He has turned up as a somewhat pathetic and luckless opponent for virtually every hero in the Marvel universe since his first appearance, ranging from Spider-Man to Howard the Duck.

He is a tall thin man who sports a Fu Manchu moustache and dresses in a green variation on the traditional circus ringmaster costume.

The original Ringmaster is a Nazi agent named Fritz Tiboldt whose circus was a cover for murdering US government officials.

He traveled with Missing Link who had primate-like features, midget Tommy Thumb; snake charmer Omar; strongman Zandow, and the Trapeze Trio.

The Ringmaster is a powerless man with a unique hat which is designed to hypnotize people, thus allowing him to take complete control over their actions.

[7] After this failure, he briefly abandoned the Circus of Crime, who became the Masters of Menace (a name Python thought up) led by the Clown.

[20] He was released from prison in Doc Samson's custody, and assists in the therapy that creates the Merged Hulk personality for Bruce Banner when his MPD was causing him serious psychological damage.

Made from a piece of a shattered Cosmic Cube, the ring allows him to manipulate reality within a fifteen-foot radius.

[24][25] The Cosmic Ring is confiscated by Captain America, who encourages the grouping of heroes to get the shot-off finger to the ambulance personnel for reattachment.

[28] Later, Ringmaster enacts a plot to hypnotize the elderly into stealing for him, though this is foiled by Howard the Duck and Talos the Untamed.

As Spider-Man and Spider-Woman fight Crime Master, Ringmaster tries to hypnotize Elektra, only for her to resist the mind control and defeat him.

[33] Ringmaster was revealed to have a daughter who became Ringmistress, wielding a copy of her father's hat and leading a separate incarnation of Circus of Crime.

[volume & issue needed] With the Cosmic Ring, Tiboldt gained the ability to alter reality in a 15-foot (4.6 m) radius around him.