DRAGON-MENof Ligra
DRAGON-MEN
of Ligra
Classification: Reptilian semi-humanoid biped extraterrestrial race
Location/Base of Operations: Planet Ligra, Mandahl system, Milky Way galaxy
Known Members: Dragoon, Jago (king), Zoor; unidentified soldiers, including their eagle-riders
Affiliations: Giant eagles (including the war-eagle), at least one giant octopus;
Professor Zog was coerced into serving them by making Electro fight alongside their forces
Enemies: "Boss" Sarpo and his gang, Electro, Lion-People (soldiers, including their eagle-riders) and their oryx-beasts, Queen Nara (Nara Gale), Professor Philo Zog
First Appearance: Marvel Mystery Comics#8 (June, 1940)
Powers/Abilities: The Dragon-Men are superhumanly strong (enhanced human). They are covered in scutes, chitinous external plates that presumably grant them an unspecified degree of superhuman durability.
They have pair of sharp, fanged teeth originating from their maxilla (upper jaw) and protruding from the edges/sides of their mouth.
Their fingers and toes end in sharp, keratinaceous claws/talons.
They powerful, semi-prehensile tails reaching lengths of up to 4 feet (see comments).
As reptilians, the Dragon-Men may
or may not be poikilotherms ("cold-blooded," meaning their metabolism
changes directly with the ambient temperature, becoming sluggish or
dormant in colder weather and more active in warmer weather).
Technology: They have developed advanced technological weaponry, such as powerful bombs capable shatter thick castle masonry (presumably solid rock material); and "death-ray" rifles.
They have also have developed
high-powered telescopes, high-speed automobile-like land transports,
and at least one rocket-ship capable of interstellar travel.
Despite this advanced technology, the ruler, at least, dwells in a medieval-style castle.
Type: Bilaterally symmetric semi-humanoid reptilian bipeds
Eyes: Two (on head; green irides with no visible sclera seen; see comments)
Fingers: Three (plus opposing thumb)
Toes: Three anterior (forward-facing toes) with a spiked extension from the back of the foot (see comments)
Skin color: Yellow and green, at least (see comments)
Average height: 6'
Average weight: 350 lbs.
Other distinguishing features: The Dragon-Men either
did not demonstrate sexual dimorphism (although that is not consistently a reptilian trait), or perhaps only
males were seen, or perhaps they reproduced asexually.
Regardless, the forms shown had proportions more
common to human males, and they had no other...features...visible to
distinguish them as male or female.
They demonstrated red, yellow, or white spectacle-like coloring around their eyes (see comments).
Their backs and upper legs have a
reticulated pattern, sometimes shown as darker green patterns over a
light green base matching the rest of their skin color, and other times
shown as brown patterns over a yellow base, also matching the rest of
their skin color (see comments).
Traits: The Dragon-Men are ferocious and warlike.
History:
(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6 (fb)
- BTS) - Dwelling on the planet Ligra, the Dragon-Men existed as a kingdom within the domain of the Lion-People.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6 (fb)
- BTS) - When human scientist Sir Ronald Gale flew his wife and their
infant daughter, Nara, to planet Ligra in his stratosphere-plane, the
ferocious Dragon-Men slew Sir Ronald and his wife.
Nara was rescued and raised by the peaceful Lion-People, eventually becoming their queen.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6 (fb)
- BTS) - The Dragon-Men sought to overthrow Queen Nara and the Lion-People.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6)) <1937> - Via his telescope, Jago, king of the Dragon-Men, observed as the terrestrial robot Electro went on a rampage after criminal "Boss" Sarpo took control of Electro's creator, Philo Zog.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6) -
Impressed by Electro's power, Jago instructed his soldiers to bring
back the "wonder-robot" and it's master so they could use them to
overthrow the Lion-People and become supreme rulers of Ligra.
Via rocket-ship, at least four Dragon-Men traveled to Earth.
Arriving on Earth, the Dragon-Men
landed within a few feet of Boss Sarpo's hideout. As Electro returned
with stolen goods, at least four Dragon-Men tackled and occupied the
robot.
