SMALL-FOLKEarth-78411
SMALL-FOLK
Earth-78411
Classification: Alternate
reality
(Earth-78411) terrestrial humanoids
Location/Base of Operations: The Valley of
Flame
Known Members: Kirba, Moon-Boy;
possibly Mark-Boy (see comments)
Affiliations: The Celestials (Devron, Gamiel)
(though they were unaware of the Celestials' existence), Devil
Dinosaur, Moon-Boy
Enemies: The Dino-Riders, Hulk (Bruce Banner
of Earth-616), the Killer-Folk (Rachacha, Seven-Scars,
Tharg, Thok, Thorn-Teeth, others);
formerly Devil
Dinosaur
(or so they assumed)
First Appearance: Devil Dinosaur I#1 (April,
1978)
Powers/Abilities: Each of the Small-Folk was exceedingly bright for the prehistoric age in which they lived in the sense that they were capable of deductive reasoning and grammatically limited speech.
Traits: The Small-Folk were all covered in
thick fur that protected them from the elements. While more intelligent
than most beings of their era, the Small-Folk were very superstitious
and fearful of nightfall and its perceived dangers.
Type: Bilaterally symmetrical humanoid bipeds
Eyes: Two (on head; brown and blue colors seen)
Fingers: Four (plus opposable thumb)
Toes: Five
Skin color: Caucasian
Average height: 5'0"
History:
(Devil Dinosaur I#1 (fb) - BTS) - The Small-Folk were a tribe of
prehistoric humanoids who slept in dark caves, fearful of the dangers
the night brought.
(Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur#1 (fb) - BTS) - The gentle, primitive Small-Folk were often the victims of the brutish Killer-Folk, who held dominion over the Valley of Flame.
(Marvel Pets Handbook#1 - Devil Dinosaur entry -
BTS/X-Men: Earth's Mutant Heroes - Moon-Boy entry - BTS) - A mutant
child exhibiting enhanced intelligence, durability and strength was
born to the Small-Folk tribe.
(Devil Dinosaur Spring Fling#1/4 (fb) - BTS) - The
mutant child was named Moon-Boy after the orb in the night sky.
(Devil Dinosaur I#1 (fb) -
BTS) - While most Small-Folk feared the night, Moon-Boy earned his name
by not being afraid of the night, often going exploring under the cover
of darkness.
(Devil Dinosaur I#3 (fb) - BTS) - Among the
Small-Folk were told tales of spirits and phantoms that possessed
powers not given to flesh and blood beings.
(Devil Dinosaur I#1 (fb) - BTS) - One night while the
rest of the Small-Folk slept in their caves, the young Moon-Boy left to
catch a glimpse of the volcano called the Fire-Mountain. Witnessing a
young tyrannosaurus being attacked by the Killer-Folk who had killed
his family, Moon-Boy cared for the dinosaur after the erupting
Fire-Mountain drove the Killer-Folk away and burned the young
dinosaur's skin to a red hue, soon taking the newly-named Devil
Dinosaur to a cool forest to heal and eat fruit in the manner of the
Small-Folk.
(Devil Dinosaur I#1 (fb)) - Not long after, a cave-in forced Moon-Boy and Devil to flee and Moon-Boy brought Devil back to his Small-Folk tribe in hopes of showing them his wondrous new friend. Unfortunately, the Small-Folk took one look at Devil and fearfully assumed he was some sort of demonic spirit. Panicking, the Small-Folk fled for the trees, worried that Devil Dinosaur would eat them. The Small-Folk did not return to the outcast Moon-Boy, who remained behind with his newly-adopted brother Devil Dinosaur.
(Devil Dinosaur I#8) - While
content to remain with Devil Dinosaur, Moon-Boy sought to find the
Small-Folk and together, Moon-Boy and Devil searched for traces of the
Small-Folk's whereabouts. Soon finding Small-Folk tracks, Moon-Boy and
Devil followed them to a cave where the Small-Folk had fled to live.
While some Small-Folk were happy to see Moon-Boy, others feared that
Moon-Boy might feed them to Devil. At first thinking Moon-Boy had
returned without Devil, they soon learned that Devil was present
outside the cave. Upon hearing this, the Small-Folk ordered Moon-Boy to
leave, proclaiming him a danger like many others that had recently
beset them. Before leaving, Moon-Boy asked what had driven the
Small-Folk into such a cave and was told of the Dino-Riders, who sought
dinosaurs as steeds. Moon-Boy's attempts to assure the Small-Folk that
Devil would protect them from the Dino-Riders was ruined when Devil
began roaring loudly outside. Moon-Boy rushed outside to find Devil
besieged by the Dino-Riders and he soon returned to the caves to seek
the Small-Folk's aid against the Riders. Emerging from the caverns, the
Small-Folk asked why Moon-Boy returned and accused Devil of being a
plague to them. Nonetheless rallied to aid Moon-Boy, the Small-Folk
accompanied him to the captured Devil Dinosaur and attacked the
Dino-Riders. The Dino-Riders retaliated but the quicker Small-Folk
avoided the attacks, leading most of the Dino-Riders to their doom.
