FLYING
TIGER
FLYING
TIGER
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Human, technology (exo-skeleton) user
Occupation: Mercenary, assassin;
former professional football player
Group Membership: Tiger Pack (Flying
Tiger);
formerly Masters of Evil (Baron Zemo/Helmut Zemo, Firebrand/Rick
Dennison, Plantman);
formerly the Crimson
Cowl (Justine Hammer)'s Masters
of Evil
Affiliations: Armadillo
(Antonio Rodriguez), Black Lodge (Surgeon General, others), General
Nguyen Ngoc Coy, Eel
(Edward Lavell), Man-Ape
(M'Baku), Puff
Adder;
formerly Gypsy Moth (now Skein),
Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), unidentified South American rebels;
former pawn of Dr. Doom;
unknown past association with Jason Macendale
(Hobgoblin/Jack O'Lantern)
Enemies: Armory (Violet Lightner), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Charcoal, Citizen V (Helmut Zemo), Falcon (Sam Wilson), Fantastic Four, Free Spirit (Cathy Webster), Regis Fuskey, Giant-Man (Hank Pym), Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Iron Man (Jim Rhodes), Jack Flag (Jack Harrison), Jolt (Hallie Takahama), Locksmith, Mach-1, Moonstone (Karla Sofen), Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Songbird, Techno/Fixer, Thor (Jane Foster), Thunderbolts, Tick-Tock; people of Robinette, Colorado;
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Currently unrevealed
(presumably some sort of prison)
formerly San Francisco, California
formerly Mt. Charteris, Burton Canyon, Colorado;
occasionally the Bar with No Name, Springfield
First Appearance: Spider-Woman I#40 (October, 1981)
Powers/Abilities: The Flying Tiger wears armor which allows him to fly at perhaps 100 mph, and presumably grants him some degree of superhuman strength and durability, though he can be flattened by a single punch from the likes of Iron Man. He is an experienced aerial combatant, able to maneuver swiftly and agilely, and has sharpened claws on his gloves. It is unclear whether he has any powers not granted from his suit.
Height: 6'4" (armored)
Weight: 425 lbs. (armored)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Unrevealed
History:
(Thunderbolts I#3 (fb) - BTS) - The Tiger was in a number of dogfights
as a pilot, and never once went down in flames.
(Spider-Woman I#40 (fb) - BTS ) - To prevent Spider-Woman from interfering with his San Francisco operations General Nguyen Ngoc Coy hired the Flying Tiger to slay her.
(Spider-Woman I#40) - Diving out of the setting sun and
allowing a jet taking off to mask the sound of his approach, he smashed
into her from behind, injuring her back. Narrowly recovering, she took
another couple hits and stunned him with a venom blast, but when she
paused to save some people's whose car had been knocked off of the
Golden Gate bridge during their scuffle, the Tiger smashed her again,
watched her fall into the waters, and then reported her death to Coy;
pleased Coy asked him to similarly deal with rival gangsters, and the
Tiger accepted.
Months later, having recovered from her injuries and
received martial arts training, Spider-Woman saved Ruth Han from Coy's
agents, and Han's subsequent warning allowed her to dodge a dive by the
Tiger. Using her new training, Spider-Woman evaded several of the
Tiger's attacks, causing him instead to crash into pillars and roofs. As
he became more reckless and frustrated, she nailed him point blank with
a venom blast, and a subsequent crash into concrete and steel support
column finished him off. She waited until the police arrived to take him
into custody.
(Spider-Woman I#50 (fb) - BTS ) - The Flying Tiger was abducted and imprisoned by Locksmith.
(Spider-Woman I#50) - Noting how his bonds inhibited his strength and flight, the Tiger felt claustrophobic and wished he could rip out somebody's throat. He was eventually freed by the efforts of Spider-Woman and Gypsy Moth, and he fled.
(Iron Man I#177 (fb) - BTS) - Gen. Coy recommended the Tiger to his allies, a group of South American rebels.
(Iron Man I#177) - Flying Tiger was hired by an
unidentified party to abduct Regis Fuskey (who intended to lend his
expertise to the government) and deposit him in a base in the jungles of
South America. Per an agreement of said party with the Kingpin, the
Tiger was not to act until Fuskey had left the U.S.A. Fuskey hired Iron
Man (Jim Rhodes) to act as his bodyguard, but Flying Tiger replaced the
co-pilot of Fuskey's plane. Once they were over the South American
jungles, the Tiger emerged from the cockpit and grabbed Fuskey. Rhodes
-- who had been forced by Fuskey to remove his armor for the trip to
avoid drawing attention to them -- tried to grab the Tiger, but was
swatted away. As Rhodes crawled towards the suitcase containing his
armor, the Tiger decided the suitcase must be something of value, and he
grabbed it before flying off with Fuskey.
