Howard The Duck

 In: Characters
 Posted: 2006
File Photo
Attributes
Eyes:

Brown

Features:

Howard is a flightless humanoid duck who normally wears a suitcoat and derby

Hair:

None, though he is covered in yellow feathers

Height:

2' 7"

Weight:

40 lbs

Powers
Abilities:

Howard is a master of the Quak-Fu martial art, and has at time practiced the Mystic Arts and a cosmic force called the Farce.

Equipment:

Howard used to smoke cigars, but was convinced to quit by She-Hulk.

Limitations:

Howard is trapped in a world he never made, or more precisely, a universe he never made. He simply cannot fit in with any sort of society.

Strength Level:

Normal

Weapons:

Howard has used a gun, a suit of Iron Man-like armor, and countless other weapons. He has also been known to use his cigars offensively at times.

Summary
Citizenship:

Possibly United States (Specifically Cleveland, OH)

Created By:

Steve Gerber

Current Occupation:

Reluctant adventurer

Dual Identity:

Not applicable

Education:

Graduated from an unknown college

Former Aliases:

Too many to list here.

Former Bases:

Mobile (Everywhere from Hell to an alien dimension)

Former Groups:

All-Night Party, Circus of Crime, "Daydreamers," To Hack and Back Cab Company

Former Occupation:

Again, too many to list here.

Known Allies:

Paul Same, Winda Wester, She-Hulk, Man-Thing, Spider-Man, and countless other heroes and civilians.

Known Confidants:

Beverly Switzler

Known Relatives:

Dave (father), Dottie (mother), Theresa (sister, deceased), Orville (brother, deceased)

Legal Status:

Jailed for causing a disturbance

Major Enemies:

Kidney Lady, Doctor Bong, Circus of Crime, and countless others.

Marital Status:

Single

Place of Birth:

Unknown, possibly Duckworld

Real Name:

Howard

Usual Bases:

Cleveland, OH

Background

Howard the Duck was born on an unknown planet in an unknown universe, and lived a fairly average life until a disturbance in the Nexus of Realities caused Howard to be torn from his home and deposited into the swamp of the Man-Thing, along with a warrior named Korrek. Howard, Korrek, and Man-Thing fought valiantly against a large number of demons before being teleported away by a sorcerer named Dakihm. Dakihm enlisted the trio in stopping a demon named Thog. However, Howard seemingly met his doom before they even confronted the demon.

Howard, for some unknown reason, did not actually die, and fell into the city of Cleveland at some point later. He decided to make the best of it, and after two false starts (disrupted by the Man-Frog and the Hellcow), the fowl decided to kill himself. To this end, he found a tower made of credit cards and made an attempt to throw himself off of it. He was unsuccessful, and instead met Beverly Switzler. The pair were sent on a mission to retrieve the Key of the Cosmic Calculator by a wizard named Pro-Rata, and were successful in their quest. Howard did not want to give the key to the obviously unbalanced Pro-Rata, and was more than willing to give his life to keep it from him. It was only thanks to the timely intervention of Spider-Man that Howard did not die. After the battle with Pro-Rata, Howard went with Beverly in an attempt to find a place in this world he never made.

At one point, Howard was pegged as the presidential candidate for the All-Night Party. Thanks to a Canadian superpatriot named Le Beaver and a bellboy, he lost the election (possibly the 1976 election). Howard engaged in many adventures and made many new friends and enemies over the months, and gradually lost his sanity, culminating in a mental breakdown in Canada. While he was breaking down, Howard met his friends and foes once more, including Spider-Man. For some reason, Howard's mind had Spider-Man call himself the Spider-Piano. After the breakdown, Howard was taken to an asylum.

After a recovery period which involved Howard being taken over by the Son of Satan and meeting psychic representations of the rock group KISS, Howard went back to Ohio with his friends Beverly Switzler, Winda Wester, and Paul Same. There was not much time to rest, as Howard and his friends soon found themselves in the nation of Bagmom. They managed to avert a hostile takeover of the country for its oil, and the grateful leader of Bagmom sent them back to the United States aboard a cruise ship. This led to conflicts with the villainous Doctor Bong and the Circus of Crime (Ringmaster, Clown, Princess Python, the Great Gambonnos, Cannonball) as well as many more misadventures for the waterfowl.

Howard's life was confusing for a bit after that point, including a period including adventues which may not have happened. At one point, he may have met Spider-Man once again and helped the web-slinger defeat a crackpot named Status Quo. After this, Howard found himself in San Francisco, and after spending a year there, the fowl felt so foul that he needed to leave the city, and eventually found his way back to Cleveland and Beverly Switzler.

