Krauss and Polly (Earth-616)

Kraus
Name	Kraus (Full name unknown)
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Nazis
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Hair	Grey-haired
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Human
Living Status	Deceased
Reality	Earth-616
Personal Information
Identity	No Dual
Citizenship	American, German
Occupation	Fortune teller
Base of Operations	New York City, New York
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Al Fagaly
First	Marvel Mystery Comics #36 (August, 1942)
First	Marvel Mystery Comics #36 (August, 1942)
Death	Marvel Mystery Comics #36 (August, 1942)
Death	Marvel Mystery Comics #36 (August, 1942)

History

Krauss was a spy for the Nazis during World War II. A blind man, the cause of his lack of vision is unknown, he claims to have lost his vision in combat -- but this may have been a lie. Krauss loved birds and kept many, and trained them how to speak and carry out his orders and used them in his subversive activities. In the early 1940s, he worked on the "Boebachter" newspaper and was part of a German-American Bund before it was shut down. Settling in a home in New York City, he regularly visited an institute for the blind.

He also began posing as a fortune teller with a unique twist: His parrot Polly would be the one giving the fortunes. He sought government officials and coated Polly's beak with a poison that was instantly lethal. When the parrot read the victims' palm, the bird scratched them, and they soon died of the poison. These strange deaths soon attracted the attention of the FBI who were unable to determine the cause of death. The head of the New York branch then sought the aid of the Angel to help solve the case. By this point, Krauss had targeted the FBI head and had Polly read the man's fortune. Krauss got away before the poison could affect the FBI agent, but it gave the Angel the clue needed to track Krauss down.

Contacting the city's many institutes for the blind, the Angel got in touch with Dr. White, a man who dealt with Krauss in the past. They then planted a false story on the radio about how White had a vital clue proving Krauss to be the killer. As expected, Krauss came to White's apartment and sent Polly up to poison White. Instead of White, the bird fought with the Angel, who bound the bird in the hopes of luring Krauss up to the apartment. Krauss took the bait; however, the Angel underestimated the blind man who was able to knock him out and escape White before the doctor could shoot him.

Krauss rescued Polly and escaped in a taxi cab. However, the Angel followed him back to his neighborhood and was able to determine which house belonged to Krauss by finding one of Polly's feathers outside. Going in, the Angel was captured when he fell through a trap door. Krauss then had the Angel bound in his basement where he intended to unleash his birds, all of whom had been starved so that they would consume the Angel's flesh. The Angel broke free and smashed through the observation booth's window and ran off to collect the authorities, leaving Krauss to deal with his bird. When the police arrived on the scene, they found that the birds had eaten Krauss alive.

Attributes

Abilities

Although blind, Krauss had an acute sense of hearing, able to single out a specific voice in a crowd. He was also a skilled fighter and an expert bird trainer.

Additional Attributes

Kruass was blind.

Paraphernalia

Weapons

Krauss often used birds as his weapons, particularly his parrot named Polly; he coated Polly's beak with a poison that was lethal to humans but seemingly harmless to the bird. He also had various other birds including vultures, which he also trained to speak and follow his commands. He regularly starved these birds so that they would feed on his live victims. He also carried a weighted walking stick that could also double as a defensive weapon as needed.

See Also

• 1 appearance(s) of Krauss and Polly (Earth-616)
• 1 image(s) of Krauss and Polly (Earth-616)
• 1 quotation(s) by or about Krauss and Polly (Earth-616)