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Space Cabbie

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Space Cabbie
Space Cabbie, art by Ernie Chan
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceMystery in Space #21 (August 1954)
Created byOtto Binder (writer)
Howard Sherman (artist)
In-story information
Notable aliasesSpace Cabby
AbilitiesExpert driver.

Space Cabbie (also spelled Space Cabby) is a science fiction character in DC Comics.

Publication history

Space Cabbie first appeared in Mystery in Space #21 (August 1954) in a story scripted by Otto Binder and drawn by Howard Sherman. The character reappeared in issue #24, in the story "The Hitchhiker of Space", written by France Herron and again drawn by Sherman, and thereafter became a recurring series in Mystery in Space, the only such in the book for the whole time that the series was being first printed. Besides Binder, Gardner Fox would write many appearances, and artwork was handled by Gil Kane and Bernard Sachs. The Cabbie's monthly series continued to 1958 with Mystery in Space #47; the character's last appearance as a lead feature would be in August 1972 in From Beyond the Unknown #18, a reprint of "The Hitchhiker of Space." His last solo appearance in a comic book was in DC Super Stars #6 which was published in August 1976. It was a reprint of a story called "The Luxury Limousine of Space". Otto Binder wrote that story as well.

Space Cabbie has since then made occasional guest appearances in other comics, such as Starman, and DC Comics Presents #78. He was mentioned in one issue of the "New 52" series Threshold, about a bounty/game in space. [1], and later made several appearances in the series Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps as an underworld informant of the Green Lantern Guy Gardner.

Fictional character biography

Space Cabbie lives in the mid 22nd century, driving for 9-Planet Taxi. As a child, he grew up among the military tyrants of Ghengkis VII. He showed an aptitude for stellar navigation. During the 'Bored Wars' of 2146, he was a fighter pilot. He took jobs as a laborer and a pilot for hire. He eventually took up driving cab #7433. He is a member of the 'Cosmic Order Of Space Cab Pilots' and 'Veterans Of Alien Wars'.

His first appearance is as a narrator, telling tales to his fares.[2] Over the next handful of issues, he has his cab stolen, meets his exact double and has to deal with a mail bomb. His adventures dominate the title Mystery In Space. The series ends with #47, where he has to deal with three doubles.[3]

He is seen conversing about space exploration to a friend.[4] He is briefly seen in the round-robin Challenge limited series.[5]

At one point, he and his cab are co-opted by Lobo to chase down a gang of space bikers. Lobo leaves Space Cabbie, who is charged with reckless driving, murder, and other crimes. On the way to prison, Lobo saves him and returns his cab. The discrepancy of a modern-age character appearing with a 'future' one is explained when Space Cabbie mentions on the witness stand that he took a day job in the present to help make ends meet.[6]

Space Cabbie plays host to two passengers talking about the legacy of 'Starman', a name given to multiple heroes over many decades.[7]

He has a brief cameo when Timothy Hunter takes a magical trip into the future.[8] He makes another cameo in the time-torn plot of JLA: The Nail.[9]

He assists Superman, who is ill, across the time stream itself. Both come under weapons fire.[10]

He gains a reputation for being able to take anyone anywhere in the universe.[11]

And older version with an artificial leg is seen assisting the Green Lantern Corps with vital intelligence information. [12]

Other appearances

In other media

Television

  • Space Cabbie appears in the Justice League Action episode "Follow That Space Cab!", voiced by Patton Oswalt.[14] This version exists in the present and is shown to keep photos of him and important characters that he has transported to different parts of the universe in one of his visors. In the episode, he assists Superman and Hawkman with transporting Mr. Mind to the Justice League Watchtower while avoiding Lobo who plans to take Mr. Mind to collect the bounty. Afterwards, he gets a selfie with Superman and Hawkman. In the episode "All Aboard the Space Train," Batman and Cyborg hire him to help deal with Kanjar Ro when he and his minions hijack a space train. Under Batman and Cyborg's suggestion, Space Cabbie frees Jonah Hex from ice and the two of them work together to defeat Kanjar Ro. In the episode "The Fatal Fare," Space Cabbie's taxicab is in bad shape as he sees a commercial for Roxy Rocket's transportation service. He gets a client in the form of Darkseid where he takes him to one of the moons of the planet and gets paid in Omega Coins. While trying to get Darkseid his receipt, he stumbles upon Darkseid, Desaad, and Kanto torturing Superman on the virus he used on the Mother Box. After tricking Kanto into letting him take him to Earth instead of an acid lake planet, Space Cabbie enlists Hawkman and Swamp Thing into rescuing Superman. After Superman sends Darkseid to the acid-lake planet Schlough, Space Cabbie's robot Jack is unable to repair Space Cabbie's taxicab causing Jack to call Roxy Rocket to give them a ride. Before taking off, Roxy advises Space Cabbie that she'll have to stop at Schlough first meaning that Darkseid had called for her services. In the episode "Boo-ray for Bizarro," Bizarro brings Space Cabbie to the Justice League Watchtower during Amazo's attack where Bizarro considers Space Cabbie to be the "smartest man in the galaxy." As Bizarro fights Amazo, Space Cabbie struggles to free the captive Justice League members so that they can cancel the message that would lure the other Justice League members into a trap. In "Barehanded," he helps Hal Jordan recover his Green Lantern Ring after he was using the restroom. He later helps him recover it, after he leaves Cabbie's new GPS Navigation appears to know Green Lantern and reveals she's a disembodied artificial intelligence with no memory of her origin. Cabbie then watches the A.I. takeoff, searching for someone or something.

References

  1. ^ "Threshold" #8 (October 2013)
  2. ^ Mystery in Space (vol. 1) #21 (September 1954)
  3. ^ Mystery in Space (vol. 1) #47 (October 1958)
  4. ^ DC Comics Presents (vol. 1) #78 (February 1985)
  5. ^ DC Challenge #7-8 (May-June 1986)
  6. ^ Lobo (vol. 2) #21 (November 1995)
  7. ^ Starman (vol. 2) #55 (July 1999)
  8. ^ Books Of Magic (vol. 1) (1991)
  9. ^ JLA: The Nail #3 (October 1998)
  10. ^ Justice League Unlimited #18 (April 2006)
  11. ^ Ambush Bug: Year None #1 (September 2008)
  12. ^ Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #15-17 (2016)
  13. ^ All-New Batman: The Brave and The Bold #16 (April 2012)
  14. ^ Ken Jeong and Hannibal Buress join Justice League Action
  • The DC Comics Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley Limited. 2004. p. 279. ISBN 0-7566-0592-X.
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