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KLIGGER

Real Name: Eugene Kligger Stivak

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Senator, criminal mastermind

Group Membership: East Coast leader of the Corporation

Affiliations: Dire Wraiths, Corporation (especially Curtiss Jackson, Moonstone/Karla Sofen, Vamp/Denise Baranger and Veda)
employed the Rocketeers as agents

Enemies: Captain America (Steve Rogers), Hulk (Dr. Bruce Banner), S.H.I.E.L.D., Torpedo (Brock Jones)

Known Relatives: Michael Stivak (nephew, Torpedo, deceased)

Aliases: "Klinger", "The Man", The Big Man

Base of Operations: Long Island and other places

First Appearance: Captain America I#213 (September, 1977)

Powers/Abilities: Kligger commanded a large number of human and superhuman agents, who had infiltrated various careers and organizations throughout the United States. He was large and proportionately strong, but had no special training. Kligger had access to advanced weaponry such as a disintegrator.

Height: 6'1" (by approximation)
Weight: 390 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Black
Hair: Bald

History:

(OHotMU DE#20 - BTS / Rom#21 (fb) - BTS / Daredevil I#126 (fb) - BTS) - Kligger's full past is unknown. However, he rose to power as the East Coast branch of the Corporation. In addition, at some point he became allied with the extra-terrestrials known as the Dire Wraiths. The Wraiths sought his aid in creating a battlesuit powerful enough to defeat their enemy, Rom. It was for this reason that Kligger enlisted his nephew, Michael, to build a battlesuit. Kligger duped Michael (who still resided in Yugoslavia) into believing that the suit was being designed for national defense. At the same time, Kligger duped his superiors in the Corporation into believing that the suit was being designed to assist in the Corporation's covert takeover of the USA.
Michael Stivak had perfected the battlesuit, but then learned of his uncle's plans (or at least those that he had told the Corporation). Angered at the betrayal, Michael designed a much less powerful costume and presented it to his uncle. Kligger, however, learned of the existence of the more powerful suit and tried to steal the suit's only existing plans. Michael donned the suit and took the name "The Torpedo" and set out to destroy the suit's plans, which were kept in a vault in New York.

(Daredevil I#126-127 - BTS) - Michael Stivak was killed while trying to destroy the plans, but he passed the suit on to Brock Jones, and convinced him to continue his mission. Jones, the new Torpedo, successfully destroyed the armor's plans.

(Captain America I#213) - Angered to learn that his assassin had failed to kill The Defector, Eugene asked Veda to call her best weapon, the Night Flyer, to send him after The Defector. He still had doubts whether or not to use him because of the rumors about him, but finally gave Veda the okay to call him.

(OHotMU DE#20 - BTS) - Kligger had a number of replicas of the inferior battlesuit created, supplied them to several of his operatives within the Corporation, and dubbed them the Rocketeers.

(Daredevil I#131 - BTS) - The Rocketeers sought to capture the Torpedo costume, but encountered and were fought off by Daredevil.

(Marvel Premiere#39) - In shadows, at his Long Island base, Kligger yelled at Wescott, the head of the Rocketeers, for failing to get the Torpedo costume. He then threatened Wescott, giving him one more chance to get the costume or face the concequences. Later he was having a meeting with Agent 7 and two other agents, and he revealed his plans to conquer the USA.

(Marvel Premiere#40) - Still in shadows, he yelled once more at Wescott for not getting the costume, and gave him one last chance to get the costume or he would be killed. His identity was finally revealed when Torpedo (as Brock Jones) came to the office of Senator Eugene K. Stivak for a brief meeting. Later when Torpedo broke into the office of Stivak, Kligger watched the break-in on a monitor, and sent his Rocketeers after Torpedo once more. After Torpedo was knocked out by the Rocketeers, Stivak asked them to take Torpedo to a building in Westchester. There Torpedo woke up, and freed himself, fighting the Rocketeers. Torpedo managed to defeat the Rocketeers and Stivak, and escaped before the house exploded. After Torpedo escaped, Stivak came out of the ruins, swearing vengeance against Torpedo.

(Captain America I#217) - Alongside Veda, he watched as Captain America left the SHIELD Complex. After Veda said that it was ironic that one of the new SHIELD Super-Agents was in fact a double-agent of the Corporation, Kligger answered "I'm not concerned with irony, Veda, but with the destruction of SHIELD".

