Personal DataThe Tornado Tyrant of Rann; later the Tornado Champion; later John Smith Residence: Unknown city on Earth-2; later unknown city on Earth-1 |
The being that was to become Red Tornado was actually formed on the planet Rann in the Earth-1 universe. This being confronted Rann's adopted champion, Adam Strange, and was defeated (Mystery In Space #61). Following that defeat, the being contemplated the nature of good and evil and decided that good was the superior force. When the Justice League of America defeated Kanjar Ro on Rann in an early case (Mystery In Space #75), the tornado being decided to reshape itself in the form the super-hero team. Finding a suitable home world, the hero reshaped itself into replicas of the JLA members it had observed. Unfortunately, the tornado creature was possessed of a dual nature: an evil side and a good side. The good side called itself the Tornado Champion; the evil side, the Tornado Tyrant. Confronting the Tyrant in its JLA form, the Tornado Champion was easily defeated. Disheartened, the Tornado Champion lured to the Tyrant to Earth-1, where the Tyrant was defeated by the real JLA (Justice League of America #17). The Tornado Champion decided that there was little satisfaction in being an imitation, and journeyed to Earth-2 in an attempt to find new identity. The Tornado Champion came upon the criminal T. O. Morrow, who was creating an android with which to infiltrate and defeat the Justice Society of America. Learning that the android was named "Red Tornado" for a fringe character from the 1940s, the Tornado Champion decided to assume control of the robotic form. The merging had an unexpected side effect, however: the Tornado Champion's memory was erased. Red Tornado then seemed to be a new life-form.
Believing itself to be the original JSA associate, Red Tornado visited JSA headquarters and announced its return to active duty. The JSA, not recognizing the android, was incredulous but allowed the Tornado to accompany them to defeat a theft at a nearby museum. Through a series of mishaps choreographed by Morrow, Red Tornado seemingly killed the JSA members. Red Tornado then tracked Morrow to his lair and seemingly defeated him. When the remaining JSAers arrived to investigate, a booby-trapped weapon felled them all. Morrow then traveled to Earth-1, where he defeated the JLA as he had the JSA before them. Red Tornado, recovered from his previous injuries, followed Morrow and revived the JLA. The JLA and the android then defeated Morrow, uncovering a method to revive the JSA back on Earth-2. Morrow confessed that Red Tornado was his android construct, but the JSA still admitted him as a member in good standing (Justice League of America #64-65).
When the mad Star-God Aquarius attacked Earth-2, many JSA members were captured and sealed in a magical bubble as Aquarius phased Earth-2 out of existence. Red Tornado escaped, reaching Earth-1 and contacting the JLA (Justice League of America #72). The JLA disregarded the android to tend to their own affairs, ultimately hearing him out two weeks later. When they realized the JSA's dilemma, the JLA members quickly journeyed to the Earth-2 universe, defeating Aquarius and returning Earth-2 to normal (Justice League of America #73-74).
Red Tornado often felt he was an outsider in the JSA, and that he was not appreciated as a sentient, independent organism. When he stumbled across the Creators monitoring Earth-2, he sought to impress his colleagues by defeating the aliens single-handedly. Instead, Red Tornado was captured and used as a conduit to bring Earth-1 and Earth-2 together. The JSA defeated the Creators and rescued Red Tornado; however, his easy defeat and manipulation left Red Tornado more dejected than ever (Justice League of America #82-83).
During the 100th meeting of the Justice League of America, the JLA was summoned to Earth-2 to assist the JSA in defeating the Iron Hand, a sworn foe of the Seven Soldiers of Victory. The Iron Hand had created an orbiting weapon, shaped like a hand, that threatened Earth-2. Doctor Fate summoned a being known as the Oracle, who informed them of the Iron Hand's last defeat, which cost the life of one of the Seven Soldiers of Victory. The JLA and JSA split into teams and rescued the members of the SSV, who had been scattered throughout time, and with their help created a weapon that would destroy the Iron Hand's device. The delivery of the device to its necessary location was a suicide mission, one which Red Tornado secretly took while the other heroes were engaged in dealing with the Iron Hand and debating over who would go. In the resulting explosion, Red Tornado was believed to be destroyed (Justice League of America #100-102). Red Tornado survived, however, and was catapulted to the Earth-1 universe, where he ultimately he became a member of the Justice League of America (Justice League of America #106).
Note: Red Tornado's entry ends here, with the end of his JSA membership.
Red Tornado's true form was a powerful entity composed purely of violent wind forces. His android form channeled these forces through his arms and legs to produce bursts of cyclone-force winds and high speed forward velocity. On occasion, Red Tornado used his high-velocity movement to render himself invisible to unaided human vision.
The limits of Red Tornado's true form are unknown. His android body is extremely resilient but not indestructible.
Note: Reflecting his entry, the Red Tornado's appearances here are limited to his appearances as a member of the JSA.