KARNAK
Earth-8101
Real Name: Karnak
Identity/Class: Alternate Earth (Earth-8101) sub-species of the simian race (Insimians)
Occupation: Adventurer
Group Membership: Insimians (Black Bolt/Blackagar Boltagon, Crystal/Crystalia Amaquelin, Gorgon/Gorgon Petragon, Medusa/Medusalith Amaquelin, Triton)
Affiliations: None
Enemies: None
Known Relatives: Triton (brother), Blackagar Boltagon (Black Bolt, cousin), Crystalia Amaquelin (Crystal, cousin), Medusalith Amaquelin (Medusa, cousin)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: presumably Attilan
First Appearance: Marvel Apes I#3/4 (December, 2008)
Powers/Abilities: Karnak possesses no super powered abilities, but has been trained to perceive the weakness in any object, structure, or opponent. Combined with his intense martial arts training, this insight allows him to exploit flaws with precise and highly effective strikes.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'5")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 150 lbs.)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Unrevealed
History:
(Marvel Apes I#3/4 (fb) - BTS) - Karnak is a member of the Insimian Royal Family and serves as one of Attilan's most disciplined and analytical defenders. Trained from in philosophy and martial arts, he acts as a strategist and advisor, often applying calm logic to threats facing the Insimians.
(Marvel Apes I#3/4) - Karnak and the Insimian Royal Family leaped towards adventure.
Comments: Created by either Karl Kesel or Tom Peyer.
The Insimians first appeared in Marvel Apes I#3/4 (December, 2008) as a one panel teaser for the sense shattering and never to be published pages of Amazing Ape-Ventures where the most sensational swinger of them all, the Black Widorangutan would be featured alongside the Insimians. A fun nod to their original book Amazing Adventures from the 1970's where they shared a series for eight issues.
The Marvel Apes limited series (2008) was conceived as a playful companion to the earlier Marvel Zombies phenomenon. Following the unexpected commercial success of Zombies, Marvel looked to replicate the formula by reimagining its superheroes in another offbeat, high-concept alternate reality. Writer Karl Kesel, inspired by Silver Age whimsy and the classic "What If?" tradition, pitched a world where Marvel's heroes and villains were evolved primates rather than humans. The project was greenlit as a four-issue miniseries, launching with a tongue-in-cheek promotional campaign that leaned into its absurdity while still delivering a surprisingly dark, satirical storyline. The series spawned several tie-ins and one-shots, positioning the Ape-Verse as both a parody of and homage to Marvel's multiverse storytelling.
Earth-8101 is the main Marvel Apes reality, but there are three others as well:
- Earth-81218, possible future of Earth-8101 set in the year 2099.
- Earth-90543, monkey Speedball was send back to his world and branded a traitor by the Ape-Vengers. This was a bad dream of the Gibbon.
- Earth-95019, diverged from Earth-8101 when zombies invaded their world. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update #5 indicates that the timelines designated Earth-95019 and Earth-21050 were seemingly erased when Earth-616's Gorilla Girl went back to the moment the portal was opened and destroyed it.
Profile by MarvellousLuke
CLARIFICATIONS:
Karnak has no known connections to
Images: (without ads)
Marvel Apes I#3, p33, pan2 (main image)
Appearances:
Marvel Apes I#3/4 (December, 2008) - Karl Keser or Tom Peyer (presumed writer), Mike McKone (pencils), Andy Lanning, Cam Smith (inkers)
First Posted: 1/14/2026
Last Updated: 1/14/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
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