NULL-TRONS NULL-TRONS
Classification: Extraterrestrial (Kree) robots
Location/Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
last seen on Deneb IV
Known Members: None identified;
one Null-Tron was bonded to and controlled by the Deneb IV Underground's General (aka it's "Head")
Affiliations: Kree, Supreme Intelligence
Enemies: Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell), Underground of Deneb IV (General, Rambu);
formerly the Supreme Intelligence
First Appearance: (strictly behind-the-scenes)
Captain Marvel I#41 (November, 1975);
(seen; identified) Captain Marvel I#44 (May, 1976)
Powers/Abilities:
Null-Trons are composed of a massive, central head, composed of
unidentified materials (more rock-like in appearance than mineral, but
perhaps they are coated with rock), which are apparently highly
durable.
They apparently have multiple
rocket-thrusters at the bottom of their heads that allow them to lift
off the ground, and presumably they have the ability to direct these
somewhat to allow lateral and forward movement as well.
The heights they can reach, the
distances they can cover, and the rate at which they can travel are all
unrevealed.
They have two robotic arms, each with three fingers and an opposing thumb.
They can extend their arms with great speed, surprising and catching even an experienced warrior off-guard.
One possessing at least enhanced human strength can break one of their digits.
Traits:
Created to punish those that transgressed against the Kree Empire, the
Null-Trons despise organic life, considering animated matter to be
repellent, and animation to be a disease of matter.
They seek to destroy living matter, equally hating both plant and animals.
Although willing to contact living
matter to destroy it, they find the contact abhorrent and otherwise
wish to avoid such contact.
Type: Robotic pseudo-cephalopod
Eyes: Two (on head; solid gray)
Fingers: Three (plus opposing thumb)
Toes: None
Skin color: Gray external covering of "head" portion with silver/metallic arms
Average height: Unrevealed; the General at some times seems to
have a head/body that is several times taller than Mar-Vell, perhaps
25-30' tall; other images of the Null-Trons make them look more like
8-12' tall; there may be different sizes of Null-Trons, or it may be
that it was all just difference in perspective; regardless, I think the
larger size is seen most commonly);
similarly, as their construction is unrevealed, it is impossible to estimate their weights
History:
(Captain
Marvel I#44 (fb) - BTS) - The Null-Trons were developed by unspecified
Kree scientists to punish all those who transgressed against the
Empire.
(Captain Marvel I#44 (fb) - BTS) - Presumably because they hated and sought to destroy organic matter, they were outlawed when the Supreme Intelligence came into power.
(Captain Marvel I#44 (fb) -
BTS) - Kree Null-Trons devastated the Kree frontier outpost Deneb IV,
wiping out most of the population as well as scorching most of the
soil.
(Captain Marvel I#45 (fb) - BTS) - The being who would become the General was dispatched -- alongside numerous others, such as Rambu -- to Deneb IV to fight against the Null-Trons.
(Captain Marvel I#45 (fb) - BTS) - The Underground was formed on Deneb IV to rid their world of the Null-Trons.
(Captain
Marvel I#45 (fb) - BTS) - While the Underground's members were once
fully human, over time they gradually lost their mortal limbs and
had them replaced with cybernetics.
Eventually they were mostly machine.
Surviving his throat having been cut in combat with "his oppressors" (presumably the Null-Trons) via having his organic brain grafted to the circuits of a fallen Null-Tron, a member of the Underground thereafter became the group's leader or General.
(Captain
Marvel I#45 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking to absorb the Destiny Force (as it
was later called) from Rick Jones, the Supreme Intelligence engineered
an incredibly complex plot, including arranging for the General to obtain
the Mind Infinity Gem (see comments) and pit Mar-Vell against his partner, Rick Jones.
(Captain Marvel I#41 - BTS / Captain
Marvel I#45 (fb) - BTS) - The
Supreme Intelligence increased the power to the Null-Trons to make
their danger to Deneb IV more acute (see comments). "The more terror in my victim's vicinity, the better my plan proceeds."
(Captain Marvel I#41 - BTS) - Rambu uncovered the Mind Gem on the surface of Deneb IV.
(Captain Marvel I#45 (fb) - BTS) - Rambu brought the gem to the General.
(Captain
Marvel I#44 - BTS) - Captain Marvel arrived on Deneb IV with his
unconscious partner, Rick Jones, who had been weakened by Mar-Vell's
having drained his energy via their Nega-Band connection while fighting
Drax the Destroyer. Despite the devastation, Mar-Vell located a central
medical facility, and he placed Rick in a standardized life support
chamber. 
(Captain Marvel I#44 (fb) - BTS) - As Mar-Vell subsequently searched the surrounding land for signs of life, the cyborgs of the Underground transported Rick's chamber to the General in their subterranean Underground sanctuary.
(Captain
Marvel I#44) - Mar-Vell was shocked to discover the presence of
Null-Trons, and he was even more surprised when one of them swiftly
shot out an arm and grabbed him. Using all of his strength, Mar-Vell
shattered the Null-Tron's thumb to escape it's grasp, insisting that it
would not hold him; however, it then punched him in the face with its
other arm while noting that it would not wish to hold him overlong, as
animated matter was repellent to the Null-Trons and that they wished to
render all things inanimate.
The Null-Trons were then
distracted by encountering and destroying plant-life, and they also
sensed the presence of Fawn -- some sort of mental construct of a woman created by Rick via his
connection to the Nega-Band.
Although Mar-Vell could not directly sense Fawn, she restored Mar-Vell's strength, and he took the opportunity to flee.
