Real
Name: Unrevealed TOOTH
Please be forewarned, this series included mature themes,
and may not be suitable for everyone. If you read on and are offended,
that's on you.
Real
Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Alternate
reality (Earth-39943) human;
presumably Japanese citizen
Occupation: Assassin
Group Membership: Yakuza;
partner of Nail
Affiliations: Shominchi Inagawa;
formerly Kunoichi. Matsushi
Kimimada
Enemies: Cat (Jared "Jerry" Carol O'Neil), Mouse (Amanda "Mandy" Paige), Dean Black, Demon (Keith Greyson), Kunoichi. Matsushi Kimimada, Kurt LaBateaux, Cory Rossman, Elizabeth Rossman, Martin Rossman
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: New Orleans
First Appearance: Cat & Mouse#2 (April 1990)
Powers/Abilities: Tooth is a savage fighter, exceptionally skilled in acrobatics and martial arts. Her preferred weapon is a sword (katana?) that she typically carries on her back, the "tooth" that provides her codename.
Height: 5'8" (by estimation)
Weight: 145 lbs. (by estimation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Black
History:
(Cat & Mouse#1 (fb) - BTS) -
Tooth and her partner Nail were specialist Yakuza ninja assassins, the
first students to be trained and sponsored into the organization by
the female ninja Kunoichi.
(Cat & Mouse#4 (fb) - BTS) - Even after later
training new operatives, Kunoichi considered Tooth and Nail
the best at what they chose to do, which was to kill. However,
to her disappointment they did so for pleasure.
(Cat &
Mouse#1 (fb) - BTS) - Though Japanese, they
originally operated in the New Orleans area wotking for the city's Oyabun (top Yakuza
boss), Matsushi Kimimada, but were later sent reassigned to
an unrevealed other region.
(Cat & Mouse#1 - BTS) - When a pair of Kunoichi's
subsequent students (trained as ninjas, but not specifically killers),
Cat and Mouse, quit the Yakuza, Tooth and Nail were summoned back to New
Orleans by Kimimada.
(Cat & Mouse#2)
- The pair arrived back in New Orleans late at night by bus, letting the
other passengers disembark before they exited the vehicle. As they
walked through the empty terminus building Nail commented that it was
good to be home, but Tooth pointed out that Americans said "home is
where the heart is," and noted that this meant Nail could never have a
home, since he didn't have a heart. As if to prove her point, as she
said this Nail murdered a lone janitor simply for not moving out their
way quickly enough, then corrected his comment based on what she had
just said, noting instead that it was good to be back in New Orleans.
They exited the building to be met by a chauffeur with a limousine, who
drove them to Kimimada's offices. Nail expressed curiosity at the reason
they needed to be rushed back, wondering why Kimimada hadn't assigned
whatever job he needed doing to Cat and Mouse, and the mobster informed
them of their replacements having quit, noting however that was only
part of the reason to summon them home. He explained that the Yakuza's
main rival, the Mafia, had identified Cat and Mouse as the main factor
in the Yakuza seizing so much territory from them, and so had framed the
pair for murder; Cat and Mouse had then learned that the Yakuza knew
about this Mafia plan in advance but chose not to warn them, prompting
their decision to break ties. However the other part of Kimimada's
reason for bringing Tooth and Claw back was that the Yakuza had learned
the Mafia had paid off a significant number of powerful local figures,
including many cops, which was allowing them to ensure the Yakuza's
operations were targeted by the police while leaving the Mafia unharmed,
something Kimimada wanted Tooth and Claw to resolve.
(Cat & Mouse#4 (fb) - BTS) - He wanted them to kill the police and other officials who were in the Mafia's pocket.
(Cat & Mouse#3) - Having finished briefing Tooth and Claw on what he wanted them to do, Kimimada sent them on their way. As they exited they passed two new recruits Kunoichi had recently picked as suitable new assassin trainees being brought in to meet the boss.
(Cat & Mouse#4 - BTS) - Out of a sense of loyalty for her more recent students, Kunoichi warned Cat and Mouse that Tooth and Nail had been assigned to eliminate them.
