Tatterdemalion (comics)

The Tatterdemalion King is also another name for Hastur.

Tatterdemalion is a fictional character and supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe, who 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 tramps") suggested that he was homeless, and he was apparently insane, which presumably explains why he would want to destroy currency.

Fictional character biography

Arnold Paffenroth was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was once a wealthy business investor until the Las Vegas mob swindled him out of all of his money. This resulted in him becoming an insane homeless person. At some point, the agency known as "Night Shift," outfitted Paffenroth with a sophisticated costume. Taking the name "Tatterdemalion" (a person dressed in ragged clothing), he snuck up on unsuspecting victims and proceeded to destroy their money, rather than steal it; an odd twist on mugging. Tatterdemalion fought the superhero Spider-Man on a few occasions. 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.

Civil War

In the Civil War storyline, Tatterdemalion was among the supervillains who were apphrehended and given a choice between jail or assisting the Thunderbolts.

Powers and abilities

Paraphernalia: wears gloves coated with solvent which allows him to destroy currency. Costume is coated with chemical that makes him slippery and impossible to hold on to. Underneath his costume is a layer of kevlar. Cloak emits chloroform gas, when thrown over victim, rendering them unconscious. Also uses his scarf, which is tipped with lead weights, as a weapon. A lack of proper hygiene results in foul odor. He is a very good tap dancer. Highly proficient bottle-cap collector.

Tatterdemalion's body was supernaturally augmented by Satannish to levels roughly equaling that of Captain America. This entails that his strength, endurance, speed, reflexes, and stamina are all roughly as developed as they could possibly be for human being. This means that the Tatterdemalion is stronger and faster moving than any Olympic athlete. However, he is still homeless and insane.