FROMA race

Classification: Humanoid extraterrestrial race 

Location/Base of Operations: Planet Chize, second from the sun in the Delee system, Milky Way Galaxy
    Chize has a mountainous habitat, with ocean covering 53% of the surface;
    gravity is 2.75 times that of Earth;
    its atmosphere is 70% methane, 20% oxygen, and 10% other unidentified gases;

Known Members: Cazon, Colby, Edam, Gouda, Havarti;
    unidentified Froma who traveled from moon base to Earth;
    unidentified Froma at the auction of Rick Jones' autobiography manuscript;
    Tangers cartel;
    the population is estimated at 99 million (see comments)

Affiliations: None known;
    Edam and Gouda at least briefly fought alongside the Freebooters (Gunthar, Kehl, Levan, and Skunge)

Enemies: Humanity, to at least seven Froma;
    see individual entries for specific/individual enemies, but notably Iron Man (Tony Stark), Jazinda, Rick Jones, Kodor, Punisher (Frank Castle), Tanya & Larry Ryan, She-Hulk (Jen Walters), Morgan Stark

Aliases: Moon-Men (both from Iron Man

First Appearance: Tales of Suspense I#68 (August, 1965)

Powers/Abilities: Froma are about ten times stronger on average than humans.

    At least some members of the Froma can levitate psionically (see comments).

    At least those Froma who had a base on the moon were accustomed to see thing through dusty environments, and could see well through thick smoke (perhaps they have some sort of vision able to detect energies beyond what is the visible spectrum to humans).

    Colby, Edam, Gouda, Havarti, and their unidentified crewmate all wore atmospheric helmets on Earth, presumably indicating that Earth's atmosphere was not breathable (or perhaps just uncomfortable) for them. Cazon did not need any sort of atmospheric helmet.

    The Froma possess starships with presumably some sort of faster-than-light or warp drive capacity to enable practical travel between star systems.
    Their ship that traveled from the moon to Earth may or may not have had interstellar capacity.

    They also used energy rifles and blasters as well as spears.

Traits: The Froma are ruled by corporations and cartels.

Type:  Bilaterally symmetric humanoid bipeds
Eyes: Two (on head; light blue color seen)
Fingers: Four (plus opposing thumb)
Toes: Five
Skin color: Green
Average height: 7'6"
Other Distinguishing Features: Pronounced maxillary canine teeth that protrude from their mouths when closed.

History:
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#4: Appendix to Alien Races: Froma entry) - Heavy gamma radiation in normal solar radiation has caused the Froma to evolve into large-bodied, green humanoids (resembling Earth's Hulk).

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#4: Appendix to Alien Races: Froma entry) - The Froma were ruled by corporations and cartels.

(Tales of Suspense I#68 (fb) - BTS) - The Froma established a colony on Earth's moon, to evaluate the potential of the planet for conquering.

(Tales of Suspense I#68 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#4: Gamma Mutates) - In response to previous moon landings and a planned new rocket being sent to the moon (see comments), a group of Froma -- Colby, Edam, Gouda, Havarti, and at least one unidentified-- traveled to Earth to prevent this mission.

(Tales of Suspense I#68) - Upon landing on Earth, Edam and Gouda reported their arrival back to their moon base and noted that they were proceeding as planned.

    Their landing was observed by Tony Stark, who, as Iron Man, confronted the five Froma, and after a short battle, drove them off. The Froma planned to evacuate their base on the moon, and to find another planet instead.

(Maximum Security#1 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Edam and Gouda, at least were imprisoned in some interstellar prison.

(Maximum Security#1) - As part of the events of Maximum Security, a number of interstellar criminals/prisoners were sent to Earth. Edam and Gouda were among those sent to Earth. Alongside some members of the Freebooters (Gunthar, Kehl, Levan, and Skunge), these two Froma battled the Punisher.

