Professional football player Shorty Wilson retired from the game and decided to use his skills to "turn the heat on the Underworld." As the Black Dwarf, Shorty had no powers but was athletic and a good fighter. He was assisted in his war on crime by his sniper girlfriend Patricia 'Arsenic' Gaynes, explosives expert Joseph 'Nitro' Lemerise, and Terry 'Fly' Holcomb, the human fly.