.gif)
King Kull (DC Comics)
Encyclopedia
King Kull is a comic book
supervillain
originally published by Fawcett Comics
and now owned by DC Comics
and appearing as a foe of Captain Marvel
. Created by writer Otto Binder
and artist C. C. Beck
, Kull's first appearance was in Captain Marvel Adventures #125 (October 1951). Kull appeared in adventures of Captain Marvel during the 1950s and the period in which DC Comics revived the hero during the 1970s.
, then awakens and repeatedly threatens the human-dominated modern world with his immense strength, durability, and bizarre technology, which is in Captain Marvel's region. In one of his first appearances he attempts to destroy the books of the world so he can destroy human knowledge, first using incendiary bombs he is throwing into libriaries. He causes a train crash by pushing a boulder in front of the tracks, knocking the Marvels in their civilian forms out as they wait for him as they think he will attack with incendiary bombs, and tries to burn a load of books, along with the bound and gagged Marvels on the pyre, but they escape by burrowing into the books and removing their gags on book bindings. He then tries to use a paper magnet to steal a load of books and then burn them, which the Marvels destroy, and fast-breeding bookworms to destroy books, but the Marvels foil this using organisms that destroy the worms and jail him.
He is usually thwarted by Captain Marvel or the Marvel Family, despite releasing the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man and using Sin bombs to try destroying the world, and trying to turn Billy to stone instead on one occasion, but one particularly well-planned escapade requires the efforts of the Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America
(in one of their dimension-crossing
team-ups, which DC produced annually from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s), as well as a group of heroes of Captain Marvel and King Kull's home universe of Earth-S, referred to unofficially as Shazam's Squadron of Justice. All of these are required because Kull has captured both the wizard Shazam
who grants the Marvel Family
's powers and the ancient gods and goddesses the powers are drawn from after gaining access to the Rock of Eternity with a faster-then-light ship, paralyzing them with a device that slowed down their impulses, except for the swift Mercury who was able to get away in time and after Shazam made telepathic communication with him he warns other heroes from the Three Earths about King Kull. Johny Thunder's Thunderbolt helps the Marvels get their powers back in the final issue and transports them to the Rock of Eternity. Kull recruits the aid of villains from the three earths, Penguin (comics)
, Queen Clea
, Blockbuster (comics), and Ibac
for his Earth-2 attack, where he tries to wreck Atlantis and use a cloud to sink islands. For Earth-S he reruits the Earth-2 Joker
, the Weeper
II, Doctor Light
and the Shade (comics)
, who trap one side of the world in light and another in arkness, and try to transform people into different materials. For Earth-1 he recruits Mister Atom
and Brainiac
, who attack the city of Tomorrow, and increase the Earth's rotation to send people into the air. He is trying to wipe out humanity on all three Earths so his people can rule once again. They are all defeated, and the heroes than head to the Rock of Eternity, with Superman leading the attack. Despite turning Superman against the other super heroes using a Red Kryptonite which fills Superman's mind with rage and makes him invulnerable to green kryptonite he is eventually defeated after Captain Marvel knocks him out, Jr. destroys the Red Kryptonite, Mary frees the Elders, and Cap uses his lightning to restore Superman's mind. King Kull was imprisoned with magic chains that supposedly even Hercules couldn’t break, and the heroes returned to their own worlds.
King Kull has occasionally appeared as a member of the final Monster Society of Evil
, and assisted in their assault on the Rock of Eternity with an army from 247 planets. The character has not appeared since Captain Marvel's history was rebooted by Crisis on Infinite Earths
in 1985. He is sometimes confused with Kull, a barbarian hero and king created by Robert E. Howard
, but Howard's Kull was an ancient human in a sword-and-sorcery setting rather than a protohuman with science-fiction technology.
In Captain Marvel Adventures #3 a similar looking villain, the Beast-ruler appears, created by the mad scientist Sivana with a humanoid body and animal qualities like a gorilla's strength and a fox's cunning. He turns against Sivana and tries to attack humanity with an animal army, hating man despite his similar appearance and planning to make animals rule. Captain Marvel leads an army of animals against his. He is finally thrown over a waterfall in a fight with Captain Marvel. In Whiz comics #7 a race of Prehistoric men who have been frozen for thousands of years at the North Pole make their only appearance. They are apparently strong enough to survive a bazooka shell, super-intelligent, and explorer Rodney Stark has devised a method of bringing them back to life, planning to use them to build an air force, copies of stolen U.S planes, allowing him to take over the world. They are all destroyed in an explosion along with Stark when Captain Marvel makes their planes crash. King Kull is possibly a combination of these creatures and the Beast-ruler.
