Drommach race (Hyborian era; Red Sonja and the Favored foes)

drommach_race-hyborian-withface DROMMACH
(The first two images picture both the dark-pelted Drommach and the human Favored; it's pretty clear who is whom when you compare them)

Classification: Semi-humanoid terrestrial race ("Hidden race");
Hyborian era

Location/Base of Operations: Unidentified caverns within a mountain in Hyrkania (in a region south of where Sonja grew up), Hyborian era

Known Members: None identified

Population: Unrevealed (presumably a hundred or more, all apparently extinct)

Affiliations: An ape god (possibly an aspect of the Red Goddess (presumably Scathach)

Enemies: The Favored (notably Tamil, Zora), Red Sonja

First Appearance: Marvel Super Special#9/2 (1978)

Powers/Abilities: The Drommach are flesh-eating, apish man-beasts covered in dark hair.

They are presumably strong, likely stronger than human (enhanced human).

At least some wore boots, armored wrist guards, metal helmets, and wielded daggers, war hammers, and shields.

They presumably speak their own language, but they did utter "inhuman war cries" in battle.

They apparently bred rapidly, but whether that means that they had short gestation periods (pregnancies) and/or had multiple offspring with each birth and/or they just bred as often as possible is unrevealed.

Traits: The Drommach warred against the Favored.

Nothing else is known about their culture.

Type: Bilaterally symmetric simian-humanoid bipeds
Eyes: Two (on head; solid orange color seen)
Fingers: Four (plus opposing thumb)
Toes: Unrevealed
Skin color: "Pink" (comparable to Caucasian humanity), at least
Average height: Approximately 5'10"?
Distinguishing features: Simian humanoids, they were covered in a dark pelt

History:

(Marvel Super Special#9/2 (fb) - BTS) - The flesh-eating man-beasts known as the Drommach dwelled in the caves that honeycombed the Hyrkanian mountains containing the city of the Favored, a swarthy, red-haired, strong race who worshipped and believed themselves to have been created by the Red Goddess.

The Favored believed the Red Goddess had given them their strength and skill with weapons for the sole purpose of slaying the Drommach.

Unbeknownst to the Favored, their statue of the Red Goddess was connected to a monstrous, apish figure on the other side of the cavern that was worshipped by the Drommach.

(Marvel Super Special#9/2 (fb) - BTS) <According to the Favored> - The Drommach bred like vermin and would have spread beyond their location and across the world if not for the Favored's unending battle with them. drommach_race-hyborian-vssonja

(Marvel Super Special#9/2 (fb) - BTS) <According to the Favored> - In "the early days," the Red Goddess foretold that in the days of the Favored's doom, a pale destroyer would arise from within and lead them to final death and everlasting glory.

(Marvel Super Special#9/2 (fb) - BTS) <According to the Favored> - Red Sonja or someone else was born to the Favored, but her mother concealed the secret of skin dyes for more than a year. In time, however, the Favored discovered the deceit. The girl's parents were slain, and the girl was left for the Drommach to devour

(Marvel Super Special#9/2 - BTS) - Having returned to her homeland, Red Sonja entered caves where she heard the sound of shuffling behind her. drommach_race-hyborian-vszora

After Sonja entered the city of the Favored Ones, she was believed to be "pale destroyer" and -- taken by surprise by their each having strength matching her own -- was captured and placed into a dungeon.

Zora met with Sonja and discussed the history of the Favored, the Drommach and the pale destroyer.

(Marvel Super Special#9/2 - BTS) - The next day, Zora freed Sonja as the Favored Ones prepared to execute her, but any further conflict was interrupted as the Drommach assaulted the Favored Ones' base, pouring, thick as locusts, from the cave-mouths, their inhuman war-cries rending the air. The Favored abandoned Sonja and rushed to meet their age-old enemy.

Despite having been condemned by them as well Zora, rushed to join her people, inviting Sonja to join her as well.

Sonja was instead transfixed by the idol of the Red Goddess, who spoke to her, stating that she had caused the death of Sonja's family and her rape in order to make her the woman she was that day.

Sonja furiously destroyed the idol, which fell down, revealing that it has been connected to an apish statue in the Drommach temple on the other side of the wall.

After both temple chambers collapsed, Sonja headed to join the fight against the Drommach, at least partially because the battle blocked the only path out of the caverns.

(Marvel Super Special#9/2) - Like a sea of dark-pelted creatures, the Drommach threatened to overwhelm the relative island of the Favored, who nonetheless fought with berserker desperation.

Leaping headlong into the Drommachs' midst, Sonja's sword carved a swath of gore and guts in splattering arcs.

As Sonja urged the Favored to fight, at least one of them proclaimed that they were saved by the arrival of the Pale Destroyer.

Denying that she was their savior, Sonja saved Zora from an attacking Drommach, noting that if she had to slay every last Drommach to escape the Favored's city, she would do so.

The Favored died by the dozens, and every step she and Zora took forward was over a score of writhing Drommach bodies. Ultimately, only Sonja and Zora survived the fight, although the latter was wounded.

(Marvel Super Special#9/2 - BTS) - Sonja helped Zora out of the caverns, the mountainside collapsed over the former city of the Favored.

Comments: Created by Roy Thomas, Christy Marx and Howard Chaykin.

The Drommach were not clearly pictured. This is the best we've got.

The origins of the Drommach are unrevealed. Are they magically-transformed humans, a branch of the Inhumans, descended from some ape god or something else completely different? Who knows. Check out the Clarifications.

There's no reason that some of the Drommach (and/or the Favored) could not have been outside of the mountain at the time of this story, and they could later encounter Red Sonja.

