Onomatopoeia

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Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia, from the cover to Green Arrow #13. Art by Matt Wagner.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Green Arrow #12 (March 2002)
Created by	Kevin Smith Phil Hester
In-story information
Alter ego	Onomatopoeia
Team affiliations	Secret Society of Super Villains
Abilities	Skilled martial artist Trained with handguns and knives Possibly superhuman endurance/resistance to harm

Onomatopoeia is a DC Comics supervillain who has faced Green Arrow and Batman. He first appeared in Green Arrow #12 (March 2002). He was created by Kevin Smith and Phil Hester. IGN's Daniel Crown called him "one of the coolest new villains of the decade".^[1]

Publication history

Kevin Smith discussed the character in a 2007 interview:

“

When I did Green Arrow, I went with Onomatopoeia for a villain, just because I loved that word, and it kind of formed the character inasmuch as he would say sounds out loud. It only kind of works – I think – on a comic book page because if you have a gun going off, they usually write BLAM! and then you can have, you know, the character saying “BLAM!” in a word balloon, but like if you tried to do that cinematically you can’t really rock it. A gun in a film sounds completely different. It doesn’t read as BLAM! and so to have a dude say BLAM! after a true gunshot, all these people would be like ‘he’s just retarded’. I think it works great in print and on a comic book page. I don’t think that character would translate very well outside of that.[2]

”

Fictional character biography

No personal characteristics are known about Onomatopoeia, including his real name or facial features. When his face was once partially uncovered it was seen that he is a caucasian male but that is the extent of the knowledge of him. He also apparently has a secret identity, as revealed in the three part Batman miniseries Cacophony. Its here we discover he has a wife and two children who are unaware of his dual life.

Onomatopoeia is a serial killer who targets non-powered, vigilante superheroes. He earned his name because he imitates noises around him, such as dripping taps, gunshots etc. It seems that he may be able to perfectly imitate these sounds but that has been left ambiguous. He once stated his nickname to one of his victims after he shot and killed her. This was the only time he has been seen speaking normally. He invariably carries two semiautomatic handguns, a sniper rifle (which may or may not carry live ammo along with tranquilizer darts), an army knife, and is a skilled unarmed combatant. His usual outfit consists of black gloves, pants, and shirt, with a long black trench coat and a full, black hood decorated by concentric white circles. He collects the masks of heroes he kills, keeping them in a trophy case in his secret identity's house.

One of his notable targets was Connor Hawke, the second Green Arrow. He shoots Connor, who is saved by his father Oliver Queen (the first and original Green Arrow). While Connor is being operated on in the hospital, Onomatopoeia returns to finish the job. He kills several doctors in the operating room but is stopped by Queen and Black Canary. Queen holds the villain at bay with an arrow ready to fire at extreme close range. The stand off lasts for sometime, until the surviving doctor stabilizes Connor. Nevertheless, Onomatopoeia manages to escape.

He is later recruited by the Secret Society of Supervillains, as part of an army that is sent to conquer the city of Metropolis in the "Infinite Crisis" limited series. A superhero army, backed up by the National Guard, successfully opposes the Society. Onomatopoeia is seen being punched in the face by the 'Odd Man', a costumed, un-powered vigilante, exactly the type the villain has slain before.

It remains uncertain whether or not Onomatopoeia is a metahuman, however in his encounter with Green Arrow, he took six arrows without stopping. He took two to one shoulder, one to the other, one in between the first and middle knuckles of his right hand, one through his right foot, one through the palm of his right hand, none of which slowed him or even impaired his manual dexterity (this differs from his fight with Batman however, as he showed a great amount of pain after having his wrist broken by Batman). After being shot, he took a seven story drop off the roof of the Star City hospital still managed to run away before Green Arrow could find him.

Appearance in Batman

The character returned in the November 2008 three-issue miniseries Batman: Cacophony ^[3] which was written by Smith and pencilled by friend Walt Flanagan.^[4]

Onomatopoeia has freed the Joker and given him money to finance a gang war against Maxie Zeus. Eventually he and Batman did fight, resulting in Onomatopoeia's defeat. He escaped capture however by mortally wounding the Joker, forcing Batman to choose between the Joker's life and his capture. The end of the third issue reveals that the masked killer has a secret, seemingly normal life as a loving husband and the father of two children. His family is not aware of his murderous activities and he explains his occasional injuries as the result of sporting activities such as tennis, polo, and hunting. He keeps momentos of his victories in a hidden place behind a bookcase, saving a case each for Batman and Green Arrow.

Powers and abilities

Onomatopoeia is a superb athlete, martial artist and weapons expert. He carries two semiautomatic handguns, a sniper rifle and an army knife. He appears to be quite intelligent, having orchestrated the Joker's escape to draw out Batman, as well as avoiding capture by giving the Joker a near-fatal wound, causing Batman to be distracted. It has also been speculated that he might possess superhuman endurance and/or healing abilities explaining how he survives otherwise fatal injuries.

References