Father Time (DC)
Father Time is a comic character who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Father Time
Father Time monitored the localized fallout within Salvation Valley alongside his operational field command from the Super-Human Advanced Defense Executive, tracking a severe bio-contamination event that had twisted the local ecosystem, causing mutated infant children to wield razor blades and squirrels to systematically consume human eyeballs. Seeking a highly durable operative to recruit into his government espionage organization, Father Time targeted Frankenstein as the undead combatant emerged from the ruined town. He dispatched the Bride with the task of recovering Frankenstein and bring him to the S.H.A.D.E. Mobile where he was forced to join the organization. Father Time openly admitted to taking direct strategic advantage of Frankenstein's localized efforts, expressing amusement at the tactical subversion and mockingly offering him an immediate evacuation flight aboard his military aircraft just before the agency proceeded to launch a devastating bombing run to completely erase Salvation Valley off the map. When Frankenstein rejected his pragmatic, self-serving institutional philosophy and chose to walk away into the desert alone, Father Time did not employ physical force to detain him, instead watching him depart while confidently noting that the unique monster would eventually adapt and fit right into the covert, morally gray structure of his ongoing defense operations. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #3)
Afterwards, Frankenstein came to tell S.H.A.D.E. about the threat posed by the Sheeda with Father Time becoming aware of the danger posed by the creatures. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #4)
At the onset of World War III, he was tasked with capturing Black Adam for his crimes where he led a team that ambushed him. Despite the element of surprise, the team were massacred with Father Time having his face ripped off though he managed to survive the incident. The Bride was by his side when he was in the hospital as he waited for his body to undergo the change that would give him a new form. (World War III v1 #1)
In the year after the Infinite Crisis, the growing activities of Metahumans were deemed a danger to the security of the United States by Father Time. Thus, he petitioned Congress with amending the law to curtail the freedom of Metahumans. He then petitioned for S.H.A.D.E. to head this initiative in enforcing law on Metahumans in the country. (Brave New World v1 #1)
After the moulting, he emerged in the body of a black male where he went to see Gonzo who stated that their assault against the Freedom Fighters had failed with the Cosmigods defeated and the Ray Stan Silver returned to them in chains. Gonzo then stated that he intended to implant control chips in all American’s in an effort to take over the nation and then begin a cataclysmic war on the planet. This was in opposition to Father Time’s own goals with Gonzo revealing that he intended to bring death and destruction to this dimension as per his purpose assigned by the Mathmagicians. Thus, he installed control implants over much of S.H.A.D.E.’s Meta-Army but stated that his efforts to control Father Time had failed thus he threatened him to ensure his compliance. Upon seeing his creation out of control, Father Time was then resolved to leaking S.H.A.D.E. secrets to the Freedom Fighters to stop Gonzo before it was too late. (Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters v1 #7) This allowed the Freedom Fighters to launch their attack with the support of the public against Gonzo after his true nature was exposed. During this moment, Father Time approached him and revealed his part in the probe’s downfall whereupon he encased Gonzo in armor of an Atomic Knight after which he was reshaped into an Orphan Box that took the form of a glasses. Thus, Gonzo was destroyed leaving only his data behind which Father Time intended to use to fight against his creators after which he disappeared from the public scene. (Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters v1 #8)
He later resumed his position as head of S.H.A.D.E. where he had a team headed by Frankenstein sent to investigate the site of the Dark Side Club. They came to encounter the new Question who fled the scene along with mysterious symbols within the club. However, Father Time's attention was also brought to an incident at Bludhaven involving the experimental weapons bunker. (Final Crisis v1 #3)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
On December 29, 1941, Father Time oversaw S.H.A.D.E. operations during World War II where he guided Agent Frankenstein's missions across various theatres around the world. (Men of War v2 #8)
Overview
Personality and attributes
In one guise, he possessed the height, build, and physical proportions of a young adult African-American male, featuring a hairless scalp and smooth facial features entirely hidden beneath a specialized tactical mask. His facial disguise consisted of a tight, dark domino mask fitted securely around his eyes. Father Time's uniform was patterned explicitly after an elegant, classic mid-20th-century civilian aesthetic rather than standard contemporary tactical military gear, showcasing a sharply tailored dark business suit, a pressed collared dress shirt, and a dark necktie. This attire was complemented by a prominent, dark bowler hat positioned squarely on his head. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #3)
His ultimate goal was to bring order to the world and help in the emergence in a stable homogenous society. (Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters v1 #8)
Powers and abilities
Father Time belonged to an unrevealed, highly exceptional superhuman classification within the human race, which granted him absolute immortality, complete immunity to conventional biological aging, and advanced cellular regeneration. On a basic feats level, his unique physical makeup allowed him to command a vast, global intelligence and tactical network known as the Super-Human Advanced Defense Executive, exercising supreme leadership and executive authority over black-ops cleanups and metahuman containment operations. He possessed an incredibly vast, genius-level intellect and a calculating strategic mind, enabling him to manipulate political outcomes, predict the actions of independent metahumans like Frankenstein, and safely coordinate high-altitude military strikes without exposing himself to frontline physical danger. Father Time held no standard biological vulnerabilities to terrestrial environmental toxins, atmospheric pressures, or localized bioweapons, allowing him to stand entirely unprotected on the open borders of highly contaminated quarantine zones without requiring hazardous material suits or artificial respiratory filtration systems. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #3)
It was said that Father Time’s physiology made it impossible for control devices to be implanted on him with this especially being the case when he was in his chrysalis state as he moulted into a new body. (Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters v1 #8)
Notes
- Father Time was created by Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnke where he made his first appearance in Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #3 (April, 2006).
Alternate Versions
- In Flash Comics v1 #33 (1942), an unrelated villain named Father Time appeared where he was an enemy of Hawkman Carter Hall.
- In Sensation Comics v1 #74 (1948), another unrelated villain named Father Time appeared as an enemy of Wildcat Ted Grant.
- In The New 52: Futures End v1 (2014), an alternate version of Father Time appeared in the potential future set five years later in the Futures End timeline. He was said to be an alien parasitic beings whose people were all taken by Brainiac with Father Time being the only one to escape two centuries ago. Arriving on Earth, he began to hide among human vessels where he resolved to protect the planet from Brainiac.
Appearances
- Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1: (2006)
- World War III v1:
- The Brave and the Bold v3:
- Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters v1:
- Final Crisis v1:
- Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. v1:
- Men of War v2:
- Justice League Dark v2:
External Links
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