(Avengers Spotlight I#25/2 (fb) - BTS) - Believing the autobiography of Rick Jones would contain information about how Jones had been able to defeat Kree and Skrull armadas in a previous Kree-Skrull war skirmish (later revealed to have been his accessing the Destiny Force), an intergalactic auction was held to purchase the rights to his manuscript. An unidentified member of the Froma was among those attending the auction.

(Avengers Spotlight I#25/2 - BTS) - When the relevant chapter of Jones' manuscript was was presented for viewing, the assembled bidders discovered that Jones had ended the Kree-Skrull War through a fluke and that he had no real knowledge as to how he had accomplished it.

(Avengers Spotlight#25/2) -  Like the other aliens present, the Froma realized these memoirs were worthless, and he (?) refused to bid on them.

(She-Hulk II#25 (fb) - BTS) - The alleged heir to the Tangers, the premiere cartel on the planet Chize, Cazon apparently secretly arranged the the deaths of dozens of people because they didn't support him.

    His actions were apparently discovered...

(She-Hulk II#25 (fb) - BTS) - Fleeing from bounty hunters, Cazon hoped his ship's sensory apparatus would lead him to one of the Froma's colonies, but it instead locked on She-Hulk due to her gamma radiation emissions.

(She-Hulk II#25 (fb) - BTS) - After killing the innocent camper Tanya Ryan and Jazinda (who revived due to her having consumed the Sy-Torak gem), Cazon was slain by Jazinda.

Comments: Created by Al Hartley, Don Heck, and Mike Esposito

    43 years of cheese jokes...so far...

1. I guess the whole deal started out as a little play on the moon being thought of as being made of green cheese, as they were noted as having a base on the moon
   
2. In their first appearance in Tales of Suspense I#68, Edam and Gouda (both well-known types of cheeses) were identified, although their race was unidentified.
   
3. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#4: Appendix to Alien Races: Froma entry identified their race as the Froma...with fromage being the French word for cheese.
• The same entry identified their home planet as Chize (presumably pronounced "cheese") and their star system as Delee (presumably pronounced "deli")
• And, of course, they were from the Milky Way, with the dairy connection.
  
4. In She-Hulk II#25, Peter David continued the joke with Cazon....Casin is a type of Spanish cheese.
5. Cazon was part of the Tangers cartel, and I'm not sure that has any cheese connection.
   
•  Maybe a reference to tang? A strong taste, flavor, or smell. I've seen people talk about the tang of strong cheese.--Loki
•  I found Fromagerie De Tanger? Is Tangier in Morocco famous for cheese? But...I think Loki is probably right.--Markus Raymond
6. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#4: Gamma Mutates entry identified the other two Froma from Tales of Suspense I#68 as Colby and Havarti, also both two well known types of cheese.
• We missed that there was actually a fifth Froma in Tales of Suspense I#68...
  
• We also missed the chance of identifying the Froma from Avengers Spotlight#25
7. Further...it could be speculated that the representatives pictured in the OHotMU were one or two of the Froma seen in Tales of Suspense I#68, but perhaps they were other, previously unseen Froma...and they'd need cheese names, too!
8. Food (cheese) for future thought...Briii? Lymbargr? Feddah? Parmizon? Provlon? Rokfert? Gorrginzoll? Chetta? Rikotta?

    I tend to think of cartel in terms of criminal activities due to the term drug cartel, but it is specifically a tight organization based on a formal agreement among commercial enterprises with conflicting interests. In economic terms, it is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. It can also refer to an alliance between political parties or different governments.

    Peter David, Cazon, and the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe

    The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#4: Appendix to Alien Races: Froma entry noted  the gamma radiation aspect of the Froma, which was also first shown in a story in Peter David's She-Hulk II#25-26.
    One of my favorite writers, Peter David was also a writer and researcher on the original Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.

    Cazon is significantly different in appearance than the other Froma shown. While the others are bulky and monstrous-looking and wore environmental helmets in Earth's atmosphere, Cazon is much closer to a lean human athlete in appearance. He is still strong and can levitate, but he does not have fanged teeth, etc.