While the Small-Folk kept the Dino-Riders busy, Moon-Boy freed Devil
Dinosaur and together, they defeated and killed the Dino-Riders'
leader, Graytooth. Still as feeling as if there was no pack for them
among the Small-Folk, Moon-Boy and Devil Dinosaur then continued on
their way.
(Devil Dinosaur Spring Fling#1 (fb) - BTS) - Years
after Moon-Boy was first banished from the Small-Folk, a Small-Folk
called Mark-Boy, who possibly received glimpses of the future (see
comments), was tasked with
making sure the town's lore was passed down to the younger Small-Folk
in the area.
(Devil Dinosaur Spring Fling#1 - BTS) - Introducing
himself and explaining how many of the Small-Folk's stories involved
Moon-Boy, Mark-Boy revealed the origins of Moon-Boy and his companion,
Devil Dinosaur, suggesting his listeners sit back and enjoy the stories.
(Devil Dinosaur Spring Fling#1/3) - Years later, after a group of young Small-Folk men departed on a journey and did not return, the Small-Folk searched for the banished Moon-Boy in hopes of eliciting his aid in finding the missing Small-Folk. The tribe leader offered to let Moon-Boy return to the tribe and his daughter in marriage if Moon-Boy would aid them and, having long dreamed of returning to the Small-Folk, Moon-Boy gladly agreed to help the Small-Folk. When Moon-Boy remarked that the Small-Folk would become a mighty tribe with Devil Dinosaur to protect them, the stunned leader proclaimed Devil to be a demon that would eat them. Moon-Boy insisted that he and Devil were brothers and he would go nowhere without Devil but the tribe leader responded by saying Devil had no place with the Small-Folk. Moon-Boy then refused to help them so the tribal leader brought forth Moon-Boy's mother Kirba in an attempt to sway Moon-Boy. Devil then returned to Moon-Boy and the tribe leader forced Moon-Boy to choose between his mother and Devil. Recalling all of the times he had faced danger alongside Devil while the Small-Folk had exiled him for bringing Devil into their presence, Moon-Boy ultimately chose to stay with Devil Dinosaur.
(Devil Dinosaur Spring Fling#1/4) - A small group of
Small-Folk found and approached Moon-Boy, finding him a savage and
feverish, almost feral, state. One of the Small-Folk deduced that
Moon-Boy was suffering from Flame-Fever while another suspected
Moon-Boy to be imitating Devil Dinosaur. Another of the Small-Folk
jokingly suggested they run and feigned fear, prompting another to
order the others to stay quiet since Moon-Boy ruled the Valley of
Flame. Unfortunately, the loud noises drew the feverish Moon-Boy's
attention and he charged towards the Small-Folk, who fled back towards
their village.
(X-Men: Earth's Mutant Heroes - Moon-Boy entry - BTS)
- Moon-Boy reunited with the Small-Folk and cemented his status with
them by directing Devil Dinosaur against several of the Small-Folk's
enemies.
(Marvel Monsters: Devil
Dinosaur#1) - A group of Small-Folk cowered on a cliff side as Moon-Boy
and Devil Dinosaur worked to drive the Killer-Folk out of the Valley of
Flame. Driving the Killer-Folk and their leader Seven Scars from the
Valley, Moon-Boy and Devil were praised by the Small-Folk, finally
compensating for their own lack of ferocity by allying with the bestial
Devil Dinosaur and unaware that they were being observed by the young
cosmic Celestials Gamiel and Devron. When Devron gloated that Gamiel
had been wrong in hypothesis that the Killer-Folk were superior on
Earth-78411, Gamiel heard the Killer-Folk's prayers to their deity and
decided to provide the Killer-Folk a champion to rival the Small-Folk's
Devil Dinosaur by plucking the monstrous Hulk from Earth-616. Gamiel
then watched from space as the Killer-Folk forged an alliance with the
Hulk just as the Small-Folk had with Devil Dinosaur.
