Comic book series
Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! is a DC Comics series about a team of talking animal superheroes called the Zoo Crew. The characters first appeared in a 16-page special insert in The New Teen Titans #16 (February 1982),[1] followed by a series published from 1982 to 1983.[2] The Zoo Crew characters were created by Roy Thomas and Scott Shaw[3] Although the series, which was the last original funny animal property to be created by DC Comics, proved short-lived, it is still fondly remembered by many comic fans of its generation,[4] and the characters appear occasionally in cameos in the mainstream DC Universe (this is made possible due to the existence of a "multiverse" in the DCU, which allows the Zoo Crew characters to exist on a parallel Earth).
Publication history
The series was introduced in a 16-page insert in The New Teen Titans #16 (February 1982).[5] The series was cancelled after 20 issues, with six issues still in preparation. These six issues were eventually published in three double-sized issues as Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! in The Oz-Wonderland War #1-3, with the indicia title Oz-Wonderland Wars (plural). The series did not, in fact, depict a conflict between the Land of Oz and Wonderland, which plotter E. Nelson Bridwell considered antithetical to Ozite politics, but rather depicted the Nome King retrieving the magic belt and using his powers against both Oz and Wonderland, with the Zoo Crew coming in as reinforcements against him. The series was praised for its artwork, by Carol Lay, for its close emulation of the work of John R. Neill and Sir John Tenniel, but the story, scripted by Joey Cavalieri, was seen by many to be too close to the plot of Ozma of Oz to reach its full potential.[citation needed] The series featured cameos from both Hoppy the Marvel Bunny and the Inferior Five.
A Showcase Presents reprinting of the entire series was slated for September 2007 but was postponed, along with several other Showcase editions, due to royalty issues in DC's contracts of the 1980s. The book was finally released in September 2014.[6] After years of absence, the Zoo Crew was reintroduced in Teen Titans (vol. 3) #30-31 (December 2005-January 2006). In October–December 2007, a three-issue miniseries called Captain Carrot and the Final Ark featured the Zoo Crew picking up from the Teen Titans storyline.
Fictional history
The origin of the team came about when Superman was investigating a strange phenomenon causing the citizens of Metropolis to begin acting like their primate ancestors. He determined the cause to be rays of energy originating from the planet Pluto. Flying towards outer space, he encountered an energy barrier around the Earth, but after noticing a meteor pass through unaffected, he grabbed the meteor and attempted to use it to get him through the barrier. When Superman and the meteor struck the barrier, they were both shunted into an alternative dimension of "funny animals", later designated as Earth-C. There, Superman met several of the world's residents, who had gained superpowers when they were struck by the various meteorite fragments.[7]
The animals and Superman soon teamed up to stop the source of the ray (which was also causing the denizens of Earth-C to behave like their non-anthropomorphic animal ancestors), which turned out to be the old Justice League villain Starro the Conqueror, a starfish-shaped alien, who was launching his de-evolution assault from the Earth-C universe's Pluto. After defeating the villain, the animals decided to stick together and form the Zoo Crew, and Superman returned home.[8][9]
Unlike many superhero teams, the Zoo Crew initially had considerable difficulty fighting as a unit. For instance, they would often take on a foe in pairs, and find themselves interfering with each other and being put out of action as a result. However, as the series progressed, the Zoo Crew persevered to develop their tactics in order to become a coherent fighting force.
Earth-C
The various members of the Zoo Crew lived on a parallel Earth that, during DC's Pre-Crisis multiverse system, was named Earth-C. Earth-C consisted of a world where various anthropomorphized talking animals existed; the series featured many animal-themed pun names for real-world aspects. For instance, the Zoo Crew operated out of "Follywood, Califurnia", a parody of Hollywood, California.[8] Similarly named Earth-C cities include "Gnu York" (New York City),[8] "Tallahatchee" (Tallahassee, Florida),[9] and "Loondon" (London).[10] Countries on Earth-C include "Cornada" (Canada),[11] and the "United Species of America" (United States of America);[8] the capital of the United Species was "Waspington, D.C." (Washington, D.C.).[10]
The President of the United Species of America was "Mallard Fillmore" (a reference to the 13th president of the United States, Millard Fillmore). Other famous figures of Earth-C included "Liz Whaler" (Elizabeth Taylor),[11] "Marlin Brando" (Marlon Brando),[11] "Byrd Rentals" (Burt Reynolds) and "Rova Barkitt" (Rona Barrett) – the last two of whom became members of the Zoo Crew as Rubberduck and Yankee Poodle, respectively.