(Captain America I#220/1) - Kligger was called by Veda from the Avengers Mansion and told about the current events in Captain America's life. He told Veda that he would send their special agent after Captain America to terminate him.

(Captain America I#222 - BTS) - Kligger got a phone call from Veda, where she revealed that the Volkswagon-assassination of Captain America failed. He got the details about Captain America's whereabouts and sent Animus after Captain America in Washington D.C.

(Captain America I#223) - Kligger called Veda in Washington D.C to learn the lastest details in Captain America's life, and was told that Captain America was about to leave to go back to New York City again; he then sent Animus after him again.

(Captain America I#225) - Kligger called Veda to his office, had a short conversation with her in which she said that she would rather be his ally than his enemy. Kligger said that she had become a terrible liability to the Corporation and he terminated her, then called his secretary to have her call a custodian to get rid of some ashes on the floor.

(Hulk II#231) - At Gamma Base, two senators arrived--one of them was Senator Hawk, the other was Senator Stivak(Kligger). The two senators were having a meeting with Doc Samson, Clay Quatermain and Karla Sofen. During the meeting Senator Stivak said the word "baying" to Karla Sofen, which was her Corporation code-phrase, thereby revealing his true identity to her. The meeting was interrupted by Jim Wilson, who said that Hulk has been spotted in California. Senator Stivak proposed that Karla Sofen, Jim Wilson and he should take a plane to California, and they left Gamma Base. At the plane, Stivak drugged Jim Wilson and told Karla Sofen that he was secretly the head of the mid-Atlantic branch of the Corporation, that he knew she was a member of the west coast branch, and offered her partnership.

(Captain America I#230) - Stivak staged his own "death" when he got Moonstone to crash his plane, but had her save Jim Wilson and himself. Stivak said that Senator Stivak was dead, there was only Kligger now. Later he went to Alcatraz alongside Moonstone and Jim Wilson. He tried to make a deal with Curtiss Jackson--Kligger had Jim Wilson and wanted Captain America, while Curtiss Jackson wanted Jim Wilson. Vamp kissed him, revealing that she was also an agent working for the Corporation. When Vamp asked for the power, he pushed a button on a small device turning Vamp into the monster Animus.

(Hulk II#232) - Kligger tried once more to bargain with Curtiss Jackson. While the two men were negotiating, Captain America, Hulk and Marvel Man woke up. They managed to defeat Animus, and Moonstone escaped. When Kligger discovered he was beaten, he said "An important man, a United States senator, I can't be sent to jail like some common criminal." Announcing there was one final victory only he could choose, he called upon Jackson, "If you please..." Noting it was his duty, Curtiss Jackson did as requested: With the words "The Corporation takes care of its own", he activated his base's weapons, which gunned down Kligger.

Comments: Created by Jack Kirby (writer, pencils), Dan Green (inks).

Profile by Beetle

CLARIFICATIONS:
Kligger has no known connections to


images: (without ads)
Captain America I#230, p11, pan1 (main image)
Captain America I#225, p7, pan4 (talking with Veda)
Captain America I#213, p10, pan4 (contemplating)


Appearances:
Captain America I#213 (September, 1977) - Jack Kirby (writer, pencils), Dan Green (inks), Jack Kirby, Archie Goodwin (editors)
Marvel Premiere#39 (February, 1978) - Marv Wolfman (writer/editor), Bob Brown (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks)
Marvel Premiere#40 (April, 1978) - Marv Wolfman & Bill Mantlo (writers), Bob Brown (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Captain America I#217 (January, 1978) - Roy Thomas & Don Glut (writers), John Buscema (pencils), Pablo Marcos (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Captain America I#220 (April, 1978) - Don Glut (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Mike Esposito & John Tartaglione (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Captain America I#223 (July, 1978) - Steve Gerber (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Mike Esposito & John Tartaglione (inks), Jim Shooter (editor)
Captain America I#225 (September, 1978) - Steve Gerber (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Mike Esposito & Johnn Tartaglione (inks), Roger Stern (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#231-232 (January-February, 1979) - Roger Stern & David Michelinie (#232) (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Mary Jo Duffy (editor)
Captain America I#230 (February, 1979) - Roger McKenzie & Roger Stern (writers), Sal Buscema (pencils), Don Perlin (inks), Roger Stern (editor)


Last updated: 12/22/15

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