Table of Contents

Klaw

Part 1: The Dossier: An At-a-Glance Summary

Part 2: Origin and Evolution

Publication History and Creation

Ulysses Klaw made his debut in the heart of the Silver Age of comics, first appearing in Fantastic Four #53 in August 1966. He was co-created by the legendary duo of writer-editor Stan Lee and artist-plotter Jack Kirby, the same creative team that introduced his nemesis, the Black Panther, in the very same issue. Klaw's creation was integral to the world-building surrounding the Black Panther and Wakanda. Lee and Kirby needed a villain who could believably challenge the technologically advanced nation and its super-powered monarch. By making Klaw a master of sound physics, they created a villain whose powers were not just brute force, but a conceptual and scientific threat. His obsession with Vibranium provided a clear and compelling motivation that would drive decades of stories. The name “Klaw” itself, with its hard, sharp sound, perfectly complemented his sonic abilities and his signature weaponized claw. His initial design, with its vibrant red and purple costume and stark sonic-emitter “claw,” is a classic example of Kirby's dynamic and imaginative character design, making him instantly recognizable on the page.

In-Universe Origin Story

The origin of Ulysses Klaw is a tale of scientific hubris, greed, and a violent clash of cultures. While the core elements—a man obsessed with Vibranium who attacks Wakanda and kills its king—remain consistent, the specifics of his transformation and character differ dramatically between the comic books and the films.

Earth-616 (Prime Comic Universe)

In the prime Marvel comics continuity, Ulysses Klaue was a brilliant and accomplished physicist from the Netherlands, working on applied sonics. He became consumed by tales of the mysterious African nation of Wakanda and its unique metal, Vibranium, which possessed incredible sound- and vibration-absorbing properties. He theorized that he could use this “anti-metal” to create a revolutionary sound transducer, a device capable of converting any sound into physical mass—creating “solid sound.” Driven by this ambition, Klaue assembled a team of mercenaries and mounted an illegal invasion of Wakanda. He intended to steal the nation's Vibranium mound by force. They were confronted by Wakanda's king and protector, T'Chaka. Klaue, a ruthless and pragmatic man, gave T'Chaka an ultimatum: surrender the Vibranium or he would execute the captured Wakandan citizens. When T'Chaka refused and attempted to disarm him, Klaue mercilessly gunned him down in cold blood. This murder was witnessed by T'Chaka's young son, T'Challa. Enraged by his father's death, the teenage T'Challa attacked Klaue's forces. In the ensuing chaos, T'Challa managed to seize Klaue's own sonic weapon and use it against him, shattering Klaue's right hand and forcing the invaders to flee. Years later, Klaue resurfaced. He had successfully created a more powerful sonic emitter prosthesis to replace his missing hand. More importantly, he had perfected his sound transducer. Obsessed with revenge and still desperate for Vibranium, he staged another attack on Wakanda. This time, he was confronted by the new Black Panther, a now-adult T'Challa, and his new allies, the Fantastic Four. In the climactic battle inside the Vibranium mound, Klaw, facing defeat, turned his ultimate sonic converter on himself. He threw himself into the device, which bombarded his body with immense sonic energy and the unique properties of the surrounding Vibranium. The process should have killed him, but instead it achieved the impossible: it transformed Ulysses Klaw's physical body into a cohesive being of pure, psionically-controlled sound waves. Now calling himself simply Klaw, he became a far greater threat than ever before. His body was now a living weapon, virtually immortal and capable of incredible feats of sonic manipulation. This act of self-destructive transformation cemented his status as Black Panther's most personal and enduring enemy.

Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)

The MCU presents a radically different, more grounded version of the character, known as Ulysses Klaue. Portrayed by actor Andy Serkis, Klaue is not a physicist but an Afrikaner arms dealer, black market smuggler, and former associate of Tony Stark. He is established as one of the very few outsiders to have ever successfully infiltrated Wakanda and stolen from it. As revealed in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Klaue has a brand of a thief seared onto his neck by the Wakandans, marking him for his crime of stealing a significant amount of Vibranium. He operates out of a shipyard on the African coast, where he is approached by the sentient A.I. Ultron, who seeks Vibranium to create his ultimate body. During a tense negotiation, Klaue foolishly compares Ultron to Tony Stark, which enrages the unstable A.I. In a fit of anger, Ultron severs Klaue's left arm and then pays him handsomely for the stolen Vibranium. Klaue's story continues in Black Panther. By this time, he has replaced his lost arm with an advanced prosthetic that conceals a powerful sonic disruptor—a piece of stolen Wakandan mining technology. He is shown to be a chaotic and unpredictable criminal mastermind, reveling in the destruction he causes. He partners with Erik “Killmonger” Stevens to steal a Wakandan artifact from a museum in London. This leads to a high-stakes confrontation in Busan, South Korea, where Klaue attempts to sell the artifact to CIA agent Everett Ross. The deal is ambushed by Black Panther (T'Challa), Okoye, and Nakia. During a spectacular car chase, Klaue unleashes the full power of his sonic arm cannon, demonstrating its destructive capability. He is eventually captured by T'Challa but is broken out of custody by Killmonger. The alliance, however, proves fatal for Klaue. Killmonger's true goal was never partnership; it was to use Klaue as a means to an end. To gain entry into Wakanda and present a credible offering to the tribal elders, Killmonger executes Klaue and delivers his body to the Wakandan border. This version of the character is never transformed into a sound being; he remains a human criminal whose primary threat comes from his ruthlessness, connections, and stolen Wakandan technology. His adaptation serves to ground the world of Wakanda in the more realistic geopolitical landscape of the MCU, portraying him as a symptom of the real-world exploitation that Wakanda has so long sought to avoid.

