ZRAA ZROMM

Real Name: Zraa Zromm

Identity/Class: Extradimensional terrestrial "lizard-man" (1950s era) (see comments)

Occupation: Unrevealed

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: His people

Enemies: Mankind (in general), United Nations delegates

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "The Lizard-Man"

Base of Operations: Earth's center;
   temporarily in the United Nations Building, New York City

First Appearance: Menace#8/1 (October, 1953)

Powers/Abilities: Like the rest of his highly intelligent reptilian race, Zraa Zromm was able to tunnel through solid rock. His hardened skin was resistant to lava, and later proved to be impervious to missiles and explosives. Although having nitrogen gills, Zraa Zromm was able to breathe the air of the surface-world (...but he did find the stench of it to be nauseating). After living in the heavy gravity of the depths of the earth, he found that he was able to move about with less effort and greater speed on the surface of the planet due to the lighter gravity.

Although a quadruped, Zraa Zromm was able to stand upright and walk on his hind legs. Highly intelligent, he was able to integrate the English language into his brain within minutes merely by listening to human conversation, and thus was able to speak English. Zraa Zromm was apparently long-lived, for it was mentioned that he was "centuries-old".

Zraa Zromm came to the surface of the world as an emissary on a peaceful mission for his people, but he was only met with hostility by humans.

Height: 30' (by approximation)
Weight: 10 tons (by approximation)
Eyes: Green
Hair: Not applicable

History:
(Menace#8/1 (fb) - BTS) - The origin of Zraa Zromm and his people is unrevealed, but for countless centuries, they dwelt in the center of Earth. They apparently considered the human race to be their friends, so they developed technology which protected the surface of the planet from the "munntosso".

   Eventually, when their population numbered in the millions, the giant lizards' home below the earth became too crowded, and their food supply began to dwindle. With nowhere to expand their civilization but up, they dispatched Zraa Zromm on a mission to negotiate a deal with the surface-dwelling humans.

(Menace#8/1) - Zraa Zromm burrowed upward, through the lava-drenched earth; he emerged on the surface and followed a highway into a small town. When the appearance of the lizard-man caused a panic amongst the citizenry, a squad of police officers arrived to surround Zraa Zromm; but after a few minutes of listening to their conversations, Zraa Zromm was able to speak their language. The lizard-man told the policemen that they had nothing to fear from him, and he requested a meeting with the leaders of the surface-world.

   Eventually, Zraa Zromm was taken to the United Nations Building, where he addressed the delegates in the main assembly chamber. The lizard-man told of his peoples' plight, and asked that they be allowed to settle on some area of the surface; but Zraa Zromm's request was only met with angry jeers and hate-filled looks. With his temper strained past endurance, Zraa Zromm stormed out of the building, pushing delegates aside like tenpins.

   Zraa Zromm slithered into the street at express-train speed, hurling cars, lampposts, and people aside in his mad fury; he finally reached an open field, his anger spent. But as he stopped to rest, Zraa Zromm heard the sound of jet fighters in the sky--the airplanes fired projectiles and dropped explosives on him, but none of the weapons could harm the hardened skin of the lizard-man. The murderous attack only angered Zraa Zromm beyond measure, so he turned around and headed back to the city, back to the assembly hall.

   Upon returning to the UN, Zraa Zromm told the remaining delegates of how his people had thought that humans were their friends, so they had been holding back the "munntosso" for them, and thus prevented the "munntosso" from destroying the surface of the world; then Zraa Zromm warned the delegates that his people would no longer help them, and they would now leave humanity at the mercy of the "munntosso". Zraa Zromm swore to the delegates that when human beings had vanished from the earth, his people would occupy the surface alone. As the lizard-man burrowed back down through the floor of the United Nations Building, the delegates could only wonder what the "munntosso" were, but many assumed that Zraa Zromm was just bluffing, to scare them into accepting his request.

   As he dug through the earth to return to his people, a smile came to Zraa Zromm's lips, because he realized the surface dwellers didn't know what the "munntosso" were...but they'd soon find out!

   When he returned back home, Zraa Zromm addressed a committee of his own people, and he told them of how he had been met with hatred and distrust from the humans, so the decision was made to release control of the "munntosso." A chain of barriers was disengaged, and a roar louder than the blast of a thousand hydrogen bombs echoed over the surface--as they broke free and overran the surface-world, the "munntosso" were heard from the Poles to the Equator!

