Karnak (Marvel)
Karnak is a male comic character who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origins
Karnak Mander-Azur was a bald headed male member of the Inhumans. (Karnak v1 #2)
He was then enrolled at his fathers seminary at the Tower of Wisdom where he trained in the various physical and mental disciplines until he was eighteen years old. (Karnak v1 #2) Karnak joined his cousins when they went to see Medusa after she went through her studies. At the time, Maximus grew bored and made a challenge that the four of them in the class should make a race to see who would sit on the throne. Karnak suggested that Crystal make his way through one passage in order to get to the throne but Medusa was quick to point that this would have taken her sister outside their parents quarters. This caused Crystal to believe that Karnak was attempting to sabotage her leading to a brief argument between the pair. However, they came to settle it and worked together to make their way to the throne room only to find Medusa there with her parents. They came to scold the young royals for their games with this allowing Medusa to sit on the throne and thus win their contest. (Women of Marvel v1 #1)
Many years ago, the young royal joined his cousin Black Bolt in confronting the King of Attilan over the removal of the Slave Engine. Karnak believed its removal made the Inhumans weak and vulnerable to the dangers around them whilst the King felt the device was too dangerous to use. Thus, a coup occurred against the King who effortlessly defeated the young royals including Karnak except for Black Bolt who managed to depose the monarch. The former ruler was then taken outside Attilan where his name was stricken from the records and he was exiled from the city. (Mighty Avengers v1 #27) At some point, he had a son that was named Leer with the child being young and having never undergone Terrigenesis. (Secret Warriors v2 #5)
Inhumans
Karnak was with the Inhuman Royal Family when Crystal brought the Human Torch to their hidden headquarters, from where they searched for their queen, Medusa. When he met the youth he introduced himself by throwing him over his shoulder in a display of Inhuman skill. When Johnny awoke, Gorgon had returned with Medusa, and it was revealed that the Torch was not an Inhuman as Crystal had thought. After Gorgon and Triton fought with him, Johnny burned his way out of the hideout to alert the other members of the Fantastic Four. (Fantastic Four v1 #45) He joined the other members of the Royal Family in battling the Fantastic Four with Karnak starting hostilities by cutting a piece of wall with a strike and then throwing it at the Thing. The battle only ended when Crystal arrived where she revealed that Triton had been taken away by the Seeker. This led to Karnak joining the other members of the House of Agon as they joined together with Lockjaw who teleported them back to Attilan. (Fantastic Four v1 #46) Black Bolt then faced off against his traitorous brother, Maximus, and quickly took his crown back by force and reclaimed leadership of the Inhumans, but the Fantastic Four appeared moments later, having followed the Seeker back to the refuge. While Johnny Storm and Crystal ran to each other, Black Bolt and Mister Fantastic argued, as Maximus fired his Atmo-Gun, intending to destroy all of humanity. (Fantastic Four v1 #47) When his weapon didn’t work, Medusa deduced that it proved Inhumans and humans were of the same race, which infuriated Maximus. He went out of control and reversed his machine, creating a Negative Barrier around Attilan that trapped Karnak and the rest of the Inhumans inside, while the Fantastic Four narrowly escaped. (Fantastic Four v1 #48)
Finding themselves trapped behind the Negative Zone barrier, Karnak and the others lamented over their fate. (Fantastic Four v1 #50) While they remained trapped, Karnak became obsessed with breaking the barrier using his skills, but he only succeeded in injuring his hand. (Fantastic Four v1 #52) Karnak and the others then began attempting to coax Maximus into revealing a means for them to escape, but they found that he was more insane than ever and was only interested in making toys than helping solve their dilemma. Karnak then stood back helplessly as Black Bolt attempted to use his control of electrons trigger an Absorba-Bomb to destroy the barrier. (Fantastic Four v1 #54) This attempt also failed, and realizing that the Absorba-Bomb could destroy them all Black Bolt injured himself attempting to stop it. (Fantastic Four v1 #56) As soon as Black Bolt began to recover, Maximus revealed the only means in which the barrier could be destroyed, also revealing to the others the secret of why Black Bolt never spoke. Medusa tried to stop Maximus from speaking, but it was too late and the secret was out: the only way to destroy the Negative Zone barrier was in the destructive power of Black Bolt's voice. Something that could possible destroy them all in the process. (Fantastic Four v1 #57) Eventually, Black Bolt revealed his secret, that the use of his voice was lethally destructive, and he soon used its power to destroy the barrier that imprisoned them. With no other choice left to them, Karnak and the other Inhumans sought shelter below the city while Black Bolt unleashed the awesome power of his voice. Although Black Bolt succeeded in destroying the barrier, Attilan was decimated in the process. The Inhumans' Council of Elders soon decreed that the Royal Family would disperse and go into human society to learn more of it, while the rest of the Inhumans rebuilt Attilan. Black Bolt agreed, and led them out until a time the city was rebuilt to its former splendor. (Fantastic Four v1 #59) Karnak joined the rest of the royal family in their travels. They made a brief stop in Europe before a group of prejudiced villagers mistook them for witches and attacked, forcing them to defend themselves and leave. (Fantastic Four v1 #60)
