Tally Man
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Tally Man is a DC Comics supervillain. He is an enemy of Batman, and is affiliated with the Gotham mafia.
[edit] Tally Man I
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The few glimpses provided into the Tally Man's past reveal a tragic childhood. Starving and living in rags, the boy who was to become the Tally Man lived with his mother and sister, in constant fear of the criminals who threatened the family for the money his father had borrowed from them years before. After his father died, those same criminals extorted his weekly fee from the deceased man's wife. The boy begged his mother not to pay, but she tearfully replied, "Everybody has to pay the tally man." One night, when the collector came, his mother could not afford to pay and the criminal beat her. Filled with rage, the boy attacked and brutally killed the money collector with a fireplace poker. The 12-year-old boy was arrested for murder, and abused horribly by the others in the boy's prison, who called him a "mama's boy."
After his release, the boy returned home. When he discovered his sister had died of starvation and his mother had committed suicide, his mind snapped.
Years later, a figure dressed in the strange dark robes of an old-fashioned tax collector emerged in Gotham City, calling himself the Tally Man. Hired by the underworld to "collect" on debts owed, his fee was not money, but human lives. When Tally Man attempted to collect the "debt" owed by Batman, he ended up battling Azrael, who was standing in for Batman while he recovered from a broken spine, mistaking him for the original. Azrael brutally beat and scarred Tally Man, leaving him with an even greater hatred for the Dark Knight. Tally Man returned to claim his debt again, only to be defeated by Nightwing (who had taken Azrael's place as Batman), believing the former Boy Wonder to be the man who had bested him previously.
Tally Man was seen aiding Two-Face during the events that transpired during No Man's Land.
He is clearly seen in Infinite Crisis #7 during the Battle of Metropolis.
[edit] Tally Man II
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The Tally Man appeared at the end of Detective Comics #819 as a new character as part of One Year Later. Instead of the old-fashioned tax collector costume like his predecessor, he is now of African descent and was now dressed in a suit and he was not wearing a mask. It is unknown as of this time what became of the original, or how the two are affiliated. The Tally Man showed up at the household of super-villain Orca and killed her husband, Terry Capshaw. Tally Man then shot private investigator Jason Bard in the arm as he was reaching for his gun. While holding Bard at gunpoint, he revealed his name to be The Tally Man, then shot at Jason at point blank range. However at the same time, Jason used his cane to trip Tally Man, causing him to miss and shoot Jason in the arm. A struggle ensued where Jason, using his martial arts training, knocked Tally Man unconscious with a swift kick. It was later revealed that Tally Man was the gunman who had killed the villains with Dent's gun and was working as an enforcer for Great White. This latest version of Tally Man commenced his activities during the year Batman was absent from Gotham City, and apparently spent time at Arkham Asylum.