(Cat & Mouse#4) - Tooth and Nail began
by murdering police officer Dean Black, catching him while he was out
on patrol. However Nail chastised Tooth for killing their target too
quickly, complaining that he had not suffered long enough.
(Cat & Mouse#5 (fb) - BTS) - Presumably
aware of the regular beats for most of their targets, the pair decided
to wait in one of New Orleans' cemeteries for their next victim, Kurt
LaBateaux, to wander by.
(Cat
& Mouse#5) - While relaxing they debated who would
get to kill their next victim, with Tooth insisting it was her turn
since Nail slaughtered the last one. Curious, Tooth asked Nail how she
planned to do it, and she admitted she'd mused over a few ideas, but had
decided to take their head. When a beat cop wandered past the graveyard,
Tooth stepped out behind him and called out, asking if he took money
from the Mafia. Unsurprisingly he vehemently denied it. and went to draw
his pistol, but Tooth counseled him not to do so. As the officer
hesitated, she called to Nail and asked him to check their list, then
asked the cop if he was Kurt LaBateaux. Expressing surprise, the cop
began to ask how she knew, but Nail confirmed the name was indeed their
next target, so Tooth unsheathed her katana while announcing his time
was up. Hastily Kurt drew his gun, but Tooth sliced off his hands at the
wrist, and then when he fell to his knees in agony she decapitated him.
(Cat & Mouse#7 (fb) - BTS) - The pair swiftly sliced
their way through their list, claiming at least another four
lives.
(
Cat & Mouse#7) - After Nail killed
another target, he noted there were only a few names left, but Tooth
reminded him that even after it was completed their work was far from
over.
(Cat
& Mouse#9) - Tooth and Nail went for their final
corrupt cop, Chief of the Homicide Department Martin Rossman, finding
him while he was visiting the grave of a recent slain fellow cop;
coincidentally, Cat was also confronting Rossman when they arrived.
However, they reassured the former Yakuza that they were only there for
Rossman.
(Cat
& Mouse#10) - Cat responded that they couldn't
just go around killing people. Tooth called him out on this, asking him
about the cop he'd allegedly slain, but Cat pointed out that he'd been
framed, and insisted they wouldn't kill Rossman while he was around.
Tooth asked him again if he was "defending this pig" and Cat, after a
moment of doubt, confirmed he was. Tooth declared that stance very
inconvenient, but said they had not come to fight him, and turned to
depart. Nail told Cat he was lucky... this time, and Tooth, already
walking away, called back that Rossman could be assured they would
return for him and kill him. Surprised to see the two assassins just
leaving without a fight, Cat shouted at them and demanded to know what
they thought they were doing. Tooth and Nail both paused and turned back
to look at him, as he continued to tell them that they couldn't just
walk up, threaten to kill a cop, then change their minds and leave.
Incredulous, Tooth asked him why not, and Cat, clearly not entirely sure
himself, hesitantly responded because he wouldn't let them. Tooth
watched as Nail told Cat he'd interfered too much already and offered to
let the would-be hero take his best shot. Cat threw several punches at
Nail, all of which Tooth's partner either deflected or blocked with
casual ease. When Cat finally stopped swinging, Nail turned to rejoin
Tooth, and they sauntered off.
The next day the pair reported to Kimimada,
informing them that they had almost completed the list, but then had run
into interference from Cat with the last target. Tooth explained that
once they stated their purpose and learned Cat would defend Rossman they
had been prepared to leave, but that Cat had tried to force Nail's hand.
Kimimada informed the pair that Cat had returned to his former career as
a cop, and that as of a couple of nights earlier he and Mouse were
responsible for costing the Yakuza a valuable shipment, which meant when
opportunity to do so arose, Tooth and Nail were to kill both of them.
(Cat
& Mouse#11) - Later that night Tooth and Nail
watched covertly from the rooftops as Rossman led a police raid on a
Yakuza warehouse at the docks, and were spotted from another rooftop by
Cat and Mouse. Realizing they were waiting for a chance to ambush
Rossman as soon as the other cops left, Cat and Mouse slipped in and
literally yanked Rossman into a warehouse until they thought the coast
was clear, unaware Tooth and Nail were fully aware of their actions.
