History: Bend was an unsuccessful career criminal who decided he needed an angle to be somebody. As the Angle Man he plagued Wonder Woman with clever schemes that relied on unique "angles." He later invented the Angler, which made him significantly more formidable. 

(Catwoman III #58 (fb)) - Flash defeated Angle Man, who claimed a moral victory having gone toe-to-toe with a major superhero. Angle Man prepared to clear out of town when Replicant ambushed him, absorbing his angle that bent spacetime into his body. Replicant said he was feeling generous and would let Angle Man live, but told him to leave town. Angle Man was devastated by the loss of his most powerful weapon, and slipped into a funk.

(Catwoman III #48, 49) - Strange called a meeting of his East End crew for a progress report. Captain Cold chased two costumed villains out of town who were trying to horn in on their action, Angle Man said he was working angles, and Smart Bomb, Hammer and Sickle forced local car thieves to pay tribute. Cheetah had been defeated by Batman, and arrested by the GCPD. Smart Bomb was visibly surprised when Strange told him Catwoman was also part of their syndicate. Angle Man didn't trust Smart Bomb, and trailed him to a meeting with GCPD officers Carl Worth and James Lenahan, but Smart Bomb claimed that the cops he was talking to were crooked and looking for some business with him. Angle Man didn't trust Catwoman, and had followed her to her meeting with Todd Russel, hearing her say she was taking Strange down. He confronted her, telling her he knew what she was up to. She said Strange would never believe a nobody like him over a professional like her, but he produced a tape recording of her conversation with Smart Bomb. He said he was sick of no one taking him seriously, and could deal with Strange speaking condescendingly to him, but not Catwoman. He produced a gun, and shot her in the stomach. Angle called Strange, who brought along Smart Bomb and Hammer, and Strange gave him permission to finish off Catwoman, so he stabbed her in the head with an angle. Hammer disposed of the body, but "Catwoman" was actually Todd using his Clayface shapeshifting power. Angle collected from a bar, and was already bragging about how he took care of Catwoman. Catwoman got the drop on the gang, defeating Sickle with some help from Smart Bomb, and beating Angle Man with a bat. She threatened Strange, telling him to get out of town, and never come back, and he complied.

(Catwoman III #50, 51) - Worth and Lenahan interrogated Angle Man, asking him why he didn't use his angles that bent time or controlled gravity anymore, and Angle Man admitted he'd lost some of his tech, and the rest had been stolen. They brought out an old explosive angle from evidence, which the bomb squad assured them was disabled, and said he'd be doing them and himself a favor if he revealed how his tech worked. The bomb squad didn't know how to properly disarm the weapon, so Angle Man turned his weapon on and blew a hole through the floor, escaping. Lenahan contacted Smart Bomb, telling him Angle Man had escaped. They wanted him to contact him, but not apprehend him, because word on the street was that he had a connection with Black Mask. Smart Bomb found Angle Man hiding in an alley, and nearly blew him up with a rocket, still furious that he was willing to kill Catwoman. Angle Man convinced him to calm down, and said that with his smarts and connections he could hook Smart Bomb up. They met with Black Mask, who agreed with Angle Man's assessment that Catwoman needed to die for humiliating them, but said first they'd be targeting someone close to her. Once the idea of torture came up, Smart Bomb said he was out and left the meeting. Black Mask followed Holly in his car, but when he saw her talking to Slam Bradley, decided to kidnap him instead. . Black Mask tied up Slam in his dungeon, and had Angle Man film him as he prepared to torture Slam. Black Mask encouraged Slam to scream and beg, because that made Black Mask's work more enjoyable for him. Smart Bomb finally got approval from Detective Lenahan to break his deep cover, having learned that Black Mask was after Holly. He broke into Black Mask's dungeon, and was shocked to see the nearly lifeless body of his father. He took down Black Mask and Angle Man, and cradled his father. Catwoman arrived in time to see the aftermath.

(Catwoman III #52) - Sam flew Slam to the hospital, and despite his injuries he was tough, and looked to pull through. Black Mask was suing the city because Sam was an active officer when he broke into his building and assaulted him. Sam visited Selina Kyle at home, and she wondered if he'd figured out her secret identity by himself, because he was very much his father's son. He said Slam had a GCPD officer guarding him at the hospital, but Selina said that wouldn't help her, and she'd have to be proactive taking down Black Mask. Selina received a number of surveillance photos of Holly in the mail, and went to warn her that she was being stalked. Holly told her to get a grip, and was convinced Catwoman could handle Black Mask and keep her safe. Catwoman asked Sam for help raiding Black Mask's penthouse. He was off the force for his previous break in, but agreed to help, breaking the Smart Bomb suit out of evidence. Angle Man had sabotaged the suit, and Sam made a crash landing into a rooftop, barely clinging to life as he was rushed to the hospital. Catwoman visited Slam in the hospital, and even though he was comatose she felt the need to talk to him. She'd almost decided that to keep her friends safe she'd have to take out Black Mask permanantly. She broke into Black Mask's penthouse, and he kept her at bay with a tommy gun. He said he'd never lived up to his full potential as a Gotham-based villain, and had decided he needed focus, and had chosen Catwoman as a nemesis. He wouldn't kill her, because he needed an adversary, but he promised that all her friends would die slow, horrible deaths. Catwoman disarmed him, and put a gun to his head. Black Mask said he knew her, and she'd never pull the trigger. She shot Black Mask in the head, killing him, and fled the penthouse.

