CAPTAIN WALLY

Real Name: Walter Pratt

Identity/Class: Human, occasionally technology user

Occupation: Superhero

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Bad Penny, Brickman (Loose Brayne), Captain Hurricane, the Cloak, Combat Colin (Colin Doobrey-Smiff), Deed-a-Day Danny, Dan Dare, Dash Decent, Eagle-Eye, Grimly Feendish, Joanne Giggly, Julie Giggly, Gus Gorilla, Deadly Headley, Jimmy Jolly's Magic Brolly,Macho-Man (Milton Zook/Norman Dribble), Marmaduke, Marmaduke's Ma, Maurice (pet frog), Mowser, Robot Archie,Semi-Automatic Steve, Sergeant Truncheon, Shrimp, Snailman (Percy Perkins), Steel Claw, Frankie Stein, Tired Tim, Tiger Tim, Tom Thug, Harris Tweed, Weary Willie, unidentified pet cat;
   attended a wedding with Perpugillium "Peri" Brown, Steve Cook, Sheila Cranna, CYRIL, the Doctor, Frobisher, Simon Furman, Penny Holme, Loch Ness Monster, Megatron, Optimus Prime, John Ridgway, Ian Rimmer, Will Simpson, Sludge, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Richard Starkings, the TARDIS, John Tomlinson;
   tried to retrieve Compton Deltic's car (but never actually met the man)

Enemies: Amazing Dave, Aunt Arctic, Bankbuster Brothers, D.J. Yampy, Doctor Slob, Hulk (Bruce Banner), Macho-Man, Madprof, Mr. Magno, Nasto, Skydiver, Spellmaster, the Whatsit from Planet X, Zippo

Known Relatives: Unidentified mother and father

Aliases: "Big Ears" (Snailman's derogatory nickname for him)

Base of Operations: Wallytown (see comments)

First Appearance: The Spider-Man Comic#634/4 (4th May 1985)

Powers/Abilities: Captain Wally has exactly zero superpowers, and is a below average physical specimen with poor fighting skills and little common sense. His strength is minimal and his punches feeble, though he has surprisingly good balance, being standing upside down balanced on one ear while holding a dumbbell above him with one foot. He possesses loads of gumption, and is actually marginally technically adept, capable of creating useful if flawed equipment and gadgets. These include his Wally Wagon, an electrical car that unfortunately needs to be plugged in to work, and a propeller-topped hat that briefly allowed him to fly.

Height: 6'1" (by approximation; see comments) 
Weight
: 120 lbs.
(by approximation; see comments) 
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Black or brown (see comments) 

History:
(The Spider-Man Comic#635/4) - Walter Pratt lived with his parents in suburban England.

(The Spider-Man Comic#634/4) - After reading a gushing report of Spider-Man's recent heroics in a newspaper, Walter was unimpressed, declaring to himself that any fool could be a superhero. Inspired to prove his point, Walter concluded even he could become a superhero, believing that he didn't need fancy superpowers since he had gumption. He swiftly cut up some clothes to make a costume he felt would strike fear into the underworld and inspire respect from the adoring public. However, what it actually inspired was uncontrollable laughter tinged with ridicule.

(The Spider-Man Comic#635/4) - Captain Wally decided he needed a secret H.Q. from which to operate, somewhere away from home so his parents would not be endangered, his foes could not find him, a fortress of solitude where he could train his mind and body to peak perfection, so he placed a sign outside his house's garden shed identifying it as "Captain Wally's Secret H.Q.," which also meant he was close enough to home to hear his mother when she called him in for dinner.

(The Spider-Man Comic#636/3) - Cries of terror alerted Captain Wally to the Hulk rampaging through the streets. Racing to confront the green Goliath, Captain Wally introduced himself and warned the perturbed behemoth to clear off or face the consequences. One mighty punch later, and the thoroughly battered and bruised Captain Wally wondered aloud if he should have tried to see his opponent's point of view as he watched the Hulk stomp off.

(The Spider-Man Comic#637/3) - Subjected to the public's constant laughter and incredulous pointing whenever he went out in costume, Captain Wally openly despaired of ever being able to make crooks tremble if no one else respected him. A helpful milkman took pity on the dejected hero, suggesting he needed a good catchphrase, citing the example of the Thing's use of "It's clobberin' time!" Taking the suggestion on board, Captain Wally spent the night thinking up a catchphrase he believed would stop the laughter. Unfortunately, shouting "Watch out, there's a Wally about!" as he pranced through the streets only increased the public's hilarity.

(The Spider-Man Comic#638/4) - Deciding he was tired of running after criminals, Captain Wally built his own vehicle, the Wally Wagon, in his shed H.Q., designed to run on clean, electrical power. Bursting out of the shed (and demolishing it in the process), he got a few only partway down the garden before the vehicle yanked to a violent stop, throwing him onto the grass. Glancing at the vehicle and the power cable trailing out the back and into his house, Captain Wally concluded he should probably get a long cable.

(The Spider-Man Comic#639/4) - Walter received a call at home from the local policeman, Sergeant Truncheon, asking him to look into reports of a flying saucer landing in nearby Wallytown Woods. He eagerly suited up, informing his mother that he was going out to deal justice to an alien invader, and she tossed him a parcel containing some pilchardcake for his lunch. Reaching the woods he swiftly discovered the saucer and entered with trepidation through the open hatch. Initially afraid, he calmed down upon discovering it seemed empty, and declared there was nothing to fear there, unaware of a gigantic clawed hand reaching for him from behind...

(The Spider-Man Comic#640/4) - The alien greeted Captain Wally with a warm "Hello," but Wally freaked out at the sight of the creature with its massive head showcasing a huge mouth full of enormous teeth, and fearfully flee. Thinking he had safely gotten away, he stopped behind a tree to catch his breath, only to scream in terror as it stepped out from behind his hiding place and shouted "Surprise!" Steeling himself, Captain Wally defiantly warned the alien that he would smack its legs if it came any closer, but the alien informed him it was only a space tourist visiting Earth to take a few photographs, and promising to be on its way back home as soon as it had a snack. Relieved, Captain Wally inquired what it wanted, suggesting perhaps chips, beans or marmite on toast. Licking its massive lips and moving closer, the alien stated it fancied something meatier, but the dopey hero missed the warning signs and suggested perhaps it meant a beefburger. He realized his error moments later as the alien declared it intended to eat him, grabbing him and lifting him towards its gaping maw.

