Apeslayer (Earth-7481)

apeslayer-7411-pota24p7-full planet_of_the_apes23-Apeslayer-cover APESLAYER
Earth-7481

Real Name: Jonathan Dozer

Identity/Class: Alternate reality (Earth-7481) human mutant/mutate (see comments)

Occupation: Warrior, freedom-fighter

Group Membership: Leader of a group of Freemen (Eagle, Mala, Socrates, others)

Affiliations: Dr. Ann Carver, Sandra Simian, Zom;
General Raker

Enemies: Extraterrestrial Apes/Simians/Masters/Generals (Ape Master 4, others) and their human servants (including Kempleton and an unidentified puppet mayor and ferry captain), mutates, and weapons (like the tripods), Gort, Scrapper, Sirens (Skarlet, others), Slasher, Warlord; other mutated creatures of Earth-7481 (including a crocodilian and a number of crustaceans)
formerly General Raker

Known Relatives: Maureen Dozer (mother, deceased), unidentified younger brother (see comments)

Aliases: "Pack-Rat" (taunt from General Raker and from various Apes);
Ape-Slayer (alternate spelling; on cover of #23, for example)

Base of Operations: A Freemen base on Staten Island, (in the former New York, USA), Earth-7481;
formerly the former Queens, New York, USA;
formerly an unidentified gladiatorial training facility, in the former New York, USA

First Appearance: Planet of the Apes (UK) #23 (March, 1975)

Powers/Abilities: Apeslayer is immune to the Siren's psychic powers and likely had other psychic abilities as well.

Athletically strong, Apeslayer is a superb swordsman and unarmed combatant, with training in karate, savate, wrestling, etc. He is also skilled at throwing shuriken known as "silverstars."

He is an experienced equestrian and has some experience in driving automobiles from before the Apes' invasion.

Height: 6'1"
Weight: Approximately 185 lbs. (based on Killraven's weight)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Dark red

History:

(Planet of the Apes#26 (fb) - BTS) - After centuries of trying to tame the Earth, mankind had finally learned to accept the planet, to live with it instead of off it.

(Planet of the Apes#26 (fb) - BTS) - Mankind's progress was torn away when the Apes invaded.

(Planet of the Apes#23 (fb) - BTS) - Early battles against the Apes seemed hopeless, as many brave men died seemingly futilely, achieving victories against time but not the simians.

As mankind learned, so did the Apes, building weapons and machines they sent against man.

(Planet of the Apes#25 (fb) - BTS) - Mankind lost its final war, and Earth was conquered by the Apes. apeslayer-pota25c

(Planet of the Apes#23 (fb)) - Jonathan Dozer accompanied his mother, Maureen, and his baby brother to Welfare Island. They fled there from simian-created and/or operated tripod war machines, and Jonathan followed his mother's instructions to hurry, as they reached the island just before the ape's tripods destroyed the bridge to Welfare Island.

When one of the inmates from a local hospital, who had freed themselves when the apes first attacked, leapt at Maureen and her children, Dr. Ann Carver blasted and incapacitated and/or killed the kyphotic creature before explaining its existence and introducing herself.

(Planet of the Apes#23 (fb) - BTS) - They spent 2 weeks hiding out with Dr. Carver, occasionally raiding the hospital for food.

(Planet of the Apes#23 (fb)) - On the morning of the 15th day, Dr. Carver detected an approaching helicopter.

(Planet of the Apes#24 (fb)) - General Raker emerged with some human soldiers, whom he then ordered to kill the adults but to spare the children. Raker then took Jonathan with him for training by the Apes but told the other soldiers to do whatever they wanted with Jonathon's younger brother, as he was of no concern.

Raker brought Jonathon before the Simian master and informed him that he would be trained as a gladiator to fight and kill for the pleasure of his masters.

Jonathon and the other youths were trained in swordplay, karate, savate, wrestling, etc. At first they thought it was a game, although the results were deadly.

(Planet of the Apes#28 (fb) - BTS) - This training was brought about by those serving the ape later known as the Warlord.

