FIDDLER
Real Name: Ulrich Kuster
Identity/Class: Normal human (World War II era) (German citizen)
Occupation: Concert violinist, assassin
Group Membership: Nazi Party
Affiliations: Domestic Employment Agency (Nazi
butler network (Harver, Hobbs, others))
Enemies: Bucky (James Barnes), Captain America
(Steve Rogers), anti-Nazi US politicians (Sen. Alvin
Benson, Sen. Lee, Sen. Shores)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Mobile in the USA
First Appearance: Captain America Comics I#7/4
(October 1941)
Powers/Abilities: Ulrich Kuster is a virtuoso
classical violinist and is very used to playing for large audiences. He
appears to have an augmented violin that, when played to certain
extreme notes, has the capacity to disorient listeners to the point of
a deep trance laced with emotional strain; the fiddle notes can even
break
eardrums, yet he himself is not affected by the lower pitches. He is
sympathetic to the Nazi
cause and very willing to murder for reward. He is bilingual and very
fluent in English.
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Eyes: Dark brown
Hair: Black
History:
(Captain America Comics I#7/4 (fb) - BTS) - Classical
violinist virtuoso Ulrich Kuster became a Nazi agent known as the
Fiddler and developed a
musical technique using his (modified?) violin whereby certain tunes
and notes could disorient or even kill. He became part of a plot to
assassinate anti-Nazi US politicians (this before the USA entered WWII)
and insinuated himself in the classical concert circuit in the USA.
This was combined with installing new butlers from Domestic Employment
Agency (a Nazi butler network) into the homes of targeted politicians;
the new butlers would secretly alter home radio sets so that they would
only receive a broadcast by Kuster, who would play an unusual musical
note that would trigger a large-yield explosive hidden inside the radio.
(Captain America Comics I#7/4) - The Fiddler's violin solo broadcast triggered a large explosion in Senator Alvin Benson's home. News of this led Captain America (Steve Rogers) and Bucky (James Barnes) to investigate. Returning to their army base Camp Lehigh in their civilian identities, Rogers and Bucky were ordered to attend a classical music recital with the rest of their regiment. There, they heard the Fiddler's bizarre and disorienting melodies, but this served only to further raise suspicions in Rogers. But the recital led to one more senator's death and the duo found another new butler at the death scene feigning innocence. Rogers found out the next target and sent Bucky to watch the Fiddler's performance while he went to Senator Shores' house. There, Captain America forced the new butler to stay by the radio. Fearful for his life, the butler confessed. Captain America rushed to the concert hall, where the Fiddler had finished his latest performance. Bucky had hidden in the violinist's changing room, but the Fiddler had seen this and was prepared, knocking the heroic lad disoriented. The Fiddler attempted to kill Bucky using bizarre lethal notes from his violin, but Bucky had protected his ears with cotton wool and remained unharmed. The Fiddler's rage increased until the notes killed him instead and he crumpled to the floor just as Captain America burst in.
Comments: Created by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.
The Fiddler's name and citizenship were revealed in the Marvel Atlas #1 (2007).
He has an extradimensional counterpart(?) from the episode "Fiddler on the Loose" of the 1967 Spider-Man animated series, although that Fiddler wanted to restore the grandeur of classical music and built an electronic violin that was a sonic weapon. Older and white-haired, he was stopped by that reality's Spider-Man. A similar Fiddler was found on Earth-9411.
Why did his
immunity to his violin fail? Or is his death like the death of the
Avengers under Ultron's Encephalo Beam in Avengers I#162?
---John Holstein
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
The Fiddler has no known connections to:
Senator Alvin Benson of the federal US Government was
violently opposed to Nazis
and supported aid to those fighting Nazis in Europe. He became a prime
target for the Nazi butler network; the new butler Harver was installed
in the senator's house who then tampered with the radio set so that it
would only receive from a certain radio station and was rigged with a
high-yield explosive device to go off with a certain note from the
Fiddler's performance. In the
evening when Benson was relaxing with the radio on and the butler
hurriedly away, the Fiddler's recital triggered the explosive
device and Benson was killed. The next day's news report of Benson's
death sparked the interest of Captain America and Bucky, whose
investigation traced the trail back to the butler network and the
Fiddler.
--Captain America Comics I#7/4
images:
(without ads)
Captain America Comics I#7/4, p1, pan1 (main image)
p10, pan2 (headshot)
p3, pan1 (Benson)
Appearances:
Captain America Comics I#7/4 (October 1941) - Joe Simon
(writer/inks/editor), Jack Kirby (writer/pencils)
First posted: 10/16/2024
Last updated:
10/16/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
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and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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