In Cleveland, Howard lived peacefully for some time, at one point helping She-Hulk save the Universe. He was somewhat tossed back into the fray when the Circus of Crime came back to town, with Peter Parker and Ben Reilly hot on their tails. Howard helped Peter and Ben defeat the crooked carnies. Afterwards, Howard took a job as a department store Santa, met Generation X, went on an inter-dimensional adventure with Man-Thing, Franklin Richards, and several other youths, and nearly died when a fragment of the Nexus of Realities lodged itself within him. Obviously, he got better.

Recently, Howard suffered through a time when he was randomly transforming (predominately into a humanoid mouse). Most recently, Howard quit smoking at the behest of She-Hulk, attempted to sue George Lucas, and was present at the trial of She-Hulk. Time only knows what Howard will be caught up in next.

Appearances

Cover Date Appearance Information
Dec 1973 App: Adventure Into Fear #19
  First Appearance
Jan 1974 App: Man-Thing #1
Jan 1976 App: Howard The Duck #1
Mar 1976 App: Howard The Duck #2
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #3
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #4
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #5
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #6
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #7
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #8
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #9
Mar 1977 App: Howard The Duck #10
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #11
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #12
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #13
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #14
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #15
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #16
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #17
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #18
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #19
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #20
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #21
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #22
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #23
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #24
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #25
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #26
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #27
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #28
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #29
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #30
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #31
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #32
Date TBD App: Howard The Duck #33
Year 1977 App: Howard The Duck (Vol. 1) Annual #1
Oct 1979 App: Howard The Duck Magazine #1
Dec 1979 App: Howard The Duck Magazine #2
Feb 1980 App: Howard The Duck Magazine #3
Apr 1980 App: Howard The Duck Magazine #4
Jun 1980 App: Howard The Duck Magazine #5
Aug 1980 App: Howard The Duck Magazine #6
Oct 1980 App: Howard The Duck Magazine #7
Dec 1980 App: Howard The Duck Magazine #8
Feb 1981 App: Howard The Duck Magazine #9
Jun 1980 App: Crazy Magazine #63
Jul 1980 App: Crazy Magazine #64
Aug 1980 App: Crazy Magazine #65
Sep 1980 App: Crazy Magazine #66
Oct 1980 App: Crazy Magazine #67
Nov 1980 App: Crazy Magazine #68
Dec 1980 App: Crazy Magazine #69
Jan 1981 App: Crazy Magazine #70
Feb 1981 App: Crazy Magazine #71
Mar 1981 App: Crazy Magazine #72
Apr 1981 App: Crazy Magazine #73
May 1981 App: Crazy Magazine #74
Jun 1981 App: Crazy Magazine #75
Jul 1981 App: Crazy Magazine #76
Aug 1981 App: Crazy Magazine #77
Aug 1980 App: Marvel Team-Up #96
Apr 1990 App: Sensational She-Hulk #14
May 1990 App: Sensational She-Hulk #15
Jun 1990 App: Sensational She-Hulk #16
Jul 1990 App: Sensational She-Hulk #17
May 1990 App: Marvel Tales #237 (Story 1)
Nov 1992 Cameo: Slapstick #1
Dec 1996 App: Spider-Man Team-Up #5 (Story 1)
Date TBD App: Generation X #20
Date TBD App: Generation X #21
Date TBD App: Generation X #23
Date TBD App: Generation X #25
Apr 1998 App: Man-Thing (Vol. 3) #5
May 1998 App: Man-Thing (Vol. 3) #6
Jun 1998 App: Man-Thing (Vol. 3) #7
Mar 2002 App: Howard The Duck (Vol. 2) #1
Apr 2002 App: Howard The Duck (Vol. 2) #2
May 2002 App: Howard The Duck (Vol. 2) #3
Jun 2002 App: Howard The Duck (Vol. 2) #4
Jul 2002 App: Howard The Duck (Vol. 2) #5
Aug 2002 App: Howard The Duck (Vol. 2) #6
Jan 2005 App: She-Hulk (Vol. 3) #9
Feb 2006 App: She-Hulk (Vol. 4) #3 (Story 1)

Thanks To

 This profile was completed with information used with permission from the Appendix of Marvel Universe website, mantained by Jeff Christiansen (Snood). If you want to find out about that odd-ball character you've only seen once, or even about that character you haven't ever seen, that's the site you're looking for. An impressive amount of obscure characters await you there!

 In: Characters
 Posted: 2006