The Prowler and the Tiger: The Brown Family Tree

 

With Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse making a serious impact at the box office and with Spider-Punk aka Hobie Brown being among its most well-received characters, I figured now is a great time to take look at the family tree of Hobart ‘Hobie’ Brown. Here is the Brown Family Tree.

 

For the purposes of these family trees, I accept that MC2 characters share their published history (up to a point) with their 616/Main Marvel Universe counterparts. I make exceptions for any retcons implemented after the point the MC2 diverges from the 616 and in cases where it's explicitly or implicitly different (Aunt May really died) or when a writer later introduces a previously unheard of relative (the Lang family and the Pym family) who is never mentioned, seen or heard of in the MC2. With the last exception, I would add them to the family tree in later updates should they be mentioned in MC2 material at any point.

 

The Prowler was created by Stan Lee, John Romita Sr and Jim Mooney with the credited help of a 13-year-old John Romita Jr, who had conceived of a character named ‘The Prowler’ and his father encouragingly showed it to Lee who liked the name and used, while Romita Sr utilized an unused design from the cancelled and unfinished Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #3 for the character’s costume.

 

First appearing in Amazing Spider-Man #78, Hobart ‘Hobie’ Brown was an inventive and gifted young man who worked as a window washer. When he presented his designs for safety equipment to his racist employer after being prompted by his girlfriend Mindy S. McPherson, Hobie was dismissed before his designs were even seen. Following this and more provocations from his boss, Hobie quit his job. Determined to make something of himself, Hobie decides to use his equipment to steal as ‘The Prowler’ and later recover and return the loot as Hobie to become a hero.

 

 Unfortunately, The Prowler’s first mark was the office of J. Jonah Jameson and he was interrupted by Peter Parker who disguised his change into Spider-Man by flinging himself out of a high window of the Daily Bugle building. Traumatised at the thought he had killed someone, The Prowler attempted to flee only to find himself facing Spider-Man. Using one of his gas pellets to disorientate the web-head, Hobie makes his escape and his racked with guilt over his actions. Hoping to make things right, he decides to lure Spider-Man into a trap in order to catch him and salvage the situation. Having prepared for his gas pellets with a gas filter beneath his mask, Spider-Man this time easily defeats Hobie and learns of his situation, and after assuring him Parker was unharmed, the hero lets him go free (Amazing Spider-Man #79).

 

A short time later, after Peter Parker revealed his super hero identity as Spider-Man to his friends while delirious, he enlists the help of Hobie Brown. Using his Prowler equipment, Hobie poses as Spider-Man in front of Peter’s friends including Captain George Stacy which, unbeknownst to Hobie, allays suspicion and protects Peter’s secret identity. This marks the first time an African American wore the webs, making Hobie Brown the first black Spider-Man way back in 1970 (Amazing Spider-Man #87).

 

 

After Captain Stacy is killed during a battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus, Hobie believes he has been used in a murder plot as a result of the prior favour and sets out as The Prowler again to take down Spider-Man. Injured in the clash, Hobie is taken to a hospital by Spider-Man, who disposes of his Prowler equipment to conceal his friend’s identity. It is worth noting that Hobie and Mindy are considering getting married by this point in time (Amazing Spider-Man #93).

 

Showing up next in the black and white Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu #21, we learn that Hobie married Mindy, found a good job where he is treated with respect and for a year had worked with a kid named Manuel Lopez in a ‘Big Brother’ program. When Manuel is killed and the hero White Tiger aka Hector Ayala is initially blamed, Hobie battles him as The Prowler until convinced he is innocent. It is worth noting that within this same story, in an interlude taking place far away, Abe Brown also makes an appearance.

 

After the debacle of ‘Defender for a Day’ Hobie decides to hang up his suit and he and Mindy move to a house in Queens, but when his suit is stolen and his Prowler identity used to commit a robbery and murder, Spider-Man confronts him before tracking down and stopping the real culprit: ‘Red’ aka The Cat Burglar (Defenders #62-#64, Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #47).

