Monster Hunters
Encyclopedia
The Monster Hunters were a fictional group
, appearing in comic book
series published by Marvel Comics
. This group exists in Marvel's shared universe
, known as the Marvel Universe
.
The team was created as a retcon to explain some events in the history of the Marvel Universe
that were no longer plausible due to previous retcons. Their adventures are set during the late 1940s and 50's, a time when (in real life) Marvel/Atlas
was mostly printing stories about strange monsters and alien invaders
.
) and consisted of Ulysses Bloodstone
, Makkari
the Eternal
(who organized the group using the alias Hurricane
), the psychic
and mystic
known as Doctor Druid
, and Zawadi
, a skilled huntress and warrior from Wakanda.
They were later joined by Namora
, cousin of the Sub-Mariner, in Marvel: The Lost Generation
#2 (January, 2001
).
Their first meeting was at the Explorer's Club in New York City owned by Stanley Hathaway; this club would become the public front for the team. They identified themselves, and Druid revealed the origin of his powers. The group exchanged stories of their monster battles, and developed suspicions of one another, which they kept secret for the time being. Their meeting was cut short by a mysterious man waking a sleeping Gorgilla
(a giant ape-like monster) on a boat in New York harbor.
The battle with Gorgilla takes place in many areas of New York and finally ends at the Statue of Liberty
with Dr. Druid calming the creature with telepathy. It is revealed during this time that Adam Clayton is the "real" name of Jake Curtiss, and that a "mystery man" was controlling Gorgilla. This was done to have Gorgilla divert a police escort of an African Premier to a bridge where a bomb was underneath, thus assassinating him.
The Monster Hunters agree that Gorgilla should be taken back to the wild where he originated. While doing this, the team is attacked in their plane via an alien looking craft. They are saved, though, with quick thinking from Clayton, who is now revealed to be the superhero The Hurricane, sometimes called Mercury. When they arrive at Midnight Mountain in Borneo
, they are again attacked by the Lizard Men, who succeed in capturing Hurricane.
During the battle, Bloodstone's secrets and origin are revealed. The three remaining members of the team then go on a rescue mission to free Hurricane from the mystery villain that has caused all this. Battling monster after monster on an island in the Sea of Japan
, the team finally rescues the now revealed Makkari from his nemesis, Kro
of the Deviants
, who had created most or all the monsters that they have encountered. After a fierce battle, the team causes Kro to retreat and they all escape the island heading toward Tokyo, their adventures only beginning.
(NOTE: Harvey Elder (the future Mole Man
) is also present in the storyline. It is because of his defiant nature and constantly being in a thorn in the side of the Monster Hunters that he is left behind at "Monster Island".)
In 1958, the Monster Hunters are joined by Namora. When Dr. Druid picked up strange psychic emissions coming from a warehouse it led the team into a direct conflict with heroes from the First Line
. After the misunderstanding, the two teams battle a Skrull
-created monster.
After this, not much is known about the further adventures of the Monster Hunters, who started drifting apart over time and eventually disbanded. Since then Bloodstone and Druid have died, while Zawadi disappeared. Until recently, Makkari was the only member of the original team that was still active. This changed, though, when the Agents of Atlas
found a coffin at the ocean's bottom containing a very alive Namora; she has since joined that team.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, appearing in comic book
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...
series published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. This group exists in Marvel's shared universe
Shared universe
A shared universe is a fictional universe to which more than one writer contributes. Work set in a shared universe share characters and other elements with varying degrees of consistency. Shared universes are contrasted with collaborative writing, in which multiple authors work on a single story....
, known as the Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
.
The team was created as a retcon to explain some events in the history of the Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
that were no longer plausible due to previous retcons. Their adventures are set during the late 1940s and 50's, a time when (in real life) Marvel/Atlas
Atlas Comics (1950s)
Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic...
was mostly printing stories about strange monsters and alien invaders
Alien invasion
The alien invasion is a common theme in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrial life invades Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under a colonial system, harvest humans for food, steal the planet's resources, or destroy the planet altogether.The...
.
Publication history
The Monster Hunters first appeared in Marvel Universe #4 (September, 19981998 in comics
-Spring:* Gay Comix , with issue #25, publishes its final issue -October:* Toy Biz buys Marvel Comics* Excalibur is canceled by Marvel with issue #125.-November:...
) and consisted of Ulysses Bloodstone
Ulysses Bloodstone
Ulysses Bloodstone is a fictional character, an immortal monster-hunter in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:John Warner has explained the development of Ulysses Bloodstone: "Len Wein and Marv Wolfman came up with the spark that would become Bloodstone—the premise of a man who fights...
, Makkari
Makkari (comics)
Makkari, formerly known as Hurricane and Mercury, is a member of the Eternals, a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics universe...
the Eternal
Eternals (comics)
The Eternals are a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics universe. They are described as an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth. The original instigators of this process, the alien Celestials, intended the Eternals to be the defenders of Earth which...
(who organized the group using the alias Hurricane
Hurricane (comics)
Hurricane is a name used by many different fictional characters appearing in the comic books published by Marvel Comics.The characters are unrelated and include a western gunslinger, superheros, and supervillains.-Harry Kane:...
), the psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
and mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
known as Doctor Druid
Doctor Druid
Doctor Druid, also known as Doctor Droom and Druid, is a fictional character, a supernatural monster-hunter in the Marvel Comics universe....
, and Zawadi
Zawadi
Zawadi is a fictional character from Marvel Comics who first appeared in Marvel Universe #4. She was a member of the Monster Hunters.-Fictional character biography:Not much is known about the past of the woman known as Zawadi...