King Kull made his first appearance in over 20 years in the fifth issue of the limited series Justice League: Cry For Justice
. Here, he was shown battling Stargirl and Cyclone
as part of a massive plot by Prometheus
to distract Earth's superheroes so that he could plant massive teleportation devices in various cities.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
originally published by Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s...
and now owned by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
and appearing as a foe of Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2...
. Created by writer Otto Binder
Otto Binder
Otto Oscar Binder was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books...
and artist C. C. Beck
C. C. Beck
Charles Clarence Beck was an American cartoonist and comic book artist, best known for his work on Captain Marvel at Fawcett Comics and DC Comics....
, Kull's first appearance was in Captain Marvel Adventures #125 (October 1951). Kull appeared in adventures of Captain Marvel during the 1950s and the period in which DC Comics revived the hero during the 1970s.
Fictional character biography
In prehistoric times, King Kull is ruler of the Submen, a brutish but technologically advanced race which ruled humanity until overthrown in a revolt thousands of years ago, as the humans vastly outnumbered them and killed all the other Beast-men. Kull survives until the 20th century in suspended animationSuspended animation
Suspended animation is the slowing of life processes by external means without termination. Breathing, heartbeat, and other involuntary functions may still occur, but they can only be detected by artificial means. Extreme cold can be used to precipitate the slowing of an individual's functions; use...
, then awakens and repeatedly threatens the human-dominated modern world with his immense strength, durability, and bizarre technology, which is in Captain Marvel's region. In one of his first appearances he attempts to destroy the books of the world so he can destroy human knowledge, first using incendiary bombs he is throwing into libriaries. He causes a train crash by pushing a boulder in front of the tracks, knocking the Marvels in their civilian forms out as they wait for him as they think he will attack with incendiary bombs, and tries to burn a load of books, along with the bound and gagged Marvels on the pyre, but they escape by burrowing into the books and removing their gags on book bindings. He then tries to use a paper magnet to steal a load of books and then burn them, which the Marvels destroy, and fast-breeding bookworms to destroy books, but the Marvels foil this using organisms that destroy the worms and jail him.
He is usually thwarted by Captain Marvel or the Marvel Family, despite releasing the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man and using Sin bombs to try destroying the world, and trying to turn Billy to stone instead on one occasion, but one particularly well-planned escapade requires the efforts of the Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
(in one of their dimension-crossing
Multiverse (DC Comics)
The DC Multiverse is a fictional continuity construct that exists in stories published by comic book company DC Comics. The DC Multiverse consists of numerous worlds, most of them outside DC's main continuity, allowing writers the creative freedom to explore alternative versions of characters and...
team-ups, which DC produced annually from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s), as well as a group of heroes of Captain Marvel and King Kull's home universe of Earth-S, referred to unofficially as Shazam's Squadron of Justice. All of these are required because Kull has captured both the wizard Shazam
Shazam (comics)
Shazam is a comic book character created by Bill Parker and C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. He is an ancient sorcerer who gives young Billy Batson the power to transform into the superhero Captain Marvel...
who grants the Marvel Family
Marvel Family
The Marvel Family is a group of fictional characters, a team of superheroes in the Fawcett Comics and DC Comics universes. Created in 1942 by writer Otto Binder and Fawcett artists C. C...
's powers and the ancient gods and goddesses the powers are drawn from after gaining access to the Rock of Eternity with a faster-then-light ship, paralyzing them with a device that slowed down their impulses, except for the swift Mercury who was able to get away in time and after Shazam made telepathic communication with him he warns other heroes from the Three Earths about King Kull. Johny Thunder's Thunderbolt helps the Marvels get their powers back in the final issue and transports them to the Rock of Eternity. Kull recruits the aid of villains from the three earths, Penguin (comics)
Penguin (comics)
Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot III is a DC Comics supervillain and one of Batman's oldest, most persistent enemies. The Penguin was introduced by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, making his debut in Detective Comics #58 .The Penguin is a short, rotund man known for his love of birds and his...
, Queen Clea
Queen Clea
see also Clea Queen Clea is a fictional character featured in various DC Comics titles, in which she is a nemesis of Wonder Woman and leads Villainy Inc.-Fictional character biography:...
, Blockbuster (comics), and Ibac
Ibac
Ibac is a fictional Fawcett Comics and DC Comics supervillain, and a foe of Captain Marvel. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist C.C. Beck, he first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventurs #8 .-Fictional character biography:...
for his Earth-2 attack, where he tries to wreck Atlantis and use a cloud to sink islands. For Earth-S he reruits the Earth-2 Joker
Joker (comics)
The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
, the Weeper
Weeper
The Weeper is the name of two fictitious comic book supervillains, originally published by Fawcett Comics and today owned by DC Comics. The original Weeper first appeared in Master Comics #23 in February 1942....