(The Spider-Man Comic#641/4) - Captain Wally cowered in the alien's hand, but the creature paused as it suddenly picked up the scent of the pilchardcake he was carrying. Recognizing the smell, it dropped the hero in terror, declaring that pilchardcake was the one thing its species had no defense against. Seizing the advantage, Captain Wally taunted his erstwhile attacker by waving the pilchardcake threateningly towards it, and the alien fled back to its ship and rapidly departed. Moments later the army arrived, and the surprised commanding officer asked incredulously how someone like Captain Wally could have driven the alien menace away. Nonchalantly munching on his disgusting lunch, Wally declared it had been a piece of cake.

(The Spider-Man Comic#642/1) - After being mocked in the street by children who taunted him for calling himself a superhero when he couldn't even fly, Captain Wally retreated to his shed H.Q. and built himself a beanie hat with a helicopter blade. Taking it on his maiden flight, he was spotted by one of the kids he had encountered earlier. Flying up adjacent to the second storey balcony the boy was standing on, Captain Wally proudly pointed out he was soaring like a bird, proving he could fly after all. However the boy told him not to be daft, insisting it was scientifically impossible to defy gravity. Querying this information, Captain Wally paused in mid-air and his propeller stopped, causing him to plummet to the ground. After getting bandaged and a cast on put on his leg, Captain Wally balanced on his crutches and kicked the propeller cap into the garbage can with his good leg.

(The Spider-Man Comic#643/2) - Seeing Captain Wally about to go out on patrol, his father declared that he should find himself a proper job rather than "prancing around in a cape." In response Captain Wally insisted it was his duty to be a superhero, since there were a lot of nasty villains around. Sure enough, while out Captain Wally heard a cry of distress, emanating from a greengrocer whose entire stock of fruit and veg had just been stolen by an immensely obese, unkempt and unwashed scoundrel. Before Captain Wally could intervene, the thief threw the stolen food into the air and gulped it down in one go. He then taunted the hero that he was too late, as the evidence had been eaten, but Captain Wally insisted this made no difference, since he was still a thief, and attempted to make a citizen's arrest, grabbing the crook by the arm and struggling futilely to move him. Angered at being touched, the villain identified himself as Doctor Slob, unholstered a strange pistol, which fired a viscous liquid, coating Captain Wally.

(The Spider-Man Comic#644/2) - Captain Wally found himself stuck in gunge, unable to follow as Doctor Slob departed. Luckily however the fire brigade passed by, and seeing his distress freed Captain Wally by washing the gunge off with their hoses. Tracking Doctor Slob by a trail of littered food remains, Captain Wally found his foe in an alley, even more immense after having gorged himself on a small mountain of food. As Captain Wally tried to tell him to surrender, Doctor Slob pushed contemptuously past him and leapt towards an open manhole, intending to escape into the sewers, but instead became stuck, his stomach's diameter now wider than the opening. Telling his trapped opponent that it served him right for being a glutton, Captain Wally called the police, who cut Doctor Slob free and escorted the handcuffed criminal away, his waist still belted by a ring of concrete.

(The Spider-Man Comic#645/1) - On holiday in Blackpool, Walter Pratt was alerted to nearby trouble by cries of panic and despair. Swiftly changing into costume, he rushed to the scene and pursued a villainous looking individual racing along Blackpool Promenade carrying a large sack of stolen bingo prizes. Captain Wally shouted at the crook, telling him to stop, but the criminal rounded and smashed Captain Wally to the ground with the weighty sack, declaring himself to be Nasto, Spoiler of Fun! Cackling that it was now time for stage two of his shameful scheme, Nasto activated a device, and Captain Wally watched incredulous as the nearby Blackpool Tower grew arms and legs and uprooted itself, moving under Nasto's control.

(The Spider-Man Comic#646/3) - The shocked hero watched helplessly as the tower began leaping around on a rampage of destruction, and demanded to know how Nasto had achieved this. The villain boasted he was using an ingenious micro-chip implant, then escaped as a stunned Captain Wally struggled to come to terms with what was happening. A crowd gathered round the hero as he was paralyzed by indecision, unsure what to do, until finally one woman kicked Captain Wally flying, shouting that he was a superhero and should get on with it. This prompted Captain Wally to have his first ever idea, and he swiftly purchased a plate of oysters and a large ice cream from a nearby concession stand.

(The Spider-Man Comic#647/3) - Jumping on one of the local trams, Captain Wally raced ahead of the bounding tower and threw the plate of oysters in its path. Slipping on the molluscs, the tower somersaulted back into its rightful place and stayed there. As bystanders cheered, Captain Wally then pursued Nasto, taking him down by throwing the vanilla ice cream cone in his face. Basking in his success, Captain Wally outlined his triumph using a string of jokes, but this painful punning enraged the fickle crowd, who went instantaneously from cheering him on to chasing him away.

(The Spider-Man Comic#648/4) - Returning from his holiday, Walter informed his parents it was time to return to work as Captain Wally, to his mother's pride and father's despair. Out patrolling he ran across the Bankbuster Brothers, fleeing a crime scene carrying stolen loot, but when he tried to stop them they pummeled him with a huge hammer and escaped while he sat crying on the ground complaining that it wasn't fair.

(The Spider-Man Comic#648/4 - BTS) - Captain Wally prepared for his next confrontation with the Bankbuster Brothers by preparing a secret weapon - his holiday photos!

(The Spider-Man Comic#648/4) - The next day Captain Wally confronted the pair again as they were exiting through a bank's smashed wall carrying the safe, and he warned them to surrender or face his secret weapon. Once they had stopped laughing at him, the Bankbuster Brothers boasted they could withstand anything he tried to use against them, and demanded to know what his so-called weapon was. Confronted by Captain Wally's holiday snaps, the pair's bravado evaporated, and begging for mercy they surrendered.

