GEVALTANS
(see comments)
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Classification: Extraterrestrial race
Location/Base of Operations: Planet Gevaltu, unidentified star system, unidentified galaxy (see comments)
Known Members: Orc, Urthona, others unidentified
Affiliations: Dr. Strange (Stephen Strange);
formerly Urthona
Enemies: Jarakk, Pura-Shamutra, Topaz, Urthona, Wong;
formerly Dr. Strange
First Appearance: (Behind-the-scenes, unidentified) Doctor Strange II#78 (August, 1986);
(seen) Doctor Strange II#79 (October, 1986);
(Gevaltu identified) Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#57 (September, 1993)
("Gevatlans" identified; see comments) Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#58 (October, 1993) |
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 Powers/Abilities: Gevaltans are large semi-humanoid beings. They possess superhuman strength and durability.
The Gevaltans found Earth's air hard to breathe. They sudoriferous glands produce iodine sweat.
Warriors use various sword-like
weapons, including double-blades extending medially and laterally from
a spiked knuckleguard, various spears, pikes, and other bladed or blunt
weapons.
They used translucent containment
sacks to hold captured foes temporarily; the sacks could contain enough
atmosphere to support a captive for a short period of time, at least.
They also sometimes used magical weapons, like Urthona's Wonderwork.
Traits: The Gevaltan warriors serving Urthona
were brutal and savage.
Those warriors, at least, consistently wore helmets and
some degree of body armor.
Other Gevaltans were more reasonable and compassionate, etc.
Type: Bilaterally symmetric semi-humanoid bipeds
Eyes: Two (on head; solid yellow color seen)
Fingers: Three (plus opposing thumb)
Toes: Three (with pronounced bony-looking talons)
Skin color: Blue (dark and light), gray, red, purple, pink, and green colors seen
Average height: Approximately 6' (they originally seemed to be like 10-11' tall; see comments)
Other Distinguishing Features:
They have no external nasal structure.
They have large mouths filled
with sharp teeth.
They have a digitigrade stance, standing on their
metatarsophalangeal joints, like a dog or cast.
Note: Urthona's appearance was significantly different than other Gevaltans', although the Gevaltans in Doctor
Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#57-58 had a much more varied appearance, with
at least somewhat resembling Urthona's appearance from those issues.
It may be that all those seen in Dr. Strange II#79-81 were part of some
warrior caste serving Urthona, while Doctor
Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#57-58 showed other Gevaltans beyond that warrior caste...and/or that those in Dr. Strange II#79-81 had been magically mutated by Urthona.
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History:
(Doctor Strange II#80 (fb) - BTS) - The Gevaltan mystic Urthona's power grew to be great over the ages.
(Doctor Strange II#79 (fb) -
BTS) - Somehow obtaining the soul of the mystic Topaz after it had
escaped the Hell-lord Mephisto's realm, Urthona sensed its
owner's connection to Dr. Strange, whom he considered a wizard of great
power.
(Doctor Strange II#78 - BTS) - Looking into one of Dr. Strange's mirrors in search of her missing soul, Topaz glimpsed Urthona.
(Doctor Strange II#79) - Orc
won a gladiatorial combat contest and was proclaimed champion by the
wizard Urthona, who sent him to Earth to slay Dr. Strange. Ambushing
Strange, Orc soon hurled his weapon, impaling Strange through his
abdomen. Strange used his astral self to grant Morgana power to fight
their attacker, but when Morgana was injured as well, Strange
vengefully summoned the Hell-lord Satannish and sacrificed Orc to him. 
Meanwhile, Urthona contacted
Topaz, telling her to bridge the gap between them and she would become
whole once more. The desperate Topaz made contact with Urthona, who
then transported Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, including all of the
mystic artifacts it contained, as well as its inhabitants, Topaz and
Strange's manservant, Wong.
(Doctor Strange II#80) - As
hydrochloric acid ate at Strange's sanctum's stone, a Gevaltan
assaulted the mansion despite Urthona's warning that great defenses
still lurked within, and he was magically repulsed some distance upon
striking the door.
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However, a number of other Gevaltan warriors then
arrived with Urthona's Wonderwork device, which broke down the door's
defensives and allowed the Gevaltans to shatter the door and gain entry
to the sanctum.
