Karl Ekstrom (aka "the Hun") was in charge of a group of German soldiers in The Great War. He ordered the death of Michael Lanyard. Lanyard was also the professional thief known as The Lone Wolf. After The Lone Wolf recovered secrets behind the German lines for the Allied intelligence, Ekstrom and a group of agents under his command sought to stop the sensitive material from falling in the hands of the Allied forces. A proffered description states, "Ekstrom, the Hun Lower even than the crooks and assassins whom he ruled in the Parisian Underworld."