(The Spider-Man Comic#649/2) - While out hunting for villains, Captain Wally was confronted by the superpowered Macho-Man, Master of Power, who declared the self-proclaimed superhero a "mummy's boy" and challenged him to a fight to the finish in a week's time. Captain Wally spent the next week intensively training, but was so feeble that he couldn't successfully lift any weights with his arms, though he did manage with his feet, and he lost his fights with his punching bag. At the end of the week he concluded with dread that Macho-Man would crush him like a gnat, but then he received a phone call from his erstwhile opponent, informing him the fight was off because Macho-Man's mum wouldn't let him out because it was raining.

(The Spider-Man Comic#650/1) - Again out hunting for villains, Captain Wally encountered Zippo, Master of Speed, when the crook raced by him. Trying to pursue him, Captain Wally followed him round a corner and literally ran into Snailman. Recognizing one another by reputation, the pair began arguing, with Captain Wally demanding to know why Snailman was there and Snailman retorting that he had been about to capture Zippo until Captain Wally got in the way. Exchanging insults, Captain Wally then told Snailman to clear off since they were on his page, but Snailman responded that Zippo was his villain, and would be on his page by now anyway. Apparently accepting this argument, Captain Wally proposed they should go after Zippo then, but swiftly realized they would never catch up to the speedster if Snailman continued moving at his interminably slow rate. Straining to his limit, Captain Wally carried Snailman on his shoulders in order to get to the page 30 faster.

(The Spider-Man Comic#650/5) - Finally reaching page 30, the two heroes found a young boy crying because Zippo had just stolen the lad's entire 650 issue run of Spider-Man. Snailman angrily declared that while stealing anything was bad, taking 650 issues of Spider-Man was unforgivable. The heroes spotted Zippo fleeing with his ill-gotten gains moments later, but Snailman acknowledged that he with his speed he could never catch the crook. Declaring there was always a way, Captain Wally gleefully grabbed Snailman by the shell and threw him spinning like a bowling ball into the surprised Zippo. As the cops escorted the handcuffed criminal into a police van, Captain Wally smugly told the dizzy and disgruntled Snailman that he had caught Zippo after all, thanks to Captain Wally's, and noted that he should return to his own page now. Concurring, Snailman kicked Captain Wally flying, punting him back towards the front of the comic. 

(Spidey Comic#651/1) - Out walking his frog, Maurice, Walter Pratt noticed a car floating through the sky. Sure this was a job for his alter ego, he swiftly donned his costume, and confronted the obvious villain, a short man in wizard's robes and pointed hat (Spellmaster), demanding he return the vehicle, only for the sorcerer to transform him into a tree, albeit one that retained a humanoid face. After the mage had departed a dog came up and started sniffing at the tree, but it fled in terror when the arboreal Captain Wally yelled at it.

(Spidey Comic#652/2) - As a woodpecker began hammering at the tree, the magic wore off, returning Captain Wally to human form with the woodpecker now pecking at his head. When it began literally bucketing down (as in, it rained actual metal buckets), Captain Wally realized the Spellmaster was still nearby and raced to challenge the villain again, but Spellmaster spotted him coming and magically unleashed torrential rain directly over Captain Wally, covering his escape. Hanging himself up by his ears to dry off, the drenched hero vowed to catch his foe next week.

(Spidey Comic#653/4) - In his shed secret H.Q. Captain Wally read the book "How to Defeat Annoying Little Wizards," which claimed you could reverse a wizard's spell using a mirror. Dozily misunderstanding this advice, Captain Wally decided that since his family didn't buy the (Daily) Mirror (newspaper), a copy of the Sun (newspaper) would have to do instead, and set out to find Spellmaster. Finding him disrupting a football (soccer) match, Captain Wally brandished the newspaper at his foe, who though confused by this action, immediately zapped him. Swiftly recovering, Captain Wally derided his opponent's name choice, betting the self-named Spellmaster that he couldn't even spell chrysanthemum. Perturbed by the challenge, Spellmaster tried to prove Captain Wally wrong, but began to stumble over the letters, and with his concentration elsewhere, Captain Wally seized the opportunity and smashed Spellmaster with a large mallet. Chancing to be passing, Spider-Man wondered aloud where the hammer had come from. Watching as a sulking Spellmaster was escorted away by the police, Captain Wally informed his beaten foe that it was time for a spell behind bars.

(Vworp Vworp#2) - Captain Wally and Snailman joined individuals from across the Marvel Megaverse in attending the wedding of Sheila Cranna (see comments).

(Oink!#26) - Somehow transported to a limbo realm alongside old comic characters from years gone, Captain Wally joined other individuals forgotten by the public in checking out new arrival Tom Thug, who was seated amidst scattered comics (see comments).

(Transformers and Action Force#245 (fb) - BTS) - Captain Wally was kidnapped by the Brain, and imprisoned in an isolated village alongside fellow superheroes Brickman, Macho Man (not the same individual as his former foe) and Snailman, plus the twin Giggly Sisters (not superheroes, but girlfriends of two), guarded by a coterie of villains: Madprof, Amazing Dave, Aunt Arctic, D.J. Yampy, Mr. Magno and Skydiver. 

(Transformers and Action Force#244 - BTS) - Combat Colin and his sidekick, Semi-Automatic Steve, were likewise abducted and woke to find themselves in the village.

(Transformers and Action Force#245) - Investigating, Colin and Steve encountered the other prisoners. Introducing himself, a dejected Captain Wally explained that they were all old comic characters forcibly retired to the village. After the other prisoners likewise introduced themselves, the group was confronted by the villainous warders. With Steve noting that the warders were their vilest villains, Colin realized one villain was absent, the Brain, and correctly concluded he must be behind everything. 

(Transformers and Action Force#246) - Colin tried to convince his fellow prisoners to attempt an escape, but Captain Wally protested that there were too many guards, so escape was impossible. Colin, Steve and the Giggly Sisters ignored this and tried anyway, but were easily stopped by the warders. 

