Terrific Whatzit

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Caption	The Terrific Whatzit (left) and his "conscience" (right). From Funny Stuff #6 (Fall 1945). Art by Martin Naydel.
Character Name	The Terrific Whatzit
Real Name	Merton McSnurtle
Publisher	DC Comics
Debut	Funny Stuff #1 (Summer 1944)
Creators	Martin Naydel
Alliances	Flash Family Legion of Super-Pets
Aliases	McSnurtle the Turtle
Powers	Super-speed Super-strength Flight "Automatic conscience"

Fictional character biography

McSnurtle is a turtle and shopkeeper who lives in the town of Zooville and is famed for his honesty and laziness. Wishing to see how such a person would handle receiving superpowers, otherworldly entitles called Prince Highness and Prince Lowness grant him super-speed, among other abilities. Dubbing himself the "Terrific Whatzit", he would go on to aid the Allies during the "Second Weird War". Additionally, his nephew Timmy Joe Terrapin / Fastback would acquire similar powers and join the Zoo Crew.

Powers and abilities

McSnurtle possesses super-speed, super-strength, and the ability to fly. Additionally, he is haunted by a ghostly "automatic conscience" that berates him unless he takes action against danger and can remove his shell.

In other media

Television

• McSnurtle the Turtle appears in The Flash in two different forms. The first version appears in the episode "Revenge of the Rogues" as the childhood stuffed animal of Iris West. The second appears in the episode "Borrowing Problems from the Future" as a regular turtle that Harrison "HR" Wells gives to Barry Allen as a housewarming gift.
• The Terrific Whatzit appears in the DC Super Hero Girls episode "All Pets Are Off".

Film

Merton the Turtle / Terrific Whatzit appears in DC League of Super-Pets, voiced by Natasha Lyonne. This version is a non-anthropomorphic female turtle who acquires super-speed after being exposed to orange Kryptonite and goes on to become the Flash's pet and a founding member of the titular League of Super-Pets.

Miscellaneous

• An unnamed turtle wearing the original Terrific Whatzit costume appears in DC Super Friends #14 (June 2009) as the adopted pet of Wally West / Flash.
• The Terrific Whatzit appears in the DC Super-Pets children's book Salamander Smackdown. This version is the pet of Barry Allen / Flash who wears a similar costume as him.

References

• Mitchell, Kurt, Thomas, Roy, American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944, 2019, TwoMorrows Publishing, 276
• Becattini, Alberto, American Funny Animal Comics in the 20th Century: Volume Two, 2019, Theme Park Press, Super-Animals
• Markstein, Don, McSnurtle the Turtle: The Terrific Whatzit, 2 April 2020, Don Markstein's Toonopedia
• Rovin, Jeff, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals, 1991, Prentice Hall Press, 165–166, Jeff Rovin, 31 March 2020
• Nevins, Jess, Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, 2013, High Rock Press, Jess Nevins
• Entertainment Weekly, Dwayne Johnson's Krypto assembles a team in DC League of Super-Pets first look, Agard, Chancellor, November 17, 2021, November 18, 2021
• DC League of Super-Pets | Meet the Pets: Natasha Lyonne as Merton

External links

• Toonopedia entry on the Terrific Whatzit
• Biographical summaries on the Terrific Whatzit, Fastback and the Crash
• Capstone's DC Super-Pets book Salamander Smackdown