Historical figures and events on Earth-C also parallel those of the real world, including the "Second Weird War" (World War II; Earth-C's version featured the U.S. and the Allies fighting the "Ratzis" (Nazis))[12] and President Abraham Linkidd (a goat, Earth-C's version of Abraham Lincoln), who was immortalized in the nation's capital in the "Linkidd Memorial".[11]
Earth-C's population also consisted of the various "funny animal" characters that appeared in DC Comics over the years, particularly those in such Golden Age and Silver Age DC titles as Funny Stuff, The Dodo and the Frog, Real Screen Comics, and so forth. Indeed, several characters from these series made cameo appearances during the run of Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew!. One of those older characters, Peter Porkchops, was a member of the Zoo Crew itself as Pig-Iron. Reference was also made to Fastback's uncle being Merton McSnurtle, a Golden Age funny animal superhero known as the Terrific Whatzit.[13]
Eventually, readers (and the Zoo Crew) were introduced to the parallel Earth of "Earth-C-Minus", which turned out to be the home of the "Just'a Lotta Animals" (a parody of the Justice League of America) and whose world was an all-animal reflection of the universe of Earth-One in the original DC Multiverse.
After the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, it was stated that the universes of Earth-C and Earth-C-Minus were actually "alternate dimensions" rather than parallel universes, and thus were spared from the effects of the Crisis.[14] The miniseries The Kingdom presented Earth-C as a Hypertime reality. In the series Countdown to Final Crisis, the Monitors include one who has a neck and head that appears to resemble a giraffe's. There is an equivalent of Earth-C in the newly reestablished DC Multiverse, designated "Earth-26", with a history and population similar to that of the Pre-Crisis Earth-C.
Zoo Crew reunited
In Teen Titans (vol. 3) #30-31 (December 2005-January 2006), the Zoo Crew made their first return appearance in some time, in stories presented as excerpts from a comic book story "Whatever Happened to Captain Carrot?" that Kid Devil reads in #30. In these excerpts, the Zoo Crew is shown to have mostly disbanded and now lives in a "darker" world than in their prior adventures. Little Cheese is dead. Yankee Poodle has lost her secret identity and is a fugitive from the law, accused of trying to assassinate President Mallard Fillmore. Fastback has disappeared, Pig-Iron and Rubberduck operate as underground superheroes against the current anti-superhero law and Captain Carrot is in self-imposed retirement after the death of his partner, Carrie Carrot, at the hands (or paws) of Armordillo and Frogzilla. He has not left his apartment in years, and drinks heavily out of guilt over Carrie's death. The only Zoo Crew member prospering is Alley-Kat Abra, who has revealed her identity publicly and become a world-famous magician. The story is a parody of the grim and gritty trend most often identified with the late 1980s to early 1990s superhero comics, and it includes references to several of DC's own series (such as Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen, including the cover of the Captain Carrot comic, which bears a resemblance to the cover of Watchmen #1).
A new hero, the American Eagle, overhears Pig-Iron, Rubberduck and Yankee Poodle at the scene of Little Cheese's murder when they decide to regroup in order to avenge him. Acting independently of them, he confronts Roger Rodney Rabbit and bullies him into becoming Captain Carrot again. The others are disappointed when Abra refuses to rejoin the team, but rejoice when the American Eagle brings Captain Carrot back to them. Their investigation reveals that the crimes against their members are connected. The president bribed Alley-Kat-Abra to reveal all of the Zoo Crew's secrets to the government; she took the money and made herself rich and famous. She banished Fastback into the future, killed Little Cheese and framed Yankee Poodle for the crime when she got too close to finding out what had happened to Fastback. When Alley-Kat-Abra is arrested for murdering Little Cheese, she tells them that she did it simply because she is a cat and cats hate mice. The Zoo Crew inducts the American Eagle as their newest member and heads into the future to retrieve Fastback. Issue #31 was drawn by ghost artist Scott Roberts. Many fans spotted the difference and complained. Scott Shaw had, in fact, drawn the pages, before DC's switch to another artist.
