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Real Name:
Thomas Fireheart
Class: Altered
human
Powers: Thomas Fireheart can transform into a humanoid-puma form which possesses remarkable superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes. Puma also possesses slight resistance to injury and hyper-acute senses of sight, hearing, and smell, which he often uses to track his opponents. History: Throughout its history, the American Indian tribe to which Thomas Fireheart belongs has maintained legends foretelling the coming of a being of infinite power who would pose a tremendous threat to the entire world. Generations ago, the tribe began a secret program which combined mysticism with controlled breeding in an effort to produce one perfect warrior who would act as their protector. The most recent member of this line is Thomas Fireheart. Fireheart began a lifelong course of rigorous training to perfect his enhanced abilities and animal senses. While he did not believe the legend of the ultimate threat, he did take his job as tribal guardian seriously, and so committed himself to this task. During this time he also became corporate director of Fireheart Enterprises and built it into a multinational corporation involved in a wide variety of endeavors. |
| Bored with the routine of his
position in the business community, and faced with few worthy challenges
as Puma, Fireheart decided to amuse himself by occasionally accepting dangerous
assignments as a professional mercenary. His talents came to the attention
of the Rose, a lieutenant of Wilson Fisk, alias the Kingpin of Crime, who
awarded Puma some of his most challenging contracts. One such assignment
was to kill the hero Spider-Man.
Puma traveled to New York City, where he tracked down Spider-Man and attacked him. Spider-Man narrowly escaped, saved by the intervention of his ally, the Black Cat. A second battle placed innocent |
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Some months later, Puma was contacted
by his uncle the shaman of their tribe. The shaman announced that the threat
for which Puma spent his life in training had arrived on Earth. The being
of infinite power was identified as The Beyonder, an entity from another
dimension who had come to Earth on a personal quest for new experiences
and fulfillment. Still unconvinced of the legend's validity, Puma nonetheless
traveled to New York City and sought out Spider-Man's help in confronting
the Beyonder. Spider-Man tentatively agreed and the two traced the object
of their search to a cult founded by the Beyonder which promoted a philosophy
of "Cosmic Oneness." Upon their first confrontation, the Beyonder simply
transported Puma to downtown Tokyo in an instant. Faced with such unimaginable
power, Puma became convinced of the Beyonder's threat and committed himself
to the Beyonder's death. Puma then discovered that the Beyonder had made
contact with Master Muramoto. The sensei and the Beyonder attempted to
convince Puma that there was no threat, but Puma remained firm in his commitment.
He returned to New York City, as did the Beyonder and, at the Beyonder's
urging, Master Muramoto.
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Puma once again tracked down
the Beyonder, with Spider-Man again on hand. Preparing for his kill, he
witnessed the sensei's death as the inadvertent result of the Beyonder's
actions. Enraged, Puma became totally committed to his role of opposition
to the Beyonder, and so found himself in a state referred to as "harmonious
alignment with the Universe." As a result, he was imbued with immeasurable
power of an unknown mystical nature, enough to kill his intended victim.
Spider-Man, realizing his own inability to affect the outcome of the battle, decided to leave, noting that the entire scenario could be an illusion created by the Beyonder. Puma overheard him and began to doubt his own senses and his role in the course of events. With the return of doubt, the immense mystical power left him. He was unable to kill the Beyonder, and he returned to New Mexico without completing his mission.
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