(Catwoman III #53, 54) - <one year later> Angle Man felt completely alone with Smart Bomb's betrayal and Black Mask's death. He became obsessed with Catwoman, and when she returned to action he started following her, taking pictures and making a shrine to her, telling himself he had nothing better to do. He didn't know that Catwoman had passed her mantle to Holly Robinson after she gave birth, but Angle Man watched the new Catwoman take down a stolen video equipment ring, and noted that she was slipping. Catwoman investigated the video ring's headquarters after they were arrested, and Angle Man left one of his triangles at the scene. Catwoman picked it up, surprising angle Man with her lack of caution, and it exploded in her hand, knocking her out. Catwoman woke up bound on top of a building, and Angle Man had already removed her mask. He said he was keeping it as a souvenir, and admitted that he had no idea who she was. He wanted to keep her death simple, and prepared to roll her off the edge of the roof, but Catwoman used her claws to break her bounds and attacked Angle Man. He stabbed her in the shoulder with a triangle, and she saw red, beating him bloody before running off into the night. One of the late night TV host Film Freak's contributors caught Molly on tape beating Angle Man, and the clip spread like wildfire, but fortunately Holly's face couldn't bee seen on the film. Film Freak contacted Angle Man, and said he'd love to schedule a rematch between him and Catwoman.

(Catwoman III #55, 56) - Detective Lenahan visited Film Freak, and demanded he hand over the footage he had of an Catwoman attacking Angle Man. He threatened Film Freak, warning him he wasn't one of the nice GCPD officers, and Film Freak said he reminded him of Gene Hackman from 'The French Connection' or Dirty Harry. He gladly handed over the footage for his own reasons. Film Freak took Angle Man to a Van Lewton film fest, and Angle Man was growing impatient for his rematch. Film Freak told him to respect the three-act structure, and explained that they were in act two where brief alliances would be forged. One of Film Freak's contributors caught footage of the two Catwomen (Selina Kyle and Holly Robinson) talking in an alley, and broke the news to his boss. Film Freak admired Melvin's footage, telling him the doppelganger motif was reminiscent of German Expressionism. He reminded Film Freak that he documented something, he didn't make a movie, and Film Freak responded that reality was the movie everyone made. He severed his relationship by poisoning Melvin, and apologizing that his death was not as dramatic as he'd hoped it'd be. He told Angle Man to examine the footage, and he realized the Catwoman who'd given him a beatdown wasn't the Catwoman he had a hate-on for as Film Freak rejoiced in the plot twist. He told Angle Man that when Catwoman disappeared a woman named Irena Duybrova moved into Gotham. That was the name of the lead character in "Cat People," so he was sure he'd found their target. They went to "Irena's" apartment and snatched her daughter Helena. Catwoman confronted them, and Angle Man told her she was about to lose everything she held dear.

(Catwoman III #57, 58) - Angle Man asked Film Freak if the sound of a baby screaming would be dramatic for his movie, and Catwoman switched off the lights, grabbed Helena, and fled down the hall. Angle Man hit her in the ankle with an angle, causing her to topple over, but she thought fast and cushioned Helena. Film Freak halted Angle Man, wanting a classic Trombone shot to capture Catwoman's anxiety before Angle Man finished her off. Catwoman smashed the camera into his face, injuring his eye and disabling him before taking down Angle Man and tying them both up. Angle Man promised that since they knew who she was she'd never be safe again, nor would her child. He taunted her that she could always kill him, since he knew she was a murderer. Catwoman called Zatanna, and told her she needed to erase their memories or she'd be forced to kill them. Zatanna said she didn't manipulate people's minds anymore, and Catwoman said she owed her. Zatanna arrived, and Angle Man reiterated that he'd gone from a nobody to the man that was going to inform every lunatic and criminal where they could find Catwoman and her daughter. Catwoman tended to Helena, and left Zatanna alone with the villains. Angle Man said he knew how Zatanna lobotomized Dr. Light, and said being a supervillain wasn't working out for him, so he'd be fine if she wiped his mind clean. She insisted she didn't do that anymore, and reached inside his mind to erase his knowledge of Catwoman's private identity. Catwoman grew impatient with how long the process took, but knew she never wanted to kill someone again if she could help it. When Zatanna peered into Angle Man's mind she saw that he always felt second-rate, but took solace in having battled major players like Wonder Woman, and when his angle that bent timespace was taken from him he felt hopeless. Angle Man said he wasn't always a loser, and Zatanna had to concede that even she couldn't affect spacetime. Zatanna finished her work on Film Freak and Angle Man, and told them to confess their crimes. Catwoman said they still weren't even, and suggested Zatanna make them confess to Black Mask's murder, but she flat out refused. Angle Man turned himself over to Detective Lenahan, who said he was disappointed he didn't have to beat a confession out of him.

Comments: Created by Robert Kanigher and Harry G. Peter.