Countdown
The Zoo Crew returned in a Countdown to Final Crisis tie-in entitled Captain Carrot and the Final Ark #1-3 (October–December 2007). In the new DC Multiverse, the Zoo Crew now resides on Earth-26. It is revealed that they enlisted the aid of Chip Hunter, Time Master in a successful rescue of Fastback from the future. They returned to their own time to find major changes. President Mallard Fillmore's bribing of Alley-Kat-Abra was revealed and he resigned in shame. Vice President Beneduck Arnold took over and promptly created the Collar I.D. Initiative (a parody of the Superhuman Registration Act storyline of Marvel Comics' Civil War crossover event), which required that all superheroes reveal their secret identities to the government and wear identity collars. The government immediately stopped funding the Zoo Crew, and they were forced to leave their headquarters and all of the equipment that came with it. The Zoo Crew officially resisted the Collar I.D. Initiative and refused to sign up, but fought crime on the sly.
The Zoo Crew members restored both their civilian and their superhero identities. Rodney Rabbit regained his status as a comic book artist/writer, but he had to stop writing Just'a Lotta Animals. Their attorney presented him with a cease and desist order, and he complied. Fastback started The World's Fastest Delivery Service. Rubberduck's acting career as Byrd Rentals was all but over, but he did get a reality TV show featuring him and other washed-up actors. The American Eagle continued his radio career as Johnny Jingo, "the radio talk show host with two right wings". Pig-Iron got a job working on an oil derrick, and Yankee Poodle became the highest-rated talk show host in the business after she was exonerated of all charges.
The Zoo Crew operated briefly in defiance of the new law in a battle with the Salamandroid (at a comic book convention where Roger Rodney Rabbit was on a writers' panel) and again when they learn of a threat to destroy Gnu York's greatest landmarks. Frogzilla reappears in a dumbed-down state (reminiscent of the "Hulk smash!" version of the Hulk) and battles the Zoo Crew. During the fight, he swallows Pig-Iron. He is manipulated into vomiting Pig-Iron into a particular building, which houses a dimensional warp. The crash frees Alley-Kat-Abra from a netherworld. After defeating Frogzilla, Abra tells her former teammates that she was imprisoned there by Dark Alley, an evil version of herself created by the Just'a Lotta Animals foe Feline Faust. Dark Alley was the one who killed Little Cheese and framed Yankee Poodle for the crime. Pig-Iron vouches for her and tells them that she contacted him telepathically from the netherworld while he was in Frogzilla's belly and told him her escape plan. The team accepts her back as a probationary member (until they are sure that they can trust her again) and they promptly go to search for the Salamandroid's base under the ocean. Starro the Conqueror surprises them and uses his starfish duplicates to make them forget how to use their powers. Only Pig-Iron escaped - he could not go underwater for fear of rusting.
Starro works with Rash Al Paca to flood Earth-26 so that he can rule it. After President Arnold reveals that the ID collars have eliminated the powers of every superhero on Earth-26, the Zoo Crew summons the Just'a Lotta Animals for help. Green Lambkin leads a JLA team (consisting of Hawkmoose, the Elon-Gator, the Crash, the Batmouse and Zap-Panda) to help. Unable to stop the flood, the animal heroes evacuate a number of Gnu Yorkers using an ocean liner called Boa's Ark. As Pig-Iron stays behind battling Starro hoof to tentacle. Others combine their powers to transport the ship full of refugees to Earth-C-Minus. En route, the JLA encounters Muttron, Lightstray and Orihound of the New Dogs; while the two groups face off, the cruise ship is accidentally sucked into the New Dogs' Kaboom Tube and sent to New Earth. Zatanna and Hawkgirl encounter the ship and help it land safely, but all of the passengers, including the Zoo Crew, have turned into ordinary, non-anthropomorphic animals. Zatanna then takes the transformed Captain to participate in her stage show, as the other transformed Zoo Crew members look on, helplessly.
Final Crisis
In the climactic battle in Final Crisis #7, Monitor Nix Uotan restores the Zoo Crew to their old anthropomorphic forms.
Convergence
During DC's Convergence crossover event of 2015, various members of the Zoo Crew team up with Harley Quinn[15] and Wally West[16] in staged fights to save their respected worlds all to the amusement of Brainiac.
Team members
The members of the Zoo Crew include:
- Roger Rodney Rabbit / Captain Carrot: A rabbit from Gnu York and leader of the team, who is often called Rodney so as to avoid confusion with the title character of the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. After consuming one of his "cosmic carrots" (as Rodney called them), Rodney gains superpowers for roughly 24 hours, although major exertion could exhaust the powers sooner. His powers include superstrength, endurance, heightened hearing and vision senses and a super-powerful leap. As such, he is the only member who has to constantly replenish his powers and keeps a pair of carrots holstered on his belt for such a need in emergencies. The source of these carrots was initially a windowbox in which he grew the carrots, which one of the meteor fragments had struck. Later, he arranged a grow-op at the team headquarters to ensure an adequate continuous supply. In his alter ego, Rodney was the writer and artist of the comic book Just'a Lotta Animals, until its members sued for copyright violation and prevented any further reproductions of their adventures. His Earth-26 counterpart is a member of the Justice League Incarnate.
