Toyman

Toyman
Real name:	Winslow P. Schott Jr.
Species:	Human
Relatives:	Winslow P. Schott (father)
Base:	Metropolis
Affiliations:	Legion of Doom Superman Revenge Squad
Rogue of:	Superman Static Justice League
Abilities:	Genius inventor
Weaponry:	Deadly toys
Voiced by:	Bud Cort Corey Burton

"A childhood is a terrible thing to lose, Miss Lane, but I'm getting mine back... with a vengeance."

Toyman, also known as Winslow Jr., was an adversary of Superman that used deadly toys and gimmicks. His face was never revealed.

History

His father, Winslow Schott, was a kindly toymaker, who dreamed of building a magnificent toy factory. Bruno Mannheim approached Schott and offered to finance the factory, which he accepted. However, the factory became the front for a numbers racket. After the racket was exposed, Schott was arrested and imprisoned, while Mannheim was suspected, but never charged with a crime. Schott later died in prison.

Winslow Jr was left on his own and spent several years in foster homes. When he reached adulthood, Winslow Jr. had become obsessed with "reclaiming" his lost childhood, so he created a childlike persona for himself. He inherited his father's mechanical talent (or may have been an apprentice toymaker to his father prior to the imprisonment), but the "toys" he created were also sophisticated and deadly weapons.

Toyman explains his childhood.

Toyman's first appeared in Metropolis seeking vengeance against Mannheim, who had ruined his and his father's lives. When Lois Lane wrote an unflattering description of him in an article about mysterious attacks on Mannheim, Toyman kidnapped her and explained his story to her, wanting her to bear witness when he executed Mannheim. Superman appeared and saved them both, but Toyman escaped in the explosion that destroyed his hideout.

At some point, Toyman created a sophisticated android named Darci to be his companion. She runs away with Toyman later apprehending her, but she destroys the helicopter they are riding in.

Darci self-destructs after betraying Toyman again.

Afterward, she ran away to Dakota, with Toyman once again in pursuit. This time however, Toyman promised to give Darci a new body of her choosing, and she chose Static's friend Daisy. Only now, he had implanted a fail-safe which prevented Darci from harming him. After Superman and Static confronted Toyman, she betrayed Toyman, but the fail-safe caused her to self-destruct. Her body melted and Toyman was taken to jail.

Toyman later became a member of the Superman Revenge Squad and created a giant robot equipped with a disintegrator beam that had the unexpected effect of sending Superman into the future. In a rage, Wonder Woman nearly killed Toyman, but the Flash managed to stop her.

Toyman later joined the Legion of Doom, controlled first by Grodd and later by Lex Luthor. When Grodd escaped his bonds and incited a mutiny against Luthor, Toyman decided to side with Luthor. He spent most of the battle hiding, but he managed to defeat Killer Frost when she attacked him. He helped Luthor operate the machine built to resurrect Brainiac, and later joined both the Legion and the Justice League in helping to repel Darkseid's invasion of Earth. He was one of the surviving Legion members allowed a five-minute head start by Batman, and was last seen fleeing the Metro Tower.

Powers and abilities

Toyman possessed incredible technological expertise and inventiveness, specialized in robotics and shown expertise in biological weaponry. Despite the childish motif which he usually insists on incorporating, his creations were incredibly sophisticated and deadly. His toys were usually powerful enough to give him an edge in almost any form of personal combat. Most of his inventions had an innocuous or even comical appearance that causes his opponents hesitation or confusion, often to their regret.

Though he is slight of stature and physically unprepossessing, Toyman's creepy voice and perpetual 'smile' give him a psychological edge over his opponents.

Background information

• In DC Comics, Toyman has been a name borne by three people: the original (Winslow Schott), a second one in the seventies (Jack Nimball) and the morally ambiguous technological genius Hiro Okamura. Though the DCAU version is named Winslow Schott, his origin and appearance is greatly different. In the comics, Schott was a British toymaker who was fired due to LexCorp interference and sought revenge. In Action Comics #837, a robot, later revealed to be made by Schott, appears resembling the DCAU version of the character.

• In the Justice League Unlimited episode Alive!, Toyman is one of the 13 surviving members of the Legion of Doom. This could be a tribute to the fact that a Toyman based on the Jack Nimball version was a member of the original Legion in the Hanna-Barbera TV show Challenge of the Super Friends.

• Toyman's design in the DCAU was based on puppet dolls that were fairly common in the 1940's to the 1970's, including the ventriloquist dummy Jerry Mahoney, created by ventriloquist Paul Winchell.

• Andrea Romano had been a huge fan of Bud Cort's performance in the 1971 film Harold and Maude, and stated she was overjoyed at the chance to work with him, remarking that he had the perfect voice for Toyman.

Appearances

Superman: The Animated Series

• "Fun and Games"
• "Action Figures" ^(Cameo)
• "Obsession"

Static Shock

• "Toys in the Hood"

Justice League

• "Hereafter, Part I"
• "Hereafter, Part II" ^{(Mentioned Only)}

Justice League Unlimited

• "I Am Legion" ^(Cameo)
• "To Another Shore" ^{(Cameo in flashback)}
• "The Great Brain Robbery" ^(Cameo)
• "Alive!"
• "Destroyer" ^(Cameo)