Arnold Zimmerman was born in 1955 in the post-Word War II Allied-controlled region of West Berlin, Germany. During his youth, he saw the reconstruction of West (and relatively, East) Berlin and saw the nationalistic changes that encompassed his war torn, divided nation. Being a kid during this time in an Allied sector of Berlin behind what was once called the 'Iron Curtain' in the Soviet Union-controlled East Germany nation was quite stressful and harrowing, but also, quite enlightening. Reconstruction was happening all around him. New things sprung up every day. As one bombed-out pre-World War II building was undergoing demolition, another new building was opening up with the latest in Western design, architecture and products.  Everything was a constant 'new' to Arnold; a 'new' that also included a particular unwelcomed 'new' - the Berlin Wall.

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Arnold, as a boy, saw his 'new' Berlin change and build-up around him, however, Arnold, as a man, wanted to be actually be part of that same change and not just observe it. As such, Arnold hit the books hard, worked odd jobs around town and was a busy bee most of his young life, always in search of being the best academically as well as physically.  He participated in sports as best that could be allowed and even wanted to become an Olympian...until he fell in love with aviation instead.

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Being poor, Arnold knew the best education at that time for him was through the military; the West German military. As a teenager, watching airplanes constantly flying overhead, Arnold wished that he'd one day be able to pilot one of those same planes and fly out of East Germany and into West Germany, and after that, fly all over the world. To that end, Arnold befriended an American commercial pilot who flew in and out of the Berlin Tempelhof Airport. That pilot mentored and taught Arnold proper "New Jersey" English and how to be a pilot, earning Arnold his West German pilot's license by age 16. Arnold was so good as a pilot that he earned a job with a small, private airlift company that hired him to ferry cargo in the evenings in a small Cessna single engine plane to West Germany. Although he wanted badly to just 'leave' West Berlin, Arnold also couldn't legally do so until his 18th birthday. On the day of his 18th birthday, Arnold packed his backpack like he did every morning, had breakfast, kissed his parents goodbye (as he did each day) and went off to school and then, afterwards, to work to transport administrative records from West Berlin to Bonn, West Germany. That evening, Arnold flew to Bonn, West Germany, offloaded his cargo, called his airlift company to send another pilot to retrieve the plane and walked straight to the West German Air Force recruiting office, requesting to sign up as a pilot. 

 

Nonetheless to say, Arnold got his wish.

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After a couple years of officer candidate and flight school, graduating at the top of his class, Arnold became a 2nd Lieutenant in the Luftwaffe in 1975. His first plane was a F-4 Phantom II fighter. Years later, he would be one of the first pilots to fly and man the Panavia Tornado in the Luftwaffe. After twelve successful years in the Luftwaffe, he rose to the rank of Major, which, as Luftwaffe protocols dictated, he was to become an administrative leader vice an actual pilot. As much as he loved the Luftwaffe, he loved being a pilot more. To that end, Arnold began looking for other prospects.

 

In June 1987, Arnold, while drinking at a tavern in Bonn, West Germany, saw on the TV news of that famous moment when U.S. President, Ronald Reagan called for the Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev to 'Tear Down These Walls', referring to tearing down (physically and politically) the dilapidated Berlin Wall that had long since separated both halves of West and East Berlin. Arnold made a comment to the man sitting next to him at the bar stating, "I'd do anything to get this nation back to being one real Germany again; we've all paid for the Nazi's sins; it's time for us as a nation to move for us to move onward and forward, always in action". The man sitting next to him denoted the 'always in action' line as the Luftwaffe motto. Over the next half hour, the two talked about the elephant in the room no one wanted to believe could happen - reunification.  The man Arnold was talking to, Damon Kaufmann, after being told by Arnold that he was about to go 'job hunting' as a commercial pilot, asked Arnold to visit him at the West German Ministry of Agriculture building in Bonn at 10am the next morning for an interview that he would not 'ever' want to pass up.

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The next morning, Arnold arrived at the West German Ministry of Agriculture building, where he was escorted to a sub-basement facility designated at "Division 8". There, Arnold met and interviewed with the same man from the tavern the night before, Damon Kaufmann. Mr. Kaufmann, after performing the interview, asked Arnold to stay for awhile so that he could confer with his fellow administrators. Not thinking this was a job really suited for him (Agriculture? What would an ace pilot do there? Fly dignitaries and executives around in a government passenger plane? Not the best use of his skills in his book), and waiting for over two hours, Arnold was getting ready to leave when Mr. Kaufmann came back in with several unusual people.