The remaining Dragon-Men rushed
into the building, ambushed and overpowered Sarpo's men, and ordered
Zog to turn off his machines or be killed. Zog complied, rendering
Electro powerless, at which point the Dragon-Men carried Electro and
led Zog to their rocket and departed Earth.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) - After the Dragon-Men's ship returned to Ligra, Zog was led through a castle gate and brought before Jago.
Zog initially refused to aid Jago in becoming Ligra's dictator, but Jago sent him to the
torture chamber, and Zog finally relented.
Jago then sent a messenger to the palace of Queen Nara, delivering a letter stating his intentions and
warning her to surrender her crown or he would declare war.
Nara refused and had the armies of Ligra summoned to the palace.
Learning of Nara's decision, Jago
sent his warriors to attack the Lion-People, and an army of foot
soldiers -- aided by eagle-riders and Electro -- soon assaulted Nara's
palace, their bombs destroying its walls, and their death-rays killing
hundreds.
As the Lion-Men fought back with their Q-Rays guns, one of Jago's guards
commanded Zog at knife-point to send Electro into action.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 - BTS) - Unaffected by the Q-Rays, Electro attacked the Lion-Men soldiers, devastating their ranks.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) -
Their path cleared by Electro, Jago and his powerful bodyguard, Zoor,
rushed into Queen Nara's chambers, and Jago grabbed Nara, warning her
that she would regret her actions.
One of Nara's faithful Lion-Men (possibly Gor) rushed to her aid and ordered Jago to stop, but Zoor swiftly flattened the Lion-Man.
Taking Nara hostage to protect himself, Jago carried her to his monstrous war-eagle, which flew him back to his castle; Jago then cast Nara into the dungeon.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 (fb) - BTS) -
Aided by Electro, the Dragon-Men defeated the Lion-People. 
Searching the castle, however, the Dragon-Men were unable to find the royal jewels and treasures.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) - After
a messenger reported their victory, Jago's excitement turned to rage
when he learned the royal treasures had not been recovered.
When Nara refused to tell him anything, Jago released a giant
octopus to force her compliance.
While the Dragon-Men watched the octopus slither
toward Nara, Professor Zog cast a light bulb into the hall. Drawn
by the sound of its shattering, Zog's guards rushed into
the hall, and Zog locked the vault door behind them.
Free to act, Zog
directed Electro to attack the Dragon-Men, and Electro uprooted a tree
and used it to destroy scores of Dragon-Men.
Zog then ordered Eectro to rescue Nara; smashing into the dungeon, Electro ultimately apparently slew the octopus.
When Jago and his guards attempted to flee in some craft (possibly the same ship used to travel to and from Earth), they were swiftly overtaken by Electro, who cast their craft into the water, apparently killing them.
(Marvel Zombies Destroy! #1
(fb) - BTS) - In recent years, learning that the Nazi zombies of Earth-12591 had neared
completion of a cross-dimensional battleship (Valhalla's hammer) with
which they planned to invade and infest/infect/conquer Earth-616, A.R.M.O.R. (Alternate Reality Monitoring and Operational Response)
gathered a number of agents to destroy the battleship and thwart the
Nazi zombies' plot: Battlestar and/or Howard the Duck apparently
gathered Dragoon.
(Marvel Zombies Destroy!
#1-4) - Alongside the rest of the Ducky Dozen, Dragoon traveled to
Earth-12591 and engaged the zombies. Ultimately, she(?) was bitten by
that reality's zombie Skurge the Executioner and then decapitated by
Battlestar after turning into a zombie.
Comments: Created by Steve Dahlman.
The eyes have it?
In
their handbook profile, the Dragon-Men's eyes are called "black." I
don't own the original issues, so I'm working from Marvel Masterworks.
The
Dragon-Men all have circles around (or over?) their eyes. These might
be somesort of eyewear, functional (to protect them from sunlight or to
enhance otherwise poor vision) or ornamental, but I think they were
just patterns on their skin.
In the Marvel Mystery Handbook, these were described
as "distinctive spectacle-like coloring around their eyes."