(Planet of the Apes#25 (fb) - BTS) - Apeslayer was taught to throw razor sharp "silverstars" as a child.

(Planet of the Apes#24 (fb)) - As the youths grew, they were pitted against the Apes' champions, and Jonathon took pleasure in battling them. He was mockingly given the name "Apeslayer," which he cherished.

Eventually, Apeslayer broke free and escaped. apeslayer-7481-pota24c

(Planet of the Apes#28 (fb) - BTS) - As Apeslayer escaped, he destroyed the arm and part of the face of the ape (possibly a mutated human) that would later be known as the Warlord after months of painful prosthetics/bionics experimentation/implantation.

(Planet of the Apes#24 (fb)) - Apeslayer spent the next 12 months foraging for food in what was formerly Queens, New York, feeding on wild dogs, cats, and rabbits and studying the old books and information tapes about what life was like before the Apes took control. He frequently encountered Simian forces and their human slaves as they sought to collect the remaining freemen for their games and stockyards. He also encountered the women altered into Sirens, and he learned to avoid eye contact with them to avoid falling under their spell.

When he encountered an ape accosting a woman, he struck the simian, only appreciating how deadly he had become after killing it with a single blow. That evening, Apeslayer built a makeshift craft and headed to the island once known as Staten.

(Planet of the Apes#24(fb) - BTS) - On the former Staten Island, Apeslayer met and stayed with a number of freemen for six years, eventually becoming their leader.

(Planet of the Apes#24 (fb)) - On New Year's Eve, Apeslayer led his freemen to invade the palace of the human puppet mayor.

Having gained recognition by the Ape masters, Apeslayer was denounced by them as a cutthroat and a thief. Resolving that he primarily wanted revenge, Apeslayer concluding that when he had gotten enough men together, he wished to see the General (Raker).

(Planet of the Apes#25 (fb) - BTS) - Apeslayer and two Freemen allies, Eagle and Mala, tethered their horses in an abandoned church.

(Planet of the Apes#23) - Having fought his way past a number of apes, Apeslayer confronted the ape Scrapper, who told him he would die for the trouble he had caused. Tackling Scrapper over a ledge and forcing him to bear the impact (incapacitating Scrapper), Apeslayer mockingly apologized, noting that he had a mission to deliver to Scrapper's Generals, and he meant to deliver it personally.

Apeslayer then shouted to the General that he was coming, and this time the General would have to face Apeslayer alone. Entering the former Grand Central Station, Apeslayer urged the General to come out, after which the General unleashed a pair of mutates. Apeslayer -- noting that the Keeper must be desperate to risk his precious specimens -- swiftly dropped the two-headed feral creature with his slingshot, but the long-limbed man-creature leapt through the air and knocked Apeslayer off his feet. However, Apeslayer rolled with assault and smashed the larger mutate to the ground, incapacitating it.

When Apeslayer challenged the General again, noting he had come to settle with him for what he did to him and his brother, General Raker told Apeslayer, "You'll have to force your way in, pack-rat. And I assure you -- my defenses are quite satisfactory."

After Apeslayer blasted his way in, Raker noted that his sensors had reported that that was the last of Apeslayer's weapon's energy, while -- as his defenses blasted at Apeslayer -- his own weapons were still fully charged. Apeslayer mockingly told him that he didn't need a gun to destroy him as only "ape-stooges" needed toys. Apeslayer then hurled a sharp piece of metal debris that skewered Raker in the right side of his chest.

Momentarily collapsing and thought dead by Apeslayer, who felt somewhat empty at completing his obsessive mission, Raker surprised Apeslayer by reviving, thanking him, and explaining that he had been liberated from the apes' control. At Apeslayer's request, Raker reviewed how for the past century, mankind had rebelled against the apes, after which he detailed how the young Jonathan Dozer had arrived on Welfare Island with his mother and brother.