    It makes me wonder if there are not some castes, sub-sects, or something else of the Froma. Maybe Cazon is a Froma Inhuman, Eternal, or otherwise a product of some selected eugenics program?

    Looking at their original appearance in Tales of Suspense I#68, I would have assumed their belt packs or the large pods on their upper backs were what allowed them to take flight. However, there is not any rocket/jet/exhaust, etc.; they just move through the air. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#4: Appendix to Alien Races: Froma entry first reveals that they could psionically levitate, and Cazon confirms this in-story in She-Hulk II#25-26.

• Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#4: Appendix to Alien Races: Froma entry noted their population to be 1.1 billion.
• Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#15: Appendix to Alien Races: Froma entry noted their population to be 99 million.
  
• A lot of people use the term decimation as if it means virtually wiping out a population, when in it literally means reducing the number by 10%. But, the Froma had their population reduced not just BY 10% but actually TO less than 10% of their previous numbers (specifically, 9%).
• What happened in the Froma's history to account for this?
• OR, was it just a mistake in the original handbook corrected in the Deluxe Edition (or, did the Deluxe Edition make a mistake)
  
• Uncertain of the reason for the numeric reduction, I only included the more recent estimation from the Deluxe Edition in the members/population, and I did not include it in the history.
  

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Froma should be distinguished from:

• CHEESE (    ) - US marines?, ally of Marcus Johnson (aka Nick Fury)--Battle Scars#1
  
• CHEESEBURGER - US Air Force nickname for Carol Danvers after she vomited in the G-Force machine--Ms. Marvel II#11
• CHEESECAKE, agent - SHIELD LMD sexpionage agent, Hulkbusters--She-Hulk II#15 (16-19
• CHEESE HEAD - see SKIN Joke name picked by Skin while mocking Razorback--Generation X: Crossroads
• other Cheese-related characters, groups, items, events, races, or places...
  

(Tales of Suspense I#68 (fb) - BTS) - The Froma established a colony on Earth's moon, to evaluate the potential of the planet for conquering. (Tales of Suspense I#68 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#4: Gamma Mutates) - In response to previous moon landings and a planned new rocket being sent to the moon (see comments), a group of Froma -- Colby, Edam, Gouda, Havarti, and at least one unidentified-- traveled to Earth to prevent this mission. (Tales of Suspense I#68) - Upon landing on Earth, Edam and Gouda reported their arrival back to their moon base and noted that they were proceeding as planned. Spotting an Iron Man -- who had discovered their ship while investigating a hoax perpetrated by Morgan Stark under direction of Count Nefaria -- Gouda ordered Edam to eliminate him.     Edam fired his blaster weapon, but when Iron Man dodged the blast, Gouda told him he had better improve him aim; Edam asserted that his aim was flawless but that the Earthman had moved with the speed of moonbeams.     Colby, Havarti, and the other, unidentified Froma then emerged from the ship; one of them, carrying a spear, exclaimed that if the Earthman escaped, they would return to the moon in disgrace, and he exhorted the others to get him. He continued that they needed to finish the Earthman and get on with their mission: The Earth people were preparing to launch another rocket towards their beloved moon, and it must be destroyed. Edam or Gouda countered that this objective may not be easy, as the Earth people could fire electric bolts from their fingers. Meanwhile, Iron Man plotted to lure the aliens to the nearby Nike Base so their defense command could help against them.      Taking to the air, Edam and Gouda figured they could use their numbers to overwhelm him and that one of their blasts had been a near-miss, enough to affect their target's propulsion unit. All five Froma then closed on Iron Man, with one of them slamming into him from behind but finding his strength unable to damage his armor.     The spear-wielder attempted to plunge his spear into Iron Man's chest, but the spear crumpled on impact. As Iron Man cast off the Froma holding him, Edam and Gouda assaulted him with their blaster weapons. Iron Man attempted to cloak himself behind a smoke-screen from his "super-deluxe vapor-ejector"; however, accustomed to seeing through moon dust, the Froma closed on him again and then finally nailed him with their blasts, dropping him.     One of the Froma acknowledged that their opponent had fought with valor and that their victory was a credit to their numbers, and another feared that their mission would be in jeopardy if all Earthmen fought as he did.     However, when they prepared to take him into their spacecraft, Iron Man, having feigned unconscious to allow his armor to recharge and to lure them into close proximity, blinded the Froma with a blast from his chest beam's "ultra-beacon."     The Froma then elected to abandon their mission and to flee in their craft; en route, they encountered Morgan Stark. Assessing the unarmored human as another species of Earthman, they planned to capture him as a meager trophy from this expedition, but before the Froma could fire the trigger on his weapon, Iron Man adjusted the prism of his ultra-beacon, directing an invisible shield between Morgan and the Froma.     The Froma then rushed back to their ship and took off, resolving that they could not destroy Earth's rocket and that they must evacuate their base on the moon and find another planet instead. --Tales of Suspense I#68 Note: Edam and Gouda were the ones carrying rifles. The three Froma on the ground below Iron Man in the image to the right presumably represented Colby, Havarti, and the unidentified Froma. Most unique of those three was the spear-wielder, but we don't know which of the three is which.      Iron Man encountered the Froma because he was investigating alien hoaxes, which were caused by Morgan Stark under the direction of and using the technology of Count Nefaria in order to discredit Stark.