In Marvel
Mystery Comics#8/6, on Jago, these circles were yellow, while the
Dragon-Men who traveled to Earth had white circles. Little color detail
could be seen beyond through these circles (as everything within the
circles had the same color), but they had a central pupil, and
no obvious division between what would be iris and sclera.
In Marvel
Mystery Comics#9/5, all of the Dragon-Men, Jago included, have red
circles around their eyes; these seem more clearly to be skin pattern
coloring as opposed to any sort of eyewear.
Further, in a few panels in MMC#9/5, Jago's eyes are seen closely
enough to tell that he has green irides surrounding his black pupils
(although the irides are at least once shown as white). None of the
other Dragon-Men are shown closely enough to evaluate the color of
their irides.
The color differences may just be artistic license.
Or,
maybe the circles were ornamental/symbolic, and they were painted on,
with different colors signifying different things...status, rank,
purpose (work vs. war vs. celebration, etc.)?
More than one way to skin a Dragon-Man
In
Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6, Jago and the other Dragon-Men seen (those
sent to Earth) all had skin that was different shades of green only
(not counting the circles around their eyes, as discussed above).
Solid light green faces and chest and abdomen
Stripes on their arms and lower legs (below the knees) that seemed to
have some texture, as if each row reprinted a circumferential scute or
scale; all the same shade of green as the face and chest
Reticulated pattern on the back, upper legs (knees up), and tail with
darker patterns over the lighter tone that matched the face, chest and
other portions of the limbs
They did not seem to be wearing clothing beyond their capes and Jago's hat-deal
In Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5, Jago and the other Dragon-Men were much more ornately colored
Solid yellow faces and hands
Solid green chests and upper abdomen
Red feet
Green and yellow stripes on their arms (except Zoor's) and lower legs
Reticulated pattern on the chest and lower abdomen (in #8/6, the
division was at the waist; in #9/5, the division was almost the whole
way to the ribs). The pattern is brown regions on the yellow background
(like a giraffe).
They very much seemed to be wearing clothing. Jago wore a robe in is
throne room (possibly just his cape wrapped around him), but may or may
not be wearing anything else the rest of the issue. There are wrinkles
on the upper chest that seem like clothing.
When Jago is grabbing Nara (and therafter), it looks like he is wearing a dickey.
Jago apparently liked to remove and replace his head gear/crown/whatever between panels.
And why is the virtually colorblind profile writer spending so much time on color...? The answer is a combination of ADD and OCD...
Toe-tally
The Dragon-Men seem to have feet like a bird, where there are three toes forward and one back.
In Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6,
these looked much more like flexible digits...some images showing just
two forward-facing digits (and another with three forward-facing) and
another backward (posterior-facing) or medially (toward the middle,
more like a "thumb" or big toe in a monkey). All three foot images look
like flexible digits, and only one showed talons/claws.
In Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5, there are consistently three forward and one back, and the talons/claws are much more prominent.
Tail
According to Marvel Mystery Handbook: Their skeletal systems feature twice as many joints ashumanoid species of similar size, rendering the Dragon-Men highly flexible contortionists.
I have
to believe that statement was based on this image, with the assumption
that it was a Dragon-Man's leg wrapped around Electro.
I think
the artist's mastery of perspective is lacking, but I'm confident that
that is a tail wrapped around Electro instead of a leg.
There
are no images I see that show the Dragon-Men's legs in any position
beyond what is standand for a humanoid biped.
Where are the women at?
The MMH says "Both males and females exhibit distinctive red, spectacle-like coloring around their eyes."
I feel these statements are much more of an accurate description:
` The Dragon-Men either
did not demonstrate sexual dimorphism (although that is not consistently a reptilian trait), or perhaps only
males were seen, or perhaps they reproduced asexually.
Regardless, the forms shown had proportions more
common to human males, and they had no other...features...visible to
distinguish them as male or female.
Dragoon is/was APPARENTLY female.
Mandahl is an anagram for Dahlman, in case you couldn't figure that out.
Apologies for the scans...the blurring edges are due to pages
curving as the hardcover Marvel Masterworks can't be fully flattened.
