Herr Kleiser is a fictional character that appears in Ultimate comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Ultimates #10 (July 2003) and was created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch.

Biography

Kleiser was a high-ranking member of the alien hierarchy known as the Chitauri, and was part of a group who infiltrated Earth during World War II. Taking the form of a Nazi officer named Kleiser (by absorbing and devouring him), he and his fellow aliens contacted the Nazi party and attempted to help them win the war by offering advanced technology. The Chitauri wished to utilize the Nazis to conquer Earth and impose "order", erasing all individuality, which they saw as an aberration. Near the end of the war, Herr Kleiser faced Captain America, and was defeated not by brute force but by clever strategy and misdirection; Kleiser never forgot this humiliating defeat. For decades, Kleiser and the other Chitauri slowly built a new power base and secretly influenced human affairs to prepare for another takeover attempt. 60 years later, Herr Kleiser infiltrated the S.H.I.E.L.D. Psi-Division, and planted false information designed to lure the Ultimates to an island in Micronesia where they were supposed to be destroyed by a nuclear device. However, Iron Man's force field and Thor's dimension-warping hammer allowed the Ultimates to escape unharmed, although thousands of S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel were killed. Kleiser and the remainder of his troops also infiltrated the Triskelion, the headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Ultimates. He captured The Wasp and brought her to Area 51 in the desert near Phoenix, Arizona.

A short time later the remnants of the Chitauri fleet came to Earth and informed Kleiser they were soon to destroy the planet; at this point it was revealed the Ultimates had survived and a large battle began. During this fight Herr Kleiser and Captain America finally engaged in personal combat, during which Kleiser demonstrated superhuman strength, great durability and near-instant healing, as well as being able to perceive General Fury while the latter was in "light-negative" (invisible) mode. Captain America was nearly overcome by Kleiser and briefly ended this battle by cutting the alien in half. However this did not finish him and Captain America had to have Bruce Banner intentionally traumatised so as to bring out the Hulk. Captain America then told the Hulk that Kleiser had been "all over Betty" and the Hulk promptly pounded Kleiser into the ground, tore him apart and ate him. The invading fleet was defeated, and Iron Man and Thor disposed of the alien's Doomsday bomb. Banner's excretions were later collected by S.H.I.E.L.D. to analyze and destroy, as Herr Kleiser was a shapeshifter and might have been able to survive even the digestive process.