Wong attempted to hold off the Gevaltans to allow Topaz
a chance to flee, but a powerful warrior shrugged off Wong's strike and
dropped him with a single punch.
The Gevaltan air prevented him
from rallying and prevented Topaz from running at any speed, and she
was caught in a translucent sack.
The Gevaltan who had dropped Wong
noted that the air within the sanctum was foul, hard to breathe, but
the one who captured Topaz told him to "Stop your whine and take these
(captives) to the master." 
The first Gevaltan considered that Urthona
would treat them well as they had put ultimate power in his hands.
(Doctor Strange II#80 (fb) -
BTS) - The Gevaltans placed Wong in a translucent containment sack as
well and brought them to a temple/site for Urthona.
(Doctor Strange II#80) - With
Wong and Topaz "nurtured on their putrid gases" (indicating the sacks
contained air from within the sanctum), the Gevaltans prepared them for
Urthona's attention.
When Wong questioned who were they to challenge
the universe's Sorcerer Supreme, Urthona appeared, announcing that he
would be the next Sorcerer Supreme of their dimension.
Urthona further noted
that the mystic resources contained within the sanctum would facilitate
a swift succession. Urthona further related how, lacking the restraint
of using only "white magic," he would soon to their universe into a
dark dimension under his dominion
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(Doctor Strange II#80 - BTS / Doctor Strange II#81 (fb) - BTS)) - After
Strange magically and surgically healed his body, he was joined by
Rintrah, the apprentice of Enitharmon the Weaver, who was returning
Strange's repaired Cloak of Levitation.
(Doctor Strange II#81 - BTS / Doctor Strange II#81 (fb) - BTS))
- Rintrah agreed to serve as the host body for Strange's astral self
while his physical form recovered, and -- to avoid premature detection
by Urthona -- they obtained a Skrull saucer that Reed Richards had
obtained from Kurrgo (see comments) to travel -- presumably via hyperspace or space warp, etc. -- to Urthona's distant galaxy and star system.
(Doctor Strange II#81) - Having
wrought all magic from Strange's sanctum, Urthona detected Strange and
Rintrah's approach. When they reached the upper atmosphere, Urthona
snared their ship in the Talons of Farallah and pulled it to the
surface where his tendrils/pillars/whatever ensnared the Skrull ship.
Urthona's minions scaled these pillars and assaulted the ship, but
Strange blasted them back and then confronted Urthona. The force of
their conflict caused the manganese sands to rise up into mountains in
minutes (instead of the usual centuries) until Urthona caused more
pillars/tendrils to severely injure and seemingly slay Wong.
After a pitched battle, Strange
seemingly destroyed his mystic talismans to deprive Urthona of their
power, but Urthona used the only remaining one, the Darkhold, to
teleport away. Meanwhile, Rintrah (his astral self animating Strange's
healed body) located Topaz's soul and restored it to her body.
(Dr.
Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#7 (fb) - BTS) - Agamotto transported the Orb of Agamotto to his realm, and the other
items -- including the Darkhold, Scrolls and Wand of Watoomb, the
Purple Gem, Book of Eibon, and the Book of the Vishanti -- were
apparently pulled along with the Orb. Agamotto kept them in storage.
BTS - Strange and his allies returned to Earth.
(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#57 (fb) - BTS) - Urthona was exiled from Gevaltu.
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 (Doctor Strange, Sorcerer
Supreme#58 (fb)) - Although more aligned with chaos, Urthona became the
acolyte of Jarakk, an agent of the Vishanti in the War of the Seven
Spheres who was opposing the Trinity of Ashes' agent Pura-Shamutra. As
the two higher-beings' battle was deadlocked, Jarakk considered that
Urthona's aid, he could tip the scale to victory. Urthona advised
Jarakk to travel to the Universe-616 plane (and, specifically to
Gevaltu), where they would have to assume physical form and become
susceptible to Urthona's spells. Acknowledging that such a battle would
destroy his world, Urthona was confident that Pura-Shamutra's Pyx could
be used to restore his world and his people.
