Puma

Puma may refer to:

Animals

Companies

Vehicles

Puma (comics)

Puma (Thomas Fireheart) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as being most closely associated with Spider-Man. While originally a villain, he gained a great respect for Spider-Man and became his occasional ally.

Publication history

Puma first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #256 and was created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz. The inspiration for the character comes from safari cards bought by Tom DeFalco.

In the Puma's earliest appearances, he acted as a mercenary, and an antagonist to Spider-Man, but soon came to respect him. Puma was then depicted as an ally of Spider-Man, assisting him from time to time in his appearances in the The Spectacular Spider-Man series. He was associated with the superhero team known as the Outlaws for a time, and was later one of the main characters in the MODOK's 11 limited series.

Fictional character biography

Puma's real name is Thomas Fireheart, and he is of Native American descent. The tribe he belongs to (located near Hartsdale, New Mexico; Marvel Westerns: Western Legends suggests that the tribe may be the Kisani, as one of Puma's ancestors belonged to that tribe and lived at Lost Mesa) has had an ancient prophecy of the coming of a powerful being who might destroy the world for generations. Long ago, they began making preparations for this coming doom. They used mystic ceremonies and selective breeding to create a perfect warrior. Thomas Fireheart is the latest in this line of men. Though he never believed in the prophecy, he took his duties as protector of his tribe seriously, and has strived his whole life to be the best he could be, mastering his ability to turn into a powerful humanoid mountain lion werecat. He also trained in Martial Arts in Japan under a man named Master Muramoto.

Puma (Tanzanian ward)

Puma is an administrative ward in the Singida Rural district of the Singida Region of Tanzania. According to the 2002 census, the ward has a total population of 16,198.

References

Coordinates: 5°00′S 34°44′E / 5.000°S 34.733°E / -5.000; 34.733

Katana

Historically, katana (刀) were one of the traditionally made Japanese swords (日本刀, nihontō) that were used by the samurai of feudal Japan. Modern versions of the katana are sometimes made using non-traditional materials and methods. The katana is characterized by its distinctive appearance: a curved, slender, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands.

History

The production of swords in Japan is divided into specific time periods:

The first use of "katana" (gatana) as a word to describe a long sword that was different from a tachi occurs as early as the Kamakura Period (1185–1333). These references to "uchigatana" and "tsubagatana" seem to indicate a different style of sword, possibly a less costly sword for lower-ranking warriors. The evolution of the tachi into the katana seems to have started during the early Muromachi period (1337 to 1573). Starting around the year 1400, long swords signed with the "katana" signature were made. This was in response to samurai wearing their tachi in what is now called "katana style" (cutting edge up). Japanese swords are traditionally worn with the signature facing away from the wearer. When a tachi was worn in the style of a katana, with the cutting edge up, the tachi's signature would be facing the wrong way. The fact that swordsmiths started signing swords with a katana signature shows that some samurai of that time period had started wearing their swords in a different manner.

Katana (disambiguation)

Katana is Japanese for backsword and often refers to uchigatana, especially in English. For a list of fictional katana, see Katanas in fiction. Katana may also refer to:

Katana (photocopier)

Katana is the name given to a Ricoh photocopier. It is a high volume machine that is able to copy at speeds of up to 135 pages per minute, while the slowest Katana copier can copy at 90 copies per minute. This machine is user friendly and the user can replace most of the parts when they are worn out or exceed their life span. It is a black and white machine but has a color scanner fitted to it. It can be used as both a photocopier and printer at the same time.

Ricoh copiers, including Katana series, are gaining popularity in Europe as reliable and more affordable in the long run alternatives to companies like Xerox, Konica and Canon.

See also

References