THE COAL TIGER
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Presumably human, other attributes unrevealed
Occupation: Presumably crimefighter or adventurer, otherwise unrevealed
Group membership: None known
Affiliations: None known; possibly Voortrekker
Enemies: Impala
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None known
Base of Operations: Presumably somewhere in Africa, possibly Zambia
First Appearance: (mentioned only) Captain America I#389 (early August 1991)
Powers/Abilities: The Coal Tiger's abilities are unrevealed, although he or she is physically capable enough to have successfully battled an Olympic-level athlete such as Impala several times; it is not known whether or not he or she possesses superhuman powers.
History: Nothing is known about the Coal Tiger's history except that he or she is apparently active somewhere in Africa.
(Captain America I#389 (reference)) - The Coal Tiger had several encounters with the Zambian criminal called Impala; Impala also frequently fought the freelance adventurer Voortrekker (who has operated both solo and as a member of the Supremacists), but it is not known if the two adventurers ever worked together against their common foe.
(Captain America I#389) At Superia's gathering of female super-villains, m.c. Princess Python identified Impala as "a long-time foe of both Voortrekker and the Coal Tiger," implying that the Coal Tiger's career had lasted for some time prior to this.
Comments: Created by Mark Gruenwald.
"The Coal Tiger" was Jack Kirby's
original name for the character who became the Black Panther, and it has been homaged via at least two characters who are connected to
the Black Panther (see below); apparently in over thirty years it's never
occurred to anyone that there are no tigers in Africa.
See the image for that original Coal Tiger in the comments
section of this profile:
Is the Coal Tiger who fought Impala also connected to the Black Panther? It's possible, but given that Africa is such a large continent with dozens of nations to choose from, it's certainly not inconceivable that he or she could have an origin and homeland totally unrelated to the Panther's kingdom of Wakanda.
Clarifications: The Coal Tiger who is active in the modern era of Earth-616 should not be confused:
COAL TIGERS - rank in Panther Cult--[Black Panther III#60]
Coal Tiger of Earth-355 (T'Challa), an alternate earth counterpart of the Black Panther sought by Proctor as a member of the Gatherers @ Avengers I#355
Coal Tiger (T'Chaka) of Earth-982 (aka MC-2), the son of the Black Panther in an alternate future @ A-Next#4
Coal, a Deviant who worked with Spike and String @ New Mutants Annual#5
First Posted: 01/24/2004
Last updated: 06/29/2014
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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