Later, one of the Small-Folk (possibly Mark-Boy - see comments) told the story of the Small-Folk's early fear of and ultimate alliance with Devil. The story was interrupted by the arrival of the Hulk, who demanded the Small-Folk return the Valley of Flame to the Killer-Folk. A brief battle erupted between the Hulk and Devil Dinosaur but when Moon-Boy tried to protect Devil, explaining how he had saved the Small-Folk from the Killer-Folk's savagery, Hulk relented in his attack. The Celestial Devron then attempted to fix Gamiel's actions by superevolving Devil Dinosaur to better equip him for battle against the Hulk and after both Hulk and Devil Dinosaur were returned to their proper locations by the two Celestials, peace returned to the Valley of Flame and the Small-Folk began passing down stories of Devil's battle with the reality-displaced Hulk.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone (& the Monster Hunters) - Moon-Boy & Devil Dinosaur entry - BTS) - At some point while on Earth-616, Moon-Boy was interviewed by Dr. Thomas Maries, Ph.D, during which Moon-Boy explained his origins in the Small-Folk tribe and the constant threat of the Killer-Folk. He also told Dr. Maries of being exiled by the Small-Folk and the interview was later published in an article by Dr. Maries.
(Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur I#1 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, after many of the Small-Folk had already been sacrificed to the Nightstone artifact (actually a Kree Omni-Wave Projector) by the Killer-Folk, other Small-Folk were captured as intended further sacrifices. Not long after, the Killer-Folk Thorn-Teeth showed his ally Gurf the Nightstone and when they both heard a rustling in the distance, Gurf asked aloud if any of his friends Rachacha, Tharg or Thok had brought the Small-Folk for the sacrifice. Out of the forest soon came Moon-Boy and Devil Dinosaur and as Devil drove off the Killer-Folk, Moon-Boy spotted the Nightstone and noted how many of the Small-Folk had become victims of the Killer-Folk who worshiped the item. Eventually, Rachacha, Tharg and Thok returned and Moon-Boy accidentally activated the Nightstone while trying to keep it from the Killer-Folk and its energies opened a dimensional portal to Earth-616 that seemingly killed the young Small-Folk.
(Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur I#5 - BTS) - After the reality-displaced Killer-Folk formed a protection racket on Earth-616, they hit up a small bodega for their protection money and while there, Rachacha smelled a familiar smell on Adria Lafayette but he was pulled away from Lafayette by Thorn-Teeth, who referred to Lafayette as a Small-Folk.
(Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur I#6 - BTS) - Later,
as Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur battled the Killer-Folk, one of the
Killer-Folk, having adopted some of the modern day Earth-616,
proclaimed that the Killer-Folk were "the bomb" and that Small-Folk
"stink."
Comments: Created by Jack Kirby and Mike Royer.
The Devil Dinosaur Spring Fling#1
begins with a story called "Prologue" in which a Small-Folk named
Mark-Boy (obviously a thinly-veiled nod to the issue's editor & the
"Prologue" story's writer, Mark Paniccia) gives readers the lowdown on
Devil Dinosaur and Moon-Boy's origins. Frankly, while the story is
silly, I see no reason why Mark-Boy couldn't be an actual member of the
Small-Folk. Sure, he's a lot more eloquent than most Small-Folk but it
was established in Devil Dinosaur I#1 that Moon-Boy was more
intelligent than the other Small-Folk so Mark-Boy could be a similar
Small-Folk mutant, one that spoke more eloquently and had visions of
the future (as he mentions sofas not being invented yet). Then again,
Mark-Boy could have just been told stories about Earth-616's present
day from Moon-Boy, who lived there for a time with the Fallen Angels.
Either way, I'm choosing to include the "Prologue" story in the
Small-Folk's history here.
On the note of Mark-Boy, Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur#1 shows one of the Small-Folk telling the story of the Small-Folk's alliance with Devil Dinosaur to other Small-Folk AND the issue was edited by Mark Paniccia...while this particular Small-Folk is not identified by name, it stands to reason that this Small-Folk could be Mark-Boy since Paniccia was editor on the issue just as he was on Devil Dinosaur Spring Fling#1. Then again, it could just be an entirely different Small-Folk. We don't really know for sure but I see no reason to assume it isn't Mark-Boy and I've included a subprofile of Mark-Boy including both issues as appearances.
The Small-Folk tribe is listed as
Moon-Boy's citizenship in his entry in X-Men: Earth's Mutant Heroes but
such a primitive tribe likely didn't have any sort of equivalent to
actual citizenship. Seems more likely that Moon-Boy did not have any
true legal citizenship and the Small-Folk was more his group
affiliation and/or race.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Earth-78411's Small-Folk have no known connections to:
Mark-Boy was a Small-Folk who was intelligent to speak eloquently and he considered himself part of the "editorial folk" of Earth-78411. The Small-Folk eventually tasked Mark-Boy with making sure the Valley of Flame's younger Small-Folk were informed of the Valley's lore. During one such informative session, Mark-Boy remarked on how many Small-Folk stories revolved around Moon-Boy and Devil Dinosaur and he related the duo's origins. As he continued, he suggested the listeners sit back and enjoy the story. After finishing his stories, Mark-Boy decided to get some sleep before another day of storytelling, only to be chased off by Devil Dinosaur. Later, after Moon-Boy and Devil Dinosaur scared off the Killer-Folk from the Valley of Flame, Mark-Boy began telling stories of Devil Dinosaur's actions to the other Small-Folk and sometime later, following a fierce battle between Devil and a reality-displaced Hulk, Mark-Boy told the stories of the Devil/Hulk fight.