(Transformers and Action Force#247) - However, Colin then pointed out to the villains that they were as much prisoners as heroes. Effectively trapped in the village in order to guard the heroes, they were abandoning their own conquest plans and leaving Brain free to take over the world. Agreeing to a truce, the combined forces of the heroes and villains attacked Brain's headquarters, but were confronted by their foe, now wearing Colin's stolen Combat Trousers and able to access the innumerable weapons contained in its magical pockets. As Brain blasted at Snailman, Brickman yelled a warning, but Snailman couldn't react in time and was hit, prompting Colin to note he had been "too slow" and Captain Wally to derisively respond "as usual."

(Transformers and Action Force#248) - The Brain took down some of his foes using a saucepan shooter (literally a gun firing saucepans) and smelly sock bazooka, though he ignored the inconsequential Captain Wally. Luckily Colin was able to remotely control his trousers, turning them against the Brain, allowing Colin to get close enough to punch the villain unconscious. Free, the heroes all departed for their respective homes.

Comments: Created by Lew Stringer.

   Captain Wally's home town wasn't explicitly named, but in Spider-Man Comic#639 the Whatsit from Planet X lands in the nearby Wallytown Woods, which suggests that Pratt's home is Wallytown; the corollary to this is that he chose the name Captain Wally not as a shorthand for his first name, Walter, but as a homage to where he comes from and protects, similar to the likes of the New Universe's Captain Manhattan and Captain Brooklyn. Presumably it didn't occur to the somewhat dim Walter Pratt that Wally is an insulting term to describe a stupid person. He seems to live in the same town as Snailman, since there's no suggestion that either is away from their usual haunts when they run into one another in Spider-Man Comic#550; the only evidence towards location in Snailman's strip is that two criminals rob the "Porkshire Bank" in Spider-Man Comic#535, but since this is a play on the real world Yorkshire Bank, branches of which can be found well outside of the Yorkshire, that doesn't contradict this. It may be though that Wallytown is in the county of Porkshire.

   His dual identity is clearly either public knowledge or at least known to the authorities, given he gets a phone call at home from Sergeant Truncheon. Of course, having a sign sitting outside your house's garden shed, completely visible to the street, declaring it to be "Captain Wally's Secret H.Q." probably didn't do much to keep it a mystery.

   Since his strip was black and white, and the only color images of him are in costume wearing a hair-covering mask, it's impossible to say for certain what color his hair is. It's clearly dark, and I suspect is probably black, but I can't rule it out being brown. Though he's weedy, he's apparently surprisingly tall. When he confronts the rampaging Hulk, he's just below the Hulk's chin height; per the 1980s handbooks, both original and deluxe, the Hulk was 7' at the time, and normally proportioned human bodies are generally around eight heads tall (and despite his immense musculature, the Hulk's still largely proportioned like a regular human), which makes Captain Wally around seven eighths of 7', or a little over 6' tall. Since he is extremely skinny, I estimated him at least 20lbs. under the minimum healthy weight for a male of that size.

   Is Captain Wally an Earth-616 character? For my money, he is. He was inspired to become a superhero after reading a newspaper report about Spider-Man's adventures, and runs into the Hulk, plus the second Macho-Man encountered literally dozens of Marvel characters, including Dr. Doom, the Red Skull, Captain Britain and the Black Knight. Of course, it might be argued that merely proves they are in one of the Marvel Multiverse or the larger Marvel Megaverse's many realities, but Lew Stringer himself notes that as far as he is concerned, their tales are "canon." I doubt Lew would have thought of this in terms of Earth-616 (since that terminology was not yet in common parlance), but that sure sounds like he means "mainstream Marvel reality." Yes, they are humor characters, but they aren't any more ridiculous than other such characters who are undeniably616 residents.

   Captain Wally was one of a number of humor strips Lew produced for Marvel UK. When this came to an end, Marvel UK editorial gave Lew back the copyright of one of those strips, Combat Colin, who appeared in Action Force (the UK title for GI Joe) and Transformers, but per Lew's blog Marvel still owns Captain Wally. Which means they can use him if they want, and since he's apparently 616 and every British hero got inducted into MI13 when the Skrulls invaded Earth, presumably Captain Wally is now a member of that group. I'm probably the only person in the world hoping to one day see him snuck into the background of a crowd scene of MI13 operatives, mixing with the likes of Motormouth and Digitek.

   Captain Wally and Snailman both debuted at a time when the long-running British Spider-Man title (launched in 1973) was being revamped in an attempt to boost flagging sales, and they joined a truly eclectic and frankly bizarre line-up: reprints of Spider-Man from the Denver Post free giveaway comics and then Spidey Super-Stories (Electric Company) stories; Star Comics' Wally the Wizard, which were retitled Willy the Wizard because allegedly they were worried UK readers might find the name Wally risible (apparently missing the irony that (a) they were including a strip called Captain Wally, and (b) Willy has its own double entendres); Fraggle Rock; and later first the Dukes of Hazzard and then Further Adventures of Indiana Jones. Weirdly, given they were humor strips, Captain Wally and Snailman proved to be more mature fair and more closely linked to the Marvel Universe than most of the other tales within the comic.

   Oink! was a IPC title that included Lew Stringer's strip Tom Thug. In Oink!#26 the title character daydreams ending up on the scraphead alongside other characters from a variety of British comic characters. While most of those depicted were from comics IPC owned, Lew also stuck in a sneaky cameo for Captain Wally. Since dreams (and hence daydreams) have been shown to depict real events in other realities, this still counts as a "proper" appearance for Captain Wally. See below for details of who is who.

   Vworp Vworp is an intermittent fan magazine for the comic strips of Marvel's Doctor Who Weekly/Monthly/Magazine - specifically the Doctor's long running strip rather than the character/show in general, or the other comics the character has appeared in. In the second issue they featured artwork done as a wedding gift to one of the magazine's editors that featured several characters alongside Doctor Who Magazine staffers. Despite the unusual context of the appearance, I chose to count this as a valid appearance for Captain Wally. Feel free to disagree. Though the image was publicly published only in 2011, it was drawn in 1986, placing the appearance after Captain Wally's run in Spider-Man Comic/Spidey Comic but before his cameo in Oink! Perhaps the presence of the Doctor, a known reality-hopper, explains the presence of so many characters from differing realities at the nuptials, and how Captain Wally subsequently ended up temporarily trapped in another reality alongside the IPC characters in Oink!