 

Superheroes.

 

German superheroes.

 

German superheroes that had and should currently, according to the United Nations and NATO, be outlawed in Germany.

 

Mr. Kaufmann then offered Arnold the new job with one sentence: "We have all agreed and we want you to be Germany's next superhero, codenamed "Luftwaffe".

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After some follow-on discussions, Arnold was led to a fitting room where he was measured for a new, high-tech suit of aerial combat armor. Although Arnold was suspicious of all of this, he soon learned that this 'Division 8' was indeed an actual government-sanctioned clandestine superhero operation that had been in existence for many years, doing what they could for the betterment of (West) Germany and Western civilization overall. After thinking about it for a few days, Arnold agreed to the job. He was officially 'reassigned' from his active duty role in the West German Luftwaffe to the Ministry of Agriculture, Division 8, but allowed to retain the rank of Major as a member in the inactive reserves. After trying on the new Luftwaffe Mk I armor, Arnold was sold 100%.  This was what he wanted to do; he was able to use his knowledge, skills and training to be a one-man air force in the name of Germany. Although their actions were still considered clandestine, the public had MANY sighting of those in Division 8 on dozens of different missions, citing them as a 'league of modern day Teutonic knights' which eventually became known in many circles as simply the "Teutonic League".

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From 1987 to 1990, Arnold as 'Luftwaffe' became one of the most powerful and engaging heroes on the team. His military experience, coupled with his leadership, his amiability and his 'get the job done right' way of doing things actually helped strengthen the espirit de corps of Division 8. Sadly, Division 8s days were numbered.

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Thanks to President Reagan's speech, West Berlin and West Germany (as well as the rest of western civilization) went 'all-in' on tearing down the Berlin Wall. As such, by 1989, the wall actually came down, brick by brick, and as such, that which separated West Germany and East Germany basically fell as well, quickly followed by the fall of the Soviet Union.  This left Division 8 is a unique position, but one still tied to the laws of 'no superheroes'.  Although Arnold, as Luftwaffe, and the rest of Division 8 still did dozens more missions, Division 8's future was in jeopardy. After deliberation in 1990 for the United Nations and NATO to allow superheroes legally in the soon-to-be reunified Germany, the vote was 'no', and as such, the superhero ban was now more predominant than ever before, resulting in the shutdown of Division 8 on 31 December 1990.  Arnold was ordered to turn in his hero suit, to which Damon Kaufmann instead gave them Luftwaffe's original Mark I armor...and not the Mark II armor that was to be given to Arnold in 1991.  As such, Damon told Arnold to keep the armor and its support equipment (all taken and hidden in a public storage locker in Bonn, Germany) and use it 'when and if ever needed again'.

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Arnold thought long and hard about becoming an illegal superhero. As part of Division 8, the government allowed him to secretly operate as a superhero; now, the government would jail him if he did so. As such, Arnold, 'always in action', signed up with the international peacekeepers known as G.U.A.R.D.  There, as a pilot in GUARD, Arnold was in charge of an air wing in their Aeroguard Division, covering Western Europe, where he got LOTS of action.  From 1991 to 1996, Arnold was not only allowed to lead, but to fly...that is until 1996 when he was assigned (once again) an administrative leadership job that kept him from flying. Rather than be 'grounded', he instead was told of an alternative path - espionage and secretive operations (black ops) within GUARD in the X-GUARD division. There, he'd still be allowed to fly, but instead of being a fighter, he'd be more of a superspy, using the latest high tech gizmos, gadgets, jet packs and spycraft available.  He was good at his new job, but he knew it was only a matter of time before he, in his advancing years, was going to have to give up his action-packed life...after all he now had a family to worry about.