(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer
Supreme#57 (fb) - BTS) - Urthona watched from a barren moon as Jarakk
and Pura-Shamutra battled for months, turning Gevaltu into a blistered
radioactive wasteland and virtually eradicating his people and his
civilization
(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer
Supreme#57) - Transporting across light years, Urthona returned to
Gevaltu, where his people decried him, asking if he had come back to
reclaim the dying world that had cast him out. Urthona assured them
that he had come to restore their world to a new glory. As Jarakk
distracted Pura-Shamutra by opening the skies with torrents of fire,
Urthona unleashed Gevaltu's manganese sands, which infiltrated and
crystalized Pura-Shamutra's body. As the powerful mystic died, a
bizarre radiance emanated from Gevaltu, and as Jarakk departed, Urthona
claimed Pura-Shamutra's Pyx.
 (Doctor Strange, Sorcerer
Supreme#57 - BTS) - From Earth, Dr. Strange was incapacitated for three
days as a ripple of psio-mystical charge coruscating from Gevaltu as
its cosmic shockwave flowed across the galaxies and past Earth.
Appreciating that the lingering effects from such a force would soon
unravel the fabric of the universe, Dr. Strange -- despite his powers
being at low ebb due to his having renounced the Vishanti -- traveled...
(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#58 (fb)- BTS) - ...via dimensional rifts...
(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#57) - ...to Gevaltu.
(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer
Supreme#57) - Urthona used Pura-Shamutra's Pyx to restore/resurrect a
number of Gevaltans (possibly all?) and advised them that they would
rebuild Gevaltu and that he would be their king.
(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer
Supreme#58 (fb) - BTS) - A pair of Gevaltans did something that caused
them to be taken into custody and condemned by Urthona for "trying to
raise themselves above <the others> through dishonest means."
(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer
Supreme#58) - Within minutes of Strange's arrival, he was spotted and
assaulted by Urthona's sentries whom he fought off with bolts of
bedevilment.
Meanwhile, over the seeming corpse
of Pura-Shamutra, Urthona condemned his captives in front of other
Gevaltans, threatening to use the Pyx of Pura-Shamutra to take away the
lives he had restored. A pair of his guards interrupted to inform him
of the approaching alien, at which point Dr. Strange arrived and asked
to speak to Urthona on a matter of universal importance. Stating that
he was trying to rebuild a ravaged world, Urthona tried to dismiss
Strange, leading to a mystic conflict between the two, during which
Strange used the Eye of Agamotto to reveal to all present Urthona's
deal with Jarakk.
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 Urthona claimed that Strange
concocted lies to defame him, and when Strange countered that the Eye
could only reveal what it had seen, Urthona defiantly retorted that he
had more than enough might to rule this world by force if necessary.
Forming creatures from the manganese sands, Urthona commanded them to
attack Strange, considering that this demonstration would prevent his
people from daring to betray him.
Ultimately, Strange forced Urthona
to surrender via the spell of Ultimate Entrapment (which he learned
from Urthona's mind and involved using Gevaltu's elements to bind him)
and then dispatched him to a realm far removed from their universe.
Strange subsequently met with the
Gevaltans, telling them Urthona had been exiled for good and noting his
betrayal. One of the Gevaltans assured Strange that he need not fear
any reprisal from them and that they felt only shame that they did not
act to depose him themselves. They agreed that Strange was in the right
to resurrect Pura-Shamutra to correct a cosmic imbalance.
They further
considered that Urthona had brought their people back to life but left
them with a dead planet, and they delivered Pura-Shamutra's Pyx and
sealed the area over Pura-Shamutra (or perhaps Strange did this
mystically), allowing Strange to resurrect the higher being in relative
safety.
The Gevaltans watched from a
distance as the revived Pura-Shamutra departed, after which Strange
departed as well.
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Comments: Created by Peter B. Gillis, Chris Warner, and Randy Emberlin;
race identified as "Gevatlans" by Geof Isherwood and Pat Brosseau (the letterer).
Who are the people of Gevaltu?
In the original stories written by Gillis, we had Urthona's world and Urthona's people. In the Doctor
Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#57, the world Gevaltu was identified.