    From left to right at the wedding, we have: art director Steve Cook (handing out his business card), the Dinobot Sludge, Snailman, Captain Wally, the Decepticon leader Megatron, Spider-Man, editor Sheila Cranna, her groom/husband-to-be (sorry, don't know his name), the TARDIS, Autobot leader Optimus Prime, the Doctor's companion Peri Brown, the sixth Doctor, artist John Ridgway (behind the Doctor's arm), the Doctor's shapeshifting companion Frobisher, artist Will Simpson (riding on Optimus' shoulder), Nessie (a nod to Sheila being Scottish, and located above and behind Will Simpson), writer and artist Ian Rimmer (wearing the blue suit), Star Wars editor droid CYRIL, DWM assistant editor Penny Holme, writer and artist Richard Starkings (green suit), writer and editor John Tomlinson (in the buggy), and writer Simon Furman (pink suit).

   It is entirely possible that Lew Stringer has slipped Captain Wally into other crowd scenes in comics he has drawn and that I've overlooked. If you know of any missing appearances, please do let me know.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Captain Wally has no known connections to:


Mr and Mrs. Pratt

(Spider-Man Comic#635/4 - BTS) - Mr. and Mrs. Pratt were Walter Pratt's parents. He still stayed with them.

(Spider-Man Comic#639/4) - When Walter went out as Captain Wally to investigate reports of a flying saucer landing nearby, Mrs. Pratt gave him some pilchardcake to take with him for his lunch. 

(Spider-Man Comic#643/2) - Captain Wally's mother blindly supported her son's desire to be a superhero, but his father informed him he should get a proper job rather than prancing around in a cape all day.

(Spider-Man Comic#648/4) - When Walter returned home from a holiday in Blackpool, he declared to his parents that it was time to go back to work as Captain Wally, his statement inspiring both maternal pride and fatherly despair.

--Mr Pratt: (photo) Spider-Man Comic#635/4; (full) Spider-Man Comic#643/2  (Spider-Man Comic#648/4
--Mrs Pratt: (photo and voice off-panel)
Spider-Man Comic#635/4; (full) Spider-Man Comic#639/4  (Spider-Man Comic#643/2, 648/4


Compton Deltic

Compton Deltic was a retired train spotter who had stopped his car at Mac's Garage to refuel. Unfortunately for him, Spellmaster was lurking nearby and feeling mischievous. Compton watched in surprise as Spellmaster leapt out from behind some bushes and zapped the vehicle with his magic, changing the petrol into helium gas. As Compton stared bug-eyed, his car floated off into the sky.

 

--Spidey Comic#651/1


Sergeant Truncheon

Sergeant Truncheon was the local bobby (police officer) for Captain Wally's area. When a member of the public called in a sighting of a flying saucer landing in Wallytown Woods, Truncheon became fearful of the possibility that it would be full of dangerous alien creatures. Unwilling to risk this himself, he pondered who would be senseless enough to agree to investigate, then was struck with inspiration and phoned Captain Wally, who immediately accepted the assignment.

 

--Spider-Man Comic#639/4


Bankbuster Brothers


Powers/Abilities:The Bankbuster Brothers appeared to possess a level of superhuman strength, carrying around heavy safes with ease.

History: (The Spider-Man Comic#648/4) - As the Bankbuster Brothers fled up the street carrying stolen loot they were confronted by local hero Captain Wally, but when he tried to stop them they pummeled him with a huge hammer, then escaped while he sat crying on the ground complaining that it wasn't fair. The next day the hero again confronted them while they were exiting through a bank's smashed wall carrying the safe, and warned them to surrender or face his secret weapon. Once they had stopped laughing at him, the Bankbuster Brothers demanded to know what his so-called weapon was, boasting they could withstand anything he tried to use against them. However, when the hero produced his holiday snaps, the pair's bravado evaporated, and begging for mercy they surrendered.

Comments: Though their sibling status and names mark them as different individuals, the Bankbuster Brothers clearly share not only their profession but also their tailor with Snailman foes Ronnie Ransack and Nick Nobble.

--Spider-Man Comic#648/4


Doctor Slob

Powers/Abilities: Doctor Slob was able to consume huge quantities of food in a single gulp. His immense mass made him immovable (at least to a wimp like Captain Wally). He possessed a gun that shot an unidentified glue-like viscous liquid capable of snaring victims like flies in amber; luckily it was easy to wash off, at least before it had time to harden.

History: (The Spider-Man Comic#643/2) - Doctor Slob, the nastiest villain in the universe, resided in an underground lair in Wallytown's sewers. Venturing forth to begin a campaign of terror, he robbed a greengrocers of its entire stock of fruit and veg, but the shop owner's cries of distress brought local hero Captain Wally running. Before Captain Wally could intervene, Doctor Slob threw the stolen food into the air and gulped it down in one go, then taunted the hero that he all the evidence had been eaten. Insisting this made no difference, Captain Wally attempted to make a citizen's arrest, but the weedy hero's attempts to restrain the massive crook were utterly futile. Nevertheless angry at being touched, Doctor Slob shot the hero with his gunge pistol, coating Captain Wally with a viscous liquid.

(The Spider-Man Comic#644/2) - Leaving Captain Wally stuck in the gunge, Doctor Slob departed, stealing more food and leaving a trail of littered peels and other remains in his wake. Once freed from the gunge, Captain Wally used this detritus to track Doctor Slob to the alley where he was resting, even more immense than before now that he had gorged himself so thoroughly. Contemptuous of Captain Wally's demands that he surrender, Doctor Slob pushed the slender hero out of his path and leapt towards an open manhole, intending to escape into the sewers, but instead became stuck, his stomach's diameter now wider than the opening. Captain Wally called the police, who cut Doctor Slob free and escorted the handcuffed criminal away, his waist still belted by a ring of concrete.

