| Klaw | |
|---|---|
 Klaw battles theFantastic Four on the cover ofFantastic Four #56 (Nov. 1966). | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance |
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| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Ulysses Klaue |
| Species | Human mutate |
| Team affiliations |
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| Notable aliases | Ulysses Klaw Master of Sound |
| Abilities |
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Klaw (Ulysses Klaue)[3] is asupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The character is depicted as a human physicist who has been transformed into solid sound, and who wears a sonic emitter on his right wrist as a prosthetic device. He is often in conflict with theFantastic Four and theAvengers, and he is also an enemy of theBlack Panther andKa-Zar.[4]
The character is featured in other Marvel-endorsed products such as arcade andvideo games,animatedtelevision series, and merchandise such astrading cards.Andy Serkis portrays Klaue in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) filmsAvengers: Age of Ultron (2015) andBlack Panther (2018), and theDisney+ seriesWhat If...? (2021).
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The character first appeared inFantastic Four #53 (1966) and was created byStan Lee andJack Kirby.[5]
Ulysses Klaue is the son ofNazi war criminal Colonel Fritz Klaue of the Blitzkrieg Squad led byBaron Strucker. He was sent byAdolf Hitler to the African nation ofWakanda to learn their secrets. AfterWorld War II, Klaue moved back toBelgium, anglicized his name to "Klaw", and raised his son with tales of Wakanda.[3]
Klaw later becomes aphysicist, working in the field of applied sonics. To continue his design of a sound transducer which converts sound waves into physical mass, Klaw steals the metalvibranium to power his device. This is a metal substance known to exist only in certain meteoric deposits in Wakanda. Klaw comes into conflict with the Wakandan ruler/superheroT'Chaka, whom Klaw murders in cold blood. T'Chaka's adolescent sonT'Challa, who watched his father die, attacks Klaw to avenge his father. Klaw manages to escape at the cost of his right hand.[6][7]
Years later, Ulysses resurfaces with a sonic emitter/gun on his right wrist as a replacementprosthetic device for his missing hand, that can create any kind of object or creature he can conceive using sound. He has also created a device that turns him into a being made of sound, making him immortal in the process. Klaw as a professional criminal battles T'Challa (who has become the newestBlack Panther) andsuperhero team theFantastic Four in New York state, but he is defeated.[8]
Klaw is imprisoned but freed by theCrimson Cowl, which turns out to be an alias ofUltron. Joining the second incarnation of theMasters of Evil, Klaw and the other villains battle theAvengers. The Avengers, however, defeat them, with Black Panther subduing Klaw.[9]
Klaw joins forces withSolarr and traps the Avengers within a solid sound barrier. Klaw threatens to execute them if the Black Panther does not abdicate the throne of Wakanda to him. Realizing that Klaw himself is disguised as one of the hostages while using a sound creation of himself to appear outside the barrier, Black Panther manages to expose and subdue Klaw and Solarr before they can make good on their threat.[10]
Klaw is freed from prison by a member of the extra-dimensional Sheenareans, who wish him to use his sonic powers to help open a dimensional portal for their armada to enter Earth. Klaw agrees and after a skirmish withKa-Zar inLondon, he travels with the Sheenarean to theSavage Land, where there is a vibranium deposit large enough to create the portal. After Ka-Zar repulses the invaders, Klaw flees.[11]
Klaw's career soon takes a downward spiral, after an encounter withDazzler results in his humanoid form being dissolved and his sound energy being blasted out into space, where it ends up being collected byGalactus.[12] His energy is found byDoctor Doom during thelimited seriesSecret Wars. Doom restores Klaw to normal. The loss of his physical form has had repercussions; Klaw now has the mind of a child and is quite insane, a symptom of which is speaking in rhyme. Doom exploits Klaw's madness, convincing the villain to re-dissect him as part of a mad gambit to steal the powers of both Galactus and theBeyonder. However, the Beyonder possesses Klaw after losing his powers, leading to Klaw tricking Doom into giving up his stolen Godhood and teleporting the two back to Earth, where Klaw's mental state slowly heals.[13]
