Wilbur Finletter is a member of the Tomato Task Squadron, and one of the most well-known veterans of the Great Tomato War.
The Great Tomato War[]
As a highly-trained soldier in the armed forces, Finletter was assigned to Mason Dixon's attack force, though he was initially not present when the group was formed, due to being involved on another mission. After meeting with Dixon, the two set up their impromptu headquarters at a local hotel.
The following morning, Mason tasked Wilbur to warn Gretta Attenbaum of tomato activity in Sector Two. Wilbur carried out his assignment, but found Gretta shortly after she had been killed. Managing to escape the tomatoes, he reported his findings to Mason, and chased off Lois Fairchild, whom he thought was an enemy spy.
Wilbur further distinguished himself by saving Mason from a would-be assassin (actually Jim Richardson), and accompanying him to the Battle of San Diego. It is not known if Wilbur fought in the battle, but in its aftermath, he managed to save Mason after he was captured by Richardson.
Wilbur's greatest moment occurred during the Battle of San Diego Stadium, during which he managed to rally the city's remaining refugees, and lead them in a final, desperate battle against the tomatoes, and managing to defeat them for good.
After the War[]
In the aftermath of the tomatoes' defeat, Wilbur was praised as a hero, and he used that fame to catapault himself to personal success by opening Finletter's Pizzeria, which serves tomato-less pizzas, and employed his nephew, Chad Finletter.
But despite the pizzeria's success, he still feared the return of the tomatoes, even though it had been ten years since the war's end. His fears were justified, however, as Professor Mortimer Gangreen, the unknown mastermind behind the tomato uprising, was preparing to unleash a new wave of tomato terror upon the nation.
After his nephew went through several mis-adventures and was captured, Wilbur learned of the growing tomato menace, and once again went to war, donning his military outfit, and calling back together the other surviving members of the Tomato Task Force: Sam Smith and Greg Colburn. Together, they infiltrated Gangreen's lair, saved Chad, and ultimitly stopped Gangreen and Jim Richardson from once again threatening the world. Though he was uneasy with his nephew's girlfriend being a tomato, he decided to go with it.
Personality and Traits[]
Wilbur is a well-meaning and brave man who has an unfortunate tendancy to be slightly clumsy and bumbling, but is a dedicated and fircely loyal soldier who will go to any length to defeat the tomatoes and protect both his allies and the innocent.
Being a trained soldier, Wilbur has great physical stamina, and wields a combat saber as his primary weapon, though he has also used pistols on certain occasions. He also is known for carrying around a parachute with him at all times, presumably to be used if he should ever need to parachute into enemy territory.
Behind the Scenes and Trivia[]
- Wilbur is portrayed by J. Stephen Peace, who went on to become a Senator in California, and is currently the CEO of Four Square Productions, which produced all of the Killer Tomato films.
- Out of all the characters from the original film, Finletter appeared the most in the subsequent series, featuring in two of the following movies (Return, and Strike Back), and the cartoon series.