This profile was completed 09/14/2024, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25^th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Drommach have no KNOWN connection to:

DROMEK of the Hyborian era - monstrous man-eating creature bred by Morophola to mate with the few human females remaining in their herd, slain by Conan--Conan the Barbarian I#43
APE LORDS of Pre-Cataclysmic and Hyborian Eras (Anaxor, Thasaidon, Xeethra, "Zekkir") - servants of Rotath--"Curse of the Golden Skull"; Conan the Barbarian I#37
ape-thing of the Hyborian era - former emissary to Natohk/Thugra Khotan--Black Colossus, Savage Sword of Conan#2
COLD PEOPLE (Ternak) - abominable snow men, acquired technology from Tibetan monk (Master) @ 500 years ago, transformed into human form - CHOSEN, SNOW CREATURES--Fantastic Four I#145
"gorilla god" of the Hyborian era - Aquilonian(?), agent of Zogar Sag, guarded heads of men slain by Sag until killed by Conan--"Beyond the Black River," Weird Tales#35; Savage Sword of Conan#26 (26d)
gorilla god - worshipped by the Man-Ape and the Jabari tribe - connection to Gullah?; named Ngi in Agents of Atlas story; called Hanuman in --Black Panther IV#18
HANUMAN - monkey god, worshipped in Hyborian era, by Zuagir and Zamboula, deification of the gray, carnivorous man-apes found in hills of Vilayet. Based on a monkey god (incarnation of Shiva?) of Hindu mythology--Conan the Wanderer; Savage Sword of Conan#14(statue)
YETI - see COLD PEOPLE--Fantastic Four I#145
YETI - --Silver Surfer I#1
YETI - see GUARDIAN of the GATEWAY--Black Panther I#5
YETI - tribe of descendents of Cro-Magnon men, lived in Himalayas, discovered and led by Hiram Swenson--Man-Thing II#2
YETI (Migou) - race discovered by Shang-Chi --Master of Kung-Fu I#124
YETI - Lunatic Legion associate--Spider-Man Drakes Cakes mini-comics series II#1
YETRIGAR - immense semi-humanoid hominid, preserved in ice below Alberta, Canada, awakened by underground nuclear testing, grew to immense size from radiation, encountered and battled Godzilla and Red Ronin, buried under landslide in grand canyon, unearthed by Mockingbird to distract Avengers, defeated, sent to Vault--Godzilla#10
ABOMINABLE SNOW MAN/BIGFOOT - see Susquatch--Hulk Comic (UK)#12/1
SASQUATCH race (Sasquatch ) - race of giant, hairy humanoids living in Canada--Alpha Flight II#1
likely the same as the ones in Generation X#58?
sasquatch race of Earth-93060 - Ultraverse--Firearm I#8
SASQUATCHES/FOREST PEOPLE (abominable snowmen, skunk apes, bigfoots, yetis, swamp apes, wendigos, wood boogers, boggy swamp monsters, hill monkeys, forest devils, cave yellers, hollering things, timber giants, wild men of the woods) - gathered yearly in Hidden City of the Sasquatches--Incredible Hulk IV#11

apish (and Red Goddess) idol

drommach_race-hyborian-redgoddessidol Within the mountain inhabited by both the Drommach and the Favored Ones, the Drommach had a temple that contained an idol with an "apish face," presumably the god of the Drommach.

Unbeknownst to the Favored (and presumably the Drommach as well), the statue was connected through a wall to the idol of the Red Goddess in the Favored's temple.

The statues looked to be per perhaps 20-22' tall.

(Marvel Super Special#9/2) - Captured by the Favored Ones and condemned to death, Red Sonja was brought into their temple, where she exclaimed how their Red Goddess goddess idol was the same being who had appeared to her once in a vision (from which Sonja gained her strength).

To test the veracity of this claim, Tamil, the leader of the Favored, spoke to the Red Goddess, sacrificing some creature (perhaps a goat or a pig) and asked, "If yon pale wench be thy servant -- then speak and tell us so." When the idol remained silent, Tamil considered Sonja to stand condemned, and she instructed her people to strike off her head.

Ultimately, before the Favored could strike down Sonja, the Drommach invaded their caverns, and the Favored rushed off to fight them.

Sonja was instead transfixed by the idol of the Red Goddess, who spoke to her, stating that she had caused the death of Sonja's family and her rape in order to make her the woman she was that day.

Sonja furiously destroyed the idol, which fell down, revealing that it has been connected to an apish statue in the Drommach temple on the other side of the wall.

After both temple chambers collapsed, Sonja headed to join the fight against the Drommach, at least partially because the battle blocked the only path out of the caverns.

Note: Does this mean that the ape god worshipped by the Drommach was an aspect of the Red Goddess worshipped by the Favored Ones? It would seem to be the case.

Also, is this Red Goddess definitely the same as Scathach? It would seem to be the case.

Hmm...I guess I need to do a full profile on Scathach, the Red Goddess...and, I will...eventually...

images: (without ads)
Marvel Super Special#9/2, pg. 10, panel 4-5 (Red Goddess idol, full and profile);
       pg. 11, panel 5 (apish idol);
       pg. 12, panel 5 (engaging Favored; one with helmet);
       pg. 13, panel 2 (engaging Favored; best face);
          panel 3 (vs. Sonja);
          panel 4 (vs. Zora);

Appearances:
Marvel Super Special#9/2 "The Day of Red Judgment" (1978) - Roy Thomas and Christy Marx (script), Howard Chaykin (art), Jim Shooter & Rick Marschall (consulting editors), Roy Thomas (editor)

First posted: 09/18/2026
Last updated: 09/14/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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