CARL KAXTON

Real Name: Carl Kaxton

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Inventor, business owner, physicist

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Black Widow (Natasha Romanova), Daredevil (Matt Murdock)

Enemies: Endros, Stilt-Man (Wilbur Day)

Known Relatives: Barbara (daughter)

Aliases: William Klaxton

Base of Operations: New York City, New York

First Appearance: Daredevil I#8 (July, 1965)

Powers/Abilities: Carl Kaxton is a talented inventor, and the designer of the hydraulics that became the Stilt-Man armor. He also designed the molecular condenser, with which he could shrink things.

History:

(Daredevil I#8 (fb) - BTS) - A talented inventor and owner of Kaxton Laboratories, Carl Kaxton worked on several devices for years. He developed hydraulic lifts and an experimental molecular condenser, in the form of a ray gun. When his employee Wilbur Day stole the lifts and used them as the criminal Stilt-Man, Kaxton was furious. He considered Day a good-for-nothing, ungrateful employee.

(Daredevil I#8) - Kaxton received a call from attorney Matt Murdock stating that Day was suing him for theft of the hydraulic devices. Murdock was hoping to settle out of court, but Kaxton refused, furious. Kaxton showed up at Murdock’s office and tried eavesdropping on Murdock and Day, but Murdock opened the door and greeted Kaxton. Kaxton was shocked that the blind lawyer knew who he was, but Murdock claimed that his secretary had contacted him. Kaxton started yelling at Day about who’d created the device as Murdock tried to break them up. Kaxton rushed out, threatening the duo. As Kaxton drove away, he felt something land on his car, so he set off an electric device that allowed him to dislodge the intruder. Later, Murdock and Day showed up at his property and Kaxton, furious, grabbed a rifle. Day shockingly rushed up on Kaxton, knocking him out with a karate blow. When Kaxton awakened, he found another set of hydraulics and his valuable molecular condenser missing. He grabbed the police and rushed to Murdock’s office, demanding Murdock’s arrest. Murdock told Kaxton that Day had dropped the charges, so Kaxton agreed to forget the whole thing.

(Daredevil I#102 (fb)) - Kaxton started using the name William Klaxton and got a job as a physicist who worked late nights. He was shocked when his daughter, Barbara, was kidnapped by Stilt-Man and his thug, Endros. They forced Klaxton to travel to San Francisco with them, and Stilt-Man revealed that he wanted the molecular condenser rebuilt so that he could get revenge on Daredevil and to destroy the city.

(Daredevil I#102 (fb) - BTS) - Klaxton kept working, but ran out of parts, so Stilt-Man had to arrange for others to be brought in.

(Daredevil I#102) - Stilt-Man brought back the new parts and forced Klaxton to get back to work. When Klaxton briefly refused, Stilt-Man struck him and reminded him that Barbara could be turned over to Endros. Stilt-Man soon took the finished condenser, with which he planned to shrink the Golden Gate Bridge, taking Barbara with him. Daredevil soon arrived and defeated Endros. The hero had to strike Klaxton to get useful information from him about Barbara, then he rescued her with Black Widow (Natasha Romanova). They picked Klaxton up and took him to breakfast with Barbara after Stilt-Man was defeated. Later, a homeless man, Eddie, found the condenser and planned to sell it to Jonny the Rake, but chose to throw it away instead.

Comments: Created by Stan Lee and Wally Wood.

In his initial appearance, clues were laid to reveal Kaxton as Stilt-Man, but a shock ending changed things! In his second appearance, he was mistakenly or perhaps intentionally referred to as William Klaxton.

Profile by Chadman.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Carl Kaxton has no known connections to

• any characters not mentioned in this profile.

Barbara

(Daredevil I#102 (fb)) - Kaxton started using the name William Klaxton and got a job as a physicist who worked late nights. He was shocked when his daughter, Barbara, was kidnapped by Stilt-Man and his thug, Endros. They forced Klaxton to travel to San Francisco with them, and Stilt-Man revealed that he wanted the molecular condenser rebuilt so that he could get revenge on Daredevil and to destroy the city.

(Daredevil I#102) - Barbara was kept captive for a time, tied to a bed and threatened with torture by Endros. Soon Stilt-Man took her out with the condenser to shrink the Golden Gate Bridge, but Black Widow (Natasha Romanova) rescued her. After Stilt-Man was defeated, Black Widow and Daredevil took Barbara and her dad out to breakfast.

--Daredevil I#102

Eddie

(Daredevil I#102) - A homeless man, Eddie, found the molecular condenser and planned to sell it to Jonny the Rake, but chose to throw it away instead.

--Daredevil I#102

Jonny the Rake

(Daredevil I#102 - BTS) - Eddie planned to sell the molecular condenser to Jonny the Rake, but chose to throw it away instead.

--Daredevil I#102 - BTS

images: (without ads)
Daredevil I#8, p7, pan7 (main)