Rhodes donned a parachute and followed him into the
jungle, where the Tiger delivered Fuskey to his employers. The Tiger
flirted with one of the rebel women, offering her the suitcase, but when
she couldn't open it, she tossed it into the jungle. Rhodes reached the
suitcase first, but only had time to don a single glove before the Tiger
caught up to him. Dodging Rhodes' punch, the Tiger dropped him with a
single punch. The Tiger then pulled his gun and prepared to finish
Rhodes, but just then government planes -- having located Col. Perez's
camp -- began dropping bombs. The Tiger was caught in one of the bombs'
explosions, while the prone Rhodes was spared. This gave Rhodes the
chance to put on the entire suit of armor and rescue Fuskey from the
bombing and his captors.
Not wishing anything to do with this military battle,
the Flying Tiger took off, but Iron Man caught up to him and punched him
out (using his armor's power but removing the armored glove before
hitting him).
(Fantastic Four I#335) - Affected by Dr. Doom's Aggression Enhancer. the Flying Tiger showed up as the Fantastic Four testified before Congress regarding the mandatory registration of superhumans. Triggered by the Enhancer, the Tiger interrupted the proceedings and announced his intent to take down the Fantastic Four, only to be dropped by a single swat from Ms. Marvel. The Tiger and all involved were taken away by authorities, though most had no memory of their recent actions.
(Avengers Spotlight#29/2) - The Flying Tiger was one of a group of super-villains being admitted to the Vault following the Acts of Vengeance.
(Marvel Year In Review '92) - The Flying Tiger was present at the Springdale, Connecticut Bar with No Name. He spoke to Dr. H. M. Virgil (super-villain psycho-therapist) and commented on how hard it was to be taken seriously as a super-villain these days, and that many of the newer characters didn't have any staying power.
(Captain America I#411) - Present at AIM's Boca Caliente Weapons Expo, the Flying Tiger approached Jack O'Lantern (actually the Falcon, who was impersonating Steve Levins), asking who he was, since he'd heard Macendale had become the Hobgoblin. "Jack O'Lantern" blew him off, saying, "Nope. Not Macendale, Tiger Lily. Somebody a lot better." Annoyed, the Tiger instructed him to call him Flying Tiger or they would see how much better he was.
(Captain America I#411-413) - The Flying Tiger was in the crowd as Crossbones (actually Captain America, impersonating Crossbones) battled a number of opponents to fulfill a previous agreement. When "Crossbones" was exposed as Captain America, the entire crowd attacked him, though he ultimately escaped.
(Thunderbolts I#3 (fb) - BTS) - The Flying Tiger joined the Crimson Cowl (Justine Hammer)'s Masters of Evil, along with Cyclone, Klaw, Man-Killer, Tiger Shark
(Thunderbolts I#3) - As part of the Crimson Cowl (Justine
Hammer)'s Masters of Evil, the Tiger battled the Black Widow. When the
Thunderbolts (Atlas, Citizen V (Zemo), Mach-1, Meteorite (Moonstone),
Songbird, Techno) showed up to join the fight, the Cowl projected a
blinding flash and teleported her teammates away.
The Thunderbolts later tracked the Masters to an
estate in the Cloisters where they were providing security for a meeting
of the Arms
Merchant with members of the New York underworld (presumably Don
Fortunato; see comments). The Tiger engaged Mach-1, but Techno
eventually converted the meetings weapons stash into his own arsenal, at
which point the Cowl teleported them all away again in a blinding flash.
(Thunderbolts I#18) - Jolt tracked Masters member Cyclone to a base near the Colorado Rockies, and the Thunderbolts (Atlas, Mach-1, Moonstone, Songbird) followed he lead to confront the Masters, but were instead ambushed by them. Jolt engaged the Tiger who took one of her punches and then flattened her with one of his own. The Masters defeated the Thunderbolts, after which the Cowl made them an offer: join her Masters, or she would tell their enemies where they were located. The Thunderbolts departed to consider the offer.
(Thunderbolts I#19) - As the Thunderbolts fought to save Burton Canyon from Charcoal and the Imperial Forces, the Tiger and the rest of the Masters showed up and attacked them, telling them that while they considered the offer they did not have the luxury of trying to earn the public's support.
