LIONFANGLIONFANG
Real Name: Alejandro Cortez
Identity/Class: Human, technology user
Occupation:
Drug enforcer, criminal;
formerly teacher, inventor
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: His "cats", Leodies Dyson, Woodward Himes
Enemies: Clark Seacrest, Luke Cage, Scourge of the Underworld
Known Relatives: Mrs. Cortez (wife)
Aliases: Alexander Comillo
Base of Operations:
Philadelphia, USA;
formerly New York City, USA
First Appearance: Luke Cage, Power Man#13 (September, 1973) (or Hero for Hire#13?)
Powers/Abilities: With his Helmet for Mind-Transfer he could gain the strength, agility, and fierceness of any feline or animal or person he choose. He could also transfer knowledge into the minds of other persons or animals, as well as firing electrocuting rays from his hands. He was later partially paralyzed and restricted to a wheelchair, but had developed advanced technology to control his cats..
History:
(Luke Cage, Power Man#13 (fb) -
BTS) - Alejandro Cortez was a teacher and had
the hobby of working in the circus. He lived in the Bronx.
Cortez invented a machinery for the transfer of the knowledge from the
mind of
the teacher to the minds of the pupils. He presented a project to gain
financing for his research, but Clark Seacrest denied the funds.
Cortez swore revenge, and left his wife and his home full of rage.
He took refuge in the Circus at the Madison Square Garden and used his
Helmet
for the Transfer of the Mind on some felines and took the name of
Lionfang.
(Luke Cage, Power Man#13) - Cortez had a tiger kill Seacrest. Luke Cage was hired by the major to investigate, so Cortez sent a lion, a tiger, and a black panther to kill Luke. Their fangs were coated with poison, and Luke was wounded, but survived to the assault.
Two days later, Cortez was surprised that Luke Cage was spying on the Circus in Madison Square Garden, so he assaulted him with the fury and the power of a tiger then knocked Luke down with an electrocuting ray from his hands. When Luke awoke, Lionfang explained him that, thanks to his invention, he gifted some of his knowledge to his feline "students" and in change he obtained part of their fierceness, agility and strength. Lionfang and his "cats" (a tiger, a lion, a lioness, two black panthers and a leopard) attacked Luke but the hero managed to knock them away and spoil Lionfang's Helmet for the Mind-Transfer. Lionfang's powers started to fade, and he electrocuted Luke and, with his agility, easily fled using the circus trapezes. Luke couldn't follow him because his weight broke the ropes, so he broke one of the support poles of the trapezes and Lionfang fell down. After few seconds he seemed to die in Luke's arms.
(New Avengers: Luke Cage#2 (fb) - BTS) - Lionfang sustained injuries that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Because of his injuries, he was given a lenient sentence, going to jail for three years. He later modified his helmet to an ear-mounted transmitter with a receiver placed in each feline's brain. He established himself as an enforcer, forcefully recruiting others to help him, including young Leodis Dyson, a friend of Luke Cage's.
(Captain America I#394) - The Scourge of the Underworld met with the Red Skull (Johann Shmidt), reporting the death of Lionfang, amongst others.
(New Avengers: Luke Cage#2) - From his wheelchair, Lionfang (now
calling himself Alex Comillo) warned off two Russian drug dealers from
his turf after his cats had savaged another dealer. Later,
investigating drug dealers, Luke Cage entered the property listed as
belonging to Comillo where he found Lionfang. Cage did not recognize
him at first and Lionfang was able to set his fierce cats upon him.
After gloating, Lionfang called the beasts at which point Cage
threatened him and demanded to know his employer's name.
(New Avengers: Luke Cage#3 (fb) - BTS) - Lionfang refused to give up the name behind the drug operation.
(New Avengers: Luke Cage#3) - Lionfang had Cage trailed and was told that the Avenger was leaving town, but Cage had instead traced down the phone number that Lionfang had been calling, leading him to Woodward Himes.
Comments: Created by Steve Englehart (writer) and Billy Graham (art).
Great invention! May be the fall broke the machinery so much that nobody could fix it? Its use reminds me the lessons that Professor Xavier did to some of his students while they slept. However it could be improved because without the helmet, his powers were fading, and probably without his Helmet, Lionfang was losing his feline powers very quickly because he didn't tried to land on four legs as any cat easily can do.
Later in
Philly, Lionfang
indicated no assassination attempt. So who did
Scourge claim to have killed? An imposter? Part of the Skrulls' secret
invasion? Or was he just
mistaken in identifying Lionfang?
---Grendel Prime
Clarifications:
Lionfang has no
known connections
to
Clark Seacrest was an accountant of the City of New York. His job was concerned with culture and examining the projects that needed funds to be developed. He rejected Cortez' project.
Seacrest was still working at 3:32 a.m. when he was killed by the tiger.
--Luke Cage, Power Man#13
Mrs. Cortez knew something about his husband's research, but she was abandoned by Alejandro Cortez when his project was terminated.
When she was interviewed by Luke Cage she didn't get angry; probably she was just worried for his husband.
--Luke Cage, Power Man#13
Lionfang called his felines "cats" or "feline students". He lent them some of his knowledge of the English Language and Spanish Language.
The tiger that killed Seacrest knew how to turn off a switch of a lamp (and to arrive in Seacrest's office without be seen by anybody). The lion that attacked Luke in the street pronounced the words "Let's kill him!" and "Die, die!". The black panther that attacked Luke in the street said "Matalo!" (Spanish, "Kill him" in English).
[BTS] The cats in the circus said to Lionfang that they admired Luke.
When Luke pulled Lionfang's Helmet away, Cortez declared that Luke destroyed the beasts; probably there existed a mental link between Lionfang and the animals.
Much later, having set up a drug empire in Philadelphia, Lionfang used several fierce cats to do his bidding, savaging his opponents. He set them against Luke Cage, but to little effect.
--Luke Cage, Power Man#13 (New Avengers: Luke Cage#2
Images:
Luke Cage, Power Man#13, p15, panel 4 (Lionfang without mane)
Luke Cage, Power Man#13, p12, panel 3 (Lionfang with mane)
Luke Cage, Power Man#13, p18,
panel 4 (Alejandro Cortez - head shot)
Luke Cage, Power Man#13, p1, panel 2 (Clark Seacrest)
Luke Cage, Power Man#13, p9, panel 7 (Mrs. Cortez)
Luke Cage, Power Man#13, p4, panel 4 (felines)
Appearances:
Luke Cage, Power Man#13 (September, 1973) - Steve Englehart (writer),
Billy Graham (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Captain America I#394 (November, 1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Rik
Levins (pencils), Bud LaRosa (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
New
Avengers: Luke Cage#2 (July, 2010) - John Arcudi (writer), Pepe Larraz
& Eric Canete (artists), Tom Brennan (editor)
New Avengers: Luke Cage#3 (August, 2010) - John Arcudi (writer), Eric
Canete & Pepe Larraz (artists), Tom Brennan (editor)
Last updated: 11/26/11
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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