Ah, the mighty owl! Is there a more majestic or universally feared creature walking (soaring) the earth today? Yes, and why someone, let alone two someones (including 1 Stan Lee), felt there needed to be a hero or villain based around the aspects of the owl is something that can only be answered in either man’s therapy sessions. Yeah, so… the Owl.
Make My Marvel! – Owl
Leland Owlsley. With a name like that, your future is pretty much locked in. Following some good old-fashioned retconning in order to cash in on some of that sweet mutant green, Leland possessed many of the physiological aspects of a bird. Naturally, this led him into the world of finance. Following successively worse hairstyles and the reveal of some of Leland’s less-than-savory business associates, Owlsley turned to crime as a full-time profession.
The Owl formed an owl-themed gang and began taking an Owl-serum while driving in his Owl-mobile. When the writers of 60’s era Batman did not call, Daredevil stepped in to ruin the Owl’s life on a conistant basis as his archvillain. However, this did require DD’s some time mattress-buddy, the Black Widow, to save him more than once, so points there I suppose. It’s actually less time-consuming to name characters who didn’t beat and/or maim the Owl, though I’m sure Jubilee and Ratbag will get their shots eventually.
Surprisingly, the use of an experimental, owl-tuning serum led to several severe sideffects for Owlsley, including partial parlysis and the propensity for getting his feathered ass kicked a lot by both friend and foe. Owl eventually overcame his disabillities, going so far as to make a bid for the Kingpin’s position as the head of the New York crimescene. Tons-of-Fun had some issues with that plan and, thusly, Owl found himself back at the villain equivalent of the mailroom, pushing Mutant Growth Hormone and re-purposing Deathlock cyborgs. The sky was the limit again for the Owl, until the new, new kingpin of crime, the Hood, decided to send a message to rest of the superhuman crimeworld and executed Owl.
Today, the Owl is still remembered fondly for his often daily donations to gradeschool science labs across New York. More often if he’d had Mexican. He will be missed.
Which version of Owl do you most want made for Marvel Legends?
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