In #58,
the race was identified as "Gevatlan," which seems like a typo, because
there is not "L" before the T...and so I suspect that they were meant
to be called Gevaltans.
In Urthona's Official Handbook of the Marvel
Universe profile, the race was called Gevaltians.
I don't think the
race was identified anywhere beyond those two times, and so I went with
Gevaltans in this profile.
If the matter is clarified, I will detail
that here.
How big are those people?
In Dr. Strange II#79, Orc was like
half of Urthona's height on Gevaltu, and then Orc looked to be like 11' tall when
he confronted Strange...Urthona looked more like he was 10-11' when
Strange confronted him on Gevaltu.
The Gevaltans who captured Wong and Topaz in Dr. Strange II#79 also appeared to be like 10-12' tall.
And then in Dr. Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#57-58,
Urthona and the Gevaltans were about the same size as the 6'2"-ish Dr.
Strange.
In addition to the size change, Urthona had a
significantly different physical appearance; perhaps he had been
affected by his exile, his handling of the Darkhold, and/or his
alliance with Jarakk.
Kurrgo's ship: Skrull ship or Xantha ship?
While it has long been discussed
as errata that the "Skrull ship" repeatedly used and referenced in
Fantastic Four stories was actually the one used by Kurrgo of the Xantha,
it was clarified in Kurrgo's OHotMU profile that the Xanth had
purchased that ship from the Skrulls.
According to my half-ass internet research, Gevalt means "force" or "violence" in Yiddish.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Gevaltans should be distinguished from:
- other "Gevalt" races, places, characters, groups, items, events; oy!
 
The Wonderwork is a creation of Urthona's, and it looks to be a
technological weapon, although it can neutralize magical shields (and
possibly other magical spells.
(Doctor Strange II#80) - As
hydrochloric acid ate at Strange's sanctum's stone, a Gevaltan
assaulted the mansion despite Urthona's warning that great defenses
still lurked within, and he was magically repulsed some distance upon
striking the door.
However, a number of other Gevaltan warriors then
arrived with Urthona's Wonderwork device, which broke down the door's
defensives and allowed the Gevaltans to shatter the door and gain entry
to the sanctum.
--Doctor Strange II#79
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images: (without ads)
Doctor Strange II#79, pg. 1, panel 4 (Orc's axe weapon, close-up);------------------------------------------------->
pg. 2-3 (Orc winning gladiatorial combat; winged creatures, dark skies);
pg. 4, panel (Orc in size reference to Urthona, plus winged lizard creature (familiar);
pg. 11, panel 1 (Orc size in reference to Strange);
#80, pg. 6, panel 2 (Gevaltan warriors approaching Sanctum);
panel 3 (green warrior assaulting Sanctum);
pg. 7, panel 1 (green warrior repelled by Sanctum);
panel 2-3 (Wonderwork);
panel 6 (Gevaltans breaking into Sanctum);
pg. 8, panel 1-2 (blue warrior vs. Wong);
panel 3 (Topaz in translucent bag);
#81, pg. 10, panel 4 (Gevaltans assaulting Skrull ship);
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#57, pg. 20, panel 3 (Gevaltans resurrected);
#58, pg. 2, panel 2 (Urthona and guards with captives);
pg. 16, panel 3 & 5 (Gevaltans speaking to Strange; faces);
pg. 17, panel 1 (Gevaltans speaking to Strange; upper);
Appearances:
Doctor Strange II#78 (August, 1986) - Peter B. Gillis (writer), Chris
Warner (penciler), Randy Emberlin (inker), Carl Potts (editor)
Doctor Strange II#79 (October, 1986) - Peter B. Gillis
(writer), Chris Warner (penciler), Randy Emberlin (inker), Carl Potts
(editor)
Doctor Strange II#80 (December, 1986) - Peter B. Gillis
(writer), Chris Warner (penciler), Randy Emberlin (inker), Carl Potts
(editor)
Doctor Strange II#81 (February, 1987) - Peter B. Gillis
(writer), Chris Warner (penciler), Randy Emberlin (inker), Carl Potts
(editor)
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#57-58 (September-October, 1993) - Geoff Isherwood (writer & artist), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
First posted: 10/20/2023
Last updated: 10/22/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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