II, Doctor Light
Doctor Light
Doctor Light is the name of various fictional scientists.* Doctor Light , the DC Comics supervillain* Doctor Light , the DC Comics superheroine* Doctor Light , the Mega Man character Thomas Light...
and the Shade (comics)
Shade (comics)
The Shade is a comic book character developed in the 1940's for National Comics. Debuting as a villain, the Shade was best known for fighting against two generations of superheroes, most notably the Golden Age and Silver Age versions of the Flash...
, who trap one side of the world in light and another in arkness, and try to transform people into different materials. For Earth-1 he recruits Mister Atom
Mister Atom
Mister Atom is a fictional comic book supervillain, a radioactive robot who is regularly seen as an enemy of Captain Marvel. He first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #78 in November 1947.- Golden Age and pre-Crisis version :...
and Brainiac
Brainiac (comics)
Brainiac is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #242 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
, who attack the city of Tomorrow, and increase the Earth's rotation to send people into the air. He is trying to wipe out humanity on all three Earths so his people can rule once again. They are all defeated, and the heroes than head to the Rock of Eternity, with Superman leading the attack. Despite turning Superman against the other super heroes using a Red Kryptonite which fills Superman's mind with rage and makes him invulnerable to green kryptonite he is eventually defeated after Captain Marvel knocks him out, Jr. destroys the Red Kryptonite, Mary frees the Elders, and Cap uses his lightning to restore Superman's mind. King Kull was imprisoned with magic chains that supposedly even Hercules couldn’t break, and the heroes returned to their own worlds.
King Kull has occasionally appeared as a member of the final Monster Society of Evil
Mister Mind and the Monster Society of Evil
Mister Mind is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain created for Fawcett Comics, and now owned and published by DC Comics. Created by Otto Binder and C. C...
, and assisted in their assault on the Rock of Eternity with an army from 247 planets. The character has not appeared since Captain Marvel's history was rebooted by Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
in 1985. He is sometimes confused with Kull, a barbarian hero and king created by Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
, but Howard's Kull was an ancient human in a sword-and-sorcery setting rather than a protohuman with science-fiction technology.
In Captain Marvel Adventures #3 a similar looking villain, the Beast-ruler appears, created by the mad scientist Sivana with a humanoid body and animal qualities like a gorilla's strength and a fox's cunning. He turns against Sivana and tries to attack humanity with an animal army, hating man despite his similar appearance and planning to make animals rule. Captain Marvel leads an army of animals against his. He is finally thrown over a waterfall in a fight with Captain Marvel. In Whiz comics #7 a race of Prehistoric men who have been frozen for thousands of years at the North Pole make their only appearance. They are apparently strong enough to survive a bazooka shell, super-intelligent, and explorer Rodney Stark has devised a method of bringing them back to life, planning to use them to build an air force, copies of stolen U.S planes, allowing him to take over the world. They are all destroyed in an explosion along with Stark when Captain Marvel makes their planes crash. King Kull is possibly a combination of these creatures and the Beast-ruler.
King Kull made his first appearance in over 20 years in the fifth issue of the limited series Justice League: Cry For Justice
Justice League: Cry for Justice
Justice League: Cry for Justice is a seven-issue comic book limited series, written by James Robinson, drawn by Mauro Cascioli, and published by DC Comics in 2009...
. Here, he was shown battling Stargirl and Cyclone
Cyclone (DC Comics)
Cyclone is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. She is the granddaughter of the original Red Tornado and a member of the Justice Society of America...
as part of a massive plot by Prometheus
Prometheus (comics)
Prometheus is the name of three fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.The first Prometheus debuted in New Teen Titans vol. 2, #24 and was created by Marv Wolfman and Eduardo Barreto . The second version debuted in New Year's Evil: Prometheus Prometheus is the name...
to distract Earth's superheroes so that he could plant massive teleportation devices in various cities.
Television
- In the Batman: The Brave and the BoldBatman: The Brave and the BoldBatman: The Brave and the Bold is an American animated television series based in part on the DC Comics series The Brave and the Bold which features two or more super heroes coming together to solve a crime or foil a super villain...
episode "Menace from the Conquering Caveman!", there is a villain called Kru'll the Eternal (voiced by Michael DornMichael DornMichael Dorn is an American actor, and voice artist who is best known for his role as the Klingon Worf from the Star Trek franchise.-Early life and career:...
) who is visually based on Kull, and is also inspired by Vandal SavageVandal SavageVandal Savage is a fictional character, a supervillain published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Green Lantern vol. 1 #10 , and was created by Alfred Bester and Martin Nodell....
.