Frank Tanner was a member of the 100, first known as Two-Bits and later as Two-Five. He was an informant of Black Lightning.
History
Born in Metropolis, Frank was raised in the Suicide Slum, the baddest and poorest block of the city, and just like many others in his situation, he turned to criminality for a living. Despite his acting all high and mighty, however, Frank never managed to become the big boss he wanted to, and he earned the surname Two-Bits as a sign of the scarce respect people had for him. Things became even tougher for "business" when The 100 came in town, monopolizing all illegal trades. Being on the streets, Two-Bits knew much, and always managed to make something of all situations, but his knowledge andcontacts also earned him some unwanted attention, such as the one of the new superhero in the Slums, Black Lightning, who started using him as an informer on a regular basis. The first time, Black Lightning came to him right after Inspector Henderson had issued a warrant against him for vigilantism: hellbent on taking down The 100 on his own, Black Lightning beat Two-Bits Tanner a while in order to have intel on Tobias Whale, The 100's boss. He surfaced once again, right before Black Lightning was captured by Syonide, Andy Henderson and Steel-Fist Feeney, providing him information on the death of a man, Alvin Pierce, who was apparently killed by Peter Gambi. He also led Inspector Henderson and Officer Corrigan to the place where the hero and Gambi were about to be executed, albeit not in time to save the latter, who got killed. Whale was arrested as a result, and Two-Bits could find some peace, until a terrorist, the Annihilist, took some hostages at Garfield High School, something that made both Black Lightning and Corrigan require his services again. Surely, business wasn't easy at all, with all these people needing him.
After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, also a small-time crook like Two-Bits Tanner received a radical change in his life, and, at least from his perspective, for the better. This time, he was always born a poor black boy in the Suicide Slums, but once he grew up he was smart enough to join The 100 instead of opposing to them, earning quite some powerwithin the organization. Climbing the ranks, Tanner was eventually rewarded by Tobias Whale with control over a quarter of his organization, hence his new name, Twenty-Five (or Two-Five, or 25). While he was making career in the city's criminality, Tanner also found the time to form a family, and he married a good woman, Connie Pierce, a nurse, sister to the renowned school principal Jefferson Pierce, who didn't like at all the idea of having his sister married to a gangster. Despite the family wasn't exactly united, Tanner had two kids from his wife, a female, Joanna, and a male, Alvin Pierce Jr., named after his dead grandfather. Not even being a family man changed Twenty-Five's attitude, and he went on with his life as he had always done. Mostly due to his brother-in-law's "interference", eventually Connie got sick and tired with her husband's way of life, and she obtained divorce. In order to go as far as possible from her husband and the violence he brought along, Connie moved to Chicago, and brought the kids along. Tanner's children didn't exactly sided with their father in this, especially Joanna, who took her mother's maiden name and became a lawyer, later moving to Star City. Twenty-Five now only had one family left: The 100, and he dedicated himself completely to them, and he was surely needed, as the superhero Black Lightning had started to target the group. What seemed to be just another nuisance became something more after the death of Joey Toledo, one of Twenty-Five's fellow executives. Cornered, Frank followed his brother-in-law's advice, and went to Chicago to meet Connie and his children. She accepted to take him back, but only if he did one thing for her: if he helped her brother, the infamous Black Lightning, in cleaning up the Slums from The 100.
Notes
- Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.
- In Black Lightning (Volume 1), "Two-Bits" Tanner was one of Black Lightning's stoolies, a low level criminal. In Black Lightning: Year One (Volume 1), he was made into a high level boss in the 100 (owning a quarter, hence his nickname, "25"), and also Jefferson's brother-in-law.
Recommended Reading
Related
- 10 Appearances of Frank Tanner (New Earth)
- 2 Images featuring Frank Tanner (New Earth)
- Quotations by or about Frank Tanner (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Frank Tanner (New Earth)
Footnotes