# Whirlwind (comics)

Whirlwind (David Cannon) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales To Astonish #50 (December 1963). David Cannon belongs to the subspecies of humans called mutants, who are born with superhuman abilities. He is a recurring antagonist of the superheroes Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne. He has also been known as Whirlwind and Human Top at various points in his history.

## Publication history

David Cannon / Whirlwind debuted in Tales To Astonish #50 (December 1963), created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. He appeared in the 2007 Invincible Iron Man series. He appeared in the 2021 Sinister War series. He appeared in the 2022 X-Men Annual one-shot. He appeared in the 2023 Wasp series. He appeared in the 2023 Avengers Inc. series.

## Fictional character biography

David Cannon was born in Kansas City, Missouri. After discovering his mutant power to move at great speeds at an early age, he turns to a life of crime. This eventually brings Cannon, using his first alias as the Human Top and pursuing his career as a jewel thief, into conflict with Giant-Man and the Wasp on several occasions. Defeated each time, Cannon then redesigns his costume and adopts the alias of "Whirlwind", and adopts the identity of Charles Matthews, chauffeur of Janet van Dyne. Whirlwind joined the supervillain group the second Masters of Evil, and participated in a plot to destroy the Avengers. He joined the third Masters of Evil, and participated in a Vermont battle against the Avengers. With Batroc the Leaper and Porcupine, he went on a mission for the Red Skull.
Cannon continues with the Charles Matthews identity, first with the intent of robbing van Dyne, later with the intent of hitting on van Dyne. In the role of Charles, he pines for Janet, making advances when Hank Pym is presumed to be dead during the run in Marvel Feature. Charles is later fired for trying to embezzle Janet's money, and Hank finally discovers that Charles is Whirlwind later on in the series, forcing Whirlwind to abandon the identity.
Whirlwind is then employed by master villain Count Nefaria and joined the Lethal Legion. Nefaria temporarily amplifies the abilities of Whirlwind and super-powered team-mates Power Man and the Living Laser before sending them against the Avengers. The effect, however, is temporary and their combined abilities are drained by Nefaria subsequently defeated by the Avengers. Whirlwind joined the third Masters of Evil in a plan to destroy the Avengers, but caused their defeat by attacking prematurely. Whirlwind later upgrades his costume when joining a new version of the Masters of Evil formed by Baron Zemo. Whirlwind partnered with the Trapster, obtained a new battle armor and weapons from Tinkerer, and battled Captain America in an attempt to bolster his criminal reputation. He then partnered with Tiger Shark, traveled to San Francisco to steal an experimental "psycho-circuit", and battled the West Coast Avengers. Whirlwind also shows signs of an obsession with the Wasp, as he forces prostitutes to dress in the Wasp's past costumes and then assaults them.
Whirlwind and the Trapster end up fighting, due to a bounty placed on the former by the up-and-coming criminal mastermind Ricadonna. Trapster glues Whirlwind to the floor just at the start of his spin. He continues twirling, breaking many of his bones, including his spine. He makes a full recovery and is forced to join Baron Zemo's team of Thunderbolts. After leaving them, he gathered a group of villains together and tried to extort money from the Thunderbolts' new director Norman Osborn, but was beaten by Osborn and is now forced to work secretly. In Dark Reign: Zodiac, Cannon is shown as a mole for Zodiac, working as Norman's chauffeur.
Whirlwind later attacks Hank blaming for Janet's death during "Secret Invasion" and outraged by Pym taking the Wasp codename. He is defeated by the Avengers Academy student Striker. In a conversation between Striker and his mother, it is revealed that she hired Whirlwind to stage the attack to gain publicity for Striker.
Whirlwind was recruited by the Mandarin and Zeke Stane into joining the other villains in a plot to take down Iron Man. Whirlwind receives a new costume from Mandarin and Zeke Stane.
During the "Infinity" storyline, Whirlwind was seen with Blizzard robbing banks when they are approached by Spymaster. Spymaster enlists Whirlwind and Blizzard to help him and the villains he recruited to attack the almost-defenseless Stark Tower.
Whirlwind was among the villains contracted by the Assassins Guild to target Elektra's allies.
Whirlwind was hired by Power Broker's "Hench" App to kill Ant-Man as part of the App's demonstration to Darren Cross. When Cross was unwilling to give Power Broker the 1.2 billion dollars he demanded for investment in the Hench app, this caused Power Broker to cancel the demo and cancel Whirlwind's assassination on Ant-Man.
During the "Avengers: Standoff!" storyline, Whirlwind was an inmate of Pleasant Hill, a gated community established by S.H.I.E.L.D. Using Kobik, S.H.I.E.L.D. transformed Whirlwind into a teenager named Scotty. When Baron Zemo and Fixer restored everyone's memories, Whirlwind went on a rampage with Absorbing Man. When the Hood and Titania show up to retrieve Absorbing Man, Whirlwind joins Absorbing Man in siding with Hood's Illuminati.
During the "Opening Salvo", part of the "Secret Empire" storyline, Whirlwind is among the villains who join the Army of Evil. Whirlwind, Batroc the Leaper, and Living Laser attack a haggard, bearded man in a torn World War II army uniform who identifies himself as Steve Rogers before Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes rescue him.
In the "Sins Rising" arc, Whirlwind joins Count Nefaria's incarnation of the Lethal Legion. In "Sinister War", he joins the Sinful Six after being possessed by a demonic centipede that emerged from the Sin-Eater's corpse.
Whirlwind is later killed by an unidentified intruder while imprisoned in the Raft before being resurrected and possessed by Ultron.

