Funny...
I've been on the flip-side of that scenario.
I had a Jr. Systems Admin who worked directly under me who was built like a brick shithouse. He was just massive, but a fantastic admin. I'm like 5'8 and 120 lbs - typical nerd build, and I'm this guy's boss.
People were very intimidated by him. Not because he was an ass - he was actually a super nice guy. Except he was very short in his communication and really quite shy, which gave the impression he was an ass. His huge stature just added to that impression. "But, I need this now" "It can't be done now" *walk off*. It wasn't him being rude, but in his mind he was just stating a fact. End of story.
As his superior, I had to play that card very, very carefully. It was useful when my team genuinely had more pressing things to do (him included), but at the same time, I didn't want to ostracize him either and give people false beliefs about him that would cause him to feel uncomfortable with his work environment. If that makes sense.
It sounds like this dude's direct supervisor is the one on a massive power trip and enjoys the fact that his report has that level of intimidation. If I were the man's boss, I would set him aside and say "Dude, you need to chill out. This isn't good for the team, the company or your reputation and it will end".
Those type of characters are almost always puppets with bad management who are the toxic characters.
