Character Bio:
Paw

Real Name: Dr. Leonard Landover

Height: 5'6" as human, 10" as Paw
Eyes: Brown as human, green as Paw
Hair: Black (what there is of it) as human, tawny yellow as Paw

History: A former intern researcher in the Top Secret government labs which first discovered the gene responsible for super powers. Dr. Landover's research career did not last for long, as an explosive accident in his lab ended up destroying months of his colleagues' work. It also had the freak effect of granting him metamorphic feline shape-shifting powers. However, since the research group had even less need for a hulking lion man than they did for an absent-minded scientist who ignored safety rules, Dr. Landover was soon unemployed.

In the years that followed, Dr. Landover eked out a living as a high school science teacher, allowing his unique shape-shifting talents to go unused. However, his accidental involvement in the New Crew's first adventure opened his eyes to the potential his powers provided. He joined the team as a full-time super hero in the hopes of using his newfound fame to promote his idealistic social causes. (And also because the damage from the New Crew's brawl had demolished the school in which he was working, resulting in him being fired yet again.)

Powers: Can transform into a lion, or a half-man/half-lion transitional form. He has keen senses, great strength, and sharp teeth & claws in these forms, but is severely handicapped by a lack of vocal chords and an opposable thumb. He retains his human intelligence in all of his forms.

Notes from the author's original series proposal:

"Paw" is a very mild-mannered biologist whose research accidentally turned him into a shape-shifting "were-lion". Not seeing any practical benefit of such a discovery, he never bothered to mention it until he met the New Crew. Easily motivated by guilt, he was persuaded to join the team to use his powers "for the betterment of society".

Paw tries to stay "out of the loop" as far as the team's spin doctoring is concerned, so he can honestly claim "I don't know" to any embarrassing questions a reporter might ask him. He is mostly concerned with using his newfound celebrity to promote his obscure social causes -- protecting endangered cockroaches, Wheat Appreciation Week, warning about the "silent epidemic" of bad posture, etc.