John the Tiger/Cat of Chaos (C.C.) - Updated

Species: Siberian tiger
Alternate name: John O’Malley
Age immortalized: 24
Alternate occupations: Drum major in charge of the official KMB (Kriegland Military Band), of which the nation-planet’s last king, King Leo V, is now a member; drummer, composer; voice-over for PSAs against piracy
Original hometown: Agri region, Kriegland (moved to Wildcat City at time of destruction)
Battle uniform: White supercostume with a red “C” and blue “C” diagonally down right from the red one on his chest. Everything else is white.
Alternate clothing: Black (formerly blue) military drum major’s uniform with silver detailing, but marches barefoot
Background info: John the Tiger has been a musical prodigy since birth. While he is multi-talented on a variety of instruments, he is strongest in percussion. John was born on a farm in a small region of Kriegland known as Agri, the heart of the agricultural success and home to King Leo and his palace. It was mainly wheat, rice, and corn that kept Agri going as a huge part of the resources and industries found on Kriegland, although in other parts of the planet, “cotton was king” (just like it once was in the Southern U.S.).

The farm John grew up on was very close to the base where the musical corps served, and it was quite obvious that from an early age, he was determined to join the full band. He taught himself as many instruments as possible, but settled for field drum (meaning no snares) when the time came for him to enlist according to the draft system. His specific drum had an Americana design on it, and his sticks were white (as opposed to traditional brown or tan-colored drumsticks), and his uniform he rented was red in order to balance out the reds and greens at the time.

John sooner or later learned how difficult his goals could be. The band was very strict, and operated on a tough morning-only schedule. At 5:00 a.m., all musicians would rise to a reveille played by a captain trumpeter who awoke at 4:45 a.m. when a rooster crowed. At 5:15 a.m., all musicians were inspected by the PGM and DMC. At 5:30, the bass drum and snare drum soldiers would begin playing a specific rhythm to where the rest of the soldiers would stand at attention and turn towards the Krieglandonian flag (which was a remake of an old American flag where the British flag, known as the Union Jack, would be where we normally think of the 50 stars, while the 13 stripes continued the red and white pattern). From 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., the flag corps would march in time to their drums (who would be playing the same rhythms as the full band) and approach the flagpoles. At 7:00 a.m., the snare drums and field drums began a drum roll. The PGM and DMC would salute the flags as they went up. When the flags reached the highest point, the drums would break off sharply, and the brass would play a fanfare. When that was done, the band would line up at the beginning of their path they were to take a hike on for the day, in time to the drums again. At 7:30, the flag soldiers would march off. At 8:00 a.m., the PGM would position himself about 12 steps in front of the DMC, who marched six steps ahead of the rest of the band. At 8:05, the PGM and DMC would begin the march, and the full band would commence playing a march of the DMC’s or PGM’s choice (announced prior to the beginning of the drill parade). The band took all morning to march a certain number of miles down and back, marching down beaten paths. They often would play patriotic songs of the United States by John Phillip Sousa and other composers, college fight songs, or other marching band songs; otherwise, they would march in a strict routine fashion (only the percussionists would play; unlike the flag ceremonies, all percussionists would be involved). Not one soldier was allowed to speak during this hike unless addressed by the DMC or even the PGM (though this was very rare).

The band sometimes would run late due to the path, but they were normally back to base camp by noon, where the noon bells rang and all the soldiers, still marching in time to the drums, would adjust to a single file line before marching into the mess hall to eat lunch. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the band would play “The Star Spangled Banner” just before eating lunch, and on Tuesday and Thursday, they would play “God Save the Queen,” both which began with a long drum roll. This was because both Old Glory and the Union Jack were on display in the mess hall.

After lunch, the soldiers were free to do whatever they wanted. Most of them would continue to play their instruments for fun or if the DMC or PGM wanted to hear a solo for checking knowledge of musical tunes. Usually if a bandscat was not playing his instrument, he would usually do chores such as yard work or barrack maintenance (at which the uniform did not have to be worn). Most of the yard work included garden work that was inspected by the PGM and occasionally the king, who was announced by his own drummers and buglers (unlike the military band, they wore pants as well, but remained barefoot). In John’s case, he spent most of his time playing his drum.