The curving of the pages also caused some rotation of the images, and
it wasn't until I had already cropped and placed 90% of the images that
I remembered how to rotate the images by degree to straighten them out.
Queen Nara is called Empress Nara in Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6
The Lion-People are listed as the "present rulers of Ligra"
There is a LOT going on these
stories...especially impressive since the stories involving Ligra
covered only 11 pages.
Thanks to Wolfram Bane for pointing out these additional appearances of a member of the Dragon-Men of Ligra. I had forgotten about them.
The 1937 date for Electro and Zog's trip to Ligra comes
from the Marvel Mystery Handbook, but it is based on the story in
Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6, which notes that Sarpo was sent to prison by
Electro and Zog for looting towns during the Great Ohio Flood. The
story in that issue follows shortly thereafter, as Sarpo gets word to
his men to seek vengeance by making Electro help their criminal
efforts. Thanks to Anthony Flamini for pointing this out.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_River_flood_of_1937
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Dragon-Men of Ligra should be distinguished from:
King of the Dragon-Men of the planet Ligra, Jago ruled from within a castle
He was served by an army of warriors, a number of eagle-riders, and his bodyguard, Zoor.
He had the standard abilities of the Dragon-Men and was experienced in riding an immense war-eagle (sidesaddle, for some reason).
(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6 (fb)
- BTS) - The ferocious Dragon-Men of Ligra sought to overthrow Queen
Nara, leader of the peaceful Lion-People.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6 (f) - BTS / Marvel Mystery Handbook: 70th Anniversary Special: Dragon-Men) - Jago observed via a giant telescope as the robot Electro went on a rampage after criminal "Boss" Sarpo took control of Electro's creator, Philo Zog.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6) - Impressed by Electro's power, Jago instructed his soldiers to bring back the "wonder-robot" and it's master so they could use them to overthrow the Lion-People and become supreme rulers of Ligra.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6 - BTS) - Traveling via their rocket ship, Dragon-Men forced Zog to relinquish control of Electro, after which they transported Zog and Electro back to Ligra.(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) -
Jago instructed Zog that he would help Jago become
dictator of Ligra. Zog refused initially, but Jago sent him to the
torture chamber, and Zog finally relented.
Considering his ultimate victory
assured, Jago sent a messenger to the palace of the Lion-People's
ruler, Queen Nara, delivering a written message informing of his intentions and
warning her to surrender her crown or he would declare war. 
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 - BTS) - Refusing to bow to Jago, whom she considered a wretch, Nara instructed her aide Gor to summon the armies of Ligra to her palace.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) - Learning of Nara's decision, Jago sent his warriors to attack the Lion-People.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5
- BTS) - An army of foot
soldiers -- aided by eagle-riders and Electro -- soon assaulted Nara's
palace.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) -
Their path cleared by Electro, Jago and his powerful bodyguard, Zoor,
rushed into Queen Nara's chambers, and Jago grabbed Nara, warning her
that she would regret her actions. Zoor flattened a Lion-Man who rushed to Nara's aid.
Taking Nara hostage to protect himself, Jago carried her to his monstrous War-Eagle, which flew him back to his castle; there he cast her into the dungeon, mockingly telling her he hoped she would be comfortable.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 (fb) - BTS) -
Aided by Electro, the Dragon-Men defeated the Lion-People. Searching
the castle, however, the Dragon-Men were unable to find the royal
jewels and treasures.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) - After
a messenger reported their victory, Jago considered this to be a lucky
day and asked about the royal jewels and treasures. 
Upon learning they
were still unlocated, Jago rushed to Nara and demanded to know their
location. When Nara refused to tell him anything, Jago released a giant
octopus to force her compliance.
As the octopus slithered toward Nara, however,
Zog, distracted the guards and locked them out of his cell, leaving him
free to direct Electro against the Dragon-Men.
however, took advantage of the distraction to cast a light bulb into the hall. Drawn by the sound of its shattering, the Dragon-Men guarding him rushed into the hall, and Zog locked the vault door behind them.
