Real
Name: Unrevealed TIGERMAN
Real
Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Human (British and Indian citizen, circa World War II)
Occupation: Adventurer
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Balu, Birhors, Louise Carson, Professor Roy Carson, Rangoo
Enemies: King Kuu, Monolinks
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Bihar, India
First Appearance: Daring Mystery Comics#6/9 (September 1940)
Powers/Abilities: Tigerman is an exceptional physical condition and is skilled in jungle survival techniques. Tigerman had a strong rapport with the monkey Rangoo and could glean meaning from Rangoo’s sounds and movements as though Rangoo were speaking to him. An excellent hand-to-hand combatant, Tigerman also wielded a knife. His English is rudimentary; he is presumably more fluent in whatever language the Birhors use, perhaps Urdu.
Height:
6'1" (see comments)
Weight: 180 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
History:
(Marvel Mystery Handbook) - The young man later known only as Tigerman
was born in the jungles of the Indian state of Bihar in the 1920s,
during the era of British colonial rule.
(Daring Mystery
Comics#6/9 (fb) - BTS) - Though born to a white family he was presumably
orphaned and raised by natives,...
(Marvel Mystery Handbook) - members of the nomadic Birhors, away from civilization. As a result he only had a rudimentary grasp of English, but he was adept at communicating with jungle animals such as his simian friend Rangoo
(Daring Mystery Comics#6/9 (fb) - BTS) - and his tamed Bengal tiger Balu.
(Marvel Mystery Handbook) - Growing
to be a tawny, athletic youth, Tigerman considered himself the jungle's
protector.
(Daring Mystery Comics#6/9 (fb) - BTS) - He heard about the pygmy Monolink men, who were said to live in an underground kingdom hidden beneath the jungle, venturing to the surface to take white men as slaves.
(Daring Mystery Comics#6/9) - One day Tigerman came across an expedition led by the...
(Marvel Mystery Handbook) - Englishman...
(Daring Mystery Comics#6/9) - Professor
Carson being attacked by the Monolinks, and he leapt to the expedition's
aid. However, he was vastly outnumbered. While he was battling the
Monolinks some of them took Carson away, and as Tigerman tried to spare
Carson's daughter, Louise, the same fate, the Monolinks managed to
ensnare both him and Jane in a net. The pair were dragged through the
jungle by the Monolinks, their plight witnessed by
Tigerman's ape friend Rangoo, who followed at a distance. Reaching a mountain cave, the entrance to the tribe's subterranean
kingdom, the pair were taken into the depths and to the palace of the
Monolink's ruler, King Kuu, where they were also reunited with Professor
Carson. The King had the three placed in adjoining cells, from the
barred windows of which Louise spotted an underground river, indicating
a possible route out of the caverns. When the guard came with food,
Tigerman overpowered him and released the others, but they were
recaptured as they attempted to steal a subterranean canoe at the
riverside. Thrown back in their cells, this time Rangoo came to their
rescue; having finally caught up with his friend, the ape easily bent
the window bars to enable the captives' escape. This time with Rangoo's
aid they overpowered the guards and stole the canoe, even taking it over
a waterfall to discover that the Monolinks, more technologically
advanced than they let on, had equipped it for gliding. However the
pursuing Monolinks fired on the canoe after it came back down onto the
river, piercing its side. Abandoning their sinking vessel, the trio
braved the river's raging current, but the Professor began to tire
battling against the torrent, and drowned before Tigerman could reach
him. Soon after the two survivors spotted daylight as the river exited
the side of the mountain, carrying them towards another falls. With
Louise clinging on to him for dear life, Tigerman snagged a tree growing
out of the mountainside as they went over, and pulled them both to
safety. Catching their breath on a ledge, Louise informed Tigerman that
now that her father was dead, she never wanted to leave him.
Comments: Created by Mike Roy.
It's fairly certain that Tigerman was
originally intended to be Trojak the Tigerman, who had appeared in
previous issues of Daring Mystery Comics. Not only is Tigerman's origin,
provided in a single text box at the start of his tale, identical to
Trojak's, but it even mentions that he has a tiger companion called
Balu, just like Trojak. Despite this name check, Tigerman's Balu doesn't
appear in his story; somewhat amusingly, the character actually based in
India (Tigerman) is only said to have a tiger companion, while the
character based in Africa (Trojak) has a tiger companion, despite tigers
not being native to that continent.
His handbook entry says he is 6'11" tall;
however, that's a typo, as while he does tower over many of the
Monolinks, he's only slightly taller than the Carsons.
With the Monolinks being both subterranean dwelling and highly technologically advanced, I have to wonder if they have some connection to the Deviants or another subterranean race. They look human, so they presumably aren't Deviants themselves, but they could be human/Subterranean hybrids or humans who found an abandoned Deviant outpost and mastered its technology.
As was not uncommon in early Timely titles,
the final panel of the story was a box promising more exciting
adventures of the lead character, in this case Tigerman, next issue. And
as was equally common, that proved to be false, as he's never been seen
again.
This profile was completed 09/05/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.
Profile by Loki.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Tigerman has no known connections to:
Balu was apparently Tigerman's tame Bengal tiger friend.
We never actually saw Balu in Tigerman's
single story. Maybe he was on loan to Trojak in Africa?
--None
Rangoo was an ape of undisclosed species who had befriended Tigerman. After witnessing Tigerman being taken by the Monolinks he followed them to their underground kingdom, though was slightly delayed at the entrance of said kingdom, apparently dazzled by the brilliant sight. Recovering, he located Tigerman in a cell on the side of the King's palace and bent the bars to free his friend. He then helped Tigerman overpower the guards at the river, strangling one man. He didn't follow Tigerman into the canoe, with Tigerman presumably trusting the ape could make his own way back to the surface.
--Daring Mystery
Comics#6/9
images: (without ads)
Marvel Mystery
Handbook, Tigerman entry (main image)
Daring Mystery Comics#6/9, p4, pan1
(headshot)
Daring Mystery Comics#6/9, p1, pan2 (leaping
down to attack the Monolinks)
Daring Mystery
Comics#6/9, p2, pan6 (Rangoo headshot)
Daring
Mystery Comics#6/9, p4, pan5 (Rangoo bodyshot)
Appearances:
Daring Mystery Comics#6/9 (September
1940) - writer unknown, Mike Roy (art), Joe Simon (editor)
First Posted: 09/08/2021
Last updated: 09/06/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright
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