--Spider-Man Comic#643/2  (Spider-Man Comic#644/2


Nasto

Powers/Abilities: Nasto possessed scientific skill sufficient to create a micro-chip implant capable of transforming a metallic building never designed to move into a mobile remote-controlled monster.

History: (The Spider-Man Comic#645/1 (fb) - BTS) - Nasto, the Spoiler of Fun, planted a remote control micro-chip on the Blackpool Tower tourist attraction, enabling himself to transform the 158 meter tall metallic example of Victorian architecture into a rampaging behemoth at the press of a button.

(The Spider-Man Comic#645/1) - Nasto then robbed a nearby bingo parlor of its prizes and ran with his ill-gotten goods down the Blackpool Promenade, until he was challenged by the hero Captain Wally. Nasto smashed Captain Wally to the ground with the weighty sack, then cackled that it was time for stage two of his shameful scheme and activated the tower, boasting it was now under his control.

(The Spider-Man Comic#646/3) - The shocked hero watched helplessly as the tower began leaping around on a rampage of destruction, and demanded to know how Nasto had achieved this. The villain boasted about his ingenious micro-chip implant, then escaped as a stunned Captain Wally struggled to come to terms with what was happening.

(The Spider-Man Comic#647/3) - However, Captain Wally managed to halt the tower's rampage using a plate of oysters, then pursued Nasto, taking him down by throwing the vanilla ice cream cone in his face.

--Spider-Man Comic#645/1  (Spider-Man Comic#646/3, 647/3


Spellmaster

Powers/Abilities: Spellmaster could cast spells merely by pointing his finger, allowing him to transform compound hydrocarbons into elements, people into trees, control the weather, fly, or just simply blast someone with lightning. His transformations wore off after an unspecified but relatively brief amount of time.

History: (Spidey Comic#651/1) - Feeling mischievous, Spellmaster used his sorcery to transform the petrol inside retired trainspotter Compton Deltic's car into helium, causing the vehicle to float away into the sky. When Captain Wally then confronted Spellmaster, demanding he return the vehicle, Spellmaster transformed him into a tree and departed.

(Spidey Comic#652/2) - Spellmaster next amused himself by targeting people waiting at a bus stop, deluging them with rain and striking them with lightning. This turned into literally bucketing down (as in metal buckets falling from the sky), which attracted the attention of a recovered Captain Wally. Seeing the hero running towards him, Spellmaster created a torrential downpour directly over Captain Wally and escaped once more.

(Spidey Comic#653/4) - A week later Spellmaster disrupted a football (soccer) match by transforming the ball into a Christmas pudding just before the players kicked it. Trying once more to stop the renegade wizard, Captain Wally intervened and brandished a copy of the Sun newspaper at his foe, who though confused by this action, immediately zapped him. Swiftly recovering, Captain Wally derided his opponent's name choice, betting the self-named Spellmaster that he couldn't even spell chrysanthemum. Perturbed by the challenge, Spellmaster tried to prove Captain Wally wrong, but began to stumble over the letters, and with his concentration elsewhere, Captain Wally seized the opportunity and smashed Spellmaster with a large mallet. As a sulking Spellmaster was taken into custody, Captain Wally informed his beaten foe that it was time for a spell behind bars.

--Spidey Comic#651/1  (Spidey Comic#652/2, 653/4


Whatsit from Planet X

Powers/Abilities: The Whatsit was strong enough to pick up an admittedly weedy full grown human with ease, and possessed lengthy arms ending in clawed hands, and a massive mouth big enough to swallow a person whole.

History: (Spider-Man Comic#640/4 (fb) - BTS) - The Whatsit from Planet X was a space tourist who visited planets to take photos and snack on a few of the locals.

(Spider-Man Comic#639/4 - BTS) - The Whatsit landed his flying saucer in Wallytown Woods on Earth, and ventured out to look around.

(Spider-Man Comic#639/4) - Noticing local would-be superhero Captain Wally entering his craft's open hatch, the Whatsit came up behind the intruder unawares.

(Spider-Man Comic#640/4) - The Whatsit greeted Captain Wally with a warm "Hello," but the hero fled in terror. Easily catching up with Captain Wally, the Whatsit jumped out from behind a tree shouting "Surprise!" Gathering his courage, Captain Wally warned the Whatsit to back off, but the Whatsit calmed him down by explaining he was merely a tourist visiting to take a few photos, and would soon be on his way. Hearing this, a more relaxed Captain Wally tried to guess what the Whatsit might want to eat, but fell wide of the mark, even failing to get the hint when the Whatsit stated it fancied something "meatier." Declaring his intention to devour the human, the Whatsit grabbed him and opened wide his massive jaws.

(Spider-Man Comic#641/4) - Before the Whatsit placed Captain Wally into its mouth, it caught a whiff of something disgusting, and dumped its captive on the ground in horror as it recognized he was carrying pilchardcake, the one thing the inhabitants of Planet X had no defense against. Seizing his chance, Captain Wally taunted waved the cake at the now terrified Whatsit, who begged him to keep it away and then fled for its spaceship and took off immediately to return to Planet X.

Comments: The Whatsit is only named in the strip title, and within the actual story neither provides his name nor is given one by Captain Wally.

-- (right hand only) Spider-Man Comic#639/4; (full) Spider-Man Comic#640/4  (Spider-Man Comic#641/4


Old British comics


The Lion was published by Amalgamated Press, later bought out by IPC, from 23rd February 1952 until 18th May 1974, a run of over 1100 issues. It ultimately merged into another IPC comic, Valiant.

Smash! was published by Odhams Press, later bought out by IPC, between 5th February 1966 and 3rd April 1971, a total of 257 issues. During the period Odhams published it, the comic was part of the "Power Pack" group of titles which were among the earliest titles to reprint American Marvel stories; in Smash!'s case the reprints were Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and Daredevil. It even printed the first UK originated Marvel story. Like Lion, it eventually merged into Valiant.

Valiant was published by IPC from 29th September 1962 until 16th October 1976, a total of 730 issues. It merged into Battle Picture Weekly.