Mark-Boy possessed unusually high intelligence for a
member of the Small-Folk tribe and he possibly could glimpse into
future timelines or other realities, as he had knowledge of what a sofa
was and that it was destined to be invented.
Mark-Boy was clearly modeled after
Devil Dinosaur Spring Fling#1 writer & editor, Mark Paniccia.
--Devil Dinosaur Spring Fling#1 (Marvel Monsters:
Devil Dinosaur#1,
images: (without ads)
Devil Dinosaur Spring Fling#1, p22, pan4 (later Small-Folk tribe, main
image)
Devil Dinosaur Spring Fling#1, p30, pan1 (later Small-Folk approaching
Moon-Boy)
Devil Dinosaur I#1, p12, pan3 (Moon-Boy's original tribe of Small-Folk,
fleeing at the sight of Devil Dinosaur)
Devil Dinosaur I#8, p3, pan5 (full Small-Folk tribe)
Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur#1, p9, pan3 (Small-Folk being taught
stories by paintings)
Devil Dinosaur Spring Fling#1, p36, pan6 (Mark-Boy)
Appearances:
Devil Dinosaur I#1 (April, 1978) - Jack Kirby (writer, pencils,
editor), Mike Royer (inks, letters)
Devil Dinosaur I#3 (June, 1978) - Jack Kirby (writer, pencils, editor),
Mike Royer (inks)
Devil Dinosaur I#8 (November, 1978) - Jack Kirby (writer, pencils,
editor), Mike Royer (inks, letters)
Devil Dinosaur Spring Fling#1 (June, 1997) - "Prologue" story - Mark
Paniccia (writer, editor), Don Hillsman (art); "Thicker Than Blood"
story - Bill Rosemann (writer), Jeff Rebner (pencils), Mark Irwin
(inks), Mark Paniccia (editor); "Bad Moon Rising" story - Charles
Marshall (writer), Arnold Pander (art), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur#1 (December, 2005) - Tom Sniegoski
(writer), Eric Powell (writer, pencils), Mark Farmer (inks), Mark
Paniccia (editor)
Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone (& the
Monster Hunters) (2005) - Michael Hoskin (head
writer, coordinator), Madison
Carter, Jeff Christiansen, Sean McQuaid, Stuart Vandal, Eric Moreels,
Ronald Byrd, Barry Reese (writers), Jack Kirby (Moon-Boy & Devil
Dinosaur entry art), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
Marvel Pets Handbook#1 (2009) - Michael Hoskin (head
writer, coordinator), Madison Carter, Sean McQuaid, Stuart Vandal,
Gabriel Shechter, David Wiltfong, Ronald Byrd, Eric J. Moreels, Jacob
Rougemont, Markus Raymond, Jeff Christiansen, Mark O'English, Mike
O'Sullivan, Chris Biggs, Rob London (writers), Jack Kirby (Devil
Dinosaur entry art), Mike Fichera, Jason Lewis, Gally Articola,
Courtney Via (art refurbishment), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
X-Men: Earth's Mutant Heroes (July, 2011) - Jeff Christiansen, Mike
O'Sullivan (head writers, coordinators), Mike Fichera (writer,
assistant coordinator, art refurbishment), Stuart Vandal, Markus
Raymond (writers, assistant coordinators), Sean McQuaid, Madison
Carter, Rob London, Michael Hoskin, Kevin Garcia, Patrick Ryall, Ronald
Byrd, Chris Biggs, Jeph York, Matt Forbeck (writers), Gus Vazquez, Tom
Chu (select character art), Keith Pollard (Moon-Boy entry art), Gally
Articola (art refurbishment), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur I#1 (January, 2016) - Brandon Montclare,
Amy Reeder (writers), Natacha Bustos (art), Mark Paniccia, Emily Shaw
(editors)
Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur I#5 (May, 2016) - Brandon Montclare, Amy
Reeder (writers), Natacha Bustos (art), Mark Paniccia, Emily Shaw
(editors)
Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur I#6 (June, 2016) - Brandon Montclare,
Amy Reeder (writers), Natacha Bustos (art), Mark Paniccia, Emily Shaw
(editors)
First Posted: 09/02/2026
Last updated: 10/27/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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