DARK CLAW(of Earth-9602/Amalgam)
DARK CLAW
(of Earth-9602/Amalgam)
Real Name: Logan Wayne
Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Earth-9602)
human mutant
Occupation: Adventurer, techno-wizard artist;
former Royal Canadian Air Force
security officer
Group Membership: Judgment League Avengers
(Angelhawk/Warren
Hall, Canary/Dinah
Barton, Captain
Marvel/Billy
Mar-Vell, Goliath/Oliver
Queen, Hawkeye/Clint
Archer,
Super-Soldier/Clark Kent);
formerly the Royal Canadian Air Force
(Creed H. Quinn, others)
Affiliations: Access (Axel Asher), Catsai
(Elektra
Kyle), Doctor
Strangefate (Charles Xavier), Huntress
(Carol Danvers), the Judgment League Avengers, the
Secret Service (Sanderson,
others), S.H.I.E.L.D. (Bruce Wayne,
others), Sparrow
(Jubilation Lee), Spider-Boy
(Pete Ross), Thorstar, Wonder Woman (Ororo);
formerly American
Girl (Carol
Barnes), Apollo (Ray Summers), Dr. Cornelius, Dr. Hines, Firebird
(Beatriz Grey), Mariner (Arthur McKenzie), Mercury
(Pietro Allen of Earth-96446),
Moonwing
(Jason Todd), Nightcreeper (Kurt Ryder), Runaway, Wraith (Todd
LeBeau)
Enemies: Dare (Slade
Murdock),
Deadeye
(Bill Lawton), Doctor Doomsday (Victor von Doom), the Green
Goblin (Harvey Osborn), Hydra, Hyena (Creed H. Quinn), the Jackal,
JLX
(Apollo/Ray
Summers, Firebird/Beatriz Grey, Mariner/Arthur McKenzie, Mercury/Pietro
Allen of Earth-96446, Mister X/J'onn
J'onzz, Nightcreeper/Kurt Ryder, Runaway, Wraith/Todd Gambit), Lethal
(Sergei Minerva), the Pack, Thanoseid, Warlord Gh'ul
Known Relatives: Unidentified parents
(deceased), unidentified uncle (deceased)
Aliases: "The Bat Man," "Cape-Man," "'Claw," "the Clawed Canuck," "the Clawed Crusader," "the Darknight Defender," "the Guardian of Gotham," "Old Man," "the Taloned Avenger"
Base of Operations: The
Barrow, New Gotham;
formerly an institution in Edmondton, Alberta, Canada;
formerly Buffalo Wood, Alberta, Canada
First Appearance: (unidentified): Marvel
Versus DC#3 (April, 1996);
(identified as Dark Claw): JLX#1 (April, 1996);
(in Amalgam continuity): Sleuth Comics#27 (May, 1939)
Powers/Abilities: Dark Claw is mutant with a regenerative healing factor that allows him to quickly recover from even potentially lethal wounds. He also possessed an indestructible, Adamantium-laced skeleton and surgically-implanted claws that extend from his forehands. The Adamantium-laced claws are capable of slicing through nearly any substance.
In addition to his superhuman powers, Dark Claw wears a protective, armored costume equipped with communications system that allow him to communicate at least with his sidekick Sparrow, if not others. The costume originally contained a cape capable of hardening into glider wings allowing Dark Claw to glide through the air and, prior to using his implanted claws, Dark Claw equipped his costume with snap-on claw attachments. He occasionally uses grapple lines to transport himself from building to building.
Dark Claw has access to sophisticated crime-fighting
technology such as high-tech crime-fighting computers within his Barrow headquarters,
a state-of-the-art helicopter dubbed the Claw-Copter and a
turbined, high speed vehicle known as the Clawmobile.
Height: 6'0" (by approximation)
Weight: 180 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Black
History: (Marvel Versus DC#3/Unlimited Access#1
(fb)) - When the Spectre
and the Living Tribunal attempted to
save both of their respective multiverses by combining them into one, Dark Claw was one of
the many heroes and villains to emerge from the amalgamated
universe, complete with his own varied history.