Free to act, Zog directed Electro to attack the Dragon-Men and then ordered Electro to rescue Nara; smashing into the dungeon, Electro apparently slew the octopus.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 (fb) - BTS) - When Jago and his guards attempted to flee in some craft, they were swiftly overtaken by Electro, who cast their craft into the water, apparently killing them. --Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6 (9/5
Note: Jago's ship's crashing into the water is seen at the bottom right of the main profile.
He is also pictured in the sub-profiles for the telescope, torture chamber, and Zoor. When Ligra is profiled, he'll be shown atop the war-eagle in its sub-profile.
As noted in the main profile comments, in Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6 (as shown in the images on the left), he
had green skin (with just a darker green for his reticulated pattern);
and yellow circles around his eyes that somewhat appeared to be
spectacles, as his eyes were the same color as the circles; and
In Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 (as shown in the images on the right), he had yellow skin (with brown reticulated pattern) and red circles around his eyes with green irides
The castle of the Dragon-Men's King Jago looked to be composed of stone and mortar and had a ramp (presumably a drawbridge, although it is only called a "gate," and we only have this one image) over a water-filled moat surrounding the castle.
The castle was home to Jago and also contained a dungeon (not clearly shown), the telescope, torture chamber, and a chamber housing an immense octopus.
Along with Jago's bodyguard, Zoor, it was presumably staffed with a number of guards and servants.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6 (fb)
- BTS) - The ferocious Dragon-Men of Ligra sought to overthrow Empress
Nara, leader of the peaceful Lion-People.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6)
- Via a giant telescope, King Jago observed the terrestrial robot
Electro, and he dispatched a group of Dragon-Men to bring the robot to
him.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) -
After the Dragon-Men's ship returned to Ligra, Electro's creator and controller, Professor Philo Zog was led through a
castle gate and brought before Jago.
Via the torture chamber, Jago coerced Zog to have Electro aid the Dragon-Men against the Lion-People. Jago dispatched a messenger to Queen Nara, ordering her surrender; when she refused, Jago rallied his army against the Lion-People.
After Jago captured Nara and brought her back to his castle, he threw her in the dungeon. Upon learning the Lion-People's royal treasures could not be found, Jago unleashed his giant octopus against Nara to force her to reveal where the treasures were hidden.
Using distraction to lock the
Dragon-Men guards out of his cell, Professor Zog directed Electro to
defeat the Dragon-Men and then to rescue Nara.
Smashing through the castle wall, Electro apparently slew the octopus.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) -
Jago and his henchmen fled but were apparently slain by Electro.
--(interior) Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6; (exterior) #9/5
The Dragon-Men army, both the foot soldiers and the eagle-riders, wielded death-ray rifles that could slay a living target.
While fatal to a being of human constitution, there is no description of how powerful a target would be injured or killed by these death-rays.
There is also no information on how many charges a death-ray rifle held.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) - Learning of the Lion-People's Queen Nara's refusal of his demand -- at the threat of war -- that she surrender her crown and acknowledge him as dictator of Ligra, King Jago sent his Dragon-Men warriors to attack the Lion-People.
An army of foot
soldiers -- aided by eagle-riders and the terrestrial robot Electro
(whose creator/controller Professor Philo Zog was coerced to aid the
Dragon-Men) -- soon assaulted Nara's
palace, their bombs destroying its walls, and their death-rays killing
hundreds.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 (fb) - BTS) -
Aided by Electro, the Dragon-Men defeated the Lion-People.
--Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5
Dragon-Men army / eagle-riders
Based on the image to the left, there appeared to be at least a couple hundred warriors in Jagos army
The army included mostly foot soldiers, as well as an unrevealed number of eagle-riders.
Eagle-riders rode the immense eagles of Ligra in combat.
Both foot soldiers and eagle-riders were armed with death-ray rifles.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) - Learning of the Lion-People's Queen Nara's refusal of his demand -- at the threat of war -- that she surrender her crown and acknowledge him as dictator of Ligra, King Jago sent his Dragon-Men warriors to attack the Lion-People.
