Strength 7x

Agility 7x

Intellect 6c

Willpower 7x

Hand Size: Edge:

4 (25) 2

Known Powers:

(none)

Equipment:

Chain Mail Armor: responsible for his rather distinctive look, this golden suit of armor also affords Franz a decent level of protection from injury. A chain mail weave that covers him from head to toe, augmented with solid steel components in the belt and ankle areas, this armor provides Franz +3 protection from injury, which renders the man practically bullet proof!

Der Fliegende Tod: his greatest weapon ever, built from plans stolen from a top secret United States Army warehouse, the 'Flying Death' is essentially a floating arsenal, a giant flying disc with cannons situated around its circumference, powered by Radium X and an experimental engine years ahead of anything else the world knew at the time. It has these capabilities:

* Armor: a rather large steel disc, Der Fliegende Tod is built to withstand all kinds of punishment - it's rather sturdy for a 1940's era aircraft. Furthermore, since the vehicle is of 16 material strength, it offers its occupants +4 protection from assaults from without; this allows them to continue the fight against their foes until the very bitter end...

* Cannons: Der Fliegende Tod's primary feature is its ability to pound just about anything in the air with its many guns. It has eight cannons spaced around it, and can fire in all directions with a large enough crew; it can fire once per exchange for each crewmember within (up to eight times per exchange). These guns can fire to inflict damage per +6 weapons with each deadly blast.

* Circular Vision: thanks to its curious design, Der Fliegende Tod has viewports that can see around it in all directions. Furthermore, thanks to special periscopes, the pilot of Der Fliegende Tod can see in all directions when piloting it, even if his gunners can only see in a ninety degree arc in front of them. As such, Der Fliegende Tod benefits from this power in battle.

* Flight / Levitation: remarkable for the time in which it was built, Der Fliegende Tod has the ability to fly without any apparent means of locomotion, thanks to the revolutionary engine within. In fact, in addition to being able to fly at intensity 7 speeds, or 300 miles per hour, Der Fliegende Tod can actually hover in place in order to pummel ground-based targets.

Knockout Gas: a weapon of his own design, this gas allows Franz to subdue opponents without killing them. Of intensity 13 effectiveness, the gas can knock out a body if they fail an easy difficulty Strength action, opposed by the intensity of the gas. While it can easily take down simple human guards, it has also worked against Namor the Sub-Mariner himself in the past!

Hindrances:

(none)

Skills:

Chemistry: while the exact nature of Franz's skills has yet to be revealed, it seems a sure bet that he knows a thing or two about chemistry, as he has invented a gaseous concoction that acts as a particularly effective knockout gas - it's so powerful that it can even affect super humans! As such, he should receive a one level reduction in difficulty on any action involving chemistry or chemical reactions.

Mechanics: furthermore, it would seem that Franz knows a thing or two about the creation of mechanical devices, as he was able to build Der Fliegende Tod all by himself (not counting the assistance he needed with the craft's experimental engine, of course). As such, he can reduce the difficulty of any action intended to build, study, or work with mechanical devices by one level.

Calling:

Idealist: Franz is rather wrapped up in the tenets of the original Teutonic Knights; so much so, in fact, that he believes that he is none other than Komtur, leader of said group (even if the man is long-dead). Franz would gladly lay down his life to further the aims of his new Knights, and looks down upon all non-German folk as infidels and 'heathens'.

Costume:

Franz's costume primarily consists of his golden chain mail armor, which covers him from head to toe for the most part. While the armor itself is golden in hue, it is marred only by a black swastika on the chest. Complementing this golden armor, though, are Franz's white gloves, a white cape, white boots (with silvery ankle guards), his steel belt, and his white, skull-faced mask.

Personality:

Franz is an very religious and patriotic individual, believing in the tenets of the Teutonic Knights and the primacy of Germany. Naturally, since Nazism and religion are sort of mutually exclusive, this caused a split in his mind that culminated in his going insane. He's delusional to the point that he identifies only as Komtur, the leader of the REAL Teutonic Knights, and schemes to conquer the world in their name.

