TERREX

Real Name: Terrex

Identity/Class: Extra-terrestrial (Titan) Artificial life form

Occupation: Doomsday Weapon

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Kerwin J. Broderick (shared its form); Ramrod and the Dark Messiah (agent of Broderick)

Enemies: Angar the Screamer, Black Widow (Natasha Romanova), Captain Mar-Vell, Daredevil, Moondragon, Jason Sloan

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: He Who is of the Earth

Base of Operations: San Francisco, California; formerly Moondragon's Pacific undersea base; Titan (moon of Saturn)

First Appearance: Daredevil I#105 (November, 1973)

 

Powers/Abilities: Terrex is a being directly connected to the life-force of the planet on which it stands. In addition, it can affect the life-force of any and every being on that planet. At its whim, living things grow or die. It allegedly could siphon the life from the entire planet and everyone on it. It can also manipulate living matter, such as by causing the sudden growth of immense trees and/or vines which move under its control. It can make its effects temporary or permanent and partial or complete. It once drained the life from Daredevil's legs, such that he was paralyzed below the waist for an hour. It apparently requires concentration to focus on its target(s) to be effective.
Terrex's form possesses the capacity for neither thought nor movement on its own. It requires the mind of another to control it. Under some circumstances, a person can be physically and mentally merged with Terrex. However, the human mind within it does give it some vulnerability.

 

History: (Daredevil I#107(fb)) - When Thanos began his onslaught on Titan, one of the Eternal scientists there devised Terrex as a doomsday weapon, to destroy all life on Titan should Thanos succeed. However, Thanos' forces acted too quickly, and the scientist died before he could unleash his monster. Moondragon, the only other who understood the science behind the life-creature, brought its inert form to Earth, where she planned to unleash it should Thanos overcome this world as well.

 

(Daredevil I#106(fb)-BTS) - Moondragon, then also going by the alias Madame MacEvil, attempted to form alliances on Earth for aid against Thanos. She unwittingly allied with Kerwin J. Broderick, a San Francisco based lawyer with a sterling reputation. However, Broderick was corrupt and power hungry, and he sought to use his weapons and agents to make himself king of San Francisco.

(Daredevil I#105-107) - Broderick ambushed Moondragon in her undersea base, nearly killing her, and then unleashed Terrex on Earth. He created a mindlink between himself and the mindless Terrex, allowing it to think and move.
Terrex rampaged through San Francisco, slaughtering those it encountered. Angar the Screamer, one of Moondragon and Broderick's agents, drove into the city and saluted Terrex, whom he saw as granting him part of control of the city. However, as Angar's girlfriend, Janis, tried to convince him to turn away from the path of violence, Terrex drained her of life, leaving her a withered corpse in his passenger seat. Daredevil revived Moondragon and the two were joined by the Black Widow in opposing Broderick's other agents, Ramrod and the Dark Messiah. However, Broderick then appeared and gave an ultimatum that the city had an hour to live unless he was crowned as King of San Francisco.
Broderick physically and mentally merged with Terrex. Daredevil attacked Terrex, but was temporarily paralyzed as a result. The heroes regrouped to plan a more effective attack and were joined by Captain Mar-Vell (who had come to oppose the forces of Thanos), Angar (who wanted revenge on Terrex for killing Janis), and Jason Sloan (a former business partner of Broderick who wanted to fight against the man who had duped and betrayed him). Matt Murdoch (also a former business associate of Broderick) and Jason Sloan approached Terrex, bringing forth the mind and memories of Broderick. Angar unleashed his hallucination-causing scream, throwing the composite Terrex/Broderick off balance. The heroes joined forces in attacking the weakened Terrex. Moondragon then guided Angar, so that he generated in Terrex the specific hallucination of un-life, the antithesis of Terrex's being. Unable to cope with exposure to the un-life, Terrex's meld with Broderick was broken. Both Terrex and Broderick died from the trauma of the separation.

Comments: Created by Steve Gerber and Don Heck.

It doesn't make a whole lot of sense for Broderick to have been able to dupe Moondragon, given her telepathic powers. Maybe there was some explanation, but I couldn't find it. It seems she had to do a specific Vulcan-mind-meld-type-thingee to read thoughts at that early point in her career, and for whatever reason, she just trusted Broderick implicitly.

Terrex actually seems pretty similar to Humus Sapien, who was supposed to be one of the new X-Men that showed up a year or two after this story, but instead was dropped and forgotten until Fabian Nicieza brought him back in the pages of the Thunderbolts, about 25 years later. Perhaps Humus' actions may have revived the dormant Terrex.

This profile is not intended to be a complete profile on Kerwin J. Broderick, who appeared for over a year in Daredevil before these issues. He'll get one later.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connections to


Appearances:
Daredevil I#105 (November, 1973) - Steve Gerber (writer), Don Heck & Jim Starlin (pencils), Don Perlin (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Daredevil I#106 (December, 1973) - Steve Gerber (writer), Don Heck (pencils), Sal Trapani (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Daredevil I#107 (January, 1974) - Steve Gerber (writer), Bob Brown (pencils), Sal Buscema (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)


First Posted: 08/22/2002
Last updated: 08/22/2002

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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