(Thunderbolts I#20) - Correctly figuring the Masters' next
heist, the mint in Fort Worth, Texas, the Thunderbolts ambushed them
there. The Tiger again engaged Mach-1, making hints of possibly being
one of the World War II's
Flying Tigers, claiming to have seen and done things that Mach-1
couldn't even imagine. Klaw finally overpowered the Thunderbolts, but
then Hawkeye, posing as the Dreadknight, then arrived, and armed forces
showed up soon after. Klaw facilitated the Masters' escape.
(Thunderbolts I#24 (fb) - BTS) - The Cowl recruited 19 additional members for her Masters of Evil
(Thunderbolts I#25 (fb) - BTS) - The Tiger and the rest of the Masters helped the Cowl set up her plan to blackmail the world's governments for a trillion dollars via controlling the weather.
(Thunderbolts I#24) - The Tiger and the other five
original members of the Cowl's Masters assaulted the town of Robinette,
Colorado, to draw the Thunderbolts' attention. The Thunderbolts arrived
(now including Charcoal and Hawkeye, but minus Mach-1), and the Tiger
challenged Moonstone, telling her to stop thinking so much and let out
her killer instinct. Hawkeye nailed the Tiger with an arrow, which
glanced off his armor, but left a tracking device in place, after which
the Cowl transported the Masters away, removing the tracking
device from the Tiger and leaving the Thunderbolts with a powerful
thunderstorm to deal with.
Via a piece of Charcoal left a piece of his finger in
one of Man-Killer's shoulder straps, and the Thunderbolts tracked them
to their Mt. Charteris lair only to find that there were now 25 of them.
(Thunderbolts I#25) - Moonstone pretended to wish to join the Masters and was imprisoned because the Cowl didn't trust her to not interfere with her plans. She later convinced the Tiger to bring her back to the Cowl and reveal that the Thunderbolts had infiltrated their base, leading to a battle between the teams. The Tiger shrugged off a punch from Jolt and then grabbed a stunned Hawkeye, threatening to tear out his throat unless the Thunderbolts surrendered. Jolt nailed the Tiger with a second punch, taking him out of the fight, and the Thunderbolts ultimately defeated the Masters and foiled their plans, leaving most members, including the Tiger to be taken to prison.
(Avengers: The Initiative Annual#1/2 (fb)) - The Flying Tiger was defeated by neophyte hero Armory (Violet Lightner) in San Francisco.
(Avengers Academy#15) - After one of the Worthy's hammers heavily damaged the Raft prison Flying Tiger was one of the many prisoners escaping. He was captured again by Giant-Man (Hank Pym) near LaGuardia Airport in Long Island.
(Amazing Spider-Man I#700.3) - Puff Adder and Flying Tiger were watching TV at the Black Lodge when Peter Parker, bandaged up beyond recognition, rolled in on a wheelchair and joined them. Peter realized that he was among supervillains when Shocker put on an updated mask created by the Tinkerer.
(Amazing Spider-Man I#700.4) - The Black Lodge's Surgeon General asked Flying Tiger to help take down Spider-Man. Flying Tiger joined Puff Adder and Eel in fighting the still bandaged up Spider-Man. During the fight Flying Tiger tossed Spider-Man against a wall, but was later knocked out by Spider-Man. When Firebrand caused a massive fire at the Black Lodge Spider-Man saved Flying Tiger and Eel fromt he burning building.
SECRET WARS III HAPPENED
(Captain America: Sam Wilson#7/2 (fb) - BTS) - Flying Tiger was imprisoned by S.H.I.E.L.D. in Pleasant Hill and got his identity overwritten by the young Cosmic Cube Kobik.
(Captain America: Sam Wilson#7/2) - After regaining his true form he joined Baron Zemo in his assault on Pleasant Hill.
(All-New, All-Different Avengers#8) - In Pleasant Hill he joined forces with Man-Ape and Armadillo to attack members of the multiple Avengers squads, but got hit really hard by Thor (Jane Foster).
(Captain America: Steve Rogers#1 (fb) - BTS) - He escaped Pleasant Hill thanks to Baron Zemo.
(Captain America: Steve Rogers#1) - Flying Tiger ended up in Bagalia where he lost all in money in a casino. Alongside Firebrand and Plantman he he was one of the first to be recruited by Baron Zemo as part of his new Masters of Evil. They were attacked by Captain America, Free Spirit and Jack Flag. He was defeated by Jack Flag.
(Amazing Spider-Man V#18 (fb) - BTS) - Flying Tiger was among the animal-themed villains captured by Taskmaster and the Black Ant on behalf of Arcade and Kraven the Hunter, then placed inside Central Park after being in stasis for a time.