(Legends of the Dark Claw#1 (fb) - BTS) - Logan Wayne
lived
with his parents in an upscale New Gotham apartment
complex until they
were shot dead in front of him at age five by an armed robber. Sent to
live with his mountie uncle in Buffalo Wood, Alberta,
Logan was
ultimately sent to an institution run by nuns in Edmondton, Alberta
when his uncle was attacked and killed by poachers. Once he was old
enough, Logan joined the Royal Canadian Air Force,
working security in
southeast Asia, where he befriended another soldier, Creed H. Quinn.
(Legends of the Dark Claw#1 (fb)) - Logan was recruited for a top-secret Canadian project alongside Creed and two others.
(Amalgam trading card#51:
Weapons "X" (fb) - BTS) -
The project bonded indestructible Adamantium to the
skeleton of both
Logan and Creed
as well as implanting within them claws that were also
bonded with Adamantium. The process of the Adamantium bonding triggered
the latent mutant healing abilities of both but it cost Creed his
sanity.
(Legends of the Dark Claw#1 (fb) - BTS) - While the project successfully transformed Creed into the remorseless killing machine called the Hyena, Logan was considered a project failure when he retained his conscience.
(Amalgam trading card#3: Dark Claw (fb) - BTS) - Going rogue from the project, Logan Wayne began a new playboy life in New Gotham.
(Legends of the Dark Claw#1 (fb) - BTS) - Logan established a deep cover as a sportsman, techno-wizard and painter to protect his new dual identity as the vigilante Dark Claw.
(Amalgam Preview chase card#3: Dark Claw (fb) - BTS)
- The citizens of New
Gotham were completely unaware of Dark Claw's
true identity.
(Amalgam Preview chase card#1: Dark Claw - BTS) -
Logan was only active as Dark Claw at night and swore to wage war on
crime.
(Amalgam Power Blast chase
card#3: Sleuth Comics#27
(fb) - BTS) - The sullen and gritty Dark Claw at first used snap-on
claw attachments in battle before switching to his internal,
surgically-implanted Adamantium
claws.
(Amalgam trading card#76: Hyena (fb) - BTS) - Blaming Dark Claw for his own madness, Hyena founded the Pack and began hunting Dark Claw using guns, bombs and his own claws.
(Amalgam trading card#4:
Sparrow (fb) - BTS/Amalgam
trading card#55: Seeing Sparks! (fb) - BTS) - After her parents were
killed by robot Sentinels, the
young Jubilation Lee
took refuge in a
New Gotham mall,
unaware it had been turned into a trap for Dark Claw.
When a seriously injured Dark Claw escaped the trap, Lee used her
mutant pyrokinetics to help Dark Claw get to safety, forging a bond
between the two. Impressed by Lee's attitude and abilities, Dark Claw
decided to take Lee under his wing.
(Amalgam trading card#3: Dark Claw (fb) - BTS) - Logan took custody of Jubilation Lee as his ward and she began assisting in his crime-fighting as Sparrow.
(Investigator Comics#7) - Dark
Claw horribly scarred the face of Harvey Osborn, the Green
Goblin.
(Dark
Claw: The Murder Gag GN)
- While attempting to kill Bruce Wayne, Agent of
S.H.I.E.L.D., and Dark
Claw, the criminal Jackal
used a bomb to destroy a building that
ultimately buried Bruce's ally Moonwing (Jason Todd).
(Assassins#1 (fb) - BTS) - Dark Claw and Catsai shared
a brief relationship, with some referring to Dark Claw as Catsai's
"boyfriend." The relationship eventually became a love triangle
involving Bruce Wayne,
Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. As time passed, Dark Claw
and Catsai's ally Dare
could not stand to be in the same room with one
another without a fight breaking out.