However, they chose to wait for a better moment to strike.
(Cat & Mouse#11 - BTS) - Tooth and Nail
instead went to Rossman's home, finding him there with his wife and
infant son.
(Cat & Mouse#11) - Trying
to keep an eye on Rossman by randomly dropping in on him, Cat
arrived at the Rossman house in time to discover Tooth and Nail
tormenting the parents, forcing them to lie on the floor because
Tooth was holding baby Cory hostage. When Cat walked in she turned
to him and held her sword over the crying child and asked if he
wanted an arm or a leg. Nail told Cat that what they were doing was
none of his business, adding that he could walk away and they would
not try to stop him. Tooth agreed, though she added that after their
last meeting Cat would be getting his turn. Evaluating the
two-to-one situation, Cat turned, walked out, and shut the door
behind him, seemingly leaving the Rossman's to Tooth and Claw's
tender mercies.
(Cat
& Mouse#12) - Dangling the infant by one leg,
Tooth taunted Martin Rossman with threats to slice the infant with her
blade. However Cat, who had only stepped outside to center himself and
fool the assassins into thinking he had left, suddenly raced in through
the door and before Tooth could react he stunned her with a palm strike
to the underside of her chin and snatched the child from her as she
fell. However Cat unintentionally flung the child through the air when
Nail knocked him down in turn. Tooth lunged across the floor to catch
Cory before he hit the ground, taking a moment to again taunt Martin
with the implicit threat to his son. Nail picked Cat up and threw him
out the window, telling him to wait outside until he was finished, but
Tooth told her partner to kill Cat, saying that as long as she had the
child the parents would be under control. She watched as Nail climbed
out the window to deal with Cat, but this distraction allowed Martin to
grab his gun. He told Tooth that if she put down the baby carefully he'd
let her live, but Tooth was unafraid, confident that Martin wouldn't
risk shooting while she was holding Cory so closely. She was wrong.
Martin fired a single shot, accurately striking her right shoulder and
sending her falling backwards out the window, still holding Cory but
dropping her sword. Witnessing this last, for a moment Nail thought his
partner was dead, but she climbed to her feet, and announced that since
she'd been shot she intended to leave and take the child with her. The
parents had hastened out the door and Martin threatened to kill her if
she tried to take his son, but Tooth again dismissed this threat,
rightly this time; inside he had been afforded time to aim at a mostly
stationary target, but now outside in the street and without his
glasses, Martin realized he couldn't risk firing. Tooth walked off,
leaving Nail to kill Cat, overlooking the fact that her partner was a
much easier target for Martin; Nail took a bullet that went through his
back and out the right side of his chest, and realizing the wound was
serious he fled. Picking up Tooth's sword, Cat pursued.
Making her way through the darkened streets
with the baby, Tooth spotted Mouse and her friend Demon, who had been
attending Mardi Gras until they heard Rossman's gunshots and decided to
investigate. She hid in the shadows until they passed by, confident that
Nail would have killed Cat by now and would deal with them too. However
they ran into Cat, who informed them of the situation, and Demon,
possessing both enhanced senses and speed, pursued and caught up with
Tooth just as she was reaching the edge of the Mardi Gras crowds.
Running at high speed he tripped at the last second and barreled into
her, causing Cory to be sent flying; luckily Mouse, close behind, caught
him. Then they noticed Cat fighting Nail nearby; holding the infant,
Mouse was unable to assist, but Demon tried to, until Tooth blindsided
him, stunning him with a blow to the head before fleeing.
(Cat
& Mouse#12 - BTS) - Soon after she left Cat
killed Nail following a brutal battle, though he ended up hospitalized
in a coma from his injuries.
(Cat
& Mouse#16 (fb) - BTS) - The loss of her partner
shattered whatever sanity Tooth had once possessed. She took refuge in a
cemetery while she healed, sustaining herself by eating the raw corpses
of the recently entombed. Kimimada tried to locate her, but failed (see
comments).
