WANTED: Earth-Two's Most Dangerous Super-Villains
The Red Panzer
Personal information
Character History
Real Name: Helmut Streicher
Residence: Mobile
Occupation: Axis agent, scientist
First Appearance (Post-Golden Age): Wonder Woman #228 (February 1977)
Little is known of the early life or career of Helmust Streicher prior to joining the Nazi party prior to 1940. The first known evidence of his activities occurred in 1940 when he was assigned to operate covertly in Glasgow, Scotland in preparation for a Nazi invasion of the United Kingdom. His activities were discovered by British military intelligence and when shared with U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, resulted in the recruitment of the several costumed adventurers to assault the Streicher's castle stronghold. While caught off guard, the heroes were eventually captured by a "murder machine", a giant robot created by Streicher, The heroes were sent to Berlin to be displayed as spoils of war for Hitler who had acquired the Spear of Destiny to summon Valkyries to fight from Germany. As Streicher watched, Hitler launched his invasion but was repelled by the arrival of more costumed adventures who eventually former the Justice Society. How Streicher escaped capture once the invasion was thwarted is not clear (DC Special #29).
By 1943, Streicher had created a new identity for himself as the Red Panzer. He crafted a suit of armor with a battery of armored modifications. He was sent to Washington DC to conduct espionage activities but instead, use the facilities provided by the German government to conduct experimentation into time travel. He developed a way to peer into the future and observed the invasion of Normandy and the subsequent fall of the Nazi state. He resolved to travel into the future and alter events but his device overshot it's mark and crosses the multiverse, entering the timeline of Earth-One in 1976. There he causes a near collision with a jetliner, attracting the attention of Wonder Woman. Confused that she is still alive, the two battle but a grappler safety device pulled the both back to Earth-Two in 1943 and Panzer ditches Wonder Woman through aerial maneuvering of his timeship. Believe that she cannot exist with herself at the same time, the Panzer assumes Wonder Woman will simply vanish and returns to his lair to contemplate his actions.
In the interim, Wonder Wonder encounters her Earth-Two counterpart and after an initial violent misunderstanding, they reach the truth and resolve to track the Panzer back to his lair. Finding it unoccupied, Diana of Earth-Two sends her counterpart home just as the Panzer returns. The two battle across his lab with the Nazi agent being defeated and bound in the Amazon's golden lasso. Unbeknownst to either, the grappler beam reactivates and yanks the time ship back (sans Wonder Woman of Earth-One) and hits Wonder Woman from behind, knocking her out long enough for the Panzer to seize the upper hand.

The Panzer snares in her in the golden lasso but gloats too much, allowing Wonder Woman to revive and slip out if his grasp. He snatches the lasso and flee in his ship once more, with Wonder Woman in tow. As they battle above the city, the Panzer reveals a howitzer built into the arm and blasts her with. She deflects the blast but it fuses her bracelets, robbing her of her strength allowing the Panzer to escape. She is eventually recovered by Steve Trevor and taken to safety where her bracelets can be separated. When Hippolyta summons Diana to Paradise Island to deal with her knowledge of future events learns from the Panzer, Trevor resolves to track him down amidst a den of spies . He is captured and when Diana follows the trail, she is forced to participate in a missile test to avoid his murder. She evades a missile modified by the Panzer but in so doing, removes one of her bracelets, causing her to go to berserk. In her rage she incapacitates the Panzer but is calmed by Trevor and Streicher is taken into custody (Wonder Woman #228-229).
The later activities or either Streicher or the Red Panzer on Earth-Two are unclear. One recorded in case involves an alliance with Baroness Paula von Gunther (DC Special Series Vol. 1 #9) but as she had reformed prior to the Panzer's creation, this tale is likely apocryphal or in another unnamed timeline where the Panzer is known to have existed (Wonder Woman '77 Special #2).
Powers and Abilities
The Red Panzer was elite level scientist with extensive knowledge of physics, temporal mechanics and engineering. He created devices include murderous robots and time traveling space ships. His personal armor could withstand a direct missile strike, contained weapons with a wide array of offensive capacity and augmented his strength and stamina. It could be modified to allow additional feats include flight over a short distance. The full capacity of his armor is unknown. He is also highly trained in espionage and spycraft and had access to resources at the highest reaches of the German government during World War II.
Weaknesses and Limitations
Separated from his weapons and equipment, the Red Panzer was an ordinary human and defeated as such.

Multiversity
Prior Earth-0
Little is known regarding the Red Panzer during World War II in this timeline. He is known to have existed and participated in Nazi efforts to obtain the secrets of the Dyzan in 1942 (Young All Stars #16-19) and may have had similar activities as occurred on Earth-Two. Importantly, a legacy of future of Red Panzers exists (Wonder Woman: Donna Troy #1, Titans #5) though whether these are biological heirs or imitators is unclear.
Appearances
Issue |
Comments |
Reprinted in |
As a member of the Nazi Abwehr, vs. heroes who form the Justice Society |
The Best of DC #21, Showcase Presents All-Star Comics Vol. 1, Justice Society TPB Vol. 1, All-Star Comics: Only Legends Live Forever HC |
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Wonder Woman #228-229 |
1st Appearance, vs. Wonder Woman of Earth-One and Wonder Woman of Earth-Two |
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