, a skilled huntress and warrior from Wakanda.
They were later joined by Namora
Namora
Namora is a fictional character, a superhero in the . She is from Atlantis and is the daughter of an Atlantean father and a human mother. She is the cousin of Namor the Sub-Mariner.-Publication history:...
, cousin of the Sub-Mariner, in Marvel: The Lost Generation
Marvel: The Lost Generation
Marvel: The Lost Generation is a twelve-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics in 2000 and 2001. The series was written by Roger Stern and drawn by John Byrne. Numbered in reverse order, it began with issue #12 and finished with issue #1 Marvel: The Lost Generation is a...
#2 (January, 2001
2001 in comics
-Year overall:* Marvel Comics withdraws from the Comics Code Authority and established its own rating system for its publications.- January :* January 23: Fred Ray, Superman's primary cover artist of the 1940s, passes away at age 80.- September :...
).
Fictional team history
When countless monsters began appearing around the world, suspicion turned to curiosity. Makkari, under the identities of Jake Curtiss and Mac Curry, encountered a monster of his own and then gathered Dr. Anthony Ludgate Druid and Ulysses Bloodstone when they too did the same. Bloodstone, while investigating where the alien Grottu had come from, was saved by Zawadi and decided to bring her along also.Their first meeting was at the Explorer's Club in New York City owned by Stanley Hathaway; this club would become the public front for the team. They identified themselves, and Druid revealed the origin of his powers. The group exchanged stories of their monster battles, and developed suspicions of one another, which they kept secret for the time being. Their meeting was cut short by a mysterious man waking a sleeping Gorgilla
Gorgilla
Gorgilla is a fictional character that appears in the Marvel Universe. Gorgilla first appeared in Tales To Astonish #12 .-Fictional character biography:...
(a giant ape-like monster) on a boat in New York harbor.
The battle with Gorgilla takes place in many areas of New York and finally ends at the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
with Dr. Druid calming the creature with telepathy. It is revealed during this time that Adam Clayton is the "real" name of Jake Curtiss, and that a "mystery man" was controlling Gorgilla. This was done to have Gorgilla divert a police escort of an African Premier to a bridge where a bomb was underneath, thus assassinating him.
The Monster Hunters agree that Gorgilla should be taken back to the wild where he originated. While doing this, the team is attacked in their plane via an alien looking craft. They are saved, though, with quick thinking from Clayton, who is now revealed to be the superhero The Hurricane, sometimes called Mercury. When they arrive at Midnight Mountain in Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, they are again attacked by the Lizard Men, who succeed in capturing Hurricane.
During the battle, Bloodstone's secrets and origin are revealed. The three remaining members of the team then go on a rescue mission to free Hurricane from the mystery villain that has caused all this. Battling monster after monster on an island in the Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
, the team finally rescues the now revealed Makkari from his nemesis, Kro
Kro (comics)
Kro is a Marvel Comics supervillain.-Publication history:Created by Jack Kirby, Kro first appeared in Eternals vol. 1 #1 ....
of the Deviants
Deviant (comics)
The Deviants are a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics' universe. They are an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth instigated by the alien Celestials, and wage war against their counterparts, the Eternals...
, who had created most or all the monsters that they have encountered. After a fierce battle, the team causes Kro to retreat and they all escape the island heading toward Tokyo, their adventures only beginning.
(NOTE: Harvey Elder (the future Mole Man
Mole Man
The Mole Man is a comic book supervillain that exists in Marvel Comics' main shared universe. He first appeared in Fantastic Four #1, and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.-Fictional character biography:...
) is also present in the storyline. It is because of his defiant nature and constantly being in a thorn in the side of the Monster Hunters that he is left behind at "Monster Island".)
In 1958, the Monster Hunters are joined by Namora. When Dr. Druid picked up strange psychic emissions coming from a warehouse it led the team into a direct conflict with heroes from the First Line
First Line (comics)
The First Line was a fictional team of superheroes and adventurers from the Marvel Comics series Marvel: The Lost Generation. Essentially a retcon to fill the gaps caused by Marvel's "sliding timescale", in which the emergence of major superheroes and events was only supposed to have occurred...
. After the misunderstanding, the two teams battle a Skrull
Skrull
The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby....
-created monster.
After this, not much is known about the further adventures of the Monster Hunters, who started drifting apart over time and eventually disbanded. Since then Bloodstone and Druid have died, while Zawadi disappeared. Until recently, Makkari was the only member of the original team that was still active. This changed, though, when the Agents of Atlas
Agents of Atlas
Agents of Atlas is a fictional superhero team in comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is composed of characters originally appearing in unrelated stories published in the 1950s by Marvel's predecessor company, Atlas Comics....
found a coffin at the ocean's bottom containing a very alive Namora; she has since joined that team.
Appearances
- Marvel Universe #4-7 (1998)
- Marvel: The Lost GenerationMarvel: The Lost GenerationMarvel: The Lost Generation is a twelve-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics in 2000 and 2001. The series was written by Roger Stern and drawn by John Byrne. Numbered in reverse order, it began with issue #12 and finished with issue #1 Marvel: The Lost Generation is a...
#2 (2001) - Marvel Monsters: From The Files Of Ulysses Bloodstone (and The Monster Hunters) (2005)
External links
- Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters, at the Marvel Database Project
- The Monster Hunters at The UnOfficial Handbook of the Marvel: The Lost Generation Universe