Taxman

Taxman was a Marvel comics villain in the era of the anti-hero known as Night Raven, he is a mixture of the old-style mobsters found in many pulp fiction and a minor super-villain, employing both traditional criminal means and more elaborate schemes by which to gain power.

History
The Taxman was a "collector" for local gangsters (another name for a protection racket enforcer) - when first introduced he and his personal bodyguard arrived at Sam Venuti's pawnshop to extort protection money out of him.

When Venuti pleads for a break, as business has been bad lately, the thug points out that his boss has already given him a break the last couple of weeks, and that this is messing up the Taxman's figures, something he doesn't like.

The Taxman adds that if someone fails to pay, then things get broken, and the thug hauls the shopkeeper over his counter.

In the back room Mrs. Venuti is witnessing all this, and calls the police.

The thug meanwhile throws Sam Venuti through the shop window, and cleans out the till.

He hands the money to the Taxman who notes that it is two dollars short, so the two crooks go outside to see if Sam has any money on him.

They proceed to mug the already beaten man, and then drive off, having dumped Venuti in a trash can - unaware that there has been another witness to their actions, the vigilante known as Night Raven.

The Taxman's next stop was Carlo Canalone's restaurant, where the Taxman informed the owner that he was putting up his rates.

Carlo protested at this, but the Taxman pointed out that without protection accidents could happen, prompting his thug to knock down a valuable Capodimonte figurine, which smashes, much to Carlo's distress.

The restaraunteur decided he had enough of this protection racket, and backed by his kitchen staff (who were armed with cleavers) confronts the Taxman and orders him to to get out of his restaurant and of his neighborhood, and to not come back.

The Taxman's thug was ready to take them all on, but the Taxman says that crude violence would not be necessary, and that they would leave quietly.

After they departed the staff and Carlo still couldn't believe they successfully stood up to him, when Tony, one of the waiters, noticed that the Taxman left his briefcase behind.

Carlo shouts at Tony to get rid of it, as an ominous ticking grows louder, but it's too late, and the building goes up in a violent explosion.

The next night the Taxman and his thug visit the clock-maker, Albert Feldstein.

The Taxman informed the elderly gentleman that he was three weeks overdue, and must pay one hundred and fifty dollars immediately.

When Albert pleaded there must be some mistake, and that he simply didn't have that kind of money, the thug puts on a set of knuckledusters and states that they will have to settle the bill another way.

Fearful for his life, the old man offered the Taxman an antique clock, which he said was worth at least two hundred dollars.

The Taxman considered the unusual offer, which he noted as "most irregular", when a crash in the back room drawed his thug's attention.

In spite of Albert's protest that it was just the cat, the thug goes to investigate and discovered to his shock that Albert Feldstein was gagged and tied to a chair back there, but before he could alert his boss to the subterfuge, he was attacked by the impostor.

A fight ensued, with the thug finally recieving a well-earned beating of his own.

Hearing the fight, the Taxman decided to depart with the clock and abandon his assistant, as he drived off he noticed the clock's loud tick, figuring it was probably cheap trash.

Then, as the ticking increases, his car explodes violently, flipping off the road and into the river it runs parallel to.

Two items float to the surface: the Taxman's bowler hat, and a note, "Where brooding darkness spreads its evil wings the Night Raven stings!".

Abilities
Taxman was a menacing gangster and had his own personal bodyguard, who also worked as his muscle - this thug was the traditional "strongman" and would beat Taxman's enemies or victims with no remorse at a simple call.

Taxman also employed an explosive briefcase, this bomb was surprisingly deadly despite its relatively small size and acted as the Taxman's hidden weapon by which to presumably spread more fear as well as show an example to any who stood up to his criminal activities.

Trivia

 * it is unknown if the Taxman's enforcer survived his fight with Night Raven but since Night Raven is known as a killer, it is unlikely the thug would be in any state to terrorize anyone again even if he did.