An army of foot
soldiers -- aided by eagle-riders and the terrestrial robot Electro
(whose creator/controller Professor Philo Zog was coerced to aid the
Dragon-Men) -- soon assaulted Nara's
palace, their bombs destroying its walls, and their death-rays killing
hundreds.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 (fb) - BTS) - Aided by Electro, the Dragon-Men defeated the Lion-People.
--Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5
The landcraft shown appeared to be similar to a terrestrial automobile.
Although it was shown to be topless, one would assume that the vehicle is like a terrestrial convertible car so that a roof could be raised as needed...but maybe not.
The vehicle's range, speed, durability, power-source are all unrevealed.
It's direction was controlled via a steering wheel.
A windshield was in place to...shield the driver from wind.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) -
Jago sent a messenger to the palace of the Lion-People's
ruler, Queen Nara, delivering via a land craft a message informing of
Jago's intentions to become ruler of Ligra and warning her to surrender
her crown or he would declare war.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) -
After Nara refused to bow to Jago, the messenger presumably returned to
Jago's castle via the same land craft to deliver that message.
--Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5
Note: This one image is all we have to go with, so pretty much any information other the vehicle's color and what is stated above is speculative.
Was it rocket-powered? Nuclear? Electric? Pedal? Flintstone-foot-powered?
The rocket-ship traveled from Ligra to Earth in
the space of hours to days, indicating faster-than-light technology or
perhaps warp capacity.
Four crewmen were shown, although there may have been more.
In addition to the crewmen, the ship could carry
Professor Zog and the 8'2", 1225 lbs. Electro, but it didn't look big
enough to carry much more than that.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6) - Seeking to use the powerful terrestrial robot Electro to conquer the Lion-People and become dictator of Ligra, the Dragon-Men's King Jago sent at least four Dragon-Men via rocket-ship to collect the robot for him.
The Dragon-Men flew the rocket-ship to Earth, captured Electro's creator Zog, forcing him to relinquish control of Electro, and then transported Zog and Electro back to Ligra.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) - The Dragon-Men's rocket-ship returned to Ligra.
--Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6 (9/5
In Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5, the rocket-ship was
shown to be blue and red...did the travel cause it to change color, or
did the crew change its color to signify the success of their mission,
or was it just "artistic license"?
The world may never know...
I'll have an image of the blue ship in the upcoming Ligra profile.
The craft Jago and his henchmen used to flee from Electro had the same shape as this craft.
It was yellow and red, but given the color changes
in the previous ship, I don't think that that rules anything out.
The telescope contained in the castle of the Dragon-Men allowed clear view/detail of real-time activity on a planet at least a few light years away.
Presumably, the telescope utilized tachyon particles or perhaps space warping to do so.
The telescope looked to be monocular, but it is not 100% clear.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6 (fb)
- BTS) - The ferocious Dragon-Men of Ligra sought to overthrow Empress
Nara, leader of the peaceful Lion-People.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6) - Jago, king of the Dragon-Men of Ligra, observed via a giant telescope as the robot Electro went on a rampage after criminal "Boss" Sarpo took control of Electro's creator, Philo Zog.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6) - BTS - Impressed by Electro's power, Jago instructed his soldiers to bring back the "wonder-robot" and it's master so they could use them to overthrow the Lion-People and become supreme rulers of Ligra.
--Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6
Note: It was only shown in this one panel, so anything beyond what's covered here is speculative...including the speculation herein.
Within the castle of the Dragon-Men's King Jago, there was a torture chamber to force compliance of anyone resisting or refusing Jago.
The only confirmed portion of the torture chamber
that was shown as a device containing gears and chains, the latter of
which were placed on a victim's wrists.
The controller could then use a controller lever
to apply traction on the victim's wrists, progressively pulling them
away from the victim's shoulders.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) -
After the Dragon-Men's ship returned to Ligra with the robot Electro,
captured by them with the intent of having it facilitate the
Dragon-Men's conquest of the Lion-People, Zog was brought before Jago.
Zog refused initially to aid the Dragon-Men, but Jago sent him to the torture chamber.