## Powers and abilities

David Cannon is a mutant with the ability to rapidly spin his body. This enables him to fly and generate powerful gusts of wind, and gives him superhuman speed and agility.

## Reception

Adam Holmes of CinemaBlend included David Cannon in their "5 Marvel Villains We'd Love To See In Ant-Man And The Wasp" list.

## Other versions
### Heroes Reborn

An alternate universe variant of Whirlwind appears in Heroes Reborn.

### JLA/Avengers

Whirlwind appears in JLA/Avengers #4 as a brainwashed minion of Krona.

### Old Man Logan

An alternate universe variant of Whirlwind appears in Old Man Logan.

## In other media
### Television

* Whirlwind appears in Iron Man, initially voiced by James Avery and subsequently by Dorian Harewood. This version is a servant of the Mandarin.
* Whirlwind appears in The Avengers: United They Stand episode "Command Decision", voiced by Peter Windrem. This version is a member of Baron Helmut Zemo's Masters of Evil.
* Whirlwind makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "A Brat Walks Among Us!" as a member of Doctor Doom's Lethal Legion.
* Whirlwind appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, voiced by Troy Baker. Throughout his appearances, he battles the Wasp and Ant-Man and is imprisoned in the Big House and Prison 42 until he is killed while helping the Avengers fight Annihilus.
* Whirlwind appears in Ultimate Spider-Man, voiced by Tom Kenny. This version is among the first villains Spider-Man faced and is on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most wanted list.
* Whirlwind appears in the Avengers Assemble episode "Spectrums", voiced again by Tom Kenny.
* Whirlwind appears in the Spider-Man episode "The Cellar" as an inmate of the eponymous prison.
* Whirlwind appears in Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, voiced by Keith Silverstein in the English dub.
* Whirlwind appears in the M.O.D.O.K. episode "Days of Future M.O.D.O.K.s", voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.

### Video games

* Whirlwind appears as the first boss of Captain America and The Avengers.
* Whirlwind appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, voiced by Adam Jennings. This version is among several supervillains controlled with nanites and forced to help either the Anti-Registration or the Pro-Registration side.
* Whirlwind appears in Marvel: Avengers Alliance 2.
* Whirlwind appears as a boss and playable character in Lego Marvel's Avengers via the "Masters of Evil" DLC pack. This version is a member of the eponymous group.