(Cat & Mouse#16) - There she was
approached by Shominichi Inagowa, an ambitious Yakuza who informed her
that he considered Kimimada incompetent and offered to deliver Cat to
her if she killed Kimimada for him. Tooth eagerly accepted. Soon after
she broke into Kimimada's home to carry out her new assignment, but
found Kunoichi with him. Having come to request the Oyabun save Cat's
life by urgently procuring him a black market kidney, Kunoichi offered
to protect Kimimada from her insane student if he agreed to fulfill
her request.
(Cat & Mouse#17) - Kimimada quickly agreed. Seeing her old teacher opposing her, Tooth promised to kill her too, adding that she would eat Kimimada's heart after slaying him. As Tooth moved in to attack Kunoichi tried to remind her where her loyalties should lie, pointing out who taught her and who paid for that teaching, but Tooth insisted her loyalties lay with the strong Yakuza, not the weak one Kimimada led. Then she added that once she killed Kimimada she and Nail would make the Yakuza strong again. Her delusion that her partner was still alive confirmed to Kunoichi that Tooth was completely insane. Kunoichi continued to rant as she fought, talking about how she would make Cat pay, and when Kimimada shouted to Kunoichi that Tooth had gone crazy, Tooth effectively confirmed his estimation by threatening to tell Nail what he had said. She and Kunoichi both charged at one another with their swords raised, swinging as they passed one another, but while Kunoichi was unharmed, she took off Tooth's right arm just above the elbow. Tooth asked Nail to give her his hand, then suddenly changed her mind, insisting this was her fight. As Tooth stood stationary, grinning maniacally, Kunochi turned round and decapitated her.
Comments: Created by Roland Mann,Mitch Byrd and Steven Butler.
Tooth and Claw's encounter with Cat at the end of Cat & Mouse#9 makes it clear that neither pair of Yakuza operatives had met prior to this, and only knew OF each other rather than knowing each other.
In Cat & Mouse#16 Kimigawa had been
trying to locate Tooth but hadn't managed to do so, yet Inagawa knew
exactly where she was, despite both being Yakuza. The most likely
explanation is probably that Kimigawa had entrusted the task of finding
her to Inagowa, who then lied to his boss and only claimed he'd failed,
because he planned to use her to kill his boss.
This profile was completed on 09/10/2026, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary's celebratory event to represent Cat & Mouse.
Profile by Loki.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Tooth has no known connections to:
images: (without ads)
Cat & Mouse#10, p3, pan1
(main image)
Cat & Mouse#7, p2, pan6
(standing upright, holding sword and part of a head)
Cat & Mouse#7, cover, pan3 (Tooth and Nail in color)
Cat & Mouse#12, p1, pan5 (clear view of Tooth's tattoo - and no, I
didn't crop her head off to focus on her barely covered body, this is
all the panel showed of her)
Appearances:
Cat & Mouse#2 (April 1990)
- Roland Mann (writer, plotter), Mitch Byrd (pencils, plotter), Steven
Butler (inks, plotter), Chris Ulm (editor)
Cat & Mouse#3 (May
1990) - Roland Mann (writer), Mitch Byrd (art), Chris Ulm
(editor)
Cat
& Mouse#4 (June 1990) - Roland Mann (writer), Mitch
Byrd (pencils), Roland Paris (inks), Chris Ulm (editor)
Cat & Mouse#5 (July 1990) -
Roland Mann (writer), Mitch Byrd (pencils), Brian Dale, Roland
Paris, Nick Centanni (inks), Chris Ulm (editor)
Cat
& Mouse#7 (September 1990) - Roland Mann (writer),
Mitch Byrd (pencils), Floyd Robinson Jr (inks), Chris Ulm (editor)
Cat & Mouse#9-12 (November
1990-February 1991) - Roland Mann (writer), Mitch Byrd
(pencils), Ken Branch (inks), Chris Ulm (editor)
Cat & Mouse#16 (July 1991) -
Roland Mann (writer), Mitch Byrd (pencils), Dan Schaefer (inks),
Chris Ulm (editor)
Cat & Mouse#17 (August 1991) -
Roland Mann (writer), Mitch Byrd (pencils), Thomas Florimonte
(inks), Chris Ulm (editor)
First Posted: 09/21/2026
Last updated: 09/10/2026
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.!