 

Unsure of his future, Arnold's thoughts returned to his time as the high tech Division 8 superhero, 'Luftwaffe'.  He even went to the old storage unit, cleaned off the dust on the armor and its equipment, charged up and donned the armor and took it out for a flight. The suit not only operated perfectly, it still fit him and interfaced well with all the existing electronics of the day, syncing to government channels, frequencies and even classified data banks, all without any security breaches or alerts. After he put away the armor, Arnold, now having been married for years to a fellow GUARD officer, Avril, and a father to his little girl, Elsa, decided that maybe it was actually time to 'settle down' in his new role and stop wanting to be a superhero again.  That all changed in January 2000.

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In January of 2000, the Soltan Star Empire invaded Earth. In a first strike method, GUARD was immediately decimated and destroyed, along with the the building that once housed Division 8. Grounded, helpless and in fear for his family's life, Arnold made his way back to the storage unit where his Mark II Luftwaffe armor was kept.  In less than an hour, the armor was fully charged and made combat ready. In an epic battle-heavy journey to his family's home in Berlin, Germany, he killed several dozen Soltan ground troopers and downed several Soltan aerial fighters and strike craft on the way. Sadly, by the time he got to his home, the area had been devastated with Soltan protoplasmic bombs, wiping out entire city blocks.

 

His wife and child were found dead in his burned-out residence.

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Fueled by grief, Arnold went on a one-man suicide run against all Soltans in and around Berlin. In an epic display of aerial combat against the Soltans, Arnold, as Luftwaffe, tore into the Soltan forces like a man possessed. It wasn't until his armor ran out of power did he stop...and only after he fell from the sky, jet boots depleted, at a height of over 500 feet.

 

Lucky for Arnold, locals that saw his aerial battle and ensuring crash landing dragged Arnold's broken body into a home cellar,  administering first aid to him over the next few days until he finally regained consciousness. In that same time, the Soltans continued to take over the city and with three days time, Berlin was made the new Soltan Tactical Headquarters for Central Europe.  Most all of Germany's defenses were in ruins. Any German 'superheroes' (that of course were originally supposed to be illegal) were either killed, severely wounded or captured in the initial Soltan invasion effort.  Arnold survived, but it took weeks before he was well enough to be able to stand, nonetheless fight again. After two months of forced convalescence, Arnold donned his fully repaired, armed and recharged Mark II armor and went out to battle the Soltans at full force once again.

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Over the next few months, 'Luftwaffe' and his resistance cells attacked the Soltans without mercy. Luftwaffe's teams wracked up several hundred Soltan kills over those months, causing the Soltans to pull back from all across Central Europe to their central headquarters in Berlin. There, Luftwaffe bombed the Soltan HQ with several dozen of the Soltans' own protoplasmic bombs, doing the same thing to the Soltans that they did to Arnold's wife and child. By late July, the Soltans had withdrawn from Europe completely and amassed in China.  Thanks to dozens of previously 'outlawed' German and European superheroes and their militant resistance cells, Germany had beaten back the Soltans, to which Luftwaffe was publicly praised as one of the greatest vanguards against the Soltan invasion.

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After the invasion, the world rebuilt. Luftwaffe put away his armor again and this time used his leadership skills to help lead the rebuilding of Berlin, drawing inspiration on what he saw as a child in post-World War II Berlin. Coordinating with businesses, nations and logistics services, Arnold was able to prevent Berlin (and its outer lying towns and villages) from dying of starvation and disease. He had his armor reverse-engineered by a handful of German engineers to help design and forge new medical diagnostic scanners, hand held devices and design new hospital software to help monitor a patient's health and identify critical medical conditions autonomously.

 

As a result, Arnold earned accolades, honors and even a German title as a 'Baron' (which he refused to accept, but was still officially bequeathed upon him regardless).  During this time, the exploits of Division 8 went public.  The decades of service Division 8 did, along with those relating to Luftwaffe's/Arnold's actions, alighted him (and those in Division 8) to the status of true national icons. Monuments and statues were made, speeches were given and Arnold became an instant celebrity, even though all he simply wanted to do was fly.