(Planet of the Apes#24) - After Raker related Jonathon's capture and his entrance into the gladiator arenas, Jonathon reviewed his own history up until the time of this meeting. Raker then revealed how he had been controlled by the Apes, and he thanked Apeslayer for freeing him. Before dying, Raker noted that he had chosen Apeslayer and that he knew Apeslayer would be ready to face the ape masters on the day Apeslayer breached his defenses. With his final breaths, Raker assured Apeslayer that he had the power and could destroy the ape masters, leaving Apeslayer to wonder what power he had.

As he departed, Apeslayer was ambushed by another ape, whose neck he broke, only to be confronted by the Sirens. apeslayer-7481-pota25p6-silverstars

(Planet of the Apes#25) - Apeslayer and the Sirens were both surprised to find Apeslayer immune to their power, but the Sirens fled as he was assaulted by a number of "apes" (apparently humans mutated into that form by Raker), whom Apeslayer swiftly subdued. Apeslayer was then joined by two of his Freemen, Eagle and Mala, who joined him against the "apes," after which they were then confronted by a tripod ape machine. Rushing back to their tethered horses, Apeslayer, Eagle, and Mala fled on horseback but swiftly encountered a giant, mutated crocodilian. Using his silverstars, Apeslayer goaded the creature to follow him, and he led it to run between the tripod's legs, tripping the tripod atop it, apparently taking out both foes.

Apeslayer and Mala then caught up to Eagle, who found captured and chained humans being herded onto a ferry by cyborg ape-masters. Apeslayer led his allies to the attack, overpowering a number of Apes before confronting the ship's human captain, forcing the traitor at swordpoint to surrender control of the ship. When another tripod emerged from the waters and attacked the ship, Apeslayer ordered the crew to reverse the ship's engines, causing it to smash into the tripod's legs, taking it out.

(Planet of the Apes#25 - BTS) - Learning of Apeslayer's recent actions, Kempleton, another human servant of the Apes (and a research scientist) ordered that the Generals must be informed.

(Planet of the Apes#26 (fb) - BTS) - After the ferry docked just off Staten Island and its human cargo disembarked, Apeslayer had the ferry set afire to prevent the Apes from using it again in the future..

(Planet of the Apes#26 - BTS) - Kempleton informed ape Master Twelve of the recent sabotage, and Master Twelve instructed Kempleton to send out a scout flyer to learn more of the rebels.

After the scout reported the ferry aflame, Master Twelve ordered the Siren (Skarlet) to resolve the situation.

(Planet of the Apes#26) - After the scout flyer returned to the New Jersey base, Apeslayer informed his allies that it was clear and time to return to camp.

(Planet of the Apes#26 (fb) - BTS) - Skarlet, queen of the Sirens, traveled to the Freemen's base and placed all of the Freemen in a trance.

(Planet of the Apes#26 (fb) - BTS) - Apeslayer, Eagle, Mala, and apparently one other returned to their camp.

apeslayer-7481-pota26p9-face

(Planet of the Apes#26) - Apeslayer considered the raid on Raker's base a success and they could use the information they had gained, but then he realized that the sentries were not at their posts and that Eagle, Mala, and the other were all unresponsive. Skarlet then revealed her presence and what she had done. As Apeslayer advised her that he was immune to her power, he was ambushed and restrained by one of the Apes' machines, and Skarlet informed him that the Generals wanted a living rebel of their games.

    The robot captor carried Apeslayer into the Arena (formerly Madison Square Garden," where he angrily observed the Simian overlords and was confronted by Slasher, a giant cyborg ape they described as one of their greatest warriors and the first of the prosthetics performed on apes. The Apes told Apeslayer that his death would be in place of those slaves he had freed and that Apeslayer would thusly die for their amusement.

    Acknowledging the ape-master's warning that fighting was futile, Apeslayer informed them that he was a man and would fight as he broke free from his shackles. Apeslayer then battered Slasher, perhaps breaking his neck or otherwise slaying him, after which Mala informed him of the ape-masters' flight and of a weapon targeting them. Destroying the weapon, Apeslayer led his allies to escape the arena. Reviewing the Apes' invasion, Apeslayer vowed that they would one day face the Apes on their own world, but until then they would battle them on Earth, eventually stopping them when they would attempt to flee the planet.