Then one day, the PGM suddenly died of heart failure, which cancelled out the band’s hike and instead led to the soldiers being silent all morning long while playing funeral tunes. Luke, who was the DMC at the time, had inherited the position of DMC (by law of King Leo II), leaving no “heir to the throne” as he called it (meaning no soldier had served long enough to qualify for the position of DMC). This led to another cancellation of activities and a special emergency meeting in the mess hall after the flag ceremonies, also of which soldiers got the rest of week off (which in this case was Wednesday through Friday, as they always had weekends off) though they still had to rise to the reveille. All soldiers sat down and turned their chairs to face Luke.

“Fellow soldiers,” he began, “as you know, I have no DMC to take my place. As the new PGM—and I have yet to receive the black uniform, by the way—I have been given orders by King Leo to recruit one of you as the new DMC, crash course style, provided you have what it takes. Sorry about the crash course, but we have no choice; you will be pushed to the limits to get there. If there is more than one volunteer, the king and his national delegates will choose, while if there is only one, the king and his delegates will still decide whether or not to select him as the new DMC and if he has the leadership qualities necessary for the honor of that position. In case none of you manages to make the position, we have separate recruiting programs for outsiders, or new recruits. I will not be angry with you if none of you chooses to volunteer, since I do not expect any of you to volunteer and I have a feeling none of you will, since none of you are qualified. At this point, will those of the official band—of which I was once DMC—who do wish to volunteer, please stand up?” (If you were wondering, Brad had reached lieutenant ranking at this point.)

It seemed no one felt worthy of holding such an important responsibility. Then, in a sudden burst of inspiration, courage, and patriotism, John rose to his feet. The looks of determination and patriotism were clearly seen on his face. The rest of the band stared in shock to see the young corporal (he had only been corporal for two weeks) stand, for the position had by tradition always been held by a lion. Now, a first was about to be made, for a tiger was boldly stepping up to the plate.

“Wow,” Luke commented, as an electric stillness filled the air. “One brave soul, and a young one too.” No one, not even Luke, thought that this particular tiger, a rookie in his mind (so far John had only served eight months), would have the proper and mandatory skills needed for such a position. The stunned PGM then commanded John to stand next to him, and immediately, without question, John, imagining a drum beating, marched right up to Luke in perfect tempo and saluted him. Luke saluted in return and prepared to ask him the necessary questions the PGM was to ask to a DMC recruit. John could still hear the drum pounding in his head as Luke asked him the questions.

“What is your name, please?” Luke began.

“I am John the Tiger, sir,” John replied.

“Ah, yes. What is your ranking?”

“My ranking is corporal field drummer. I have been a corporal for only two weeks, I believe.”

“That is correct. And what motivated you to rise to your feet?”

John’s response created such a patriotic setting that the band rose to their feet and saluted, except for the percussion, who began a drum cadence (coincidentally but miraculously the same pattern as the one going through John’s mind). The cadence led to the band playing the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” a tune very popular with the cats of Kriegland. When the band was done, finishing in perfect unison with John’s speech, Luke stood there speechless for about two minutes, pondering deep in thought about John’s response. Not one soldier spoke or moved during this time (if you do not count the movement necessary to play the instruments). Finally, John got the urge to say, “Well, Marshall? Do you have anything to say to that?”

Finally, after awakening from his trance, Luke said, “I’m convinced! You, John the Tiger, are thus far, the bravest cat I have ever known. I’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning!” The two shook hands, and the deal was formed. Luke then turned to the band and complemented, “That was a nice touch there, with you all playing the Battle Hymn, and I wasn’t even directing!” The band exited on their own, playing Sousa’s “The Invincible Eagle” as they headed down the path they had taken two days before.

As it turned out, John beat the odds (no pun intended) and became the first—and regrettably, only—tiger to hold the position. The delegation committee accepted him unanimously, and King Leo later confirmed it in a private ceremony.

John’s life as the DMC, however, was short-lived; nevertheless, he became an instant classic. He quickly proved he had what it took to be a great leader. He was a great fit. He and the troops got along very well with one another. All were lifting spirits high with the stirring parades that followed. Though John’s career came to a crashing halt, his legendary legacy continued to thrive in the hearts of the Krieglandonian cats (and Brad and Frank, of course).