(Amalgam Canvas chase card#1: Dr. Strangefate (fb) - BTS) - Summoned alongside Earth's other heroes by Doctor Strangefate, Dark Claw learned that the evil Thanoseid had acquired the ultra-powerful Infinity Links, which were capable of creating the time-altering vortex known as the Infinity Loop.
(Amalgam Canvas chase card#3:
Dark Claw (fb) - BTS) -
With less than an hour to stop Thanoseid before the Infinity Loop
destroyed the universe, Dark Claw led a small group of heroes to free
the heroic Thorstar
from Thanoseid's prison in order for Thorstar to
lead the final assault against Thanoseid.
(Amalgam Canvas chase card#9: Super-Soldier (fb) -
BTS) - When Thanoseid
was defeated, Dark Claw and Earth's other heroes
were left battling the villains assembled by Thanoseid until
Super-Soldier
arrived to turn the tide.
(JLX#1 (fb) - BTS) - Dark
Claw recovered from the brink of paralysis and took down the evil Warlord Gh'ul.
(Dark Claw#76) - Dark Claw was
involved in an explosion that was seemingly caused by a masked man
resembling the mutant Ferro-Man.
(JLA#122)
- Dark Claw and the Judgment
League Avengers captured the aquatic
mutant Mariner
but the act caused a rift between the non-mutant and
mutant members of the Judgment League.
(JLX#1 (fb) - BTS) - After the mutant Judgment League members went rogue to protect Mariner with the help of the psychic Mister X, Dark Claw accompanied his Judgment League Avengers teammates in tracking down their former teammates.
(JLX#1) - Locating their former friends in the waters of the north Atlantic Ocean, Dark Claw and the Judgment League Avengers attacked the mutants (now calling themselves the JLX), with Dark Claw nearly ambushing JLX field leader Apollo before Apollo was telepathically warned by JLX leader Mister X. Turning to spot Dark Claw, Apollo blasted him aside, warning Dark Claw to back off. Ultimately, the Judgment League departed when League member Angelhawk, secretly a mutant, feigned a broken back to allow the JLX's escape.
(Legends of the Dark Claw#1) - Tipped off to where his enemy the Hyena would strike next by a clue the Hyena had left behind, Dark Claw found the Hyena at the Gotham Gazette printing plant and the two furiously fought one another. After burying Dark Claw beneath some rafters, the Hyena fled while Dark Claw's mutant healing factor saved his life and his sidekick Sparrow checked with him. Informing Sparrow to be more observant since the Hyena fled towards the roof, Dark Claw recovered and chased after the Hyena, slashing the Hyena's face with his claws as the two fell through a glass window. Landing on the walkway of a nearby neon billboard, Dark Claw threatened to kill the Hyena but the Hyena's Pack fired on Dark Claw from the ground level, forcing Dark Claw into evasive maneuvers. Sparrow soon arrived in Dark Claw's helicopter and rescued Dark Claw, who took over piloting to avoid the missiles fired by the Hyena's Pack. While Dark Claw returned home, the spy Huntress invaded his home, seeing photos of Logan's past before discovering a closet full of Dark Claw costumes and deducing Dark Claw's true identity. The two briefly fought one another, with Dark Claw's revealing his own knowledge of Huntress' identity, before Dark Claw pinned Huntress to the ground. Dark Claw then speculated on what to next do with Huntress, realizing that if he let her go free, she would reveal his true identity. Huntress admitted that she was not trying to uncover Dark Claw's secrets but rather, she was investigating the Hyena and the Hyena's past with Logan had led Huntress there. Deciding to reveal his entire past to the Huntress since she already knew his identity, Dark Claw was soon met by Sparrow, who had finished tying down the helicopter and hacking into the Gotham Gazette's computer systems. Accessing the Gotham Gazette's computers thanks to Sparrow's hacking, Dark Claw explained that the Hyena had been wearing a static discharge wire during their earlier battle that would allow him computer access to the Gotham Gazette without damaging memory and began trying to deduce why the Hyena would want to access the Gotham Gazette's