Ulysses Klaue

"Every day the world is crazier. The rules are now... Well, what rules, right? At some point, it's just hard to be afraid anymore."

- Ulysses Klaue

Ulysses Klaue is a black-market arms dealer, smuggler and gangster operating out of South Africa. He is a former acquaintance of Tony Stark from his weapons-dealing days. During an encounter with Ultron, Klaue sold his stockpile of Vibranium to the A.I. before losing his arm in an argument with Ultron.

Arms Dealer
"Don't tell me your man swindled you; I sent you six short range heat-seekers and got a boat full of rusty parts. Now you will make it right or the next missle I send you will come very much faster... Now Minister, where were we?"

- Ulysses Klaue

Working as an arms dealer in South Africa, Klaue met Tony Stark during a weapons conference, although the pair never made a deal. His other dealings involved the HYDRA leader Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. Sometime after this encounter, Klaue stole large amounts of Vibranium from Wakanda. He managed to get the metal out of the country, but he was caught and had the word "thief" burnt into his neck in their native language. This activity put Klaue on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar as a potential threat to world security.

Battle at the Salvage Yard
"So if you're going to fiddle with my brain and make me see a giant cuttlefish, then I know you don't do business and I know you're not in charge, and I only deal with the man in charge."

- Ulysses Klaue to Pietro and Wanda Maximoff

While in his ship Klaue was on the phone to one of his buyers when the lights were cut out; believing that he was about to be attacked, Klaue took a hand gun and readied himself for a firefight. Before he could react, Pietro Maximoff ran into the room and disarmed him. Klaue found him face to face with Pietro and his twin sister Wanda Maximoff. Klaue remained confident however, mocking the pair for their youth and stating he only deals with the man in charge. The man in charge turned out to be Ultron, who threw Klaue from a window and told him he needed his Vibranium for his new body. Klaue handed Ultron the Vibranium he required, but reminded him of its incredible worth and the personal cost he had been through to get it. Ultron responded by filling Klaue's bank account with billions of dollars. Their alliance was cut short however when Klaue compared Ultron to Tony Stark, questioning if he was just another one of Stark's designs. This caused Ultron to go into a fit of rage, slicing off Klaue's left arm with his metal hand, only to apologize immediately afterwards before kicking him down the stairs. When the Avengers arrived, Klaue managed to escape the scene and ordered his soldiers to kill them all.

Abilities

 * Expert Thief: Klaue managed to steal priceless Vibranium from Wakanda and hold on to it, although he got branded as a thief by them.
 * Expert Smuggler: Klaue is proficient in smuggling, being able to smuggle guns and valuable materials such as Vibranium for years without being arrested.

Allies

 * Tony Stark - Former Acquaintance
 * Wolfgang von Strucker † - Acquaintance

Enemies

 * Ultron †
 * Pietro Maximoff †
 * Wanda Maximoff
 * Avengers

Trivia

 * This version of Klaw is an amalgamation of both Ulysses Klaw and his father, Fritz Klaue, who has a history with Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and the Howling Commandos.
 * His claw necklace is a reference to his name but also a reference to the character of Black Panther, with whom he shares much comic book history.
 * In the comics, Klaw was responsible for the death of Black Panther's father, T'Chaka. Later, Ulysses transformed himself into a being of pure sound, named simply Klaw.
 * In the comics, Klaw wears a sonic emitter as a prosthetic for his right hand. However, this Klaw suffers the casualty on the opposite limb: losing his entire left arm.
 * Klaue claims to be terrified of cuttlefish. He even stated that a documentary on cuttlefish terrified him.