Saturday, April 20, 2013

R: Razorback!



is for Razorback.

Also know as Buford Hollis, Razorback debuted in Spectacular Spider-Man #12 and his first full appearance was in the issue pictured above...#13.

On the trail of his missing sister, Hollis creates the Razorback identity to help him get her back from a religious cult, which was headed up by the Man-Beast. Running into Spider-Man, and after the obligatory 'mistaking the other guy for a villain' fight, the two team up to bring the cult down and recover Buford's sister. 

A few years later, the character resurfaced in the pages of the new She-Hulk comic as a, sort of, space trucker....don't ask, but it was a fun story.

A huge man, standing 6'8" and weighing 410lbs, Hollis had better than normal (though not super-human) strength and was a tough street brawler. He also wore a hood, of his own design, that could send out an electric shock (via controls in his gloves) to anyone coming into contact with it. It was sufficient enough to even knock Spider-Man on his rear. 

Hollis was also a mutant and his power was......

...the ability to drive/operate any vehicle. Whether he knew what it was, or not. This talent came in quite handy when he was galavanting through outer space. 



Admittedly, one of Marvel's more....strange...as well as obscure characters. I think this one might be the most obscure of the whole twenty-six I planned for this challenge. 

One thing about Razorback is, he had to have guts. I mean, come on, to wear a giant boar head as a hat has to be worth something, right?

Tune in Monday for another pretty obscure gal from the D.C. Universe....



43 comments:

Mark Means said...

(I apologize for not being able to respond to everyone's comments yesterday and I'll try to do better today. Know that I do appreciate each and every one, though!)

Dee @ A Deecoded Life said...

This is definitely a strange character indeed. Thsi is my first time to hear of him! But I guess his power does come in handy. Sort of.

Deecoded

Sheena-kay Graham said...

Thank you for telling us you appreciate our comments. I appreciate your hard work for this challenge. Razorback is a unique one all right. That costume is admittedly a hard sell but you're right about him having guts. You introduced me to another hero I didn't know about before Mark.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That is just silly. Was he from Arkansas, home of the Razorbacks by any chance?

Lisa said...

I love Alex C's comment! Well, from Quasar to Razorback, think I like Quasar's looks better, but like that Razorback's sister was important enough to him to become a superhero for! Got to admire that, and the bravado to wear that hood.

Al Diaz said...

And I am wondering why a boar head exactly? If I were to wear any head -that's not to be a dragon head- then it would be a lion's or something more, I don't know, spectacular. Maybe I will just stick to my dragon head.

jaybird said...

I was just sorting through a bunch of old pictures for my R post, and I realized in almost EVERY single picture of my little brother, he was wearing a Spiderman t-shirt. So funny!

You are doing a wonderful job Mark- keep it up!

Mark Means said...

@Dee: You're right and his power could be useful....sometimes :)

@Sheena: Thank you! You're right...that costume is a bit odd...even in the land of comics :)

@Alex: Yes he was...I guess he was inspired by his hometown :)

@Lisa: He had guts, for sure!

@Al: The state (Arkansas) has a football team called the Razorbacks, so I guess he (or the creator of the character, at least) drew inspiration from there :) I know, a dragon head might have been cooler looking!

@jaybird: Haha....very cool. Obviously, your brother has excellent taste...and thank you!

cleemckenzie said...

My first concern was how this guy sat down with any comfort at all. Oh, and my second concern was the furniture. All I could see was shredded chairs. I don't think I'd invite him over for tea.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

LOL!! I just read your answer that he was from Arkansas. That is too funny. I guess they didn't want to get sued and that's why he's not red.

Samantha May said...

This one is definitely the most obscure so far. Also, 410 pounds?! He doesn't need a mask to be intimidating. He just needs to stand there with a stern, disapproving look and he'll win :D

Happy Saturday!

M said...

I'm learning all kinds of things from your posts. I only have the most basic of comics knowledge.

~MPL
http://pepperwords.com

Deanie Humphrys-Dunne said...

Very unique character, indeed! I hadn't heard of him before. C. Lee is right. I don't think this person would be welcome for tea. Everyone would need reinforced furniture, for example.
Thank you for introducing him to us.

Mark Means said...

@Lee: Well, when you're that big...and wearing a boar head as a hat...I guess you can, pretty much, sit where you want, right? I'm guessing he's more of a beer drinker, anyway :D

@Diane: More than likely, I'm sure. There were quite a few heroes inspired by the places they lived, but that's a post for another day :)

@Samantha: No doubt about it and thank you, you do the same :)

@M: Thank you and I'm glad you're enjoying!

@Deanie: Thank you for stopping by and commenting, I appreciate it! Agreed...reinforced furniture would have to be the way to go :)

Robin said...