typography. Soon noticing the phrase "AF1+NaCN" in the Gotham Gazette's headline, Dark Claw and Huntress deduced that the Hyena had plans involving sodium cyanide with the President's Air Force One jet that was due to leave New Gotham in twenty minutes. Immediately taking Dark Claw's helicopter to the airport, Dark Claw, Huntress and Sparrow attempted to intercept Air Force One, with Dark Claw managing to grapple his way onto the jet. Thinking Dark Claw was attacking the President, the Secret Service agents tried to get the President to safety, firing on Dark Claw despite Dark Claw's attempts to warn them that the Hyena was going to make an attempt on the President's life. When the Hyena revealed himself in one of the bathrooms, killing Secret Service Agent Sanderson and attacking the President with gas, a recovered Dark Claw had the Secret Service agents protect the President while he engaged the Hyena. When the Hyena boasted that Dark Claw could not vent all of the poison gas in time to save the President, Dark Claw used his Adamantium claws to carve a door out of the side of the jet, allowing the explosive decompression to pull out not only the gas but Hyena and himself as well. Hyena used his parachute to escape while the falling Dark Claw was rescued by Sparrow and the Huntress in the Claw-Copter. Commending Sparrow on the rescue, Dark Claw asked her to circle around so that he could have another crack at the Hyena.
(Speed Demon#1 - BTS) - After Wally West became Kid Demon and aided Speed Demon against Night Spectre, the two returned to their carnival home, where Wally suggested becoming Speed Demon's sidekick, like Sparrow to Dark Claw.
(Amalgam trading card#4: Sparrow - BTS) - Dark Claw continued training Sparrow to use her mind, available resources and strategic planning to solve problems rather than relying too heavily on her mutant powers, hoping to get Sparrow to place herself in danger only as a last resort.
(Amalgam Preview chase
card#1: Dark Claw - BTS) -
Dark Claw continued to battle to protect New Gotham, a city
that both
feared and revered him.
(DC Versus Marvel#4) - Dark
Claw renewed his pursuit
of the Hyena,
chasing him across rooftops and eventually hurling a
small explosive at the villain. Hyena batted the explosive aside and
Super-Soldier
arrived on the scene, taking the brunt of the explosive
with his shield to protect civilians below. Teaming up, Dark Claw and
Super-Soldier surprised an escaping Hyena, only to have the Hyena
escape once more down the side of a building. While chasing Hyena, Dark
Claw and Super-Soldier witnessed the universe-jumping Access teleport
Hyena away and when they confronted Access about where the Hyena had
been sent, Access grabbed the arms of Dark Claw and Super-Soldier and
pulled forth shards of Earth-616
and the distant cosmos
home of the
Spectre, sending the power back into both the Spectre and the Living
Tribunal. With the power restored to Living Tribunal and
Spectre, Dark
Claw was split back into two separate beings as the two separate home
realities of the Spectre and Living Tribunal were restored.
(DC/Marvel: All Access#1 - BTS) - Access' mind was flooded with images of the fight between two universes and their merging into an amalgamated universe housing Dark Claw and other heroes.
(DC/Marvel: All Access#4) -
When Earth-9602's
Doctor
Strangefate emerged from Earth-616
Doctor Strange's subconscious and
attempted to recreate the merged Earth-9602 by forcibly merging heroes
from Earth-616 and a
distant cosmos, Access
managed to free Doctor
Strange's astral form and Strange used his own power to recreate
Earth-9602 (Dark Claw included), containing it within a mystic orb that
Access unwittingly absorbed into himself.
(World's Finest Untold Tales) - Dark Claw teamed up with Super-Soldier after Dark Claw fell from the sky, landing on the back of Super-Soldier. By the end of their adventure, which exposing an unrevealed, high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D agent and former Howling Commando as a spy for the terrorist Hydra organization, Dark Claw was seen holding Super-Soldier's shield.
