Before his transformation, Howie Berks was a low life thug who could get you anything you were looking for but every time he would always end up screwing people over after getting what he wanted. This made him a lot of enemies and many of them put a price on his head and when he was cornered and about to be killed, The DNAftershock Event (which changed many people into Hybrids) was set off and changed Howie into a Hyena and he tore his pursuers into pieces. After that, business boomed as he gained a new group of clients, Hybrid looking to use his services to gain objects and weapons to defend themselves with. Howie took the best stuff for himself and became quite a feared figure to regular humans.

Howie uses a wide array of hidden weapons that can be found all over his clothes and even strapped to his legs, but his greatest weapon isn't all that hidden stuff, it's his teeth and jaws, which can bite clear through flesh and bone with little to no effort. He can even bite through wood (though he gets splinters in his tongue) , stone can be chiseled down but metal is still a problem for him.