The Merrywether family was travelling through the jungles of Burma when bandits killed the mother, father, and sister. Young David was the only survivor. He was found and raised by a tiger, and gradually gained all the powers of the cat family. He returned to the United States, only to be appalled by the crime and evil he found. He decided to fight it, both as a private eye (and later as a soldier) in his civilian identity, and as the costumed Cat-Man.