Titano (Silver Age)
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Titano was once known as Toto, an ordinary chimp with lots of smarts and a great stage act. It was at a television broadcast that he first befriended Lois Lane; after being hit with a poorly thrown cream pie, Lois cleaned up the unhappy chimp and was informed by his trainer "..that kind act will make you his friend for life." |
The following day Toto helped the Army out by participating in the space program, the event covered by reporter Lois Lane. Launched into space atop rocket X-9, his satellite would orbit the Earth 500 miles above as part of a test of manned spacecraft. Yet, the rocket failed to ignite and it seemed the chimp would be earthbound. Superman, however, intervened and cast the satellite into space with his superhuman strength.
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All was going well in his week long flight until two meteorites, one of uranium and the other of Kryptonite, collided at close proximity to the craft. Upon safely landing, it appeared to Lois (who was concerned about the chimp) that Toto had come through unscathed, but moments later the cuddly little guy underwent a "..strange, biological change.." Affected by the radiation he had absorbed, Toto swelled in size becoming a 40 foot giant; as he scooped up Lois she exclaimed that he had been transformed into "..Titano!" And that wasn't all! Attempting to rescue Lois, Superman was repelled by the gargantuan ape's Kryptonite vision, leaving him weak as a kitten as Titano lumbered away with Lois. |
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It didn't take Lois long to realize that Titano was still very much Toto, with an innocent nature. After leaving Lois unharmed, the ape tussled with Superman again (now protected with a thick lead shield) but the Man of Steel was unable to bind the brute with massive chains. Even though Titano might still have the heart of little Toto, he was awfully big and creating havoc around Metropolis. Lois agreed to assist in his capture and execution in a giant electrified cage.
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After ensnaring the beast, Lois had a last minute revelation about how to nullify his deadly Kryptonite vision; the crafty reporter was able to persuade Titano into putting on a giant pair of glasses with lead lenses (a little game of 'monkey see, monkey do) thus allowing Superman a chance to hurl him at super-speed, breaking the time barrier and depositing him in the distant past . There he could live out his days among creatures his own size. |
But Titano did not remain there and encountered Superman on several other occasions.
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The final meeting between the two was the courtesy of the villain Atomic Skull. Titano was used as a watchdog for the Skull's Kryptonite pipeline. The pipeline was feeding the element to a rocket that would detonate above Earth, leaving a shell of the deadly green stuff around the planet. |
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After subduing Titano by wrapping his head in some lead pipe, Superman knocked the Atomic Skull out cold and noticed the giant ape had suddenly grown calm. Unfortunately there was no time to investigate, as Superman had to find a way to foil the plan to enshroud the Earth in Kryptonite. |
Following the success of his mission he returned to face his foes once more. Using his x-ray vision Superman discovers that Titano has an implant in his brain, :..a receiver of electrical impulses transmitted via radio-waves.." ; an "..electro-shock.." caused by the telepathic link between him and the Atomic Skull was the cause of the ape's violent behavior..
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By keeping the Atomic Skull unconscious, Superman is able to lure Titano into a giant cage with a (ahem!) 100 foot marionette of a cameraman. Titano was returned to the Ashtar sun system where he could be among primates as big as he. |
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