--Oink!#26


Bad Penny

Youthful hellion Bad Penny became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

Comments: Created by Leo Baxendale, Bad Penny debuted in Smash!#1 (15th February 1966) and lasted its entire run, concluding in the 3rd April 1971 issue (unnumbered, as IPC dropped numbering the issues when they took over the title from original publisher Odhams). Penny vanished into relative obscurity thereafter, bar cameos like the one in Oink!#26, but returned as an adult, Penny Dolmann, in Wildstorm's Albion, notable for Appendix purposes mainly because it included a cameo of Marvel character Android Andy (himself a homage to Robot Archie - see below). Rebellion, the publisher that bought former IPC title 2000AD back in the 1990s, more recently purchased IPC and Fleetway's back catalogue of characters, and Penny has thus made a couple more recent return appearances in stories again drawn by Lew Stringer.

--Oink!#26


Captain Hurricane

Super strong British marine Captain Hercules Hurricane became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

Comments: Created by R. Charles Roylace, Captain Hurricane debuted in Valiant#1 (6th October 1962). Like Bad Penny he turned up in Albion, giving him the same tangential Android Andy link to Marvel's multiverse, but he's got a possible Marvel multiverse counterpart in Earth-238's Hulk.

--Oink!#26


The Cloak

Mysterious superhero/secret agent the Cloak became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

Comments: Created by Mike Higgs, he debuted as "the Shudder" in a fanzine before becoming the Cloak for his professional debut in Odham's Pow!#18 (20th May 1967), where he appeared alongside reprints of Spider-Man and Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD. Like Bad Penny he turned up in Albion, giving him the same tangential Android Andy link to Marvel's multiverse, but that's not his only loose tie to Marvel's characters, as the image on the right shows.

--Oink!#26


Dan Dare

Adventurous space pilot Dan Dare became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

Comments: Created by Frank Hampson, Dan Dare debuted in The Eagle#1 (14th February 1950), and continued to appear throughout its entire 19 year run, though he did switch into reprints in the final couple of years. He's returned a number of times since. His other Marvel connections include sharing later issues of the original Eagle title with reprints of The Mighty Thor, turning up in The Comic Relief Comic to take part in a "biggest chin" competition alongside Captain Britain and then team up with the Doctor, and having a possible counterpart among the last heroes of Earth-238, Roy Risk.

--Oink!#26


Dash Decent

Inept space hero Dash Decent became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

 

Comments: Created by Dave Angus and Kevin O'Neill, Dash Decent was a parody of Flash Gordon, riffing on the then-recent cinematic movie having recently come out. He debuted in 2000AD#178 and appeared through to 2000AD#198, skipping #180, with one additional story in the 2000AD Annual 1982, and cameos on a poster in 2000AD#200 and a crowd scene in #500. One of the title's shortest featured lead characters, I think his cameo in Oink! alongside Captain Wally is the closest encounter he's had with any aspect of the Marvel multiverse, though it's not impossible I've overlooked a sneaky cameo in any one of the multitude of titles Kevin O'Neill has drawn.

 

--Oink!#26


Deadly Headley

Vampire detective Deadly Headley became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

Comments: Created by Mark Rodgers and Martin Baxendale, Deadly Headley debuted in Buster on the unnumbered issue cover dated 18th April 1981. He appeared there until 28th May 1983, thereafter dropping out of sight bar cameos such as the one in Oink! until Rebellion bought the rights to him as part of the IPC stable of characters; since then he's had a few new strips as part of their Treasury of Comics line. To the best of my knowledge the Oink! cameo alongside Captain Wally is the closest he's come to interacting with Marvel characters.

--Oink!#26


Deed-a-Day Danny

Well-intentioned boy scout "Deed-a-Day" Danny became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

Comments: Created by Hugh McNeill, Deed-a-Day Danny debuted in Knockout#1 on 4th March 1939 and ran until 1954. Danny was a boy scout forever attempting to do good deeds that spectacularly backfired on him while still working out for those he was trying to assist. To the best of my knowledge the Oink! cameo alongside Captain Wally is the closest he's come to interacting with Marvel characters.

--Oink!#26


Eagle-Eye, Junior Spy

Pre-teen secret agent and crimefighter Eagle-Eye became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

Comments: Created by Leo Baxendale, Eagle-Eye debuted in Wham!#1 (20th June 1964); one of Odhams Power Pack titles, he began sharing the pages with Marvel characters when reprints of the Fantastic Four started in Wham!#112 (6th August 1966). His only other connection to the Marvel multiverse that I am aware of is via Earth-238's Android Andy's appearance in Wildstorm's Albion, which also features a grown up Eagle-Eye, now known as Warden Eagleton and running a prison for superheroes.

--Oink!#26


Frankie Stein

Good-hearted monster Frankie Stein became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

Comments: Created by Ken Reid, Frankie Stein debuted in Wham!#4 (11th July 1964). One of Wham!'s more enduring characters, he was revived for several subsequent titles including Shiver and Shake, Whoopee! and Monster Fun through the 1970s and more recently returned after Rebellion bought the rights to him. Like Eagle-Eye above, he briefly shared his original title with reprints of the Fantastic Four, but otherwise has to the best of my knowledge come no closer to interacting with Marvel characters than the Oink! cameo alongside Captain Wally.

--Oink!#26


Grimly Feendish

Criminal mastermind Grimly Feendish became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

Comments: Created by Leo Baxendale, the "Rottenist Crook in the World" Grimly Feendish debuted as the main villain in Eagle-Eye's strip in Wham!#1 (20th June 1964), but proved more popular than the strip's lead and so graduated to his own series in Smash!#1 (5th February 1966). Like other characters on this page's subprofiles, he turned up in Wildstorm's Albion, thus providing him a tenuous link to the Marvel multiverse via Android Andy; other than that, his Oink! cameo alongside Captain Wally remains his only interaction with Marvel characters to the best of my knowledge.

--Oink!#26


Gus Gorilla

Sentient simian Gus Gorilla became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

  

Comments: Created by Mike Lacey, Gus Gorilla was the cover star of Cor!!, debuting in the first issue cover dated 6th June 1970. His Oink! cameo marks his only interaction with Marvel characters that I am aware of.

