| Tobias Whale | |
|---|---|
 Tobias Whale as depicted inWho's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #24 (February 1987). Art byTrevor Von Eeden. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Black Lightning #1 (April 1977) |
| Created by | Jenny Blake Isabella Trevor Von Eeden |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Tobias Whale |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | New Earth |
| Team affiliations | The100 Intergang Kord Enterprises |
| Notable aliases | The Great White Whale |
| Abilities | Criminal mastermind Advanced hand-to-hand combatant Skilledharpooner |
Tobias Whale is asupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. He is thearchenemy ofBlack Lightning.[1]
Whale appears in the live-actionArrowverse seriesBlack Lightning, portrayed byMarvin "Krondon" Jones III.
Created byJenny Blake Isabella andTrevor Von Eeden, the character made his first appearance inBlack Lightning #1 (April 1977).[2]
Whale was originally depicted as an African-American man with albinism. Following theDC Rebirth relaunch, Whale is depicted as lacking albinism. In a 2017 interview withBlack Nerd Problems, Isabella stated that Whale's new design was inspired byLeBron James and the Brow, aDick Tracy villain who she was fond of.[3]
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Tobias Whale is anAfrican American kingpin withalbinism, who works his way up from the rackets to head theMetropolis branch of the100. A school teacher named Jefferson Pierce speaks out against the 100's drug trafficking, and, as a response, they make an example of one of his students: Earl Clifford.Joey Toledo leads his men into attacking Earl and hits him with a car. Seeking to avenge the murdered student and receiving help from his tailor friendPeter Gambi, Pierce becomesBlack Lightning and attacks Toledo and his men. After defeating his henchmen, Toledo is grabbed by Black Lightning, who arranges for Toledo to meet him atGarfield High School's gymnasium to inform on the 100 to him.[4]
When Black Lightning meets with Toledo,Malcolm Merlyn also appears after being hired by Toledo to kill Black Lightning. Their fight is crashed byTalia al Ghul and theLeague of Assassins, who are after Merlyn since he left the group after failing to killBatman. The resulting battle ended with Toledo being killed by a League of Assassins operative. Afterwards, Pierce is so successful in avenging Earl's death that Tobias Whale is sent to jail.[5]
After breaking out of prison some months later, Whale teams up withSyonide to distribute a new highly addictive drug. The drug's formula was supposedly in the possession of a woman named Violet Harper. Tobias sends Syonide to retrieve the formula. Unable to gain any information or find any trace of the formula, Syonide kills Violet. Violet is later revived when an Aurakle possesses her corpse and comes to be known asHalo. After learning of Violet's resurrection, Tobias assumed that she must have memorized the formula. Since Violet had no memories from before her death, a frustrated Syonide kills her parents during the Outsiders' fight with Whale's henchmen.[6]
Whale returns in the miniseriesGotham Underground[7] and has moved toGotham City, where he is attempting to become theCapo di tutti capi boss of bosses following the death ofBlack Mask. After taking over the Galante and Odessa crime families, he ends up in a gang war withIntergang. They buy him out and make him theCEO of Kord Enterprises, which has become a front for Intergang's criminal activities.
Tobias Whale is reintroduced followingThe New 52, which rebooted DC's continuity.[8] In theDC Rebirth relaunch, it is revealed that this version of Tobias Whale was Whale's unnamed nephew using his identity. The real Whale is reintroduced and depicted as lacking albinism. Whale respects his nephew enough as a blood relative to kill him personally.[9]
Tobias Whale does not possess any superhuman abilities but has strength and muscular prowess far exceeding that of a normal human being. He has foughtBlack Lightning on several occasions with nothing but his bare hands. Whale is a master hand-to-hand combatant who is skilled inboxing,street fighting, andjudo. Combined with his great physical strength, this makes him a highly dangerous foe forBlack Lightning and several other heroes in theDC Universe likeBatman andBooster Gold. Tobias Whale is a highly intelligent criminal strategist who is a skilled planner and mastermind. Whale has vast knowledge of criminal strategies and planning and possesses vast knowledge inpolitical science. Even though Whale is a formidable physical opponent, it is his strategic mind and wealth that makes him a true force to be reckoned with.
Whale has access to a variety of weapons, but his personal favorite weapon is hisharpoon which he is dangerously skilled with.
The pre-Zero Hour incarnation of Tobias Whale appears inConvergence, where he takes over the criminal underground of Metropolis after the city is isolated in a dome.[10]
Tobias Whale appears as a character summon inScribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[17]