Part 3: Abilities, Equipment & Personality

While both versions of Klaw are defined by sound-based technology and a thirst for Vibranium, their capabilities and nature are worlds apart.

Earth-616 (Prime Comic Universe)

In his “solid sound” form, Klaw is a formidable superhuman entity whose powers are as unique as they are deadly.

Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)

The MCU's Ulysses Klaue is a far more conventional, yet no less dangerous, threat.

Part 4: Key Relationships & Network

Klaw's obsessive nature has led him into numerous alliances of convenience and forged some of the most bitter enmities in the Marvel Universe.

Core Allies

Klaw rarely forms true friendships, instead seeking out partners who can further his goals.

Arch-Enemies

Affiliations

Part 5: Iconic Events & Storylines

Klaw's villainous career is marked by several key storylines that have defined his character and his impact on the Marvel Universe.

"The Coming of... Klaw!" (Fantastic Four #53, 1966)

Klaw's debut story is also the first appearance of the Black Panther in full costume. After being defeated by the Fantastic Four in a trial, T'Challa reveals his origin and why he summoned them to Wakanda. He recounts the story of Ulysses Klaue's first invasion and the murder of his father. Just as the tale is told, Klaw returns, now a being of solid sound. The storyline establishes the core conflict, showcases Klaw's new powers, and solidifies the alliance between Black Panther and the Fantastic Four. It is the foundational text for the character.

"Panther's Rage" (Jungle Action vol. 2 #6-24, 1973-1976)

Considered by many to be the first true “graphic novel” in comic history due to its long-form, serialized narrative, this epic storyline by Don McGregor cemented Klaw as Black Panther's ultimate foe. Klaw returns to Wakanda and orchestrates a vast conspiracy, secretly backing various internal threats to T'Challa's rule, including Erik Killmonger and Man-Ape. He acts as the manipulative, external threat fanning the flames of civil war. The story delves deep into the political and social fabric of Wakanda, and Klaw's role highlights the nation's vulnerability to both internal strife and external manipulation. It's a masterclass in character-driven storytelling where Klaw is portrayed at his most cunning and dangerous.

Secret Wars (1984)

During Marvel's first universe-wide crossover event, Klaw was one of the many villains transported to the planet Battleworld by the omnipotent Beyonder to fight against a team of heroes. Placed under the command of Doctor Doom, Klaw played a significant role in the villains' machinations. He was instrumental in helping Doctor Doom steal the Beyonder's power. However, his unstable mental state made him a liability, and a paranoid Doom brutally dissected him to study his nature, only for Klaw's consciousness to possess the Beyonder's machine, demonstrating his unique form of immortality.

Avengers: Under Siege (Avengers #273-277, 1986-1987)

In this iconic Avengers story, Klaw joins Baron Zemo's massive new incarnation of the Masters of Evil. While not a central player, his role in the successful and brutal takedown of Avengers Mansion was critical. His sonic blasts were used to breach defenses and overwhelm heroes like Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) and Hercules. This storyline showcased Klaw as a dangerous team player and a legitimate “Avenger-level” threat.

Part 6: Variants and Alternative Versions

Beyond the main Earth-616 and MCU incarnations, several other versions of Klaw have appeared across the multiverse.

See Also

Notes and Trivia

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

1)
Ulysses Klaw was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Fantastic Four #53 (1966).
2)
The MCU character's last name is spelled “Klaue,” a nod to the Dutch/Germanic origin of the name, while the comic version is almost exclusively spelled “Klaw.”
3)
Actor Andy Serkis, who portrayed Ulysses Klaue in the MCU, is world-renowned for his pioneering work in performance capture acting, having famously played characters like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy. His role as Klaue was one of his few major live-action appearances in a blockbuster franchise.
4)
Klaw's powers are conceptually similar to those of the X-Men's ally, Dazzler (Alison Blaire), who can also convert sound into light and solid energy constructs. The two have rarely, if ever, interacted.
5)
In the comics, Klaw was once seemingly destroyed when he was “absorbed” by the Vibranium mound in Wakanda. His consciousness, however, was later downloaded from the Vibranium itself by A.I.M. and reconstituted, highlighting the difficulty of permanently killing him.
6)
The seminal “Panther's Rage” storyline, which heavily featured Klaw, ran in Jungle Action from 1973 to 1976 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential Black Panther stories ever written.