Origin
Gustav Hertz was a young German boy working in a factory until his arms got caught in a machine. He lost both of his arms, but learned how to use his teeth and feet in the same manner as his arms. Hertz developed an extreme hatred for machines, and was sent by the Gestapo to America in order to destroy their machines. After committing a brutal murder, the Angel was sent after Armless Tiger Man. The Angel’s chase culminated in a battle at the Johnston Defense Plant, where the Angel defeated Armless Tiger Man and handed him over to the police.
Creation
Armless Tiger Man was created by Paul Gustavson and Al Bellman. He first appeared in 1941’s Marvel Mystery Comics #26, and has since become one of Marvel’s most infamously bizarre characters.
Major Story Arcs
Flags of Our Fathers
During World War II when the Red Skull sought to conquer the African kingdom of Wakanda in order to plunder its Vibranium resources, Armless Tiger Man was one of the special operatives the Red Skull selected to allow him to conquer the kingdom without expending any more German troops. Armless Tiger Man took great pleasure in satisfying his cannibalistic urges on several Wakandan prisoners after they refused to falter during interrogation.
Following the Red Skull’s orders, Master Man and Warrior Woman distracted the Wakandans by directly attacking their city, while Armless Tiger Man infiltrated the royal palace. He slaughtered his way past countless royal guards until he was able to take the Wakandan prince, T’chaka, hostage. With T’chaka in his possession, Armless Tiger Man sought to make off with his hostage, if not for the timely intervention of the Howling Commando, Gabriel Jones, who came upon the scene and quickly killed Armless Tiger Man with a shot to the head. This wound up being just one of many setbacks in the Red Skull’s plan, which soon fell apart after this.
Incredible Hercules
Hercules, Aegis and Amadeus Cho would travel to Tartarus where they are greeted by a welcoming committee consisting of numerous dead villains like Armless Tiger Man in service of Pluto. Hercules stands down when Pluto appears with Zeus as his captive. Armless Tiger Man and the other villains were then chosen to serve as the jury for Pluto’s trial of Zeus. When it was revealed however that Pluto was never going to make good on his promise to release the jury members from Tartarus if they sided with him, Armless Tiger Man and the rest of the jury attacked the deceitful god.
Powers & Abilities
Despite not having arms, Armless Tiger Man is able to use his mouth and feet in much the same way. His teeth have been shown to be strong enough for him to grab a chain with his mouth or swing from a rope by hanging on with his teeth, and he is agile enough to lift weights with his legs and even throw knives with his feet. He can claw at people with his sharpened toenails, and his teeth have also been sharpened to be deadly weapons.