(Avengers Spotlight I#25/2 (fb) - BTS) - A large number of sentient races, including the Froma somehow learned that the Earthling Rick Jones was about to publish his autobiography which was believed to contain information about how Jones had once single-handedly defeated two entire Kree and Skrull armadas (later revealed to have been his accessing the Destiny Force). In order to avoid the chaos that would have resulted if representatives of all the interested species had tried to obtain the manuscript separately, an auction was arranged so that the various sentient races would all have an equal opportunity to bid on the memoirs. Beppe III was chosen to be in charge of the auction that was to be held aboard an intergalactic auction cruiser.      An unidentified member of the Froma was among those attending the auction. (Avengers Spotlight I#25/2 - BTS) - Kree Major Vron-Ikka (posing as Jones' agent, Veronica), as well as unidentified members of the Skrulls, the Megans, the Fomalhauti, the Zn'rx reneged on the agreement and confronted Jones themselves, but Jones, "Veronica," and Rick's friend Betty Ross were all  "teleported" into the auction cruiser. Beppe III explained the situation, and Jones relented and gave the manuscript to Beppe.    Beppe placed the manuscript within a universal translator so that all present could observe the contents of the chapter that featured the defeat of the Kree and Skrull armadas. Beppe then directed the attention of the bidders to the large screen upon which the translated words of the chapter were displayed at a fixed rate. (Avengers Spotlight I#25/2 (fb) - BTS) - The Froma and the rest of the potential bidders discovered that Jones had ended the Kree-Skrull War through a fluke and that he had no real knowledge as to how he had accomplished it. (Avengers Spotlight I#25/2) - After twenty minutes, Beppe announced that the time was up and the floor was now open for bidding. When no one made a bid, Beppe asked if there was a problem, and the Froma replied, "There sure is! That's it?" After other representatives backed up this sentiment, Beppe probed Rick's mind to see if he had held anything back but found no further information. The memoirs were considered worthless to those who had planned on bidding on them. (Avengers Spotlight I#25/2 - BTS) - Rick and Betty were sent back to Earth. (Avengers Spotlight I#25/2 (fb) - BTS) - With no reason to stay, the auction cruiser presumably immediately left Earth' s solar system, taking Beppe III, the crew and the frustrated would-be bidders with it. --Avengers Spotlight#25/2 Note: I derived/distilled some of the information in this sub-profile from that of Beppe III, written by Donald Campbell, while reviewing the original story.

