Backstory[]
The tiger is one with me, as I am one with the tiger. But I am still me.
- —Amare Alexander, aka Tiger-Claw
Early Life[]
Born in South Africa, Amare belonged to a poor family. Farming to make a living, most of Amare's days saw him working. The only nice possession he really had was a phone that had cost his parents a lot.
Becoming Tiger-Claw[]
Amare was farming when he came upon a tiger at the edge of the jungle. Following a practiced procedure, Amare grabbed a sharpened stick kept for emergencies and tried to fend off the tiger. The tiger attacked, and after a struggle, Amare jammed the stick into the tiger's neck, killing it. He silently apologized for killing it, but before it drew its last breath, the tiger lunged up and bit off Amare's left hand. Amare screamed in agony. After he bandaged his handless arm, he managed to bury the tiger despite having one hand. That night he slept outside, so as not to worry his parents, but the peace did not last, because marauders had come to raid his hut. Amare reflexively jumped into a tree. Amazed at his new reflexes and agility, Amare also found he could see in the dark and hear the slightest things. The crunch of the men's feet in the crops, the clicks of held triggers. Amare leapt down on a man and began to hit him, but before he could, a glowing blue paw with claws surrounded his stubby forearm. He gasped in amazement at the thing, like a hologram of a tiger's clawed paw, but somehow solid. Amare continued, leaping with incredible speed and taking down the remaining men. He kicked the last man in the rear away from the house. The man flew a few yards, then scrambled and proceeded to flee with his comrades.
After that, Amare started intense training with his mentor. Each day he would work out and practice fighting, once punching a hole in a bag. He also stopped a mugging.
Amare got a message one night from a mysterious man known as the Headmaster. It stated that if he did not come to Poland the next day, his parents would die. While Amare was deciding, a man came to his house. The man was huge and muscular. He was black with long dreads, and wore a green pinstripe suit with an orange tie. The man identified himself as Big Poppa, and proceeded to wreck the Alexanders' living room before taking his fight with Amare outside. Amare fought hard, but Big Poppa landed a blow that broke Amare's back. Soon though, the mystical powers of his tiger-spirit healed him. He defeated Big Poppa, but sent him to the Underworld on accident.
The next day, it was rainy. The Headmaster was controlling the weather to motivate Amare to go to Poland. It is unknown how he did this. He had also hired a hunter to watch Amare and make sure he got on the plane. As Amare did, he was drugged and fell asleep on the ride. Amare awoke in a car driven by a girl. The girl was wearing a hood. When he asked where he was, she stated he was in Poland and that he had liberated him from his captors. He thanked her. The girl identified herself as Lena Polinsky, a Polish mutant that worked for an agency known as the Warehouse.
Amare spent time at the Warehouse and developed feelings for Lena. But the arrival of the Headmaster and his men interrupted the peace. Amare and Lena defeated the men and Headmaster. Headmaster disappeared but later reappeared as the new herald of Galactus, now known as Thunder Blade. At this time, Amare had lost his powers. He needed to come to terms with the tiger spirit inside of him, and until he did, he lost his powers and connection with the tiger. With one hand, Amare helped stop a bank robbery, but his overwhelming anger caused him to feel tremendous guilt for almost fatally injuring the robbers. But soon enough, the tiger spirit returned and bonded with Amare again, and Amare regained his powers to fight Thunder Blade. With the help of Lena and Black Panther, Amare defeated Thunder Blade, and the herald took his master to another world to eat.
Teen Squad[]
Amare scraped together enough money to fly to America. Lena joined him, and once they arrived, the two started dating. Once they found a school to attend (Brooklyn Pleasures High School), they made friends with other teen heroes such as Robert Wilson, Troy Diyard, Link James Jr., Jaxon True, and Anna Dharty. Amare and Lena, having no money to find a sponsor home, decided to get rooms in Stark Tower, as per request of Mr. Stark himself. They also joined the numerous teen superhero groups being started.
Powers and Abilities[]
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Enhanced Tiger Physiology - Amare, when he killed and was bitten by the tiger, was inhabited by the tiger's spirit, granting increased strength, speed, eyesight, hearing, and incredible jumping and healing abilities.
- Enhanced Strength
- Enhanced Speed
- Enhanced Vision
- Enhanced Hearing
- Enhanced Jumping
- Enhanced Healing
- Enhanced Stamina
Spiritual-Holographic Tiger-Limb - Due to the inlaid tiger spirit, Amare can project a blue, holographic and clawed tiger paw on his missing limb's forearm. The limb is constructed of spiritual essence that have solidity.
Inner Spiritual Communication - Amare can communicate in thoughts and feelings with the tiger spirit inside of him.