Karkas is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. Karkas is a member of the Deviants, a monstrous offshoot of humanity created by the

Celestials The Celestials are fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Depicted as cosmic beings, the characters debuted in the Bronze Age of Comic Books and have reappeared on numerous occasions. The Celestials ...

Publication history

The character first appeared in '' The Eternals'' #8 (Jan. 1977) and was created by writer/artist

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...

Fictional character biography

Karkas was born in Deviant Lemuria, too monstrous in appearance even by Deviant standards. He was made a slave, pitted in gladiatorial contests against others considered grotesque. Another gladiator was

Ransak the Reject Raa of the Caves Holden Radcliffe Radioactive Man Chen Lu Igor Stancheck Radius Irani Rael Irani Rael is a fictional alien in Marvel Comics. The character, created by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Wellinton Alves and Geraldo Borges, fi ...

, who was considered hideous by the Deviants due to his normal human appearance (also interpretable as because he looked too much like an

Eternal Eternal(s) or The Eternal may refer to: * Eternity, an infinite amount of time, or a timeless state * Immortality or eternal life * God, the supreme being, creator deity, and principal object of faith in monotheism Comics, film and television * ...

). Karkas and the Reject were pitted against each other, in a bout viewed by the Eternal

Thena Thena (born Azura) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Martin A. Burnstein and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared as Minerva in ''Red Raven Comics'' #1 (August 1940), but was later reint ...

, in which Ransak bested Karkas. When Eson the Celestial attacked, Karkas begged Thena for sanctuary with the Deviants' enemies, the Eternals. Thena teleported both Karkas and Ransak away to Olympia. With Thena and Ransak, Karkas battled Zakka and Tutinax. Since then the two have become friends and reside primarily with the Eternals. Karkas became a scholar. Later, Karkas fought

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

, and then became his ally. He participated in a battle between the Olympian gods and Eternals. Later, Karkas captured Warlord

Kro KRO, or (Catholic Radio Broadcasting), was a Dutch public broadcasting organization founded on 23 April 1925. Broadly Catholic in its spiritual outlook, KRO broadcast the bulk of its television output on the NPO 1 channel. KRO was also responsi ...

. Karkas attempted to save Margo Damian's life by tricking

Ghaur Ghaur () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. In the Marvel Universe, he is the head of the Deviant race's priesthood. Publication history Created by Peter B. Gillis and Sal Buscema, he first ...

. Karkas helped fight Ghaur's army, and was present at Margo's burial. Karkas later battled the Eternal

Ajak Ajak is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jack Kirby, Ajak first appeared in ''The Eternals'' #2 (August 1976), he was created by Jack Kirby. The character is usually depicted as a mem ...

, who had been transformed into a monster. He witnessed the apparent demise of Ajak and Dr. Daniel Damian. Karkas was part of the ''Delta Network'' led by Kro, assembled to challenge Ghaur's grip on the Deviants. He continued to support Kro's faction in his dispute with Ghaur for the deviant's leadership. Karkas was briefly transformed in a gigantic monster by action of Apocalypse. Later, he helped

in a battle against the Deviants in Lemuria.''Thor: The Deviants Saga''#2-5 (2012) He also went with

Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...

to the Negative zone to rescue his friend Ransak.

Powers and abilities

Karkas is an adolescent, and quite intelligent and artistic despite his appearance. Karkas has superhuman strength, stamina, and durability. He has great learning abilities and a high aptitude in philosophy, and has been described as having an

eidetic memory Eidetic memory ( ; more commonly called photographic memory or total recall) is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision—at least for a brief period of time—after seeing it only onceThe terms ''eidetic memory'' and ''pho ...

. Karkas possesses a wrinkled elephant-like red hide that is exceptionally thick and rough, making him highly resistant to injury. He has claw-like fingers on each hand, pointed teeth and an oversized head. Karkas has been described as having six digits on each limb, but has been depicted with fou

or fiv

Karkas wears body armor of unknown composition, designed by Eternal armorers and technicians.

References

External links

MarvelDirectory.com's bio on Karkas

{{Jack Kirby Characters created by Jack Kirby Comics characters introduced in 1977 Fictional characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Fictional gladiators Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics Deviants