David Cannon was always a bully, so his mutant abilities naturally led him to a life of crime and petty thievery. He also tried his hand at other professions where his powers gave him an edge, and he agreed to help a criminal ring organize fix races he was in until the police got wise to the system and made the criminals uneasy. Always over-confident, Cannon instead flaunted his abilities, creating the costumed identity of the Human Top. His crime spree was stopped by Dr. Henry Pym, in his early career as Giant-Man, with his partner Wasp. This was but the first of several defeats, and Cannon only grew deeper in his desire for revenge.
Cannon reinvented himself, creating the Whirlwind identity. He also developed an alias of Charles Matthews, to become the Wasp's chauffeur in order to be close to Pym and the Wasp, and he grew to have an unhealthy fixation on her. He used his cover to gain access to the Avengers Mansion, kidnapping the Wasp but was stopped by Quicksilver.
Whirlwind was invited to join the Masters of Evil when the team was organized by the Crimson Cowl (secretly Ultron), and although they initially were successful in defeating the Avengers, the Masters were betrayed by the Black Knight. He continued to appear as a member of various teams, including Batroc’s Brigade (working on behalf of the Red Skull) and other iterations of the Masters of Evil. He also worked alongside the agents of Count Nefaria. In every case, he was defeated by the Avengers.
Whirlwind was recruited by Egghead to re-form the Masters of Evil. The Masters successfully liberated Hank Pym (then Yellowjacket) from his criminal trial, forcing him to join the Masters and convincing the public he had become a criminal-- all a part of Egghead’s plan to disgrace and humiliate Pym. But Whirlwind’s impatience got the best of him when the Avengers came to investigate. His premature attack allowed Pym to turn the tables on the Masters of Evil and for the Avengers to come to the rescue.
His lack of control under pressure led Baron Zemo to dismiss Whirlwind’s attempt to join his version of the Masters of Evil. Instead, Zemo ordered him to detain Captain America while the other villains took over the Avengers Mansion. Whirlwind, determined to prove himself, joined with the Trapster but still failed to stop the Captain. Escaping custody, he joined Tiger Shark for a brief crime spree in San Francisco, but he was stopped by Henry Pym, who had just reinvented himself as a scientific adventurer.
Recently, Cannon's obsession with the Wasp led to his brutal murdering of several prostitutes, indicating that his mental state may now be cause for concern. He tracked Pym and the Wasp to their vacation in Las Vegas, viciously attacking the Wasp and blaming her for his obsession which he said continually drove him into villainy. Nevertheless, Pym and Wasp defeated him again, with Pym at giant-size throwing him into the top of the Luxor hotel and Wasp finishing him off with a roundhouse kick. Whirlwind was remanded to police custody.
* NOTE - David Cannon is not to be confused with either Human Top (Bruce Bravelle) or the V-Battalion member Human Top (David Mitchell).