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In 2003, Damon Kaufmann, old and in poor health, called for an 'interview' with Arnold once again at the same location as they'd done years before - the Ministry of Agriculture Building, Division 8.  Although the old underground facility was still a bombed-out, gutted facility, Arnold, as well as several other German superheroes, met (some of them, again) to listen to Damon's proposition. Thanks to his political connections, Germany's ban on superheroes had been lifted by the United Nations, NATO and of course the German nation itself. As such, the German government wanted to have an official national superhero group they could call their own.  With that, Damon asked the attended heroes if they were willing to form and join the new "Teutonic League" and become those heroes (for some, once again). Although Arnold stated his concern about his age (after all, he was 48 by this time), Kaufmann told Arnold they'd 'work around that' and still "keep you in the air where you belong". Arnold agreed and with that, became an official founding member of the Teutonic League in 2003.

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For the next decade (and more), Arnold as Luftwaffe in his new Mark III armor (which compensated for Arnold's age and response time) became the 2nd in command of the team, providing field and aerial combat leadership. In 2015, the team's leader, Teutonic Knight (III) fell in combat and died, making Luftwaffe the Teutonic League's new team leader. He was (and already had been) like a father to most on the team, ensuring to train them hard, but at the same time, offer up the sage advice he'd picked up over the decades. In that short span of a year between 2015 and 2016, Arnold as Luftwaffe was able to make the team a highly cohesive operation, garnering acclaim from other government agencies, the military and other international superhero groups.

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In 2016, terrorists calling themselves the "New Reich Army" took over Nuremberg, Germany. Armed with heavy weapons, missiles and a ton of National Socialist zeal, the New Reich Army was too much for the German military to stop or contain, thus the Teutonic League was called in.  The Teutonic League, within minutes upon arrival in Nuremberg, thwarted the New Reich Army and had them on the run...that is until a completely unexpected x-factor came onto the scene- Baron Berlin and his new Axis Force. Baron Berlin, a Nazi super villain from World War II, and his troops, all armed with superior weaponry, as well as the super-powered Axis Force members, turned the tide of the battle. The Teutonic League suffered a painful and humiliating defeat before the New Reich Army and Baron Berlin and his new Axis Force, placing most of the Teutonic League's superheroes in critical condition in the hospital, all except one:

 

Luftwaffe.

 

Luftwaffe was killed gruesomely by Baron Berlin in front of dozens of live-streaming video cameras.

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Luftwaffe's body was taken to the Teutonic Towers, the team's HQ, where, in the sub-basement, an illegal experimental project (secretly created by one of their support scientists in the league) was unveiled, one that was supposed to transfer Luftwaffe's mind into that of a fully-grown (25 years of age equivocal) cloned human body. Sadly, the clone's body and brain receptors failed during the transfer, causing the scientist to perform a 'Hail Mary' action of instead transferring the dying memory engrams into the electronic pneumonic memory unit of a newly created support android design designated as M16-3. Luckily, the transferal occurred, but with major sections of memory lost in the process, most of which related to older memories prior to his time with GUARD's X-GUARD and those of the Soltan Invasion.  After days of learning to accept being in an android body and dealing with the major gaps in his memory, Arnold, who no longer considered himself to be really 'Arnold' anymore ("Arnold's dead; I'm what's left of him"), the new M16-3/Arnold rebuilt his old Luftwaffe armor with the latest upgrades and weapons, this time using a stealth field on a black-colored armored suit. Because all of his teammates were still wearing black due to 'Arnold's death, M16-3/Arnold decided to rename himself "Blackhawk".  As such, by a unanimous vote, the Teutonic League's members voted for Blackhawk to become (or continue being, depending on your point of view) the team's leader.

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Today, the world considers and believes Arnold Zimmerman AKA Luftwaffe is dead. M16-3/Arnold as Blackhawk, has only told a handful of essential personnel (as well as all his currently existing and ex-Teutonic League teammates when he was Luftwaffe) as to who (and/or what) he actually is, but that he wishes his new identity as M16-3/Arnold to remain a secret, allowing his past life to be 'over', allowing his new self to operate freely as the 'new' German superhero and leader to the Teutonic League called Blackhawk (click here to continue to the Blackhawk page to learn more of his story).

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As Luftwaffe, Arnold was a true fighter pilot; cocky, edgy, always ready for a right and always looking for action. He was also kind, thoughtful, an exceptional leader and true forever friend. As a family man, he was dedicated to his wife and child so much so that he'd take days and sometimes weeks off to be with them and have quality time with them. It broke his heart the day they died in 2000.

 

As for Blackhawk today, you'll have to read his story to find out more about that!

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