(Planet of the Apes#27) - Apeslayer and Mala fought their way through a number of the General's apes, although Killraven took a blast to the shoulder as their energy guns ran out. Apeslayer then led Mala to flee into a museum, where they dropped a giant statue head on Gort and another ape pursuing them, after which Apeslayer used a silverstar to pin the wrist of an ape-serving human who had been trying to ambush Mala. Apeslayer then questioned the traitor, who informed him that the Apes stored their weapons and supplies in the former LaGuardia airport (the traitor died while trying to voice this information, apparently programmed thusly by the Apes, but Apeslayer knew enough to recognize the first half of what he was saying). Apeslayer then claimed an ancient sword and some sort of half-tunic from the museum.

(Planet of the Apes#27 (fb) - BTS) - Apeslayer and Mala spent an hour searching for and claiming a few other weapons from the museum.

(Planet of the Apes#27) - As they departed the museum, Apeslayer hot-wired or otherwise jerry-rigged an old military vehicle.

    After two hours of getting the hang of the vehicle, Apeslayer began driving back toward Staten Island. apeslayer-7481-pota28c

(Planet of the Apes#28) - As Apeslayer drove the vehicle across the Verranzo Narrows bridge from Brooklyn to Staten Island, one of the Ape's tripods rose from the water and blasted away the bridge in front of them. After they hit the water, Apeslayer and Mala used a girder as a lever to unbalance one of the tripod's footpods, causing it to crash into the water.

Retaining their salvaged weapons, Apeslayer and Mala swam to the shore.

(Planet of the Apes#28 - BTS) - Apeslayer and Mala apparently returned to their Freemen's base, delivered their weapons, and recruited a few others to accompany them to LaGuardia.

(Planet of the Apes#28 - BTS) - Meanwhile, the vengeance-seeking Warlord, who had set the trap to draw Apeslayer to LaGuardia, promised Ape Master 4 that he would deliver them Apeslayer to them that night.

(Planet of the Apes#28) - As they approached LaGuardia, Mala and/or others (Arrow and Socrates (unidentified) were shown) questioned the veracity of the information, but Apeslayer, assured them that he could smell the simians awaiting them in one of the hangars. Apeslayer led his men into LaGuardia, taking out the traitorous human slaves guarding a room filled with weapons. As Apeslayer suspected a trap, the Warlord confronted him alongside other ape-warriors. Apeslayer recognized the Warlord, who punched him and knocked him to the ground, but Apeslayer told Mala the fight was his own. He kicked out the Warlord's legs and then dove into the air and kicked the Warlord in the back. However, protected by his bionic parts, the Warlord then struck Killraven in the face or neck with his bionic arm and then hurled a massive mechanical construct at him. Apeslayer dodged this, but the Warlord then brutally battered Apeslayer with a series of kicks and blows from his bionic arm. Apeslayer fell unconscious, and the Warlord, with his soldiers' weapons trained on the other Freemen, advised them that they could join their leader in the arena of mutants. apeslayer-7481-pota29c

(Planet of the Apes#29) - As the Warlord watched alongside Sandra Simian, Apeslayer battled and defeated a number of apes (possibly mutated/enslaved humans). As Apeslayer finished off the last of these slaves, the Warlord assaulted him from behind, knocking him out with four mighty blows.

    As Apeslayer awakened, strapped to a table, the Warlord voiced the Ape Masters' superiority. After Apeslayer got in one good quick, the Warlord advised Apeslayer that -- since he was so tough -- he wouldn't need any anesthetic when the lasers cut into him.

    Sandra Simian subsequently freed the monstrous Zom, who broke out the imprisoned Freemen (including Arrow, Mala, and Socrates).

     Apeslayer grabbed the Warlord by the neck when he got too close again, but the Warlord smashed Apeslayer with his bionic arm, after which Apeslayer's clamps were re-secured, and the laser was activated. The Warlord's taunts helped Apeslayer focus past the pain.

