Bret Leather is a fictional character that appears in a handful of issues of the comic book series Planetary. The character was created by writer Warren Ellis and illustrator John Cassaday, and intended to be an amalgam of The Green Hornet, The Spider, and The Shadow.
Fictional character biography
Bret Leather was born to John Leather (the Dead Ranger, an analogue of the Lone Ranger) at midnight, January 1, 1900, making him a Century Baby. Specifically, he was the "Justice of the 20th Century" and possessed several superhuman abilities, like all other Century Babies did. As the sole heir to his father's silver mine, Leather inherited a fortune and moved from Texas to Chicago, where he funded a newspaper and lived a millionaire. Under the surface though, he believed himself to have an understanding of law and ethics outside that of mortal ken, and privately fought crime outside the law under the alias "The Spider". Clad in long black leather coat (emblazoned with a silver spider design across the front) and donning a metallic mask that covered most of his face (exposing only his glowing red eyes), Leather terrorized the criminals of 1920s and 30s Chicago with his lethal brand of justice. During this time, Leather married his assistant Miriam Langham, who gave birth to his only son William on one of the many nights Leather was out fighting crime. However, the son, who would eventually become one of The Four, was not biologically Leather's own, as Miriam had had an affair with one of his assistants, a loan shark named Danny Vincenzo. As a product of this illegitimate liaison, William Leather never inherited his father's powers, as the child of a Century Baby usually did (see Jakita Wagner). Leather eventually came to work with Doc Brass and his group of fellow Pulp heroes, some of whom were Century Babies like himself and Brass. In January 1945, as the group tried to create a "corrected" version of the Earth in an attempt to end World War II, they inadvertently brought forth a group of super humans from another universe, and the ensuing battle between both groups claimed the lives of all involved, save for Brass' alone. Creator Warren Ellis has described Leather as "far, far crazier" than The Shadow, and "Batman with guns and no mood stabilisers". In one particular encounter with a group of would-be assassins, Leather illustrates his ruthlessness and seeming instability by blowing one of the assassin's guts out from behind him with his "turbo guns", when a disabling blow would have sufficed, all the while laughing maniacally to himself.
Powers & abilities
Leather wields a pair of "turbo guns" designed and cast from the silver he inherited from his father, and possesses the ability to throw or transmit his voice around enclosed spaces. He also seems to speak in a hissing voice. ("Serious business in Chicago" comes out "SSSeriousss businessss in Chicago.") Leather has also shown the ability to disintegrate himself into spiders and other insects, and reconstitute himself at will. He also probably experiences the same retarded aging common amongst all Century Babies, though his constant use of a mask and his premature death leave this unclear.
Appearances
- Planetary #1 shows the final fight in 1945 in which he perished. He seemingly kills the Batman analogue during the battle.
- Planetary #5 fills in some of Brass' adventures, including those with the team he assembled. In particular we see Leather helping fight "Demonites" in Paris in 1939.
- Planetary #22 retells the history of the Leathers, and is the first time readers see Bret Leather's use his powers to greater extent.