Additional info states that John was hired to do the voice-over for the Cat of Chaos in anti-piracy PSAs and later took on the role for real in the case where he foiled the Quarrelsome Quartet’s plot by sending e-mails revealing the true identities of the G-52s but with horrible lies, changing the text to include the truth and only the truth. The public confessed they knew them all along and John was hailed as a hero. Later on, he felt sorry for King Leo V since he was no longer actually a king, so he offered him a position in the band as an extra snare drummer, though not to give up his role as drum major in charge of the royal ensemble. King Leo happily agreed.

Since that day, speicific members of the American and British G-52s (including John) fall under the same category as Captain America and Iron Man: their "secret identities" aren't secret, but common public knowledge, even with alternate costumes and identities. This has made life disturbing for them and has led to outside criticism and hatred, but all subsequent G-52s hired from the modern times (beginning with Cripto) reveal both their super and "secret" identities if they choose to do so.

John's autobiography is entitled "Marching With Pride."

UPDATES: John is one of a group of receipients (others including Cripto, Leo the Patriotic Lion, and even Corey the Tiger) to have earned the Krieglandonian equivalent of the U.S. Medal of Honor, the SSSMSB, or Stupendously Superiorly Shiny Medal of Superiority and Bravery. "Easier to win than say," John once quipped. Similar to the variety of reasons one can get knighted in the British Empire, John was awarded the medal for his contributions to the field of music and musical education and involvement on Kriegland. John is also credited for unofficially giving the Krieglandonians their own anthem; the planet didn't have an official anthem, but upon hearing the theme tune to the short-lived NBC daytime game show "Battlestars" (from the same people who brought us "The Hollywood Squares," and running from 1981-82, and again in 1983), John decided, "I can work with that." After going through the proper procedures of permission to arrange the theme tune, he did so, but adding effects to it within the sounds and instrumentation to make it more of a war march. John's arrangement has since been refered to as the "unofficial national anthem of Kriegland, sadly never played when the planet still ran." Instead, the planet, essentially being a mix of US and UK cultures, used both anthems of said nations (except Krieglandonians would be singing "God Save the King").

John's trademark rope snare drum incorporates patriotic American designs with white ropes, and he has a pair of white drumsticks. He has used his drum to accompany the regular soldiers of Kriegland on 50-mile hikes and such.

John's works are amongst the most widely performed pieces by orchestras and bands today. Such is what led Leo the Patriotic Lion to hail him as the "Sousa of Kriegland." Much of his superhero duties have attributed to his compositions, and he has written orchestral tributes for the G-52s (in particular the "Top Three;" that is, Leo the Patriotic Lion, Cripto, and Super C). He also holds the record for largest number of musicians simultaneously involved; the setting took place on WU's football field, and featured both the Wildcat City symphony and Wildcat City Philharmonic, the Kriegland Military Band, the U.S. Lion and Tiger Corps Bands, and special guest stars, the Hellcats of West of Point (one of which is SSG Benjamin Wilder, Tom the Patriotic Tiger's father).

John is currently working on a tribute to Tom, which he plans to give the title, "Hero of Silence," referencing that Tom is the absolute least talkative of the G-52s. "They tell you that you shouldn't say anything if you can't say something nice or polite," John commented, "but Tom is just a cat of few words. But that's a compliment; he's the best at holding his tongue, and all of us need to follow his example. When he does have something to say, everybody had better listen to him."

The CNG effects of immortalization also gave John the abilities of speedy hands; he has finished 45 to 60-minute symphonies in 15 minutes or less, and military band marches in as little as 5 minutes or less.

The fictional Cat of Chaos mainly stars in TV PSAs, but does have a comic book series featuring him as the star, and in 2014 a television cartoon debuted Saturday mornings on the WBC Kids Saturday morning programming block. These are paired with the reruns of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which was chosen by the viewers.

Superpowers: The real C.C. doesn’t have any; the C.C. in the PSAs has flight, super strength, super hearing, X-ray vision, and electromagnetic palms.
Arch-nemesis: whoever strikes crime; he doesn’t get as much action against Bendraqi as he does against everyday street criminals. Since Bendraqi's death, other major terrorist groups have become his main focus.
Personal quote: none publicized
Catchphrases: none

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Art © my brother and me
Character © me

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Themes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCn.....gvU&fmt=18