--Oink!#26


Harris Tweed

Pompous and incompetent spy Harris Tweed became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

 

Comments: Created by John Ryan, Harris Tweed debuted in Eagle#16 (28th July 1950), his strip replacing Ryan's previous series, Captain Pugwash. Like many subprofiles here, his cameo in Oink! marks his only known interaction with a Marvel character. .

--Oink!#26


Jimmy Jolly's Magic Brolly

The magic umbrella belonging to young Jimmy Jolly became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

 

Comments: Created by H.E. Pease, Jimmy Jolly and his magical, reality-altering umbrella, debuted in Jingles in 1947. Like many subprofiles here, his cameo in Oink! marks his only known interaction with a Marvel character.

--Oink!#26


Marmy and his Ma

The quick witted Marmaduke and his mother became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

 

Comments: Created by Freddie Crompton, the strip began as Marmaduke and his Ma in 1922's story paper Funny Wonder, before the name was shortened to Marmy and his Ma. They continued to appear in a variety of titles right through into the 1950s. Like many subprofiles here, their cameo in Oink! marks their only known interaction with a Marvel character.

--Oink!#26


Mowser

Food-obsessed feline Mowser became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

 

Comments: Created by Reg Parlett for the comic Lion, Mowser was the pet cat of Lord and Lady Crummy, and resided at Crummy Castle, where he was always in conflict with his arch enemy, the butler James. His strip began on 8th February 1964 and ran, with the occasional week off, until 18th May 1974, with an additional couple of years of reprints thereafter. Like many subprofiles here, his cameo in Oink! marks his only known interaction with a Marvel character.

--Oink!#26


Robot Archie

Robotic superhero Robot Archie became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

Comments: Created by Edward George "Ted" Cowan and Ted Kearnon, Robot Archie debuted in Lion#1 (23rd February 1952). One of the title's most enduring characters, his strip ran for 17 out of the title's 22 year run. While it was common for humor strip characters to cross over with one another, adventure strip characters such as Archie did so very rarely; Archie was one of the few exceptions to this, taking on the Spider and the Sludge, and he continued to do so once Lion was cancelled. As with a few others in these sub-profiles, he had an Earth-238 counterpart, Android Andy, but his connection is closer than most, since they were seen stored together in the workshop full of defunct robots in Wildstorm's Albion miniseries. He's also turned up several times in 2000AD, most notably as a main character in the superhero strip Zenith, but also in a few cameos, including one alongside Marshal Law, a loose Marvel connection since Law was once published by the Epic imprint. He was a major player in Wildstorm's Albion miniseries, and since Rebellion bought the rights to him a few years ago he's had a few minor appearances in their Vigilant series. .

--Oink!#26


Shrimp

The pet cat of the Tiddleywink family, Shrimp became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

Comments: Created by Leonard Shields or Roy Wilson for Jingles#1 (13th January 1934). Full disclosure - he may be called Salmon rather than Shrimp; the only readable panels of the strip I've been able to find have him and the family's pet dog both in panel and being collectively called "Salmon and Shrimp" without being totally clear which is which. I'm ASSuming here that since the cat is the smaller of the two, he's more likely to be Shrimp, but it could be the other way round (with the feline being named after his favorite food and the canine being called Shrimp because he's a relatively small dog, for example). Like many subprofiles here, his cameo in Oink! marks his only known interaction with a Marvel character.

--Oink!#26


Steel Claw

The metal prosthetic of invisible adventurer Louis Crandell, a.k.a. the Steel Claw, became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

Comments: Created by Jack LeGrand, Ken Mennell and Sid Bicknell, the Steel Claw debuted in Valiant#1 (6th October 1962). He had an Earth-238 counterpart, the Iron Tallon, whose sub-profile also provides a little more background on the original character. Like other characters on this page's subprofiles, he turned up in Wildstorm's Albion, thus providing him another (if tenuous) link to the Marvel multiverse via Android Andy. When Quality Comics reprinted some of the Steel Claw's adventures for the American markets, they added a few new pages alongside the reprints and changed his name to Lewis Randall, thus effectively creating an alternative reality version of the character; this provides him with another very loose Marvel connection, since the new pages Quality added established him as being in the same universe as a version of Big Ben, who in turn has a Marvel megaverse counterpart. 

--Oink!#26


Tiger Tim

Mischievous anthropomorphic feline Tiger Tim became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

Comments: Created by Julius Stafford, Tiger Tim debuted as one of the Bruin Boys (kindergarten aged anthropomorphic animals) in The Daily Illustrated Mirror newspaper's comics section on 16th April 1904, as part of the strip Mrs. Hippo's Kindergarten. He went on to become the star of the group and eventually moved to his own comic titles. With his stories continuing until 1985, he remains fondly remembered by British creators, and both Alan Moore and Bryan Talbot have given him cameos, in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol.2 and Grandville respectively. However, apart from his cameo alongside Captain Wally in Oink!, I'm not aware of any other interactions with Marvel characters.

--Oink!#26


Tom Thug

 Incompetent bully Tom Thug (dreamed he) became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

 

Comments: Created by Lew Stringer, Tom Thug debuted in Oink!#1 (3rd May 1986). Like many subprofiles here, his meeting Captain Wally in Oink! marks his only known interaction with a Marvel character.

--Oink!#26


Weary Willie and Tired Tim

Tramp friends Weary Willie and Tired Tim became trapped in a limbo for forgotten comic characters, stuck with many other individuals including Captain Wally.

Comments: Initially known as Weary Waddles and Tired Timmy, Weary Willie and Tired Tim were created by Tom Browne for Illustrated Chips#298 on 6th May 1896 (!), and enjoyed an impressive 57 year run which came to an end only when Illustrated Chips was cancelled and merged into Film Fun in 1954. They were among the earliest comic strip characters to make it into film, with the now-lost 1903 comedy Weary Willie and Tired Tim: The Gunpowder Plot, and were one of the inspirations for Charlie Chaplin's "Little Tramp" character. Like many subprofiles here, their cameo in Oink! marks their only known interaction with a Marvel character.

--Oink!#26


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