His arms stretched from his body by a powerful chain machine, Zog bravely withstood the torture in silence initially.
However, Zog's endurance could
only stand so much, and as the pain become intolerable, he finally
relented before passing out.
--Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5
Note: The tank containing the octopus that was used against the Lion-People's Queen Nara with the goal of forcing her to reveal the location of the hidden royal treasures may or may not have been associated with the torture chamber.
The powerful Zoor served as bodyguard to King Jago.
While most Dragon-Men were around 6' tall and 350 lbs., Zoor was more like 7' tall and 450 lbs.
Zoor presumably lived with the Dragon-Men's castle in order to remain close to Jago.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 - BTS) - King
Jago's men forced captured human scientist Professor Philo Zog to
command his robot Electro to aid the Dragon-Men in conquering the
Lion-People to gain absolute control over planet Ligra.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) - Their path cleared by Electro, Jago and his powerful bodyguard, Zoor,
rushed into Queen Nara's chambers, and Jago grabbed Nara, warning her
that she would regret her actions.
One of Nara's faithful Lion-Men (possibly Gor) rushed to her aid and ordered Jago to stop, but Zoor swiftly flattened the Lion-Man.
(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 - BTS) - Jago took Nara back to his castle, but Zog distracted his guards and locked them out of his cell, allowing him to direct Electro against the Dragon-Men and rescue Nara.
After"destroying scores of Dragon-Men," Electro broke into Jago's castle, and rescued Nara.
When "Jago and his henchmen"
attempted flight in an aircraft (possibly the same ship used to travel
to and from Earth), Electro overtook them and cast them into a large
body of water, apparently killing them.
--Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5
Note: Zoor's fate is not confirmed, but I would think he was one of Jago's henchmen in the craft cast into the body of water
Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6, pg. 6, panel 3 (Jago with telescope);
panel 4 (Jago face);
panel 5 (Jago body, uncostumed);
panel 6 (Dragon-Men posterior view, approaching ship, for scale);
pg. 7, panel 1 (ship landing on Earth);
panel 3 (two Dragon-Men; upper bodies);
panel 4 (Dragon-Men swarming Electro);
panel 5 (profile/lateral);
pg. 8, panel 2 (mostly full body, distant);
panel 6 (face)
#9/5, pg. 1, panel 1 (octopus vs. Electro, side view);
panel 3 (ship (blue) returning to Ligra);
panel 4 (Dragon-Men castle);
pg. 2, panel 1 (Jago on throne);
panel 5 (torture chamber);
pg. 3, panel 1 (landcraft);
pg. 4, panel 1 (Jago rallying army);
panel 2 (army with eagle and eagle-rider);
panel 4 (death-rays);
pg. 5, panel 5 (Zoor, with Jago and Nara in foreground);
panel 7 (Zoor, from behind, punching down Lion-Man);
pg. 6, panel 1 (Jago & Nara atop war eagle);
panel 3 (messenger, full);
pg. 8, panel 2 (octopus vs. Electro from behind);
panel 5 (Jago's ship crashing into sea);
Appearances:
Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6 (June, 1940) - Steve Dahlman (writer, penciler, inker), Joe Simon (editor)
Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 (July, 1940) - Steve Dahlman (writer, penciler, inker), Joe Simon (editor)
Marvel Mystery Handbook: 70th Anniversary Special: Dragon-Men
Marvel Zombies Destroy! #1-2 (July, 2012) - Frank Marraffino (writer), Mirco Pierfederici (artist), Jake Thomas (editor), Mark Paniccia (senior editor)
Marvel Zombies Destroy! #3 (August, 2012) - Peter David (writer), Al Barrionuevo (penciler), Rick Magyar (inker), Jake Thomas (editor), Mark Paniccia (senior editor)
Marvel Zombies Destroy! #4 (August, 2012) - Peter David (writer), Mirco Pierfederici (artist), Jake Thomas (editor), Mark Paniccia (senior editor)
First posted: 03/15/2020
Last updated: 04/04/2020
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
© 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you
like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
Jago
death-
landcraft
rocket-ship