Klaw is recruited by theWizard to join his latest incarnation of theFrightful Four. Attacking the Fantastic Four while the group are performing a delicate scientific procedure on theHuman Torch (whose powers had gone out of control), Klaw throws the Thing into the medical pod that was attempting to drain the excess radiation from Torch, resulting in the Thing being restored to his human form. Klaw and his teammates, along with the Fantastic Four, are captured byAron, who returns Klaw and his fellow villains to prison after the Fantastic Four break free.[14]
Klaw later joinsCrimson Cowl's version of the Masters of Evil, fighting theThunderbolts on several occasions.[15]
When Earth's vibranium deposits begin to explode due to a 'vibranium cancer' introduced into the world whenCaptain America's shield was broken and improperly repaired,[volume & issue needed] Klaw travels to Wakanda with the goal of absorbing the sound energy of the imminent explosion to empower himself. Captain America is able to defeat him when he uses the damaged shield to absorb Klaw's attack. The blast realigns the shield molecules so that the shield is repaired and the vibranium cancer destroyed.[16]
Klaw is enlisted by the Wizard to captureCarnage, so that he can be added to the latest version of the Frightful Four, alongsideKarl Malus. The Wizard's attempts to control the symbiote fail, so he decides to bond it to Malus, and subdue his mind. Klaw subdues Malus, and the operation is a success, creating "Superior Carnage". The "Frightful Foundation" then attack New York city hall, as part of Wizard's plan to get his clone son's attention. During a battle withSuperior Spider-Man, Wizard loses control of Superior Carnage, who stabs Klaw with a vibranium spear, causing him to detonate. Klaw's consciousness is projected onto the "sound wall" of the universe, spreading him too thin to retain his form.[17]
During theAvengers: Standoff! storyline, Klaw appears as an inmate of Pleasant Hill, a gated community established byS.H.I.E.L.D.[18]
Courtesy of avibranium-powered sonic converter, Ulysses Klaw was converted into a being composed of psionically "solidified" sound, giving him a somewhat inhuman appearance. The character is described as having superhuman durability and strength sufficient to lift tons of matter. Themolybdenum steel sound generator that serves as a prosthetic appliance on Klaw's right wrist is able to transform ambient sound to perform a series of functions, including the projection of intense high-volume sonic waves and blasts of concussive force and the creation of mobile sound/mass constructs. The sound converter was invented by Klaw and later improved byAIM scientists and technicians.[volume & issue needed] Klaw can also sense his surroundings using sonar. When he foughtVolcana while trying to abductMolecule Man he demonstrated the ability to create "cohesive sound".[volume & issue needed] This was essentially an entangling/crushing construct that absorbed ambient noise to increase its size and strength. The noise from the target's struggles to remove the construct would make it larger and stronger. Volcana was only able to escape it by changing into her ash form.[volume & issue needed] After Klaw became temporarily commingled with the ship ofGalactus and reconstructed byDoctor Doom, he became able to create semi-autonomous creatures made of solidified sound.[19]
Klaw is unable to regain his original organic form. He has a susceptibility to vibranium, which can cause his body to temporarily collapse. He is also subject to temporary mild insanity when forced to exist as sonic energy without humanoid form for long periods of time. As a result of his transformation, Klaw was at first unable to exist outside a medium that allows the propagation of sound waves (i.e. in a vacuum) without the technological improvements made to his sonic converter by A.I.M. After being reconstituted by A.I.M., his "solid sound" body has different properties than normal sound waves and is not affected by a vacuum.[volume & issue needed] In this form, Klaw can also generate and direct sonic attacks through physical objects without needing his emitter.
Klaw holds a Ph.D. in physics and is an expert physicist specializing in applied sonics.
Klaw appears in "Heroes Reborn" as a member ofLoki'sMasters of Evil.[24]
Ulysses Klaue appears in media set in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), portrayed byAndy Serkis. This version is anAfrikaner arms dealer and an old acquaintance ofTony Stark who was literally branded a thief after stealing Vibranium from Wakanda. Klaue first appears in the live-action filmAvengers: Age of Ultron (2015),[29] and makes a subsequent appearance in the live-action filmBlack Panther (2018).[30] Additionally, Serkis voices an alternate timeline variant of Klaue in theDisney+ animated seriesWhat If...? episode "What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?".[31][32][33][34]
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