Karnak and the others soon found a new refuge before Black Bolt allowed Crystal to venture on her own to find the Human Torch. (Fantastic Four v1 #61) Their island hideaway was soon invaded by soldiers of an unspecified country who sought to secretly deploy an "Atomic Curtain" on the island in direct contravention of NATO agreements. Karnak and the other Inhumans attacked the invaders, destroyed their weapon and sent them fleeing into the ocean. (Fantastic Four v1 #62) The Inhumans and the others soon had to deal with two invaders, the first being the costumed hero known as the Black Panther who legally purchased the Inhumans temporary island home. He battled it out with the Inhumans until they realized they had mutual allies in the Fantastic Four. When Black Bolt alerted them that the island was also being invaded by the Microverse tyrant known as the Psycho-Man. Later on in the battle, Gorgon returned from a mission and arrived just in time to destroyed the device the Psycho-Man's emoto-cannon. However before the Inhumans and their allies could apprehend the Psycho-Man he fled back to his native Microverse. (Fantastic Four Annual v1 #5) When the villain known as Plantman encroached their island in his sub, Black Bolt sent Triton to investigate. Later when Triton was captured along with the Sub-Mariner, Karnak and the others attempted to rescue them. Despite their efforts, the Plantman managed to escape in the ocean. (Sub-Mariner v1 #2) However, Triton and the Sub-Mariner managed to free themselves and stop the Plantman's schemes. (Sub-Mariner v1 #3) When Attilan was restored to its former glory, Karnak accompanied Black Bolt back to the Great Refuge. When Maximus and his band of renegade Inhumans attempted to take over the city by coercing the gamma spawned monster known as the Hulk into going on a rampage, Karnak lent his strength to the battle. Ultimately, Black Bolt foiled his mad brother's schemes and the Hulk was driven from Attilan. (Incredible Hulk Special v1 #1)
He was later sent to Earth with Gorgon in an attempt to find Black Bolt's missing son with Daredevil's help. (Daredevil v1 #274)
Later on, the Blue Area of the Moon was attacked by Apocalypse who conquered it and deposed the Royal Family. Whilst most Inhumans were captured, Karnak and his cousins except for Medusa remained free where they were in hiding. By this point, the immortal Mutant had taken some members of the Inhumans to serve him where they became his Riders of the Storm who enacted his will. Around this time, X-Factor came to oppose them where they managed to evade near destruction and found themselves rescued by the Royal Family. X-Factor revealed that Apocalypse had targeted them and kidnapped Cyclop's son Nathan Christopher Summers with the Inhuman Royal Family working with them to free Attilan. In the battle against Apocalypse's forces, Karnak directed Gorgon's power at a point that helped divide the enemy's ranks allowing X-Factor to assault the citadel. (X-Factor v1 #67)
War of Kings
During the Secret Invasion, Karnak encountered a Skrull in the form of Toros. (Secret Invasion: Inhumans v1 #1) Karnak engages it and learns that it can copy his powers. Karnak manages to defeat the Toros-Skrull by sending it out the window where it was impaled on a fence. (Secret Invasion: Inhumans v1 #2)
During Devos the Devastator's assault, the Inhumans and Avengers managed to push back his cybernetic hordes with Karnak rendering Devos himself unconscious. (Realm of Kings: Inhumans v1 #2)
Inhumanity
When he was pondering the reason for Black Bolt to spread the Terrigen Mists, and what would happen next, Karnak had an epiphany in which he finally saw 'the fault in all things'. He told Medusa, who was present during his interrogation, that she needed to forget everything she thought she knew, ignore the instincts and forget the past; otherwise, all would be lost. Following this revelation, in which he stated it was too late for him to unlearn a lifetime of error, Karnak shattered the window from his containment cell and jumped out of the Stark Tower, falling to his death and killing himself. (Inhumanity v1 #1) However, Karnak was a distant relative of the NuHuman Lineage, whose body contained the consciousnesses of every deceased from his genetic line. Karnak found himself inside Lineage's body, which he thought was Hell. (Inhuman Annual v1 #1) Whilst there, he tried to convince some dead Inhumans to help him escape but failed. Meanwhile, Lineage became Medusa's adviser when she made the kingdom of New Attilan from the ruins of Attilan, though he planned to betray her. Karnak decided to break out of Hell on his own, but found an ally in the Capo of Ennilux, who was consumed by Lineage in order to learn how to use the Inhuman Codex. Karnak learned from him how Lineage had been able to defeat both Medusa and Gorgon. (Inhuman v1 #14) Karnak and the Capo then battled the guards of the exit from "Hell" and Karnak managed to defeat one of the two guards, then broke the door's mechanism while the Capo held the other. Karnak emerged from Lineage's chest just as he had defeated Medusa, apparently killing him. Karnak apologized to Medusa for leaving them in such a critical time and told her that she saved the Inhumans in the time of crisis. (Inhuman Annual v1 #1)