 

When Mindy’s job as bookkeeper for Transcorp (a front organisation for corrupt industrialist Justin Hammer) leads to her being framed to take the fall for the company’s shady dealings, Hobie follows a trail to Los Angeles where he teams up with Spider-Man to get the necessary evidence back from The Black Fox to exonerate his wife. As an aside, Mindy is here referred to as ‘Mindy S. Brown’ in a news report (Amazing Spider-Man #304-#305).

 

After a failed attempt to save a fellow construction worker from falling to his death, Hobie designs a compact glider in hopes that it could save others. Unaware of their duplicitous nature and hoping to instil some confidence in her husband, Mindy shows the design to Hammer Industries and tells him they are interested in buying. Concerned about a design flaw and aware of Hammer’s prior involvement in framing Mindy, Hobie breaks into their manufacturing plant to take back his designs, only to find himself confronted with another costumed figure using a prototype of his glider design. After disabling the glider and saving the man from the fall, The Prowler instructs him to declare the glider a failure (Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #9).

We learn in Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #10 that Hobie has been receiving martial arts training from Abraham ‘Abe’ Brown, his brother. Unless I am mistaken, this is the first time we learn they are related, with Hobie lashing out at Abe for leaving him and their mother right after their father was killed. Working for Silver Sable after proving himself during a misunderstanding in Web of Spider-Man #50, The Prowler finds himself outmatched against the White Ninja, who is revealed as Abe, also working for Sable to teach Hobie respect, humility and not to rely on his technology.

So, let us take a look back at Abraham ‘Abe’ Brown who first appeared in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1 as a skilled martial artist who was trained by Master Kee alongside Lin Sun and Robert Diamond in San Francisco. When their master is slain, the three set out to avenge him, each wearing one of the three Jade Tiger Amulet pieces (originating from K’un Lun) as the Sons of the Tiger. During a flashback we learn that at age 10, Abe was attacked by the racist Skull gang which led to him seeking self-defence training from Master Kee (Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu #7). Eventually, the Sons would part ways and their Amulet pieces were used by Hector Ayala to become the White Tiger, though the trio would occasionally reunite and work alongside the likes of Luke Cage, Iron Fist and the Daughters of the Dragon, Misty Knight and Colleen Wing.

 

After several appearances working solo and as part of Silver Sable’s Outlaws team, we get more information about Hobie and Abe’s father in Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #12. Encountering a former soldier who served alongside ‘Tiger’ Brown, the brothers learn how their father was killed in Cambodia more than twenty years prior.

In his first mini-series, Hobie mentions to Abe he has managed ‘since dad split when I was just out of diapers and mom turned to a bottle for comfort’ (The Prowler #1). This statement seems somewhat at odds with what we previously learned about Hobie and Abe’s family history but perhaps ‘Tiger’ left the family before later dying oversees. While Mindy was aware that her husband worked with Silver Sable, she learns of his Prowler identity for the first time in The Prowler #2 following a battle with Nightcreeper, Hobie’s  coworker Eric Cross unknowingly utilizing Prowler technology. Confronted with the question of why he wants to be a hero, Hobie recalls childhood memories of being bullied without the protection of his older brother Abe (The Prowler #3). While he manages to stop the Vulture from taking over at his new job with Bestman Electronics, Mindy moves to California to pursue her career while Hobie remains in New York (The Prowler #4).

Hobie is paralysed while participating in ‘The Great Game’ alongside fellow Outlaw teammate Rocket Racer (Spider-Man Unlimited #14). Learning of his accident, Mindy returns to New York to help care for her husband all while attempting to juggle her career. Hobie’s Prowler equipment is again stolen, this time by emergency room orderly Rick Lawson turned criminal who finds himself targeted for revenge by the Vulture. With the detective work of the hospitalised Hobie, Spider-Man finds and saves Lawson from Vulture’s clutches. Hobie and Mindy tell Spider-Man that his nerve trauma is improving with physical therapy. As a side-note Mindy is again identified as ‘Mindy Brown’, not ‘Mindy McPherson’ (Sensational Spider-Man #16-#18).

With a bounty on his head, Spider-Man enlists Hobie’s expertise to adopt a new identity. Utilizing Hobie’s jet pack, which was too heavy for a normal human to carry, Spider-Man suited up as the superhero Hornet until the Vulture recognized him as the web-swinger and blurted it out (Sensational Spider-Man #25-#28).

