Red Tornado (Earth-X)

"In ten minutes, Red Tornado's gonna bring down this entire facility, and there's nothing we can do to stop that robot."

—Ray Terrill^[src]

Red Tornado was a military robot used by General Winn Schott of the Freedom Fighters.

History

Fighting the Reichsmen

Red Tornado was the secret weapon of General Winn Schott against the Nazi Schutzstaffel forces.^[1] He joined the Freedom Fighters in all of their missions. Red Tornado became part of the Freedom Fighters' elite team of superheroes, spearheaded by his meta-human friend the Ray, rescued citizens in the cities occupied by the Nazis such as Tulsa. When the Schutzstaffel troops were moved to the outskirts of Tulsa, with Führer Oliver threatening to destroy everything that those who support resistance hold dear, the Freedom Fighters' elite superhero attack team arrived to the city to join local resistance in destroying SS tanks and soldiers. Before too late, however, the battle was joined by the New Reichsmen, a trio of Nazi leaders which included Führer Oliver himself, the speedster Blitzkrieg and their powerhouse Overgirl.^[2]

As the battle continued, the Red Tornado was overpowered by Overgirl, his systems now on subnormal levels. Asking not to let the Reichsmen capture Freedom Fighters' secrets, Red Tornado forced the Ray to take its neo-cortex with him, despite Ray's protests that it would remove the robot's unique personality. After the Ray complied with his robotic friend's request, this version of Red Tornado shut down, while its neuro-cortex, containing a holographic projection of Red Tornado, was sent to Earth-1, where it ended up in the hands of that Earth's Ray Terrill.^[3]

Rebirth and Destruction

The robot was rebuilt by General Schott to destroy the Nazi-owned temporal gateway to Earth-1, intending to trap Führer Oliver away from the majority of his forces and cause disorder in the New Reich military. That would pose a problem for the Earth-1 superheroes, who'd be cut away from home, leading to the Flash and the Ray teaming up to take down Red Tornado, or at least stall him long enough for the rest of the heroes to make their way to Earth-1. Red Tornado was able to successfully dodge their attacks, dealing with both heroes separately.^[1] Eventually, the two meta-humans managed to combine their powers in such a way that the Red Tornado would be hit by the Flash's lightning bolt and the Ray's light blast at the same time, destroying the android.^[4]

Anti-Monitor Crisis

In 2019, during the crisis, a repaired Red Tornado with Black Condor and the Ray were fighting the remaining Nazi forces but during the battle, he and Black Condor were killed by a wave of antimatter.^[5]

Weapon specifications

Powers

• Aerokinesis: As a combat android, Red Tornado was designed to be able manipulate the surrounding air.
  • Air blasts: Red Tornado was capable of creating highly concentrated blasts of wind.^[1]
  • Tornado creation: Red Tornado was capable of creating destructive tornadoes, as shown when he did so as a diversion to escape from the Flash.^[1]
• Extreme durability: Red Tornado was able to sustain lightning bolts from the Flash and the Ray, though not at the same time.^[1][4]
• Physical fighting: The robot was able fight akin to humans, using its fists and legs. It was strong enough to be a problem for meta-humans like the Flash and the Ray.^[1]
• Propelled flight: The robot was designed for flights at extreme speed with its propeller-like legs.^[1]

Abilities

• Talking: Unlike his Earth-38 counterpart, Red Tornado was capable of speech.^[2]

Appearances

The Flash

Season 4

• "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 3"

DC's Legends of Tomorrow

Season 3

• "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 4"

Freedom Fighters: The Ray

Season 1

• "Episode One"
• "Episode Two"
• "Episode Four" (hologram)
• "Episode Six" (mentioned)

Supergirl

Season 5

• "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One" (flashback)

Comics

Crisis on Infinite Earths Giant

• Crisis on Infinite Earths Giant #1

Behind the scenes

• In the DC comics the android Red Tornado was originally created as an enemy to the Justice League, though he eventually redeemed himself, not only adopting a human alter ego, that of "John Smith", but also becoming a member of the team. He is the second character to carry the "Red Tornado" moniker, as the first was a woman named Abigail "Ma" Hunkel.

References