Eight months later, he departed New Attilan and took the position of Magister as he headed the monastery of the second Tower of Wisdom. Once there, he led the monks as they passed on the philosophical teachings of his father. To sustain the monastery, he accepted missions from S.H.I.E.L.D. that involved a newly activated Nuhumans where he was tasked with guiding them through their change. One such assignment was being taken to the Arctic in order to rescue the Nuhuman Adam Roderick who had been taken by a cult called I.D.I.C. with Karnak tasked with the job of rehabilitating him. During this time, the Magister deduced an agent was a mole for I.D.I.C. and captured him where he forced him into revealing the cult's cell in Berlin. Field Director Phil Coulson helped rein in Karnak's attempts to kill the mole and later accompanied the Magister in the Roderick recover operation. (Karnak v1 #1) The trail led him to a safehouse belonging to the cult where he disposed of its armed members and battled its head priest who was practiced in zen gunnery with Karnak able to eliminate him. (Karnak v1 #2) Coulson came to determine the cult was based in the Chapel of a Single Shadow where it was located in Eastern Europe in Transia. The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier arrived on the scene but came under attack from adherents from the Chapel until Karnak found a weakness in their sonic attack which killed many of the cultists at the scene. (Karnak v1 #3)
With the Terrigen Mists gone, Karnak took his son Leer and provided him to Mister Sinister in the hope that the scientists experiments would give the boy greater power for a coming conflict. (Secret Warriors v2 #5) He had provided Essex with knowledge, equipment and his son as efforts to recreate Terrige but intended to break this agreement when the formula was nearing completion. This was because he had intended for Moon Girl to complete the formula thus ensuring that the Inhumans on Earth had a future. Karnak also believed that their people were in desperate need for leadership and determined that Moon Girl was to be their new monarch. Thus, he orchestrated events that caused chaos in New Attilan and brought down the Ennilux corporation with the goal of transferring all of it to Moon Girl. After Sinister was defeated, he offered this position to her but she refused with Karnak not realising that he was the flaw in this entire plan. As a result, the formula was destroyed rather than continue with the products of Sinister's research with Karnak being exiled for his actions. (Secret Warriors v2 #11)
Overview
Personality and attributes
He was also known as the Shatterer due to his ability. (Fantastic Four Annual v1 #12)
It was said that he was not a cheerful person to talk to and engage in conversation. In encounters with him, some came to be disturbed at encountering Karnak and asked if he was Satan though he claimed that Satan was just a story. (Karnak v1 #3) Karnak had said that fear was an awful thing but that one could learnt to banish it. (Karnak v1 #4)
Such was his reputation that he was considered the most dangerous of the Inhumans. (Uncanny X-Men v4 #16)
According to Russof the Painter, Karnak actually hated everyone ranging from people to virtue to ability. This stemmed from the belief that there was nothing special about him and that he had never undergone Terrigenesis. It was said that he turned his back on change though Karnak was quick to note that he had no choice on the matter. Thus, it was believed that his strict and harsh nature was the result of him trying to take control and pushing everyone else down. (Karnak v1 #5)
He considered himself to be a teacher and a guardian to those under his care. As Magister of the Tower of Wisdom, he taught his disciples the one ultimate vital truth where he taught them that they were nothing. (Karnak v1 #6)
Karnak was known to had mated and had a son by the name of Leer. He had the ability of amplifying the powers of other Inhumans. (Secret Warriors v2 #5)
Powers and abilities
It was noted that he had never gone through Terrigenesis. (Karnak v1 #2)
The Priests of the Weeping Tower was noted to had also taught him the ways of martial arts from infancy. (Uncanny X-Men: First Class v1 #2) With a single strike, he could hit a weak point in the structure of a building causing it to collapse. (Karnak v1 #2) In fact, his skill was so precise that with his talent he could with but a touch target the section of the brain that governed a person's powers thus destroying it. This effectively meant that he could destroy a small part of a person's brain without injuring the rest and removing a power completely in the process. Despite that, the damage caused could result in a person being crippled as a result of the brain damage that was very limited and specific. (Karnak v1 #6)
One effect of his ability was to discern faults in a person's rational and their understanding of logical conclusions. (Karnak v1 #2) He was even capable of finding flaws in the transmission of sound and find a weakness in it where he could project a frequency capable of disrupting a sonic attack. (Karnak v1 #3)
By using his ability, he was able to perceive fragments of the future and witness calamity before it occurred though the weight of this knowledge once made him consider suicide. (Inhumanity v1 #1)
A central location for him was the Tower of Wisdom that served as a religious commune among the Inhumans. (Karnak v1 #1) Within his monastery, he had by with him numerous other disciples that were known as the Friends of the Tower with all these being Inhumans. (Civil War II: Ulysses v1 #2)
Notes
- Karnak was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby where he made his first appearance in Fantastic Four v1 #45 (December, 1965).