This ship brought Colby, Edam, Gouda, Havarti, and at least one other Froma to Earth in an effort to prevent Earth from launching another rocket at the moon. And, when they chose to flee, it presumably brought them back there. The ship could obviously travel to the moon and back and possibly provide a hospitable environment for the Froma, although they were wearing their atmospheric suits/helmets when they exited it. It presumably did not have much in the way of weaponry, as the Froma fled rather than using their ship to attack Iron Man. --Tales of Suspense I#68 Note: It is unrevealed whether this is the same ship the Froma moon colonists used to travel to the moon from their own Homeworld, which would indicate faster than light or space warp capacity to make such interstellar travel feasible.

The Froma used a number of energy rifles and handblasters. A near miss from the former could affect Iron Man's boot jets, while a direct hit (or perhaps multiple hits) could knock him out of the air, although he retained consciousness and played along. The handblaster was going to be used on Morgan Stark until Iron Man blocked the blast with a force field. --Tales of Suspense I#68

images: (without ads)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#4: Appendix to Alien Races: Froma entry - scanned from the Omnibus by Proto-Man, thanks!
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#15: Appendix to Alien Races: Froma entry - digitally re-mastered/inked/colored/etc. by Roger Ott, thanks!
Tales of Suspense I#68, pg. 8, panel 1 (ship landing);
          panel 3 (Edam & Gouda);
          panel 4 (gun beam);
       pg. 9, panel 3 (Colby, Havarti, and one other below Iron Man);
          panel 3 (five Froma flying and attacking Iron Man);
          panel 4 (flying and spear);
Avengers Spotlight#25/2, pg. 10, panel 4 (auction);
She-Hulk II#25, pg. 12, panel 2 (Cazon standing, full minus right hand);
        pg. 22, panel 3 (Cazon face, close-up);

Appearances:
Tales of Suspense I#68 (August, 1965) - Al Hartley (writer), Don Heck (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Stan Lee (editor)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#4: Appendix to Alien Races: Froma entry (April, 1983) - Mark Gruenwald (editor/head writer/designer), Michael Carlin (associate editor/designer), Peter Sanderson & Mark Lerer (co-writers), David Cody Weiss, Joanne Harris, Bob Simpson, Roger Stern (researchers), Paty Cockrum (penciler), Frank Giacoia (inker)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#15: Appendix to Alien Races: Froma entry (March, 1987) - Mark Gruenwald (writer/producer), Peter Sanderson (writer/researcher), Kyle Baker (penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker), Gregory Wright (assistant editor), Marc McLaurin (editorial assistant)

Avengers Spotlight#25/2 (Mid November; 1989) - Glenn Herdling & Dwight Jon Zimmerman (writers), Rod Ramos (penciler), Don Hudson (inker), Gregory Wright (managing editor), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Maximum Security#1 (December, 2000) - Kurt Busiek (writer), Jerry Ordway (pencils), Will Blyberg, Paul Ryan, Al Vey & Chris Ivy (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
She-Hulk II#25 (March, 2008) - Peter David (writer), Shawn Moll (penciler), Victor Olazaba (inker), Thomas Brennan (assistant editor), Stephen Wacker (editor)
She-Hulk II#26 (April, 2008) - Peter David (writer), Shawn Moll with Val Semeiks (pencilers), Victor Olazaba (inker), Thomas Brennan (assistant editor), Stephen Wacker (editor)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#4 (September, 2008) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Madison Carter, Mike Fichera & Stuart Vandal (coordination assistants), Sean McQuaid, David Wiltfong, Stuart Vandal, Ronald Byrd, Chad Anderson, Mike Fichera, Jacob Rougemont, Madison Carter, Mark O'English, Michael Hoskin, Eric J. Moreels, Chris Biggs, Gabe Shechter, Al Sjoerdsma, Rich Green & (writers), Brian Overton (copy editor), John Denning & Cory Levine (assistant editors), Mark D. Beazley (editor, special projects), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editor)

First posted: 08/21/2023
Last updated: 08/21/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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