Show pageOld revisionsBacklinksBack to top This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. ====== Klaw ====== ===== Part 1: The Dossier: An At-a-Glance Summary ===== * **Core Identity: A brilliant but psychotically obsessed physicist transformed into a being of pure "solid sound," Ulysses Klaw is the definitive arch-nemesis of the [[black_panther]] and the living embodiment of the outside world's rapacious desire for Wakanda's [[vibranium]].** * **Key Takeaways:** * **Role in the Universe:** Klaw serves as a primary antagonist to [[black_panther]] and a recurring threat to heroes like the [[fantastic_four]] and the [[avengers]]. He represents the technological and colonialist threat to the isolationist nation of [[wakanda]], his entire existence fueled by his obsession with its most precious resource, Vibranium. * **Primary Impact:** Klaw is directly responsible for the murder of King T'Chaka, the father of T'Challa, an event that defines the modern Black Panther's legacy and motivations. His actions forced Wakanda to confront the outside world and cemented a multi-generational blood feud that has shaped the nation's history. * **Key Incarnations:** The fundamental difference between his primary versions lies in his state of being. In the **Earth-616 comics**, Klaw is a superhuman entity made of sentient sound, possessing immense power and a form of immortality. In the **Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)**, he is a purely human, charismatic, and unhinged arms dealer named Ulysses Klaue, who uses a prosthetic arm equipped with a powerful Wakandan sonic cannon. ===== 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. * **Powers and Abilities:** * **Solid Sound Physiology:** Klaw's primary power is his body itself. He is composed of sentient, interactive sound waves. This form grants him a number of superhuman attributes: * **Superhuman Durability:** His body is incredibly resistant to physical injury. Bullets, explosions, and physical blows often pass through him harmlessly or are dissipated. He can withstand incredible impact forces. * **Superhuman Strength:** While not in the same class as beings like the Hulk, Klaw can focus his sonic form to exhibit strength sufficient to lift several tons and physically battle super-strong opponents like The Thing or Black Panther. * **Effective Immortality:** As long as a fraction of his sound-wave pattern exists, Klaw can eventually reconstitute himself. He cannot age, and he does not require food, water, or air to survive. He has been dispersed, seemingly destroyed, and even absorbed into other energy sources, only to eventually return. * **Sonic Manipulation:** Klaw has total mental control over the sound waves that constitute his form and can manipulate ambient sound in his environment. * **Concussive Force Blasts:** His most common form of attack is projecting devastating blasts of concussive sonic force from his emitter claw or his entire body. These blasts can shatter steel and pulverize concrete. * **Solid Sound Constructs:** Klaw's most versatile ability is creating complex, fully functional objects and creatures out of solid sound. He can create weapons, shields, cages, and even semi-sentient animalistic minions to fight for him. The complexity of these constructs is limited only by his imagination. * **Sound Absorption and Amplification:** He can absorb ambient sound to strengthen himself and can project sounds at deafening volumes or at specific frequencies to disorient or incapacitate his foes. * **Echolocation:** He possesses a form of sonar, allowing him to "see" his environment in perfect detail through sound waves. * **Weaknesses:** * **Vibranium:** Klaw's greatest strength is also the source of his greatest weakness. Wakandan Vibranium, due to its unique ability to absorb vibrations, can disrupt the cohesion of his solid sound form. Sufficient exposure or a powerful impact from a Vibranium weapon can cause him to destabilize, dissipate, or even be "absorbed" by the metal. * **Sensory Overload:** Extremely powerful sonic attacks or specific frequencies can overwhelm his ability to maintain his form, causing him to temporarily lose control or disperse. * **Psionic Cohesion:** His form is held together by his own willpower. A powerful telepathic attack or a moment of extreme mental distress could theoretically cause his form to fall apart. * **Equipment:** * **Sonic Claw/Emitter:** Before his transformation, this was a prosthetic device. After, it became an integrated and focused part of his body. It serves as the primary focal point for his most powerful and precise sonic blasts and is his signature weapon. * **Personality:** * The comic book Klaw is a monomaniacal genius. His personality is defined by an all-consuming obsession, first with the science of sonics and later with acquiring Vibranium and destroying the Black Panther. He is arrogant, cruel, and views human life as utterly disposable in the pursuit of his goals. He is prone to fits of rage and sees his transformation not as a tragedy, but as a glorious ascension to a higher state of being. === Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) === The MCU's Ulysses Klaue is a far more conventional, yet no less dangerous, threat. * **Abilities and Skills:** * **Peak Human Condition:** While not superhuman, Klaue is a physically capable man in good condition, able to handle himself in a firefight. * **Expert Marksman:** He is proficient with a wide variety of firearms. * **Master Smuggler and Arms Dealer:** Klaue's true power lies in his extensive knowledge of the criminal underworld. He is a master of logistics, smuggling, and navigating the dangerous world of illegal arms trade. He has connections across the globe. * **Cunning and Manipulative:** He is a shrewd negotiator and is skilled at manipulating situations to his advantage, though his impulsive and chaotic nature can often undermine his own plans. * **Equipment:** * **Prosthetic Arm with Sonic Disruptor:** His signature piece of equipment is his advanced prosthetic left arm. It contains a retractable piece of stolen Wakandan mining technology that functions as a powerful sonic cannon. It can fire concussive blasts capable of stopping an armored vehicle in its tracks and can also emit a disruptive sonic pulse over a wider area. * **Conventional Weaponry:** Klaue utilizes an arsenal of military-grade firearms, explosives, and other tools of the trade. * **Personality:** * Andy Serkis portrays Klaue with a manic, almost