Mister Tawky Tawny

Mister Tawky Tawny
Captain Marvel and Mister Tawky Tawny, on the cover of Captain Marvel Adventures #82 (March 1948). Art by C.C. Beck.
Publication information
Publisher	Fawcett Comics (1948–1953) DC Comics (1972–present)
First appearance	Captain Marvel Adventures #79 (December 1947)
Created by	Otto Binder C.C. Beck
In-story information
Species	Tiger
Team affiliations	Marvel Family
Supporting character of	Captain Marvel
Abilities	Traditionally none beyond the physical qualities of a tiger; some versions of the character give him shapeshifting abilities from man to tiger, or the ability to transform into a giant smilodon.

Mister Tawky Tawny is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic tiger who appears as a supporting character of Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family in superhero/funny animal comic book stories published by Fawcett Comics and later DC Comics.

Created by Otto Binder and C.C. Beck in Captain Marvel Adventures #79, the traditional version of Tawky Tawny is a humanoid and well mannered tiger who wishes to be a part of human society. A friend of the Marvel Family, Tawny often participates in their adventures. Later versions introduced in the 2000s and beyond often feature Tawny as more tiger-like, though typically retaining his ability to talk.

Mr. Tawny made his first appearance in Captain Marvel Adventures #79 (1947), published by Fawcett Comics. The story "The Talking Tiger" introduced Mr. Tawny as a humanoid talking tiger who travels from his native India to the United States in hopes of integrating himself into American society. Although he makes every effort to be sociable, the simple presence of the talking tiger in the city terrorizes the public, leading to Captain Marvel intervening. Upon learning through the Wisdom of Solomon that Tawny is a friendly and reasonable fellow who did not mean to cause trouble, Captain Marvel helps Tawny become a respectable part of society and secures a job for him as a tour guide at the local museum.

Tawny became a regular recurring character in Captain Marvel Adventures, appearing as the best friend of Captain Marvel and his juvenile alter-ego Billy Batson, until it ceased publication in 1953. As a respectable gentleman, Tawny typically dressed in a tweed suit, and spoke and acted in a dignified manner. His second appearance, "Captain Marvel and the Return of Mr. Tawny" (from Captain Marvel Adventures #82 in 1948), featured Tawny's origin story: Tawny had been a regular tiger who was accused of killing a man. In order to allow the tiger to clear his name, a local hermit gave Tawny a serum that gave him the ability to speak and stand upright like a human. A contest was introduced in Captain Marvel Adventures #90 for the readers to submit entries for what Mr. Tawny's first name might be, with the winning entry by Mary Garrisi and Pat Laughlin of Detroit, MI, "Tawky" (a deliberate misspelling of "talky"), being introduced in Captain Marvel Adventures #96. Writer Otto Binder and artist C. C. Beck unsuccessfully attempted to launch a newspaper comic strip featuring Mr. Tawny in 1953.