REINHOLD KURTZMANN
REINHOLD KURTZMANN
Real Name: Reinhold Kurtzmann
Identity/Class: Human scientist;
German citizen
Occupation: Physicist
Group Membership: None known
Affiliations: Freedom Force (Avalanche/Dominikos Petrakis, Crimson Commando/Frank Bohannan, Super Sabre/Martin
Fletcher);
formerly Blob/Fred Dukes, Pyro/St. John Alerdyce;
possibly/formerly US government
Enemies: Blob,
Desert Sword (Aminedi,
Arabian Knight/Abdul
Qamar,
Black
Raazer,
Sirocco,
Veil), Iraqi government, Pyro;
possibly US government
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed
formerly Kuwait City, Kuwait
First Appearance: New Mutants Annual#7/2 (1991)
Powers/Abilities: Kurtzmann was a physicist experienced in the development of nuclear weaponry.
Height: Unrevealed (perhaps 5'6"? he seemed small in
comparison to others, but height of characters is often subjective...how often
does Wolverine look more like he's 5'10" or 6' tall?)
Weight: Unrevealed (perhaps 150 lbs. at the above height?)
Eyes: Unrevealed (I don't think they were even shown in color, but they
looked at least light in the closest thing to color I could find...maybe green)
Hair: White (male pattern baldness...original hair color unrevealed)
History:
(New Mutants Annual#7/2 (fb) - BTS) - After
Iraq occupied Kuwait (see comments), Kurtzmann hid out in Kuwait City.
(New Mutants Annual#7/2 (fb) - BTS) - Learning of this, the Iraqis sought Kurtzmann, who was with Kuwaiti resistance forces, to advance their nuclear capability.
(New Mutants Annual#7/2 (fb) - BTS) - The Iraqi government sent Desert Sword to capture Kurtzmann.
(New Mutants Annual#7/2 (fb) - BTS) - The US government sent Freedom Force (Avalanche/Dominikos Petrakis, Blob/Fred Dukes, Crimson Commando/Frank Bohannon, Pyro/St. John Alerdyce, Super Sabre/Martin Fletcher) to transfer Kurtzmann to allied forces or, failing that, slay (see comments) Kurtzmann to prevent the Iraqis from obtaining him. US forces were unaware of whether the Iraqis knew of Kurtzmann's presence.
(New Mutants Annual#7/2 (fb) - BTS) - Desert Sword captured Kurtzmann
(New Mutants Annual#7/2) - Freedom Force fought their way into the safehouse in Kuwait City, only to find it empty. After Aminedi (presumably) decapitated Super Sabre and cut off Crimson Commando's right hand, Black Raazer struck down Avalanche with a sword-strike and Veil nearly suffocated Pyro; Black Raazer held up Kurtzmann as Desert Sword confronted Blob en masse, and Veil (see comments) threatened to kill Blob if he continued to fight.
(Uncanny X-Men Annual#15/2) - Blob charged Desert Sword,
giving some of his allies sufficient time to recover, and Avalanche struck down
Sirocco (who was then holding Kurtzmann), knocking Kurtzmann free, and allowing
Blob and Pyro to take Kurtzmann and run, while Avalanche headed towards their
planned rendezvous point with the wounded Commando.
Freedom Force
split up, and Sirocco sent Black Raazer to accompany Arabian Knight and Veil in
going after Kurtzmann. The Arabian Knight saw their quarries and revealed their revealed their location,
and Black Raazer ordered Veil to create a masking fog in the cafe while he
"discretely" shattered the windows. Pyro drove those two back with a fireball,
but Arabian Knight reclaimed Kurtzmann. Reminded of their options by Blob, Pyro
immolated Kurtzmann to prevent the Iraqi government from getting him, and Black
Raazer vowed this would be the "last mistake of their misbegotten lives."
(X-Factor Annual#6/2) - After the US troops picked up Avalanche and the Crimson Commando, they were under heavy fire, and they radioed Pyro and asked if they could take Kurtzmann and find cover. Pyro replied, "...We had to frag him. No choice, just following orders." The soldier, Wagers, replied, "You had no such orders. This is not good." With the threat from the Iraqi troops and with Crimson Commando at risk of bleeding out, Avalanche advised the soldiers to leave Blob and Pyro behind and bug out now.
Comments: Created by Fabian Nicieza, Kirk Jarvinin, and Joe Rubinstein.
Gulf War, topical...
Published in 1991, the first arc started January 14, 11:22
pm; the second January 14, 12:21 am (presumably they meant January 15, or that
the first part started January 13...); an the third January 14, 2:17 am
(ditto...). The month, day, and time may be accurate, but the story occurred
within the sliding timescale, and cannot have occurred more than 4-5 years
before current stories...or 10-11 years after the start of the modern age in
Fantastic Four I#1.
Sirocco was Desert Sword's leader, and I'd suspect the balloon in the final panel from New Mutants Annual#7/2 should have pointed to him. Veil was the most timid of the group, and, based on their other statements, the sexist male members of the team would probably not have allowed her to speak for them.
The information about the mission being "liberate or terminate" came from the narrative of the story, which Blob and Pyro confirmed, but the soldier in X-Factor Annual#6/2 claimed that that was not their orders. So, either the soldier was misinformed, or someone instructed Blob and Pyro contrary to the mission.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
No KNOWN connections to:
images: (without ads)
New Mutants Annual#7/2, last page, last panel
Appearances:
New Mutants Annual#7/2 (1991) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Kirk Jarvinin (penciler),
Joe Rubinstein (inker), Suzanne Gaffney (assistant editor), Robert Harras
(editor)
Uncanny X-Men Annual#15/2 (1991) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Jerry DeCaire (penciler),
Joe Rubinstein (inker), Bob Harras (editor)
X-Factor Annual#6 (1991) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Steven Butler (penciler),
Joe Rubinstein (inker), Bob Harras (editor)
First Posted: 10/27/2013
Last updated: 10/27/2013
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
© 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you
like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!