(Amazing Spider-Man V#18) - Hunter-Bots controlled by Arcade's clients at the Plaza Hotel advanced on the villains in Central Park. Flying Tiger got tackled out of the sky by one of them.
(Iron Man VII#1 (fb) - BTS) - Tiger Shark teamed with Flying Tiger in forming the Tiger Pack.
(Iron Man VII#1) - The Tiger Pack fought Iron Man, but were swiftly defeated.
Comments: Created by Chris Claremont, Steve Leialoha, and Bob Wiacek.
Never seen unmasked, the Flying Tiger
appears to be African-American, or to have a dark complexion, though it
could just be shadows.
He also likes to smoke a cigar.
He calls himself "Brown-Eyes" in FF#335.
He has some racist tendencies, referring to Jolt as
"Slant-Eyes"
The name "Flying Tiger" refers to
American fighter pilots who volunteered to oppose the State Shinto
Imperialist Japanese incursions into China, Burma, and elsewhere.
--Per Degaton
At the time Thunderbolts I#3 was published Don
Fortunato was on the rise in the New Yorker underworld and he worked
together with Hydra, like Black Widow surmised.
--Markus Raymond
He was probably one of the many unidentifiable villains seen at the end of Amazing Spider-Man V#16 (April, 2019) trapped in energy cages on a mountainside in South Africa, but we don't know for sure.
Flying Tiger received an entry in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update#2. Main image scan by MarvellousLuke.
Profile by Snood. Updates by Markus Raymond & Chadman.
CLARIFICATIONS:
No KNOWN connections to:
images: (without ads)
All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update#2, Flying
Tiger profile (main image)
Spider-Woman I#40, p4, panel 3 (flying form)
Spider-Woman I#40, p6, panel 4 (mask/face)
Appearances:
Spider-Woman I#40 (October, 1981) - by Chris Claremont (writer), Steve
Leialoha (penciler), Bob Wiacek (inker), Denny O'Neil (editor)
Spider-Woman I#50 (June, 1983) - by Ann Nocenti (writer), Brian Postman
(penciler), Sam DeLaRosa (inker), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Iron Man I#177 (December, 1983) - by Denny O'Neil (writer), Luke
McDonnell (penciler), Steve Mitchell (inker), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Fantastic Four I#335 (Mid-December, 1989) - by Walt Simonson (writer),
Rich Buckler (penciler), Romeo Tanghal (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Avengers Spotlight#29 (February, 1990) - by Dwayne McDuffie (writer),
Dwayne Turner (penciler), Chris Ivy (inker), Greg Wright & Mark
Gruenwald (editor)
Marvel Year In Review '92 (1992) "Losers" - by Peter Sanderson (writer),
Evan Skolnick (editor)
Captain America I#411 (January, 1993) - by Mark Gruenwald (writer), Rik
Levins (penciler), Danny Bulanadi (inker), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Thunderbolts I#3 (June, 1997) - by Kurt Busiek (writer), Mark Bagley
(penciler), Vince Russell (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts I#18-20 (September-November, 1998) - by Kurt Busiek
(writer), Mark Bagley (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Tom Brevoort
(editor)
Thunderbolts I#24-25 (March-April, 1999) - by Kurt Busiek (writer), Mark
Bagley (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers: The Initiative Annual#1/2 (January, 2008) - Dan Slott &
Christos Gage (writers), Clayton Henry (penciler), Paul Neary (inker),
Molly Lazer (assistant editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers Academy#15 (August, 2011) - Christos Gage (writer), Tom Raney
(pencils), Scott Hanna & Andrew Hennessy (inks), Bill Rosemann
(editor)
Amazing Spider-Man II#700.3-700.4 (February, 2014) - Joe Casey (writer),
Timothy Green (pencils), Walden Wong (inks), Tom Brennan (editor)
Captain America: Sam Wilson#7/2 (May, 2016) - Nick Spencer (writer),
Daniel Acuña (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
All-New, All-Different Avengers#8 (June, 2016) - Mark Waid (writer),
Adam Kubert (artist), Tom Brevoort with Wil Moss (editors)
Captain America: Steve Rogers#1 (July, 2016) - Nick Spencer (writer),
Jesus Saiz (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man V#18 (May, 2019) - Nick Spencer (writer), Humberto
Ramos (pencils), Victor Olazaba (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Iron Man VII#1 (December, 2024) - Spencer Ackerman (writer), Julius Ohta
(artist), Sarah Brunstad (editor)
First Posted: 12/30/2006
Last updated: 08/01/2025
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.!