Appearing in "Claws of the Cougar!"
Featured Characters:
- ⏴ Thing (Ben Grimm) ⏵ (Main story and recap)
- ⏴ Tigra (Greer Nelson) ⏵ (Main story and recap)
Antagonists:
- Cougar/"Curt Ranklin" (First appearance; dies)
- Cougar's Thugs
Other Characters:
- Sheila Conklin (First appearance)
- Joanne Tumolo (Only in recap)
- Cat People (Main story and recap)
- Tomazooma (Only in recap)
- Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) (Only in recap)
- Human Torch (Johnny Storm) (Only in recap)
Races and Species:
- Humans (Main story and recap)
- Cat People (Main story and recap)
Locations:
- Earth (Main story and recap)
- United States of America (Main story and recap)
- New York
- Oklahoma (Only in recap)
- Keewazi Reservation (Only in recap)
- United States of America (Main story and recap)
Items:
- Cat's Head Amulet
- Cat Suit (Only in recap)
- Null-Bands/Nega-Bands
- Electro-Lance
- Positive-Charge Annihilator
Synopsis for "Claws of the Cougar!"
Tigra has come to the Baxter Building in the middle of the night, rousing the Thing from his sleep. After explaining her origins, she tells the Thing that she has come to get aid in obtaining the Null-Bands from the robot imposter of Tomazooma which were taken by the Cougar.
As she finishes telling him this, they are attacked by five armed men sent to kidnap Tigra by the Cougar, but the two heroes easily defeat all five. Tigra then confirms the Thing's deduction that the Cougar is a renegade member of the Cat People. After using a device invented by Reed Richards that can track the negative energy given off by the bands, Tigra and the Thing arrive at Conklin Industries where they wait until Sheila Conklin leaves the room before confronting the Cougar who is in his human form, "Curt Ranklin." However, the Cougar had actually lured them there and quickly activates a gas trap he had prepared that knocks them both out.
Tigra and the Thing awaken to find themselves securely restrained in the Cougar's lab. The mad villain tries to use the Null-Bands to drain the Thing of his energy but his plan goes wrong when his fiancée Sheila Conklin secretly turns off the power. This enables the Thing and Tigra to break free and counter-attack, forcing the Cougar to transform into his cat-man form.
When the Cougar attempts to use a Positive-Charge Annihilator to destroy them, Sheila shoots him in the back, disgusted by the whole episode.
Notes
Continuity Notes[]
- Tigra glosses over her career as a super-hero:
- She was trained into a crime fighter by Joanne Tumolo and was active as the Cat in The Cat #1–4.
- Her connection to and transformation into a member of the Cat-People occurred in Giant-Size Creatures #1.
- The Fantastic Four battled the Tomazooma robot back in Fantastic Four #80.
- In the story, the Cougar refers to the power source taken from the rubble of the Tomazooma robot as both the Null-Bands and the Nega-Bands. Whether they actually have any connection to the Kree Nega-Bands has never been established.
Publication Notes[]
- This issue features a unique cover logo for Tigra. It's retouched and flipped Ed Hannigan and Frank Giacoia art from the cover of Marvel Chillers #5.