(Spider-Boy Team-Up#1 - BTS) - After being dropped
into a dumpster on Suicide
Street, Spider-Boy
frantically searched for
his missing Web-Shooter,
remarking that the Web-Shooter and him were a
team like Dark Claw and Sparrow.
Comments: Created by Ron Marz, Dan Jurgens, Claudio Castellini, Josef Rubinstein and Paul Neary.
Key:
Marvel characters are listed in regular, or bold
black
type.
DC characters are
listed
in bold blue type.
Amalgam characters
are
listed in bold purple type.
In case you're confused, Amalgam Comics didn't really exist beyond those seen in the few DC/Marvel cross-overs. The titles you don't recognize are amalgams of similar Marvel and DC comics--Snood.
The Dark Claw seen in Dark Claw Adventures#1 (June, 1997) is from an alternate reality per the letters page comments. This animated-style reality would be Earth-97643.
Additionally, we see the shadow of Dark Claw burned into a stone
wall following a giant fireball in Lobo the Duck#1 (June, 1997). This
Dark Claw is obviously either an alternate or divergent counterpart of
the normal Earth-9602 Dark Claw.
Dark Claw's eye color was impossible to determine, as the only times he was seen with his mask off, his eyes were either colored completely white or it was a flashback that had a red tinting.
In case it's not obvious, Dark Claw was an amalgamation of DC's Batman and Marvel's Wolverine.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Earth-9602's Dark Claw has no known connections to:
Concealed beneath the grounds of the Logan Wayne estate deep within the bowels of New Gotham, the Barrow served as a crime-fighting headquarters for Dark Claw. Spending almost all of his free time there, Dark Claw even displayed a gigantic photo of his deceased parents inside the Barrow. When the spy Huntress uncovered Dark Claw's true identity of Logan Wayne, Dark Claw opted to reveal his entire history and befriend Huntress rather than angrily send her away and have her publicly reveal his secrets. Dark Claw then brought Huntress into the Barrow and, after revealing his entire history, Dark Claw used the Barrow's computers to uncover the Hyena's impending attack on the President. Even after saving the President, Dark Claw continued using the Barrow as his headquarters, often screeching out of the Barrow in his Clawmobile to stop crime.
The Barrow was equipped with a highly sophisticated computer system and other technological crime-fighting equipment. It housed Dark Claw's Clawmobile and could only be accessed from inside the Logan Wayne estate via a trap door hidden within a closet that led to a pneumatic tube into the Barrow that softened any individual's landing with a compressed air-cushion.
--Legends of the Dark Claw#1 (Amalgam trading card#3: Dark Claw (fb)
- BTS, Legends of the Dark Claw#1, Amalgam Preview chase card#3: Dark
Claw - BTS,
The Claw-Copter was an airborne vehicle utilized by
Dark Claw and often piloted by his sidekick Sparrow while Dark
Claw was in the field. While tracking down the Hyena, Sparrow
piloted the Claw-Copter and kept in constant communication with Dark
Claw via the Claw-Copter's communications system. When the Hyena
escaped, Dark Claw regrouped with Sparrow in the Claw-Copter and
narrowly missed colliding with a S.H.I.E.L.D.
Helicarrier as Dark Claw took over piloting duties. After learning that
the Hyena's next attack would be on the President on Air Force One, Dark
Claw and Sparrow took the Claw-Copter to the airport, where Dark Claw
managed to grapple his way from the Claw-Copter to Air Force One. When
both Dark Claw and Hyena went flying out of the jet, Sparrow caught the
falling Dark Claw inside the Claw-Copter by making a sharp sideways
turn and the two heroes flew off to continue their pursuit of Hyena.
The Claw-Copter was like most other flying
helicopters, capable of vertical take off and landing, and it was
equipped with a sophisticated communications system that was connected
to Dark Claw's armored costume, allowing direct communication between
the Claw-Copter's pilot (usually Sparrow) and Dark Claw himself. It was
also capable of complex aerial maneuvers when necessary.
