| Tatterdemalion | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | (unnamed) Werewolf by Night #9 (Sep 1973),[1] (named) Marvel Team-Up #93 |
| Created by | Tom Sutton |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Arnold Paffenroth |
| Team affiliations | Thunderbolts Night Shift Committee |
| Notable aliases | Michael Wyatt |
| Abilities |
|
Tatterdemalion is a fictional character and supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character wore gloves either coated with or secreting a chemical agent which dissolved any material composed of paper, such as dollar bills. His appearance (and, indeed, his name, which roughly means "ragged tramp") suggested that he was homeless, and he was apparently insane.
Arnold Paffenroth was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, and became a tap-dancer and an actor. He was once a wealthy business investor until the Las Vegas mob swindled him out of all of his money. This resulted in his divorce, and he became an insane homeless person. With an army of derelicts, hired by Sidney Sarnak on behalf of the Committee, he battled the Werewolf.[2] The Committee outfitted Paffenroth with a sophisticated costume and equipment. Taking the name "Tatterdemalion" (a person dressed in ragged clothing), he sneaked up on unsuspecting victims and proceeded to destroy their money, rather than steal it; an odd twist on mugging. Tatterdemalion began attacking the wealthy, and then battled Werewolf and the superhero Spider-Man.[3] He next battled Werewolf and Ghost Rider.[4] With other superhuman adventurers and criminals, he was imprisoned by the Locksmith, but was then freed by Spider-Woman.[5] He later attempted to stimulate the career of Julia Walker, his former dance partner, by committing terrorism. He battled and was stopped by Dazzler.[6]
Tatterdemalion later joined the "Night Shift," a group of villains tricked by the Shroud into doing good. He teamed with Captain America against the Power Broker and his augmented mutates.[7] Alongside the Night Shift, he tested Moon Knight to take over as leader of the Night Shift.[8] Alongside the Night Shift, he battled the West Coast Avengers.[9] Alongside the Night Shift and the second Hangman, and Satannish, he battled the Avengers West Coast. His abilities were enhanced by Satannish's black magic at this time.[10] At present, he is more occupied with shielding his thoughts from the space aliens who are trying to control his mind with radio signals; he believes they transmit these signals into his head via smoke stacks of fast food restaurants.
In the Civil War storyline, Tatterdemalion was among the supervillains who were apprehended and given a choice between jail or assisting the Thunderbolts.[11]
Tatterdemalion appears with the Night Shift, as part of the Hood's gang. They battle the Midnight Sons, and Tatterdemalion fights Werewolf by Night before he is blasted by Daimon Hellstrom. He and the Night Shift are killed when the zombie virus mutates and becomes airborne.[12] The virus cloud begins to rain blood, and reanimates the Night Shift as zombies.[13] Dormammu assumes control of the Night Shift and uses them to fight the Midnight Sons. When Jennifer Kale and the Black Talon contain the virus within the Zombie (Simon Garth), the Night Shift members, albeit still in an undead condition, cease their rampage. The Hood teleports away with them.[14]
The Tatterdemalion wears specially designed gloves coated with a solvent which dissolves paper and fabrics, which allows him to destroy currency. He wears several layers of clothing, coated with a special greasy chemical that makes him slippery and difficult to hold on to; underneath his clothes is a layer of Kevlar. His cloak contains chloroform gas capsules, so that when thrown over a victim it renders the victim unconscious. He wears a long scarf, which is tipped with lead weights, as a weapon. His equipment was supplied by the Committee. Due to his lack of proper hygiene habits, the Tatterdemlion emits a harsh offensive odor at all times. He is an expert tap dancer, and a highly proficient bottle-cap collector. The Tatterdemalion is mentally disturbed.
Tatterdemalion's body was temporarily supernaturally augmented by Satannish, enhancing his strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes to peak human levels. Satannish enhanced his greasy coating to make him impossible to hold, enhanced his solvent to be strong enough to pain the normally invulnerable Wonder Man, and enhanced his scarf to be strong enough to be used to choke Wonder Man.