(Planet of the Apes#30) - Socrates, Mala, and Eagle arrived, alongside Sandra Simian and Zom, and they freed Apeslayer while the Warlord summoned reinforcements. Dodging a strike from Warlord's bionic arm, Apeslayer punched Warlord in the face and joined his allies in fleeing. Guided by Sandra, they emerged in what was once Yankee Stadium. As Apeslayer led the others to the sole accessible exit, he was confronted by a giant crab-like monstrosity that caught him in its claws, after which the creature's hungry brethren arrived as well. While Mala and the others fought off the other creatures, Sandra sent Zom to aid Apeslayer by hurting the creature holding him. With the creature distracted by pain, Apeslayer finished it off. apeslayer-7481-pota30c

    Frustrated at Apeslayer's continued survival, the Warlord leapt down and struck him in the back with his bionic arm. As the Warlord leapt atop his supine foe, Apeslayer rolled with the attack and flipped the Warlord to his back and then pressed the Warlord's bionic arm into the corrosive fluids of the slain crustacean. Despite the Warlord's pleading, Apeslayer held the bionic limb down until it virtually dissolved. He then warned the Warlord that if he continued to enslave men and crossed his path again, all of his pleas for mercy would not save him.

    Heeding Mala's advice, Apeslayer led his allies to flee over the bleachers before the Apes could arrive in their tripods. As they headed into the 161st street subway, Apeslayer asked Sandra why she had aided them, but she told him that she had her reasons, and he should just be satisfied that he was free. As Mala noted that Eagle (see comments) needed treatment for acid burns from the crustacean creatures, Apeslayer wondered if Sandra could help Eagle.

    Hoping to forget the senseless waste about them, Apeslayer vowed that once they had accomplished their goals, the former stadium would become again "a place of summer afternoons."

Comments: Created/adapted by Marv Wolfman, adapting a story by Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, and Neal Adams.
Marvel UK.

Does this seem familiar? It should. See below:

Courtesy of Apeslayer | Albion British Comics Database Wiki | Fandom

apeslayer-7481-back_issue121 The Apeslayer series was actually an American Marvel Killraven strip partially redrawn and re-lettered as an emergency measure when the British Planet of the Apes weekly ran out of US-originated Planet of the Apes strips to reprint. It ran for just eight issues, issues #23-30. Apeslayer is technically the first ever Marvel UK-originated character.

In terms of the official Marvel Universe cosmology, Apeslayer's adventures take place on the alternate Earth designated Earth-7841 (the mainstream Marvel Earth is Earth-616, while Killraven exists on Earth-691).
When Marvel UK eventually began reprinting the original Killraven series in Star Wars Weekly, one reader complained that they had 're-drawn Apeslayer, with Martians'.

Once new stories were available again, the Apeslayer storyline was dropped like a hot potato and never re-visited again. Each Planet of the Apes story covered half of an Amazing Adventures/Killraven story, so I believe the eight Apeslayer stories covered Amazing Adventures II#18-21.

The re-drawing and lettering is pretty minimal. Many panels are direct reprints. "Killraven" is replaced with "Apeslayer," "Raven" is replaced with "Dozer," "Martians" is replaced with "apes," "Keeper" is replaced with "General," and occasionally something like "scientist" is replaced with "ape-stooge." Oh yeah, and the spelling is British-ized, changing "realize" to "realise," etc.

Counterpart code (Reality-7481 (Apeslayer) version - Reality-691 (Killraven) version)

Apeslayer - Killraven
Apes - Martian masters
Mala - M'Shulla
Eagle - Arrow (although he was frequently/accidentally called Arrow in the Apeslayer stories)
Sandra Simian - Carmilla Frost
Zom - Grok
Socrates - Old Skull

Planet of the Apes#24 has a reference to guards being Martian-trained, and while this may represent an instance of a missed edit, it also might mean the invading apes of Reality-7481 were stationed on Mars.
Similarly, Planet of the Apes#28 contained a reference to the Martian Masters...

I don't know who revised the art, but I believe Marv Wolfman revised the text.

