NIGHT BEAST
Real Name: Inapplicable
Identity/Class: Unknown (see comments) (1950s era)
Occupation: Predator
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Karl, Greg Knight, Lorna, Walt
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "A destroyer of mankind" (as called by Greg Knight)
Base of Operations: Mobile in the jungles of Africa; temporarily mobile in an unidentified American city (possibly New York)
First Appearance: Lorna, the Jungle Girl#26/5 (August, 1957)
Powers/Abilities: An odd hybrid creature, the Night Beast had the body of a gorilla, and the head and tail of a lion. It had great strength and agility, and remarkable leaping and climbing abilities. A nocturnal creature, the Night Beast shunned all sources of light, and it was rendered helpless when a spotlight was shone upon it.
Height: 7' (by
approximation)
Weight: 800 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Green
Hair: Black and tawny-brown
History: (Lorna, the Jungle Girl#26/5 (fb) - BTS) - The origin of the Night Beast is unknown, but it made its domain in the jungles of Africa, where the creature was declared illegal to hunt. Karl attempted to capture the beast, but he had a run-in with the jungle girl Lorna, who prevented him from doing so, and Karl fled (see comments). But Karl eventually returned to the jungle, captured the creature, and locked it in a metal box. After learning that Lorna was planning a trip to visit an American city, Karl transported the imprisoned Night Beast to America, where he rented a room in a run-down hotel in the city and plotted his revenge.
(Lorna, the Jungle Girl#26/5) - One day, Lorna and her friend Greg Knight were walking through the city. Karl spied upon them from above and broke a hanging sign loose, nearly hitting the two as they walked down the sidewalk. Lorna jumped up to a fire-escape and tracked Karl to his second-story hotel room. Just as Lorna got to the window, Karl released the Night Beast from its cage, despite his comrade Walt's warnings that the creature would kill people, but Karl was only interested in the creature getting Lorna first. The Night Beast was about to lunge at Lorna just as Greg came jumping in the window and kicked the creature in its head. Startled, the Night Beast leaped out the window to an adjoining building's rooftop and ran off. Karl held Lorna, Greg, and Walt at gunpoint, and fearing that the creature would return, he locked them in the hotel room and made his getaway. A few minutes later, the police arrived, and after freeing the three, they took Walt into custody. Lorna told the police officers that there was no use searching for the creature, for it hid in the daytime; but at sundown the Night Beast would come out to stalk and kill, and she knew it would instinctively go after Karl, the man who captured it, no matter where he might be hiding. The police made preparations for the coming darkness and stationed spotlights on every street-corner in the vicinity.
(Lorna, the Jungle Girl#26/5 - BTS) - Under unknown circumstances, the Night Beast found Karl and rendered him unconscious.
(Lorna, the Jungle Girl#26/5) - That evening, Lorna and Greg joined with the police on stake-out, in search of the Night Beast. Suddenly, they spotted the creature on a rooftop, holding the unconscious Karl in its arm. Swinging from an overhead telephone line, Lorna landed on the roof just as the Night Beast leaped to the top of an adjoining building. Still holding Karl, the creature began to climb a rooftop antenna tower--Greg attempted to shoot the Night Beast with his rifle, but didn't take the shot for fear of hitting Karl. After ascending to the top of the tower, the Night Beast released Karl and dropped him to the street below, but Lorna jumped up and managed to catch him in mid-air, saving the unconscious Karl from certain death. Then Lorna called for the police to train their spotlights on the Night Beast at the top of the tower--thinking it was daytime, the creature was rendered powerless, making it easy to capture.
Later, a police officer assured Lorna and Greg that they would return the Night Beast to the jungle, because that's where it belonged--after their harrowing adventure in the big city, Greg and Lorna agreed that's where they belonged, as well.
Comments: Created by Don Rico (writer) and Jay Scott Pike (artist)
Unfortunately, these are the best images of the Night Beast from this 5-page story, so you'll have to rely on your imagination to fill in the details.
Lorna and Karl spoke to each other about their previous
encounter, but there was no Editor's Note referring to what issue in which
that story took place, so I'm assuming it's just an "Untold Tale" and
never actually appeared--if I'm mistaken, please feel free to correct
me. It's unknown what part (if any) Walt may have played in the
capture of the Night Beast.
Although the Night Beast was described as being "part
ape, part lion, and all demon," it did not display any
supernatural powers, and "demon" may just have been used to describe its
ferocity, so it might not necessarily have occult origins.
Lorna previously encountered another weird
hybrid creature--so what were these freakish monstrosities?
Deviant mutates? The works of Arnim Zola? The experiments of
some descendant of Victor Frankenstein? Your guess is as good as
mine.
Probably the most significant thing about this tale is that it was the
last story in the final issue of the Lorna series, and to my knowledge,
she hasn't been seen or heard from since.
Profile by Ron Fredricks.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Night Beast has no known connections to:
Karl has no known connections to:
Walt has no known connections to:
Karl attempted to capture the Night Beast (which was declared illegal to hunt) in the jungles of Africa, but he was prevented from doing so by the jungle girl Lorna. Karl eventually caught the hybrid creature, and he had it transported to America in an elaborate scheme to get revenge on Lorna, for he learned the jungle girl and Greg Knight would be taking a trip there. Karl first dropped a hanging sign from the side of a building and nearly hit Lorna and Greg as they walked on the sidewalk, then lured the two back to his hotel room, where he released the Night Beast, despite the warnings of his associate Walt. The creature leaped out the window, and Karl locked Lorna, Greg, and Walt in the hotel room in case the Night Beast returned, then he made his getaway. The police eventually arrived to release the three, and Walt was taken into custody.
But the Night Beast eventually found Karl and rendered him unconscious. The creature carried Karl up to the city rooftops, where it eventually climbed an antenna tower and dropped Karl to the street below. But Karl was saved by Lorna, who caught him in midair, and he was presumably taken into police custody.
--Lorna, the Jungle Girl#26/5
images: (without ads)
Lorna, the Jungle Girl#26/5 p2 pan6 (Main Image, Night
Beast attacking Lorna)
Lorna, the Jungle Girl#26/5 p3 pan1 (Night Beast kicked
by Greg Knight, Lorna in foreground)
Lorna, the Jungle Girl#26/5 p4 pan2 (Night Beast
(illuminated by spotlight) holding Karl, atop a building)
Lorna, the Jungle Girl#26/5 p5 pan1 (Night Beast
(illuminated by spotlight) holding Karl, climbing antenna tower)
Lorna, the Jungle Girl#26/5 p3 pan3 (Karl pointing
handgun)
Lorna, the Jungle Girl#26/5 p2 pan4 (Karl releasing Night
Beast from its cage, Walt pleading with him not to do so, as Lorna looks
on)
Appearances:
Lorna, the Jungle Girl#26/5 (August, 1957) - Don Rico (writer), Jay Scott Pike
(artist)
Last updated: 11/18/15
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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