   After a few days (surface time), Zraa Zromm and his people began the long journey to the upper regions of the planet, and they found that the "munntosso" had done their work--mankind's civilization was in ruins, and the human race was apparently extinct (see comments).

   As he looked upon the planet-wide devastation wrought by the "munntosso," Zraa Zromm thought of how the humans never took the time to learn that "munntosso" was his people's word for "volcano".

Comments: Created by Stan Lee (writer) and Joe Maneely (artist).

This 6-page story--The Lizard-Man--never mentioned any specific name for Zraa Zromm's race.

Considering its catastrophic ending, more than likely this tale took place on some alternate Earth; however, that doesn't necessarily mean that there aren't some as-yet undiscovered Earth-616 (mainstream Marvel Universe) counterparts of Zraa Zromm and his people.

In the pre-Comics Code 1950s, most of the horror comics featured vampires, werewolves, and zombies, so Zraa Zromm would seem to foreshadow all the giant oddly-named monsters that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby would create in the following decade.

Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Zraa Zromm/"Lizard-Man" and his people have no known connections to:

United Nations delegates

Representatives of the various nations of Earth (none identified), they were present when the lizard-man Zraa Zromm appealed for a spot on the surface where his subterranean people could settle.

But the delegates angrily rejected Zraa Zromm's request, and the lizard-man went on a rampage.

Later, Zraa Zromm returned to warn the delegates that his people would unleash the fury of the "munntosso" upon the surface. As the lizard-man returned to his home at Earth's center, the delegates could only wonder what the "munntosso" were, and some assumed that Zraa Zromm was merely bluffing, trying to scare them into granting his request (...although they'd eventually learn differently). 

--Menace#8/1

Zraa Zromm's people

A giant race of intelligent "lizard-men" (other than Zraa Zromm, none identified), they had dwelt in the center of Earth for countless centuries. They apparently considered the human race to be their friends, so they had developed technology which gave them control over the "munntosso" (their word for "volcano"), which prevented eruptions from destroying the surface-world.

When their population had grown into the millions, and their subterranean home became too crowded, they sent Zraa Zromm to the surface; Zraa Zromm attempted to negotiate with humans for an area on the surface where they could live.

But when Zraa Zromm returned and told them that humans treated him with hostility, they decided to release the fury of the "munntosso" upon the surface of the planet.

Later, they migrated upwards and found the surface-world devastated by the "munntosso"--the entire Earth was now theirs, for mankind was apparently extinct (see comments).

--Menace#8/1

"Munntosso"

In the language of the lizard-man Zraa Zromm's people, "munntosso" was their word for "volcano".

For ages, Zraa Zromm's people had thought that humans were their friends, so they developed technology to control the "munntosso" and prevent them from destroying the surface of Earth.

When Zraa Zromm ventured upwards and went to the United Nations building, he requested that humans share an area of the surface-world with his people, whose subterranean home had become overcrowded; but the lizard-man's request was angrily rejected by the UN delegates.

The fury of the "munntosso" was unleashed upon the surface-world by Zraa Zromm's people, and the human race was apparently rendered extinct (see comments).

--Menace#8/1

images: (without ads)
Menace#8/1, p1, pan1 (Main Image - Zraa Zromm crawling out to the surface)
Menace#8/1, p3, pan4 (Headshot - Zraa Zromm requests police officers to take him to their leaders)
Menace#8/1, p1, pan3 (Zraa Zromm walks along highway on his hind legs)
Menace#8/1, p5, pan6 (after losing his patience with humans, Zraa Zromm threatens U.N. delegates with "munntosso")
Menace#8/1, p4, pan5 (Zraa Zromm addresses UN delegates, requesting help for his people)
Menace#8/1, p4, pan6 (angry UN delegates reject Zraa Zromm's request)
Menace#8/1, p6, pan2 (after returning home, Zraa Zromm tells his people about the failure of his mission)
Menace#8/1, p6, pan4 (Zraa Zromm and his people look upward after "munntosso" are unleashed)
Menace#8/1, p6, pan3 (one of Zraa Zromm's people unleashes "munntosso")
Menace#8/1, p6, pan5 ("munntosso" erupt upon surface of Earth)
Menace#8/1, p6, pan7 (after mankind's civilization has been devastated, "munntosso" revealed to be volcanoes)

Appearances:
Menace#8/1 (October, 1953) - Stan Lee (writer and editor), Joe Maneely (pencils and inks)

First Posted: 06/10/2019
Last updated: 06/10/2019

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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