Okay, this superhero is just bizarre. A boar's head? Do you think the meat company was in on choosing this one and trying to get their brand out there????

Unknown said...

I agree with Samantha, he doesn't need anything but a stern look. Although my son would love a super power that let him operate any vehicle.

Teresa Cypher said...

Alex C's comment gave me a chuckle! I'd never before heard of this one. :-) I learned something--it's a good day.

Great "R" post. :-)

Empty Nest Insider said...

Very true about the gutsy get-up!

Julie

Cynthia said...

It'd be nice to know someone who can drive anything but I'd probably not want to shake his hand!

Mark Means said...

@Robin: LOL....I hadn't thought of that, but who knows?? :)

@Jenn: I think I'd like that power too...it'd come in handy on the road.

@Teresa: Thank you and thanks for stopping by! :)

@Julie: Ain't that the truth!

@Cynthia: Heh, true....you never know where it's been :)

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Wow, I like that one. I wonder if he could start my lawn tractor after it sat in the garage all winter.

Regina said...

What a strange guy! Lookin forward to Monday's lady ;)

Suze said...

'I mean, come on, to wear a giant boar head as a hat has to be worth something, right?'

:D

Manzanita said...

I thought Arkansas right away too.
I barely noticed the boar's head as I couldn't get my eyes off the muscles.

Disha Doshi Shah said...

my husband goes on and on about different Marvel characters of whom i know nothing about. this surely is going to give me a point of conversation . thank you !! Happy to connect. I am now following you via A to Z Challenge . Do feel free to drop by my blog Wilderness at www.disha-doshi.blogspot.com

Bob Sanchez said...

Hadn't heard of Razorback. Was he from Arkansas?

Anonymous said...

This one made me giggle:)

Unknown said...

The creative minds that must have come up with all these characters continue to amaze me.

Carrie Butler said...

Kudos to Razorback. I can barely operate my own vehicle. ;)

Julie Flanders said...

I love his giant boar head haha.

Shell Flower said...

Funny how you mentioned the "mistaking a hero for a villain at first" trope. That always happens. Razorback is pretty trippy. Being able to operate any vehicle is definitely a super-power. And I'm dying to know if he hooked up with She-Hulk at a truck stop in space!

Unknown said...

Love that you are doing women from comics! Juliet atCity Muse Country Muse

Tyrean Martinson said...

LOL - he definitely had to be tough to wear that headgear. I love his mutant ability/superpower. It would be cool to be able to operate any vehicle at any time, from dirtbike to spacecraft.

Valerie said...

That power sounds lame... But would actually be quite useful!!

Hugs!

Valerie

Mark Means said...

@Susan: Well, it said he could operate it...not, necessarily, get it started :P

@Regina: Strange? Nah, he was just a simple country boy....albeit a humongous one :)

@Suze: Well...I think it does! :)

@Manzanita: In the interest of keeping things "PG" here, I won't even comment on that one :D

@Disha: Thank you for dropping by and I appreciate the follow. Your blog is great and I wish you the best in A to Z'ing :)

@Bob: Yep, Texarkana :)

@M.J: Can't say I blame you!

@Melanie: Oh, me too...some are amazing!

@Carrie: LOL....I know what you mean, unfortunately :D

@Julie: I guess the higher ups at Marvel did too...they didn't veto it! :)

@Shell: Yep, it used to happen all the time. To the point where other books would make fun of it, etc. And, no, I don't think he and She Hulk hooked up...though, I'm not entirely sure they didn't, either :)

@Juliet: Thank you!

@Tyrean: I know, right? Like I'm going to be the one to point and laugh at him...no way :)

@Valerie: Compared to some, yes....compared to none...no :)

mshatch said...

yeah that hood is something else. But hey, at least it's not a cape.

Unknown said...

That's actually a pretty useful power. Not a common one. But it does shake up the traditional ideas of superpowers in my opinion. And you really do have to give the guy credit for being brave enough to walk around wearing a boar's head all day.

SpacerGuy said...

Comics are just full of surprises. I bet its fun sporting a giant boar head looking out through the eyes.

PK HREZO said...

Wow, def weird! But hey, weird is good. :)

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Mark .. yes being created with a name like Razorhead and then wearing a boar's head for his comic life .. seems a little weird!

Cheers Hilary

Elizabeth Seckman said...

Okay. I don't think I will vote for the pig as my fan favorite.

Andrew Leon said...

I have this issue, too, but, then, I have a full run of Spectacular.

C_Oliver said...

I'm a longtime fan of this character, and seeing as how it took me five attempts to pass my driving test, I regard his unusual superpower as a very valuable one!

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