Character- Wildclaw
wildclaw

Created by: Lawrenz Lano

First appearance: 
 
 

Art by John BecaroWildclaw






 
Name: Anton Krupin
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown (yellow when transformed)
Height: 5 foot 9 inches (His final size is around fifteen feet)
Age: 26

Nationality: Russian

Occupation: Construction worker
Base of operations: Slavutych, Ukraine

Ethical alliance: Good


History

Anton's mother was one of the unfortunates to survive the Chernobyl incident in Russia. Since she had lived on the outskirts of the site, it was believed that she had escaped its influence because her outward appearance did not show any sign of damage. Unfortunately, it was not so.

When she became pregnant, the doctor 
registered two heartbeats and announced her that she was having twins, but during her labour, complications occurred and the babies could not come out. Emergency cesarean was performed, and it was revealed that her children were malformed. One was almost normal, but the second was a parasitic twin. The mother died in the process and surgery was performed and the parasitic twin was removed.

Anton grew up almost abandoned by his father, who blamed him for his wife's death. When he was not in school, Anton  spent most of his time in the wilderness hunting and foraging. His only friend was his brother, Yuri, who was dead, of course, but Anton could still feel him inside his head. People thought Anton was mad, but Anton knew better. His brother was still there, somewhere inside him. Still, Anton sometimes wondered if a part of him was mad because he had an anger in him that he could not control.

One day, when he was hunting far from home, he heard strange voices. As he went to investigate, he stumbled upon beings unlike any he had ever seen. They spotted him and gave him chase and for the first time in his life, Anton ran away. They were almost upon him when Anton almost crashed into another being. This one looked human but had blue skin. Behind him were three other. One looked like a giant wolf, another was obviously female but looked like a tiger and the third, a black panther.

The three animal beings lunged over him and engaged the extra-dimensional creatures. The blue being just watched as his three minions tore through the pack but one of the creatures spotted them and charged.

The blue being watched impassively as the creature got closer, but Anton could not. Armed with a claw he had fashioned from dinosaur bones he had once found, he lunged at the creature and let loose his rage. 

When the battle was over, torn pieces of flesh littered the ground. The blue being introduced himself as, Avatar Prime. He told him that he hunted such creatures and that if Anton wanted, he could join them in the fight. Anton had nowhere else to go. He would not be missed, so he accepted the offer.

Avatar Prime picked up one of the broken dinosaur claws and fashioned it into a necklace amulet which he placed around Anton's neck. When Anton touched it, his being transformed, and he took on a feral appearance. 

"Welcome to the team, Wildclaw!" Said the blue being. "Meet Direwolf, Bengal and Panther."

It was later discovered that others could also access the amulet. One day, when Anton suffered a particularly hard beating, he heard Yuri tell him to activate the amulet once more. As he did so, Wildclaw took on a second form and his wounds miraculously healed.

While in that form, Anton became aware of a third presence, his mother. He had never felt her before so assumed that she was a part of Yuri's personality, and she too could access the amulet. But once in that third form, another darker presence could be felt, and it too could access the amulet.

The fourth form called itself Chernobyl, and it haunted Anton's mother. It was a violent and uncontrollable form which Anton tried to keep hidden at all times. Only in dire circumstances did he allow Chernobyl free rein. Chernobyl was powerful but once unleashed, hard to reclaim. 


Powers
 
Transform: Wildclaw's first form is his main mode of attack. In this form his body takes on a reptilian skin and his fingernails become three-inch claws. In his second form, Wildclaw's fingers fuse together and each hand become three-fingered with six-inch claws. His size also increases to eight feet. In his third form, his fingers fuse again and his hands become two-fingered with eight-inch claws while Wildclaw's physical appearance becomes more dinosaur-like. In his final form, Wildclaw's fingers are gone and each hand becomes sword-long serrated blades. 

With each subsequent form, his animal side increases in dominance. His last form is a berseker form and Wildclaw needs to calm down to regain control.

Wildclaw rarely takes on his last two forms.

Animal abilities: Has dinosaur enhanced powers.

Animal attributes: Possesses claws and a reptilian skin.

Instant heal: If he is wounded, switching to another form instantly heals the damage.


Speed: Increased attack speed.

Heightened senses: Increased sense of sight, smell, taste and hearing.

Super strength:
In the 5 ton range (obtained in his final form).


Weaknesses: With each successive form he takes, his animal side gains greater dominance until he reaches his last form. With his Human side greatly diminished, Chernobyl can retain control of his form if left unchecked. 


Paraphernalia:
A velociraptor claw amulet provides his change.