 

Alright, that is us caught up to the point the MC2 diverges from the Main Marvel Universe. Now let us do some tidying up. Mindy’s surname is McPherson, but she is sometimes referred to by Hobie’s surname, Brown.  Mindy’s full name is revealed in The Prowler’s profile in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Update ‘89 #6 where it is also stated she retains her maiden name, a fact supported by more recent Official Handbooks. As an aside, Manuel ‘Manny’ Lopez is also listed as a known relative in the Update ’89 Prowler profile via the ‘Big Brother’ program, which is also reiterated in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #8 but has been removed from The Prowler profile printed in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Harcover Volume 9.

 

You might have noticed that modern Handbooks mention Hobie has ‘seven other unidentified older siblings’ in addition to Abe. For the longest time I could not figure out where this information came from until I realized it mustn’t be from an appearance of Hobie’s, but one of Abe’s. It was evidently an early appearance too, as it is even referenced the Marvel Legacy: The 1970’s Handbook which confines its information to works published before 1980. Fortunately, after some digging, I found it in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #8.

 

As an added bonus, a family member I haven’t seen referred to in any Handbook: a Grandmother Abe mentions flippantly in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #3, probably because it’s unclear if he’s joking. I will add her to the Brown Family Tree regardless for the sake of being comprehensive.

 

Sadly neither Hobie Brown nor his alter ego The Prowler make an actual appearance in the MC2, though if you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ll know that the only mention we have of Hobie Brown’s alter ego is in Amazing Spider-Girl #4 where the television celebrity Bounty Hunter Julius ‘Mad Dog’ Rassitano notes he is using ‘The Prowler’s steel-tipped claw’ along with various other gadgets formerly belonging to different super villains.

 

However, it should be noted that Julius also admits later that much of his equipment and gadgets come from his television program’s prop department. I say most because he does also appear to possess some genuine articles, such as confiscating the retractable legs of Stilt-Man when he captured the villain or purchasing the suction-grippers of The Beetle on eBay (Amazing Spider-Girl #5).

 

It is unknown what the status of Hobie Brown is in the MC2’s present-day, but the appearance of his alter ego’s gauntlet gadgets does leave the potential for a future appearance someday should the MC2 ever grace the comics world again.

 

Abe Brown along with fellow Sons of the Tiger, Lin Sun and Robert Diamond all appear in the MC2 proper, in the pages of J2 #11. When American Dream of the Avengers turns down an invitation to participate in a martial arts contest, J2 aka Zane Yama takes it upon himself to attend in her place. Travelling via mystical amulet to a small island, J2 meets the (apparently) blind Howard the Duck, the self-proclaimed Master of Quack-Fu.

 

From Howard we learn that a few dozen of the world's greatest martial artists were invited to the contest, but only a few of the previous generation's 'old fogies' showed up. Among these ‘old fogies’ is Shang-Chi, sparring with Shen Kuei aka Cat and we glimpse Iron Fist, the three original members of the Sons of the Tiger and White Tiger.

 

Suspecting a trap, Howard had hoped to stack the deck in his favour with American Dream, Stuck with J2 instead, Howard attempts to train the big lug to defend himself but has no success. When J2 reverts back to Zane Yama after his powers temporarily wear off, he encounters Blind Al. Concerned for Zane's well-being in the upcoming contest, Al attempts to get past Weasel to talk to the mystery person who organised the contest: Wade Wilson aka Deadpool.

 

 

 

Having followed Blind Al, Zane learns the contest will have a deadly ending. Encountering Deadpool, Zane turns back into J2 to duke it out with the mercenary. Deadpool reveals he set up the contest to alleviate his boredom. Having overheard his plans, Shang-Chi, Iron Fist, White Tiger, Cat, and the Sons of the Tiger proceed to kick Wade’s butt off-panel.

 

That is it, everyone! Hopefully you learned something new about the Brown Family Tree. I know I learned a lot while researching the history of Hobie and Abe Brown¸ and I have barely scratched the surface. It is my genuine wish that characters like Hobart ‘Hobie’ Brown’s significance to the comic book medium were recognized and acknowledged by more fans.

 

Until I figure out who the rest of Brown siblings are and why they’ve never appeared, I remain

 

frogoat