REAL NAME: Karl Hochländer
OCCUPATION: Industrialist and scientist, terrorist
IDENTITY: Secret
CLASS: Cyborg
LEGAL STATUS: Citizen of Swisslakia
OTHER ALIASES: NA
PLACE OF BIRTH: Swisslakia
MARITAL STATUS: Single
KNOWN RELATIVES: Hengest and Bertha (deceased parents), unnamed sister (deceased)
GROUP AFFILIATIONS: Nazi Party
BASE OF OPERATIONS: Swisslakia
FIRST APPEARANCE: Clue Comics #2 (February 1943)
HEIGHT: 6' 6"
WEIGHT: 225 lbs
EYES: Brown
HAIR: Auburn (shaved)
During World War II, when the Nazis occupied Swisslakia, Karl Hochländer's father, Henger, became a collaborator and informant. In retaliation for his betrayal, when the country was liberated, the angry mob burned down his house with his family inside. His parents and sister died, but young Karl survived, although he lost both arms, and vision and hearing on the right side of his face. He managed to take refuge in Switzerland, where, despite the sequels he suffered, he managed to prosper thanks to his great intelligence and tenacity (the result of the vengeful desire that consumed him). To the public he was a successful scientist and industrialist, a model of personal improvement. But hidden from the public eye he was nostalgic for Nazism, more than that, he was a terrorist genius and aspiring genocidaire. He came into conflict with David the King of Swisslakia and his Giant Golem on several occasions, being defeated each time.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Hochländer's arms were replaced with high-tech prosthetics that possessed inhuman strength and were capable of increasing many times their normal length. He also wore prosthetics for his right eye and ear. Like his arms, these prostheses gave him advantages, in this case sensory advantages (telescopic/thermal/night vision, radio listening, etc.). The Crane was a dangerous fighter who knew how to get the most out of his cybernetic implants, but also made use of his diabolical inventiveness to create mechanical monsters like the Hitler Rex, a huge robotic tyrannosaurus programmed with the personality of the Fuhrer.
