Iron Klaw
| This article is about the human terrorist. For the issue of Revolutionaries, see The Iron Klaw. For a list of other meanings, see Iron Klaw (disambiguation). |
- Iron Klaw is a human from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Count von Rani pretends to be a nice and cuddly politician, the benevolent head of state of Eastern Europe's Kalistan. In secret he's Iron Klaw, a nefarious paramilitary commander running the Soldiers of Khaos, Anarchy, and Ruin, and has connections to the Decepticons! Boo, hiss!
Sometimes his name is spelled van Rani.
Fiction
Story of Binaltech
According to Agent Faireborne's investigations, Count von Rani and General Kreiger together led the Concurrence, a cabal of humans who planned to drive all Transformers away from Earth, turning the Solar System into a robot-free "resort". To accomplish this, the Concurrence began creating Decepticon Binaltechs to challenge the Autobot Binaltechs. What they would have done with the Decepticons after that is anybody's guess. Expose All of Evil's Designs!
G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers
Hawk saw a Matrix-induced vision of Iron Klaw and Trypticon battling Sgt. Savage and Fortress Maximus. The Art of War #5
Later, Iron Klaw's name and helmeted face were shown on a screen in G.I. Joe Headquarters along with the faces of several Cobra agents. A few were labeled "IN CUSTODY", but Iron Klaw was among those still at large. Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2
TransTech
G.I. Joe dispatched Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles team to investigate Kalistan. They learned the truth about S.K.A.R. and that Iron Klaw's group had ties to the Decepticons, ones going back to World War II! Iron Klaw and his top agents binary bonded to the Decepticons and began a globe-shattering conflict. The villain was the partner of Double Dealer and the two spread confusion as Double Dealer always took an Autobot disguise when von Rani was out of costume. Savage and the other Joes would eventually stop him. Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News Reporter, 2016/05/01
IDW Generation 1 continuity
Count van Rani, also known as the Iron Klaw, was the ruler of Kalistan, and the majority sharehold of I.R.O.N. When I.R.O.N.'s CEO Garrison Kreiger went missing under mysterious circumstances, von Rani appointed Tomax Paoli, former head of Cobra as interim CEO. Which was definitely not at all suspicious or anything. The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb
Shockingly, van Rani was a costumed villainous sort, in league with a consortium of other villainous folk, Kreiger included, and had a group of brainwashed Cybertronians in his castle. After Kreiger and his associate Baron Ironblood had a run in with a ragtag team of misfits, van Rani offered to send his Iron Grenadiers after them, only to be rebuffed. The Iron Klaw
A short time thereafter, Kreiger prepared to leave van Rani's castle, which had the man declaring he'd be happy for the peace and quiet. Strange Visitors
Notes
- Count von Rani and his secret identity as Iron Klaw hail from the mid-'90s G.I. Joe Extreme series. In both his identities, Iron Klaw was voiced by Transformers alumnus Richard Newman.
- His co-leader in the Concurrence, General Kreiger, is the same as the civilian identity of another 1990s-era G.I. Joe villain, General Blitz. The two were tied together further by the TransTech fiction, which said that Kreiger's I.R.O.N. Army were Kalistanian baddies in WWII.