gleeful energy. He is a chaos agent who genuinely enjoys his work. He is sarcastic, boisterous, and utterly without morals. Unlike his comic counterpart's cold obsession, MCU Klaue is driven by greed and a love for the thrill of the criminal lifestyle. He is unpredictable and violent, but with a charismatic flair that makes him a memorable and engaging villain. He holds a deep-seated grudge against the Wakandans for branding him and is proud of being the one who "saw them for what they are" and stole from them. ===== 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. * **The Frightful Four:** Klaw is a long-standing and recurring member of the Wizard's Frightful Four. This team, typically consisting of the Wizard, Sandman, and Medusa (and later others like Trapster), was formed as a dark reflection of the Fantastic Four. Klaw's immense power and sonic abilities make him the powerhouse of the group, and he has participated in many of their schemes to destroy their heroic counterparts. * **Erik Killmonger:** In the MCU, Killmonger is Klaue's most significant partner. Killmonger uses Klaue's resources and knowledge of Wakanda to acquire the vibranium artifact he needs to enact his plan. It's a purely transactional relationship built on mutual criminal interest, though Killmonger sees Klaue as nothing more than a pawn, ultimately murdering him to gain access to Wakanda. In the comics, Klaw and Killmonger have also allied, notably in a modern storyline where Klaw is resurrected and joins forces with a similarly revived Killmonger to attack Wakanda once more. * **Man-Ape (M'Baku):** In the classic "Panther's Rage" storyline, Klaw forms a crucial alliance with M'Baku, the leader of the Jabari Tribe. M'Baku seeks to usurp the throne of Wakanda and return the nation to its primitive, pre-technology past. Klaw provides the outside firepower and technological threat to aid M'Baku's internal coup, a partnership that nearly succeeded in destroying T'Challa. ==== Arch-Enemies ==== * **Black Panther (T'Challa):** This is the central, defining conflict of Klaw's existence. It is a deeply personal blood feud. Klaw murdered T'Challa's father, and T'Challa cost Klaw his hand. For Klaw, T'Challa is the living symbol of the nation that he covets and despises. He is obsessed with destroying not just the man, but the entire legacy of the Black Panther and the nation of Wakanda itself. For T'Challa, Klaw is a constant, painful reminder of his greatest failure and the ever-present threat the outside world poses to his people. * **The Fantastic Four:** As the heroes present during his first major attack on Wakanda as Klaw, the Fantastic Four became his first superhuman adversaries. He has repeatedly battled them, both on his own and as a member of the Frightful Four, holding a particular grudge against them for his initial defeat. His sonic powers make him a difficult opponent for the team, particularly against the Invisible Woman's force fields and The Thing's rock-like hide. * **The Avengers:** As a major supervillain, Klaw has inevitably clashed with Earth's Mightiest Heroes on numerous occasions. He was recruited by Ultron into the Masters of Evil during the classic "Under Siege" storyline, participating in the devastating takeover of Avengers Mansion. His raw power makes him a threat that often requires the full team to subdue. ==== Affiliations ==== * **Masters of Evil:** Klaw has been a member of several incarnations of this premiere supervillain team, most notably Baron Zemo's version. His power and lack of moral scruples make him a perfect recruit for any villainous mastermind looking to add heavy firepower to their roster. * **A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics):** While not a formal member, Klaw has frequently collaborated with A.I.M., trading his expertise or services for access to their advanced technology, resources, and scientific data to enhance his own sonic equipment or reconstitute his form. * **The Intelligencia:** Klaw had a brief association with this cabal of the world's most brilliant supervillains (including Leader, M.O.D.O.K., and Doctor Doom), though his unstable and obsessive nature often makes him a poor fit for long-term, coordinated teamwork. ===== 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. * **Ultimate Universe (Earth-1610):** In this alternate reality, Ulysses Klaw is a human arms dealer, much closer to his MCU counterpart. Known as "Klaw," he is a rival to the arms dealer [[norman_osborn]] and has clashed with Spider-Man and the Ultimates. This version never gained superpowers and was eventually killed by the [[venom]] symbiote. This interpretation heavily influenced the decision to make him a human smuggler in the movies. * **Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (Animated Series):** This critically acclaimed animated series presented a version of Klaw almost perfectly faithful to his Earth-616 origin. He is a physicist who attacks Wakanda for its Vibranium, is repelled by a young T'Challa, and later transforms himself into a being of solid sound. He joins the Masters of Evil and serves as a major antagonist to Black Panther, perfectly capturing the classic comic book depiction. * **Marvel Zombies:** In the grim reality of Earth-2149, Klaw, along with the other members of the Frightful Four, is transformed into a flesh-eating zombie. He is seen briefly among the horde of zombified super-beings who devour the planet. * **MCU's What If...? (Episode 6):** An alternate version of Ulysses Klaue appears in the animated series. In a timeline where Killmonger saves Tony Stark in Afghanistan, the two collaborate to build advanced drone technology. Killmonger directs Stark to Klaue as a source for Vibranium, leading to a meeting that is interrupted by James Rhodes. This version serves a similar plot function as his main MCU counterpart: a criminal gateway to the world's supply of Vibranium. ===== See Also ===== * [[black_panther]] * [[wakanda]] * [[vibranium]] * [[fantastic_four]] * [[erik_killmonger]] * [[frightful_four]] ===== Notes and Trivia ===== ((Ulysses Klaw was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, first appearing in ''Fantastic Four'' #53 (1966).)) ((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.")) ((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.)) ((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.)) ((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.)) ((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.))