Real Name: Franz Gerhardt
Occupation: Religious leader, terrorist
Legal Status: German citizen with a criminal record in the United Kingdom
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: Komtur
Group Affiliation: none

Height: 5' 10"
Hair: white
Eyes: blue
Weight: 170 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: none

Story:

Franz Gerhardt was a man who, before the outbreak of World War II, truly believed in the tenets of the Teutonic Knights, a medieval order from Germany's past. As such, he was sure that Germany would eventually rise to quash the infidels around it and eventually conquer the world. Of course, when the Nazis took power in Germany, this caused quite a problem for Franz.

You see, Nazi Germany was a primarily atheistic affair, and as such, diametrically opposed to Franz's beliefs. This caused a severe schism in his mind, which ultimately caused him to go quite mad, and allowed him to essentially have it both ways; he could continue to fanatically pursue the long-dead agenda of the Teutonic Knights, and could still help the Nazis gain even more power.

At the height of his mania, Franz adopted a suit of golden, chain mail armor, and began to identify himself as Komtur, leader of the Teutonic Knights of the past. Further augmenting this armor with a cape and mask, Franz collected a body of loyal followers and began to plot the destruction of the Allied powers. He started by stealing the plans for a secret Army 'flying arsenal'.

Though he ran into interference from Captain American and Bucky during this operation, Franz managed to escape with the plans after knocking out several Army guards, and then setting the warehouse they were in on fire; given the choice of defeating the Teutonic Knight or saving the fallen soldiers, Captain America and Bucky did what they could to save lives, allowing Franz to get away.

Of course, once he had the plans, Franz realized that he needed two additional elements to power this flying arsenal - an experimental engine and a powerful fuel known only as Radium X. In order to get the engine he needed, Franz kidnapped one Doctor Barrow, an inventor who had created such a device, stymieing the Human Torch and Toro as they guarded him on an English train.

Finally, in order to acquire the Radium X, Franz set up a two-pronged assault on the ship carrying the only known sample of the material, one which happened to be guarded by Namor, the Sub-Mariner. As a German U-Boat torpedoed the boat, causing Namor to deal with the hole in the ship's side and the submarine itself, Franz and his men took over the ship from their aircraft.

Once Namor got back, he found the crew, and his reporter friend Betty, being held hostage. Once Namor realized he couldn't act without causing harm to these innocent humans, Franz made his escape - and when Namor pursued, Franz gassed him to such an extent that the Sub-Mariner could not keep up with his aircraft. Now having everything he needed, Franz just had to put it all together.

This he managed about a year later, after the five heroes he'd faced previously united to form the Invaders, an unbeatable team of Allied super heroes who were later joined by Spitfire and Union Jack. These two heroes, you see, caught wind of Franz's plans, and called their pals in to defeat his 'flying death', also known as Der Fliegende Tod, which he was about to launch against England.

By the time the Invaders arrived, however, Der Fliegende Tod had just leaped into the skies, guns a'blazing! Working feverishly to defeat the 'flying death' and to contain the damage the craft was causing, the Invaders eventually made their way inside the bizarre circular vehicle, only to find that this assault was just a diversion, one that would allow for the assassination of Winston Churchill and Sir Bernard Law Montgomery!

Realizing this, the Invaders hustled to take Franz down, and once Captain America removed his final hostage, the long-captive Doctor Barrow, Spitfire and Union Jack pummeled him senseless, and the heroes then halted the craft - right as its Radium X supply became unstable. As soon as that was dealt with, they handed Franz over to the local authorities and stymied his would-be assassins.

Using the Teutonic Knight in other stories:

Nothing has been heard of Franz or his precious Teutonic Knights since, so it is quite likely that he spent the rest of his life in an English jail, and his strange religious movement dispersed soon afterward. However, this has yet to be determined, and as such, the Teutonic Knight may escape to cause trouble in the future, and set the seed for his group to live on even to the modern day!