- On Newsarama, Matt Fraction whilst writing Inhumanity commented in an interview, "I needed somebody who could put puzzles together. He sees the flaws in things. I needed the rest of the cast to put together what the hell Black Bolt and Maximus were up to. It's a way for everyone to puzzle it out with Karnak as he's putting it together. It's a way we can get into the story that's informative but sort of backwards."
- Writer Charles Soule later resurrected the character where he said in an interview, "Karnak is just such a unique, weird (in a good way) character. His power is the ability to see weakness and stress points in anything around him, which he then exploits either physically through his amazing kung fu-esque fighting skills, or mentally/strategically in his role as one of Queen Medusa's chief counselors. He tends to have a fascinating perspective on events, and adding his voice back into the mix of the "Inhuman" cast will open up some great new possibilities."
- In an interview, writer Warren Ellis wrote, "They showed me Karnak, and I did some reading, because, seriously, short guy in a weird helmet who can karate-chop anything to death, why the hell not. And he's not an Inhuman. He never took the mutagenic Terrigen mists like the other Inhumans. He's a dementedly intense philosopher who can see the flaw in anything -- objects, systems, ideas, people -- and strike that flaw in order to destroy it. And, once you realize that that's what you're looking at... well, how can you not take a crack at that? That's insane."
Alternate Versions
- In Fantastic Four v2 #13 (1997), an alternate version of Karnak was shown in the short merger between the Wildstorm and Marvel universes. Changes led to the emergence of World War 3 where mankind was facing an invasion from the combined forces of the Daemonites and the Skrulls who sided with Doctor Doom. During this assault, Attilan was destroyed and Karnak joined S.H.I.E.L.D. Black Knights unit that included Dane Whitman.
- In Mutant X v1 #32 (2001), an alternate version of Karnak appeared in the setting of the Mutant X reality designated as Earth-1298 in the Multiverse.
- In Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual v1 #1 (2005), an alternate version of Karnak appeared in the setting of the Ultimate Marvel reality designated as Earth-1610 in the Multiverse.
In other media
Television
- In Fantastic Four, Karnak appeared in the 1978 animated television series in the episode "Medusa and the Inhumans" where he was voiced by actor John Stephenson.
- In Fantastic Four, Karnak appeared in the 1990s animated television series where he was voiced by actor Clyde Kusatsu.
- In Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., Karnak appeared in the setting of the animated television series in the episode "Inhuman Nature" where he was voiced by actor Fred Tatasciore. He appeared with the Inhuman Royal Family in a confrontation against the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.. Red Hulk fights Karnak which he maintained causing damage to the weak point of Red's weapon by splitting it in half. Then, in a truce, he discovered that Maxiums secretly builds a weapon that will end all humanity.
- In Inhumans, Karnak appeared in the live-action television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where he was portrayed by actor Ken Leung.
- In Marvel Future Avengers, Karnak appeared in the setting of the anime television series where he was voiced by Japanese actor Hiroyuki Kinoshita and by English actor Grant George in the dub.
Video games
- In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Karnak appeared as a non-playable character in the video game.
- In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Karnak appeared as a heroic character in the Facebook video game.
- In Marvel: Contest of Champions, Karnak appeared as a playable character in the mobile phone game.
Appearances
- Fantastic Four v1: (1965)
- Inhumans v1:
- Uncanny X-Men: First Class v1:
- Mighty Avengers v1:
- Women of Marvel v1:
- Inhumanity v1:
- Inhuman v1:
- Karnak v1:
- Secret Warriors v2:
External Links
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