti-Monitor) had changed too greatly to be repaired, ultimately resulting in him exploding. During this, Morrow escaped and regrouped with several other villains to attack the heroes.
The modern T. O. Morrow's real name isTomek Ovadya Morah, and he was born inNasielsk,Poland.[6] This version's first appearance was inThe Flash (vol. 2) #19. He was seen at a dinner honoring theRogues.[7] Sometime after this, Morrow was placed in an institution inCentral City. He admitted that with his time traveling and usage of all of his future inventions that he had begun to "crack up". Morrow contactedMaxwell Lord to inform him of the impending end of the world, but Max refused to listen to him. The next time that Morrow was seen, was when he attempted to go to Dr. Hannibal Martin's office to deliver him a book that he had written full of important future dates, including the date that Morrow would die. However, Martin blew him off and considered him to be delusional. Morrow would affect Lord's League again. InJLA Incarnations #6, he is contacted by Rumaan Harjavti, the dictator ofBialya, and supplies technology that neutralizesBooster Gold's battle-suit.
Morrow was not seen again for some time until the JLA re-formed. Morrow (apparently over his confused and delusional ways) teamed up withProfessor Ivo to create theTomorrow Woman. She was placed with the JLA during their recruitment drive to infiltrate and destroy the team, but like Morrow's last creation, Red Tornado, she would not follow her programming and fought with the JLA. Morrow and Ivo were both captured and sent toBelle Reve. Ivo and he bickered over who had done better work on her, whether Ivo on her body or Morrow on her mind; Morrow won by demonstrating she had shaken off her programming, which instructed her to kill the JLA, and as did Red Tornado, had discovered emotions and was developing as a real human being. While in prison, Morrow grew weary of Ivo's boasting about his creation,Amazo. To spite Ivo, Morrow contacted the JLA and gave them information about Amazo's plan to break the mad scientists out of Belle Reve, but he gave them misinformation and Amazo attacked the JLA.
Morrow was able to escape Belle Reve and he greatly tampered with the timeline. He returned to the time of the Justice Society of America and made many technological advancements that would allow his idea of a perfect future to exist. The JLA from the year 2000 went back to the JSA in 1941 to try and stop Morrow, but they were too late. Morrow had already made several changes to the timestream that would set up his idea of a perfect world. When his plans did not work out, Morrow traveled back in time and attempted to kill his mother. He believed that if he would have been stronger had be been raised as an orphan.Jay Garrick was able to intervene and show Morrow what he was about to do. Morrow changed his mind and allowed the JLA to capture him.
During DC Comics'52 maxi-series event, T. O. Morrow was incarcerated in Haven. In fact, he was not allowed to use any computer for fear that he would incite "Machine War I". Fellow inventorWill Magnus (creator of theMetal Men) would visit with Morrow monthly to discuss an assortment of things. Morrow in such meetings revealed that he had created a brother for Red Tornado called Red Inferno, and hinted that someone was kidnapping "mad scientists" such asDr. Sivana,Ira Quimby (I.Q.),Doctor Tyme,Doctor Death, and Dr. Cyclops, warning Magnus to be cautious.Ultimately, he was able to escape from Haven, but not before giving Magnus a machine code necessary to restore the Metal Men.
Magnus was ultimately captured by the conspiracy Morrow had mentioned and brought to Oolong Island. He was greeted by Morrow, surrounded by beautiful girls, and working freely with the other kidnapped scientists who are members of theScience Squad. Morrow informs Magnus that he has been drafted into their efforts creating weapons forIntergang, and subsequently arranges to have his antidepressants confiscated to promote his former student's more manic levels of creativity. After being targeted byBlack Adam for his involvement in the creation of the Four Horsemen ofApokolips, along with his fellow scientists on Oolong Island, he helps them in subduing their angered foe, then buys back the remnants of the demolished Red Tornado from an internet auction site, hoping to extract his knowledge of the still unknown events that happened in space.
In52 #49, the JSA attack the Oolong facility, and Magnus gives Morrow the teleporter to one of Sivana's robots allowing him to escape. Later in52 #50, Morrow manages to see what Red Tornado saw, but is drafted by Booster Gold andRip Hunter immediately after, to help them by luring Skeets to his lab, where the little robot is revealed to be controlled from the inside by Mr. Mind. After being surprised by Booster and Hunter, Mind dives outside reality, leaving Morrow and his lab behind.
Morrow appeared in #2 of theMetal Men miniseries, with his own group of robots, called the "Death Metal Men". He is later revealed to be an artificial intelligence living in an android replica of Morrow, while the Death Metal Men were atomic transmutations of the Metal Men themselves. Yet the real Morrow also has a hand in the series as Will Magnus' best teacher, who unsuccessfully attempted to have him accept a grant to research robots. He was later visited by a future version of Magnus, who gave him a ring for his past self to change the past. Morrow used his time traveling gear to aid Magnus, but then reveals he intends to kick him out of the timestream after defeating the monstrous Nameless. He is defeated and is erased from history.
On the cover ofJustice League of America (vol. 2) #13, Morrow appears as a member of theInjustice League. As a member ofLibra'sSecret Society of Super Villains, he conceives of an idea on how to create a monster strong enough to kill a member of the Justice League.[8] The team uses his idea to create the villainGenocide. After it is created, he strongly tries to have the team destroy it due to Genocide's high level of instability. After his pleas are ignored andWonder Woman destroys the Society's base, Morrow offers to help the Amazon stop Genocide. He reveals that he is of Polish ancestry and wants no part in anything called genocide.
In 2011, "The New 52" rebooted the DC universe. T. O. Morrow is reimagined as a scientist working atS.T.A.R. Labs underSilas Stone. Under orders from Silas, Morrow saves the life of Victor Stone by turning him intoCyborg.[9]
During the "Forever Evil" storyline, Morrow is seen at S.T.A.R. Labs' Detroit branch following theCrime Syndicate's invasion. He and Silas attempt to protect the Red Room, a high-security vault, from the Crime Syndicate, who they are sure are going to strike. They have built an energy weapon. When explosions strike the door, Morrow and Silas are prepared to fire, only for them to seeBatman,Catwoman, and a critically injured Cyborg. When the scientists ask where the rest of the Justice League is, Batman merely states that "they didn't make it".[10]
T. O. Morrow is a criminal mastermind and a scientific genius. He has also created technology that allows him to see into the future.
An alternate timeline version of T. O. Morrow appears inFlashpoint. This version created theRed Tornadoes to defend the Republic ofJapan from theAmazon/Atlantean war.[11]
T. O. Morrow appears inSmallville Season 11 #10 as aS.T.A.R. Labs scientist.[16]
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