Nothing is known of the life of Erik Razar before he became a small-time gangster in Keystone City. In the early 1940's, Razar ran a small mob that was taken over by a larger operation run by gangster Topper Hull. Hull framed Razar and had sent him to prison. For years Razar fumed and swore revenge. In the summer of 1947, Razar had hatched a plan to escape by sabotaging the prison power generator. His plan had an unforeseen side-effect however, charging Razar with enormous amounts of electricity. Unhurt, Razar slowly changed into the form of a gorilla and made his way across the prison yard where he was sighted by guards. When they opened fire, Razar changed forms into a giant tortoise, bouncing the bullets off it's thick shell. When the bullets ceased, Razar became a rhinoceros and battered down the gate. Fleeing into the woods, Razar became a bird and made good his escape.  As he ran, his only thoughts were of vengeance on Topper Hull.

    Perched on Hull's window sill in the form of a pigeon, Razar learned that Hull had planned a bank job by intercepting an armored car delivery. Razar decided to torture Hull by thwarting his crimes and intercepted the car first. By this point, the police had consulted with scientist Jay Garrick who was among those who witnessed Razar, as a large bull elephant, intercept and dismantle the armor car. Quickly changing to the Flash, Garrick engaged the shape-shifting criminal but was quickly dispatched when the elephant flung him into a large water reservoir.