| Tiger | |
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Real Name: |
Jeff Coleman |
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Nationality: |
African-American |
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Age: |
Mid-to-Late-30s/Early-40s |
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Gender: |
Male |
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Sexuality: |
Straight |
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Allies: |
Spinnerette |
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Enemies: |
Evil Spinnerette |
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First Appearance: |
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Jeff Coleman aka "Tiger" (though he is commonly referred to as "Black Tiger") is an African-American superhero.
History[]
Jeff Coleman was an average policeman living in Columbus, OH with his wife and two daughters, Michelle and Holly[1]. During an investigation at a convenience store, he found a dying, old man who had been shot in the abdomen. Unknown to Jeff, this old man possessed a shamanistic power known as the "Spirit of the Tiger". Before he died from his wounds, he transferred his totem powers to Jeff.
Jeff crafted a superhero identity and became the powerful "Tiger". Due to his African ancestry, he is commonly referred to as the "Black Tiger", much to his chagrin. His powers only amplified his natural strength, so he began a strict regimen of training and muscle building.
One day after coming home from a routine patrol around the city, his wife caught him taking off his uniform, revealing his Tiger costume underneath. Upset with him for keeping his double life a secret, she threatened to leave Jeff if he continued his heroics. Their children overhear the argument and are thrilled by the revelation of their dad's abilities. Despite their joy, Jeff's wife still demands that he give up his double life, out of fear that his superhero activities would cause his death, leaving their children fatherless.
After this confrontation, Jeff stopped using his powers and returned to being a regular police officer. Arriving home from work one day, he learned that there was a shooting at his daughters' school. His girls were okay, but he realized that the entire situation could have been prevented if he had not given up being the Tiger. His decision made, he resumed the role of a super hero once again. His wife kept her threat and left him, taking their children with her.
Tiger originally worked alone. Eventually, he met the Korean-American superhero, "Mecha Maid". The two decided to join forces and became a super duo. They purchased an apartment to serve as their lair, and later Tiger joined the ASA (American Superhero Association) along with his teammate.
While Tiger and Mecha Maid spent most of their time as a heroic duo, they also temporarily teamed up with other heroes such as "Super Milf" and "Ben Franklin". Many years later, Tiger and Mecha Maid were involved in an investigation of the mysterious new villain, "Spinnerette", who was stealing ancient artifacts from museums and private collections. It was while responding to the robbery of yet another museum that Tiger and Mecha Maid met the comic's namesake—a new super hero who just happened to have the same name as their current villain.
Personality[]
Not surprisingly, Jeff doesn't want to be known as the "Black Superhero/Racialized Superhero", but rather as a "Superhero who just happens to be African-American". Therefore he strives to keep references to his ethnic or cultural heritage out of his alias. The media doesn't understand this, and continues to label him "Black Tiger", much to his constant annoyance. Others do not understand the source of his annoyance, as they call him "Black Tiger" due not to his ethnic background but rather because it just sounds better.
He has a strong sense of personal responsibility, which leads him to do what he feels is right, even at the cost of great personal sacrifice. Sometimes, his powerful need to do what is right causes him to find the shortest way to that end: such as tranquilizing a dangerous suspect rather than take the risk and exhaust the effort of restraining them.
He looks at Mecha Maid and Spinnerette as surrogate daughters. While he thinks of them as teammates first - such as taking a hard line in not knowing each others' secret identities - it subconsciously causes him to be overprotective of them and try to correct their behavior as a father would a child, which in turn causes tension among the team. While this tension was minor between himself and Mecha Maid, the addition of the strong-willed Spinnerette to their roster tipped the scales, setting off a chain of events that caused him to break up their partnership.
His wife's leaving him left him with a dislike of Canadians, as she was Canadian. This puts him at odds with the superhero team, the League of Canadian Superheroes. It also amplifies the differences he has with the League's leader, Green Gable, whose guiding philosophy is to do what is just, not always what is expedient.
Powers, Paraphernalia, & Abilities[]
The source of Tiger's powers is the shamanistic "Spirit of the Tiger". It gives him incredible strength, endurance, and agility sufficient enough to keep up with a flying Mecha Maid while still on foot, leaping from building to building. He can also summon his animal totem for a brief increase in power, to use as an kinetic-force attack against his enemies, or to form a protective shield.
The nature of this power is that it amplifies Tiger's natural physical abilities. The stronger his base strength is, the more powerful the Spirit of the Tiger will make him. To maximize the effectiveness of his powers, he relies on a combination of strength and agility training along with muscle building by drinking large quantities protein shakes, up to 200g of liquid protein a day. This does not include the amount of protein he gets from his diet, which consists primarily of lean protein such as chicken.
Tiger's suit is simply a skin-tight bodysuit. It is orange with white belly and underside with black stripes, similar to the decoration of a Bengal tiger. He wears a black domino mask to hide his identity, along with white, reinforced gloves and boots for protection. His only technological paraphernalia is a wireless communication device build into the wrist of his left gauntlet.
As a police officer, Jeff Coleman possesses skills in criminology, forensics, police procedures, and law enforcement. He has expanded this arsenal by developing detective skills, which he did not normally use in his occupation as a patrol officer.