(Captain Marvel I#44 - BTS) - Mar-Vell returned to the medical facility to find Rick and his chamber missing, after which he was assaulted and subdued by Underground cyborgs who brought both Mar-Vell and Rick before the General. The General introduced himself as the "Head"of the Underground and told Marvel that he wanted them both to not only join but to lead the Underground -- which he noted was formed to fight against the Null-Trons-- and in exchange, he would cure them of the disease he had discovered in Rick' brain as Rick and Mar-Vell's minds as they were merging into one.
(Captain
Marvel I#45) - The General revealed his origins and their progressively
losing the battle against the Null-Trons.
After Mar-Vell agreed to the General's offer, Rambu had him approach
the Mind Gem, into which Rambu and the others physically cast Jones. The General
then instructed Mar-Vell
to follow Jones into the Gem or forfeit all hope, and Mar-Vell entered the Gem as well.
(Captain Marvel I#45) - Within the Mind Gem, Rick and Mar-Vell battled to preserve their own identities, and -- and, as the General had planned -- the Mind Gem transmitted the energies of their fight to the Underground who then assaulted the Null-Trons while repeating Rick's words.
(Captain Marvel I#45 - BTS) - Mar-Vell and Jones' fierce battle led the Underground to gain the upper hand against the Null-Trons, until the two realized what they were doing to each other and paused, at which point the Underground and Null-Trons' struggles halted as well.
(Captain
Marvel I#45) - As the General stared into Mind Gem, awaiting the next
assault, which he knew would soon occur, Rambu struggled to his feet.
Neither Rambu nor the General were aware that they were being watched
by Fawn.
When Rambu -- frustrated with the General's goal
of ending the conflict but not caring who won -- began pounding on the
Mind Gem, accusing "this soul gem" of
being the cause of their misery, the assault was transmitted to both
Mar-Vell and Jones inside the gem; and, through them, to the warring
Underground and Null-Trons forces, who toppled to the ground.
The Null-Trons considered that the planet itself must be disintegrating.
(Captain
Marvel I#45 - BTS) - Fawn
subsequently led Rambu to join her in entering the Mind Gem, and they
stopped Mar-Vell and Jones from fighting, after which Fawn granted
Mar-Vell understanding that he and Jones were merely evolving rather
than merging.
Fawn then led Rick Jones, Mar-Vell, and Rambu with her to escape "this jewel of madness and death."
(Captain Marvel I#46 (fb) - BTS) - The quartet departed the Mind Gem and Deneb IV.
Comments: Created by Steve Englehart, Al Milgrom, and Terry Austin.
The Null-Trons hatred of
"animation" seemed to be somewhat of a mistake, as they themselves had
some animation. What they really hated was organic life in all of it's
forms.
An exhausted Mar-Vell once referred to one of the Null-Trons as a Null-Troid in Captain Marvel I#44.
Captain Marvel I#46 describes Rambu as "last of vanquished cyborg army."
The General was last "seen" crying out in futile protest as Rambu and Fawn entered the Mind Gem.
We did not see the Underground army after the last scene with
Rambu striking the Mind Gem, but I wonder if this is meant to indicate
that when the fight between Rick and Mar-Vell ceased (or when they
departed the Mind Gem) that the cyborg army was caught unawares and wiped
out by the Null-Trons?
As the whole Deneb IV,
Null-Trons, and Underground army history is really vague, I would love
to see a story that fleshed it out further.
And then there's the whole Deneb IV discussion you can find in the OK Space Station profile's comments.
Short version...Deneb IV in this story is presumably NOT Zenn-La.
At the time of these stories, the Infinity Gems (which are now "Stones") were all just known as Soul Gems, and what was eventually identified as the Mind Gem was the second "Soul Gem" we had seen. Additionally, at the time of this story, this gem was huge, like 3-4' in diameter.
So, the General and the Mind Gem, the Millennia Bloom, and Fawn were
all major sub-plots
during the Supreme Intelligence's way overly-convoluted plot where --
as far as I can tell -- his goal was to absorb Rick Jones' Destiny
Force power. The involvement with the Mind Gem was affecting the bond
between Marvel and Rick, presumably facilitating the Supreme
Intelligence's ability to control Jones...or something?
Captain Marvel I#41's last page
has this six panel prologue hinting at the Supreme Intelligence's plot.
Panels include
I don't really know what "the
pitch of cosmic gyros changes oh-so-very slightly" means. Using a process
of elimination, the most likely answer would be that they were part of the
navigation system of the imperial dreadnaught "Star of Vengeance"
that appeared in Captain Marvel I#46 and was also part of the Supremor's plan.
However, that idea could well be wrong, especially since that final chapter was
written by Chris Claremont instead of Steve Englehart.
--Don Campbell
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Null-Trons should be distinguished from:
images: (without ads)
Captain Marvel I#41, last page, panels 4-9 (prologue)
#44, pg. 12, panel 6 (Marvel flying past seemingly dormant Null-Tron heads);
pg. 13, panel 1 (Null-Trons grabbing Marvel);
pg. 14, panel 3 (group of Null-Trons);
pg. 15, panel 1 (Null-Trons from above);
#45, pg. 7, panel 7 (vs. Underground);
pg. 12, panel 4 (Underground dominating Null-Trons);
pg. 13, panel 5 (Null-Trons and Underground pause fighting)
Appearances:
Captain Marvel I#41 (November, 1975) - Steve Englehart (plot/script),
Al Milgrom (plot/pencils), Bernie Wrightson, Craig Russell, Bob McLeod,
Terry Austin & Al Milgrom (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor) - possibly...
Captain Marvel I#44 (May, 1976) - Steve Englehart (writer), Al Milgrom
(artist), Terry Austin (finishes), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Captain Marvel I#45 (July, 1976) - Steve Englehart (writer), Al Milgrom
(artist), Terry Austin (finishes), Marv Wolfman (editor)
First posted: 04/02/2023
Last updated: 04/03/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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