| TIME COMMANDER (John Starr) | BIOGRAPHY |
| Created by Bob Haney and Ramona Fradon |
PERSONAL DATA
Real Name: John Starr
Occupation: Former research assistant
Group Affiliation(s): Time Foes
Gender: Male
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 210 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Reddish blond, later brown
First Appearance: Brave and the Bold #59 (April-May 1965): "The Tick-Tock Traps of the Time Commander"
Creators: Bob Haney and Ramona Fradon
HISTORY
Working as an assistant to the scientific genius Dr. Elijah Carruthers, John Starr was a genius in his own right. Carruthers' was developing an artificial humanoid resulting in the creation of "Cosmo." Though Carruthers soon destroyed Cosmo, claiming it was "imperfect" and a danger to itself and others, Starr had seen many uses for the powerful humanoid. Carruthers, already a mysterious and eccentric figure, would later vanish from the public eye and was presumed dead.
John Starr was later involved in a crime, the details of which are unavailable. He was tried and convicted, a sentence Starr thought was wrong. Starr could not be held in an ordinary penitentiary for risk of escape. He was given a specially designed prison cell outside of Gotham City. For his many scientific contributions, Starr's prison cell featured many amenities, including his own lab to work in. During his incarceration Starr developed control over time itself based on the properties of light. This enabled Starr to create an "hourglass-prism" and send himself back in time one day before his cell was built. At that time he simply walked away. Starr was apparently mentally disturbed, fixated on the control of time and the need to "prove his innocence." After every action he took, Starr set nearby clocks to five minutes to twelve, apparently his calling card.
Now an escaped convict, Starr set out to clear his name. He claimed he was a modern-day "Count of Monte Cristo," framed for a crime he did not commit. Starr went as far as advertising a public lecture in Gotham City, attracting the attention of not only the police but Bruce Wayne, secretly the Batman, as well. The criminal did not make a public appearance but instead delivered a prerecorded lecture in which he explained why he should be considered innocent and the state be forced to grant him a new trial. Many left the lecture convinced by Starr's case.
Later at Wayne Manor, Starr confronted Bruce Wayne with the knowledge of the millionaire's dual identity as the Batman. Using an hourglass prism, Starr was able to shift objects and people in time and by this technique had shifted Bruce Wayne's clothes through time so that the millionaire was wearing the costume of the Batman. Starr requested the Batman's help in proving he did not commit the crime he had been convicted of. When the two shook hands, Wayne was struck down by an energy force and left in a basement storage room by Starr.
Posing as Batman, Starr asked for help from Green Lantern (Hal Jordan). "Batman" claimed his strength had been robbed from him by chemicals used in crime detection and needed reenergizing by Jordan's power ring. Starr had actually absorbed the power ring energy which he later used in a crime spree, still posing as Batman. When Green Lantern fought the Caped Crusader he found his own power ring energy used against him.
Some hours afterwards, Green Lantern united with the real Batman to fight the Time Commander over Gotham City but both heroes were defeated. Starr then took them to his hideout, behind a billboard advertising "Dante's Clocks," where, using his time control devices and the power ring energy, sent Green Lantern twenty-four hours into the past and Batman twenty-four hours into the future.
The Time Commander was then free to blackmail Gotham City in order to force them to clear John Starr's name. Shifting entire city blocks forward and backwards through time, the Time Commander threatened to unleash more "time bombs" until his terms were met.
Starr had not counted on the heroes' resourcefulness. Green Lantern was able to beam a message forty-eight hours into his future for Batman to receive. Together they were able to stage a high pitched alarm to go of at the exact moment the Time Commander was to appear to receive his pardon from officials in Gotham City. The villain's hourglass shattered, returning Batman and Green Lantern to the present. The Time Commander was easily apprehended and the knowledge of the heroes' secret identities was erased from his mind by Hal Jordan's power ring. - Brave and the Bold #59
After his next escape, Starr planned to recreate Cosmo and have the artificial humanoid do his bidding. Once more posing as the Batman, the Time Commander led Green Lantern, and for that matter all of Gotham City, into believing Batman had been trapped in a strange "iron bat." When the metal was found to be too strong for anyone to cut through or pry open, "Batman" called for the assistance of Green Lantern. The power ring freed "Batman" in seconds.
Back in his old hideout, the Time Commander drew upon the emerald energy which had suffused the molecules of the iron bat. Powered by the emerald energy, the Time Commander's hourglass-prism was able to catch the light waves from the original manifestation of Cosmo, now dispersed through outer space, and reconstitute the artificial humanoid on Earth.
Cosmo would not be the willing slave Starr had planed on. The humanoid turned on his would-be master and vowed to destroy anyone that got in his way. The Time Commander was unable to send Cosmo back in time as the humanoid had evolved what it called "star power" during its trip through time and space. Starr escaped to another time plane and was able to watch Cosmo as the humanoid sought out Carruthers to exact revenge on its creator.
Batman and Green Lantern soon learned of the Time Commander's deception and attempted to defend Gotham City from Cosmo. While the power ring was able to locate the Time Commander, the villain moved to another time plane before Green Lantern could apprehend him.
Cosmo attacked any place that Carruthers might have been associated with to prevent the scientist from creating more humanoids. Green Lantern could at best limit the damage the creature was causing. It was the Batman who discovered Carruthers was still alive and living in Pinewood Nursing Home outside of Gotham City. The elderly scientist was suffering from amnesia brought on by a breakdown due to overwork and guilt from the Cosmo project.
Carruthers arrived at the site of Cosmo's rampage, claiming he had a molecular reagent which could destroy Cosmo in order to get the creature to stop and rethink his desire for revenge. It was at that moment the Time Commander appeared to seize the reagent in a bid to get Cosmo under his control. When Cosmo refused to see Starr as his master, the humanoid attacked, only to have the Time Commander throw the reagent. Unfortunately for the Time Commander it had no effect. Starr was forced to take Carruthers as a hostage but was punched out by the presumably frail scientist. Using the Time Commander's frequent ruse, Batman had posed as Carruthers.
When a taxi pulled up with the true Carruthers, who had overcome his amnesia, Green Lantern sealed Cosmo in a cone of emerald energy. Carruthers threw the real molecular reagent at Cosmo, dissolving his creation once more. Cosmo has not been seen since. - Brave and the Bold #69
The Time Commander was rumored to have returned yet again to match wits with the Batman, but this time the Dark Knight was allied with the Outsiders. The details are not available at this time. - Who's Who '85 # 23
Years later and still in prison, Starr was visited by Animal Man. The hero had lost his wife and children and wanted to travel back in time to save their lives. Starr had lost control of the sand in his hourglass and was unable to help the hero, much less himself. - Animal Man #22
In a more recent appearance, the Time Commander had been captured by Skeets. - 52 #27
CHRONOLOGY
For a definitive list of appearances of Time Commander in chronological order click here
PROFILE REFERENCES
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #23 (January 1987)