- Felina Furr / Alley-Kat-Abra: A cat from Mew Orleans, martial arts instructor and student of the mystical arts. Felina uses her "Magic Wanda" to cast various types of spells. She has a crush on Rodney / Captain Carrot, and was relieved to see Wonder Wabbit (of Earth C-Minus) return to her own world due to her attraction to him. She was imprisoned by Feline Faust, unknown to her teammates, during which time an evil counterpart, "Dark Alley", impersonated her, murdered Little Cheese, and framed Yankee Poodle for the crime.
- Peter Porkchops / Pig-Iron: A pig from Piggsburgh who was struck by a meteor fragment, and fell (along with the meteorite) into a vat of molten metal in the steel mill where he worked. The consequent chemical reaction transformed his now-enormous body into living steel, with strength and invulnerability to match. Peter was originally a character from an earlier series of DC "funny animal" comics.[17] Pig-Iron is also nicknamed the "Swine of Steel" and the "Porcine Powerhouse". Pig-Iron remains behind on Earth-C in the Final Ark comic book series, fighting against Starro to save his friends. Despite this, a pig is shown alongside the rest of the Zoo Crew after they are transformed into non-anthropomorphic animals at the end of Final Ark, and Pig-Iron is shown as one of the Zoo Crew restored to his anthropomorphic form by Monitor Nix Uotan in Final Crisis #7. The Peter Porkchops character was created by Otto Feuer and first appeared in 1947 and had his own book from 1949 to 1960.
- Byrd Rentals / Rubberduck: A duck from Follywood, Califurnia, who was originally a movie star, and is given the power to stretch his body into any shape and length when a meteor fragment struck his hot tub when he was in it. Byrd Rentals' name is a parody of actor Burt Reynolds. Rubberduck is also nicknamed the "Malleable Mallard" and the "Ductile Duck".
- Rova Barkitt / Yankee Poodle: A poodle who is also from Follywood, who worked as a gossip columnist (or as she prefers to call it, a "celebrity interviewer") and was interviewing Byrd when they were both struck by meteor fragments. Rova gained the ability to project a repelling force (in the form of blue stars) with one hand and an attraction force (in the form of red-and-white stripes) with the other. Rova Barkitt's name is a parody of gossip columnist Rona Barrett.
- Timmy Joe Terrapin / Fastback: A turtle from the Okey-Dokey swamp in the American South, who while trying to catch a bus to Kornsas City, was struck by a meteor fragment and gained the ability to move at "superchelonian" speed. Fastback is also nicknamed the "Reptilian Rocket". Timmy Joe is not the first fast-moving turtle in his family. His uncle Merton McSnurtle was secretly the Terrific Whatzit, a superhero during the Second Weird War. One issue mentions McSnurtle's participation in "Operation Overlard".
- Chester Cheese / Little Cheese: A mouse and student at Follywood High School, who has the ability to shrink from the comparable size of his teammates to a size of only a few centimeters, and was the only team member not to gain his powers from a meteor fragment (he gained his powers from eating a piece of experimental cheese brought back from Earth-C's Moon), as well as the first non-founding member. He soon revealed his secret identity to the public and left the Zoo Crew to become a lawyer. "Dark Alley", an evil version of Alley-Kat-Abra created by Feline Faust, a villain from Earth-C-Minus, later killed him and framed Yankee Poodle for the crime.
- Johnny Jingo / The American Eagle: An eagle, who is "the radio talk show host with two right wings" by day, and a vigilante by night. Jingo replaced Little Cheese on the reconstituted Zoo Crew after the latter's death. He is the only member who does not have superpowers, though he does use gadgets similar to those used by the Batman.
In the story in Teen Titans (vol. 3) #30-31, deceased Earth-C meta-animals named (other than Little Cheese) include Carrie Carrot, Giant Giraffe, Marvel Bunny Jr., Ballistic Baboon, Amazing Ant, and Power Panda. These heroes may or may not have been former Zoo Crew members.
