History
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Karl Shaffer
Karl Shaffer was a spy for the Nazis during World War II. In the fall of 1944 he began living with his uncle John a New England artist known for his silhouette paintings of monsters attacking people. When a deposit of Zorite was discovered in the area -- a rare metal that was beneficial for the production of arms -- Karl and his Nazi allies began plotting to prevent the American authorities from discovering it. To this end, Karl used trickery to make it appear as though the Shadow Monster in his uncles paintings had come to life and began murdering people in order to keep people away from the quarry where the Zorite was discovered.
At first he only used a flashlight to project an image of a fake attack, leaving no trace of a victim or evidence of murder, stumping eye witnesses and local authorities. However, they were forced to actually kill someone when a baseball player ventured into the quarry after his game ball was hit into it. By this time Steve Rogers and James Barnes were on the scene having heard the murder and began questioning people about it. In order to try and further convince people that they were being stalked by a monster, Karl told Steve and James about his uncle's paintings, then told them that his uncle was out of town.
When Steve and James paid a visit to the Shaffer castle as Captain America and Bucky, Karl and his men prepared to convince the two heroes of the monster's existence or eliminate them. However, in attempting to eliminate them, Cap and Bucky knocked out one of Shaffer's minions revealing the Nazi connection to the plot. Karl then attempted to kill them by activating a trap floor causing them to fall into a pool of water in a tunnel below the estate. He then knocked out his uncle and dressed him in a costume in the hopes that he would be accused of the murder and attempted to flee.
Cap and Bucky freed themselves and raced after Karl as he attempted to get away in a passenger truck. Struggling with Cap while trying to keep on the road, Karl is unmasked. Unwilling to face capture, Karl then drove the truck off the edge of a cliff while Cap and Bucky bailed out. The resulting explosion killed Karl, ending his plans.[1]