KRAA THE UNHUMAN
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Human, Mutate
Occupation: Tribal god, seeker of vengeance
Group Membership: S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Howling Commandos unit (Abominable Snowman, Bradley Beemer, Brother Voodoo, Clone of Frankenstein, Glob (Timms), Gorilla Man, Groot, Hellstorm, It the Living Colossus, Lilith, Living Mummy, Clay Quartermain, Sasquatch, Vampire by Night; Warwolf, Zombie (John Doe), many others); (formerly) ; Wabuzi tribe
Affiliations: Unnamed teacher
Enemies: Merlin; Russians
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Wabuzi village, Africa
First Appearance: Tales Of Suspense I#18 (June, 1961)
Powers/Abilities: Kraa's body was of larger proportions than a normal human's, and he possessed at least enhanced level strength.
History: (Tales Of Suspense I#18 (fb))- Kraa was once a tribesman of the Wabuzi, until one day Russian soldiers came near his village to conduct atomic tests. As he ran from them, he fell into a hunter's trap, and was nearby when the bomb went off. The explosion mutated him into a large orange creature, and he cound that he was now superhumanly strong. Returning to his people, they mistook him for Kraa, the seeker of vengeance foretold in their beliefs. He played along with the role they fashioned for him, and had them build idols of him throughout the nearby country-- but placed a taboo upon their village, to keep prying eyes away from him. His ultimate plan was to seek the Russians out and destroy them for what they had done.
(Tales Of Suspense I#18)- A teacher searching for the
secret behind the statues of Kraa sought him out, and interrupted a
ceremony in his village. Kraa captured the
teacher, and offered him a last request before killing him. The teacher
asked to know Kraa's story, and so Kraa told him. He also confessed
that he had been in pain since
the day of the explosion, and the teacher determined that the radiation
was burning him. He provided Kraa with an ointment to ease his pain,
and Kraa was impressed with
the teacher's display of friendship. However, before they could do
anything more, they were attacked by a python. Kraa nobly saved the
teacher, but as he grappled with
the snake, he fell from a cliff and perished. The Wabuzi then honored
the teacher as a god, believing he had slain Kraa himself.
(Nick Fury's Howling Commandos#6) - Kraa actually
survived, and was recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Howling Commandos
supernatural team. He was among the members that launched an assault on
Merlin's forces.
Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.
A monster who looks just like Kraa was among the Mole Man's monsters seen in Warlock and the Infinity Watch#7...but as this monster was about as big as Godzilla, he couldn't have been Kraa...not unless the radiation made him grow a few stories taller.
Appendix reader Carycomix theorizes that Kraa may have had ties to other pre-Marvel monsters. He suggests the possibility that the African who would become Kraa may have come into contact with the same radioactive materials that the Deviant known as Warlord Kro used to create Grottu. Also, given the "Unhuman" nickname, Kraa may have been possessed by the formless creature known as Trull The Unhuman, who called the mutated tribesman "Kraa" due to some sort of subconscious memory of hearing the name "Kro".
Big thanks to MD Carter for allowing me to borrow images from his website, The Monsters of Jack Kirby.
by Prime Eternal
CLARIFICATIONS:
Kraa the Unhuman should not be confused with:
images: (without ads)
Last updated: 04/08/06
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and ©
1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this
stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com