If his timeline parallels Killraven's, Apeslayer would have been born in late 1999. If not, then...not.

Apeslayer's younger brother was not identified in-story, but his Earth-691 counterpart was named Joshua. Given Jonathan and Maureen had the same names in Reality-7481, it seems quite likely that the brother was named Joshua, but this is obviously not confirmed.

Similarly, while Killraven's psychic abilities are a result of latent natural power brought out by experimentation from Keeper Whitman, the Apeslayer stories were discontinued before they even got to anything about Whitman, and we don't know for certain that his powers were the same.

I think it would be cool if someone wrote an Apeslayer series that fleshed it out and differentiated it from the Killraven stories WITHOUT contradicting the existing stories.

Thanks to Loki for providing me scans of these stories!

To clarify, Apeslayer's Reality-7481, despite appearing in the Planet of the Apes magazine, did not occur in any of the "Planet of the Apes" continuities (from the pulps, movies, or comics (US, UK, or otherwise); it is its own distinct reality.

This profile was completed 2/21/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20^th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Apeslayer should be distinguished from:

His various alternate reality counterparts, including:

KILLRAVEN of Earth-691 (Jonathan Raven) - raised in gladiatorial pens of Martian Masters, mutated by Keeper Whitman to develop exceptional physical abilities, knowledge of human history and culture, and mind-control over Martians Masters, led band of Free Men in revolt against Martian Masters--Amazing Adventures II#18; whose adventures were re-written for Apeslayer
KILLRAVEN of Earth-2120 - alternate dimensional counterpart--Killraven II#1
KILLRAVEN of Earth-9930 - leader of Avengers--Avengers Forever#4
WILL of the PEOPLE of Earth-7305 (Jonathan Raven) - (Captain Britain) Corps--Excalibur I#
Jonathan Raven of Earth-616 - raised by Shang-Chi following death of Maureen--Wisdom#1

other "Ape" or "Slayer" characters

images: (without ads)

Planet of the Apes (UK) #23 cover;
    #24 cover;
       pg. 7, panel 1 (full);
    #25 cover;
       pg. 7, panel 5 (silverstars)
    #26, pg. 9, panel 3 (face)
    #28 cover;
    #29 cover;
    #30 cover

Appearances:
Planet of the Apes (UK) #23 (March 29, 1975) - Roy Thomas (plot/concept), Marv Wolfman (editor, adapted/modified said plot concept), Gerry Conway (original script), Neal Adams (penciler), Frank Monte (inker)
Planet of the Apes (UK) #24 (April 5, 1975) - Roy Thomas (plot/concept), Marv Wolfman (editor, adapted/modified said plot concept), Gerry Conway (original script), Howard Chaykin (penciler), Frank Monte (inker)
Planet of the Apes (UK) #25 (April 12, 1975) - Marv Wolfman (editor, adapted/modified said plot concept), Gerry Conway (original script), Howard Chaykin (penciler), Frank McLaughlin (inker)
Planet of the Apes (UK) #26 (April 19, 1975) - Marv Wolfman (editor, adapted/modified said plot concept), Gerry Conway (original script), Howard Chaykin (penciler), Frank McLaughlin (inker)
Planet of the Apes (UK) #27 (April 25, 1975; yes, I know that's only six days, so probably an error, but that's what it says) Marv Wolfman (story, adapted/modified said plot concept), Herb Trimpe (original penciler), Frank Giacoia (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
Planet of the Apes (UK) #28 (May 3, 1975; see..) - Marv Wolfman (story, adapted/modified said plot concept), Herb Trimpe (original penciler), Frank Giacoia (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
Planet of the Apes (UK) #29 (May 10, 1975) - Don McGregor (plot/concept), Herb Trimpe (original penciler), Yolanda Pijcke (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
Planet of the Apes (UK) #30 (May 17, 1975) - Don McGregor (writer), Herb Trimpe (original penciler), Yolanda Pijcke (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)

First posted: 09/07/2021
Last updated: 10/29/2022

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.!

Back to Characters