--Legends of the Dark Claw#1
The Clawmobile was a sleek, turbined ground vehicle
utilized by Dark Claw when fighting crimes on the street level. It was
housed within Dark Claw's Barrow headquarters
and was often used during Dark Claw's crime patrols through New Gotham.
--Amalgam Preview chase card#3: Dark Claw - BTS
Sanderson was a Secret Service agent protecting the U.S. President aboard Air Force One. When Dark Claw boarded Air Force One, Sanderson was ordered to investigate the jet's bathrooms for signs of Dark Claw. Unfortunately, Sanderson checked a bathroom and found the Hyena instead, who murdered Sanderson with a gun before Dark Claw engaged the villain.
--Legends of the Dark Claw#1
images: (without ads)
Legends of the Dark Claw#1, front cover (Dark Claw, main image)
Amalgam Preview chase card#3: Dark Claw (Dark
Claw headshot, charging forward)
Marvel Versus DC#3, p39, splash page (Dark Claw's
creation alongside other Amalgam characters)
Unlimited Access#1, p4, splash page (supplemental Dark Claw creation
image)
Legends of the Dark Claw#1, p12, pan1 (Logan undergoing government
experimentation)
Amalgam trading card#51: Weapons "X" (Logan during his military days)
Amalgam Power Blast chase card#3: Sleuth Comics#27 (Dark Claw in his
original costume)
Amalgam trading card#55: Seeing Sparks! (Dark Claw with Sparrow)
Amalgam Canvas chase card#3: Dark Claw (Dark Claw during the Secret
Crisis of the Infinity Hour)
JLX#1, p4, pan4 (Dark Claw ambushing Apollo)
Amalgam Preview chase card#1: Dark Claw (Dark Claw slashing)
DC Versus Marvel#4, p1, splash page (Dark Claw crouching on a stone
gargoyle)
DC/Marvel: All Access#4, p33, pan2 (recreated Dark Claw)
Legends of the Dark Claw#1, p13, pan2-3 (The Barrow)
Legends of the Dark Claw#1, p7, pan2 (Claw-Copter)
Legends of the Dark Claw#1, p19, pan5 (Sanderson)
Appearances:
Marvel Versus DC#3 (April, 1996) - Ron
Marz (writer), Dan Jurgens, Claudio Castellini (pencils), Josef
Rubinstein, Paul Neary (inks), Mark Gruenwald, Mike Carlin (editors)
Assassins#1 (April, 1996) - D.G. Chichester (writer), Scott McDaniel
(pencils), Derek Fisher (inks), Kevin Dooley (editor)
JLX#1 (April, 1996) - Gerard Jones, Mark Waid (writers), Howard Porter
(pencils), John Dell (inks), Brian Augustyn, Ruben Diaz (editors)
Legends of the Dark Claw#1 (April, 1996) - Larry Hama (writer), Jim
Balent (pencils), Ray McCarthy (inks), Denny O'Neil (editor)
Speed Demon#1 (April, 1996) - Howard Mackie, James Felder (writers),
Salvador Larroca, Al Milgrom (art), Bobbie Chase (editor)
DC Versus Marvel#4 (May, 1996) - Ron Marz (writer), Dan Jurgens
(pencils), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Mike Carlin (editor)
DC/Marvel:
All Access#1 (December, 1996) - Ron Marz (writer), Jackson Guice
(layouts), Josef Rubinstein (finishes), Mike Carlin (editor)
DC/Marvel: All Access#4 (February, 1997) - Ron Marz (writer), Jackson
Guice (pencils), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Mike Carlin (editor)
Spider-Boy Team-Up#1 (June, 1997) - "R.K. Sternsel" (writer), Jose
Ladronn (pencils), Juan Vlasco (inks), "Ralph Felder" (editor)
Unlimited Access#1 (December, 1997) - Karl Kesel (writer), Pat Olliffe
(pencils), Al Williamson (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
First Posted: 10/12/2019
Last updated: 10/12/2019
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.!
