Qurac

Qurac is a country that features in DC Comics.

History

Origin

Qurac

It was originally under the rule of the Ottoman Empire until World War I, when it was overthrown by Arab and English forces. After the war, the area was held as a British mandate until World War II. At that time, Premier Al-Gailiani of Iraq, an ardent Arab nationalist, replaced the moderate Iraqi government with a pro-Axis one, leading to the British invasion of Basra in May 1941. One of Al-Gailiani's chief supporters, Hassan al-Sadr, fled south and galvanized Arab tribesmen into an army. Taking the name of Sulieman and aided by German war materials and funds, he established the nation of Qurac. In return, he let the Germans build the fortress Jotunheim, from which their Arab ally could bedevil Allied shipping in the Persian and Oman Gulfs. Sulieman's regime was defeated with the end of the war and a republic was declared which lasted until the 1970's when a military coup, led by General Hurrambi Marlo, overthrew the civilian regime and declared a military dictatorship. (Who's Who: Update '87 v1 #4)

During World War II, Nazi Germany was known to had occupied parts of Qurac where they built a fortress in the southern part of the country with this being called Jotuneheim. (Suicide Squad v1 #1)

Some time later, the majority of Qurac's oil reserves were contaminated with a nuclear device, which rendered the nation's foremost natural resource unavailable. Marlo blamed the disaster on western operatives trying to overthrow his regime, but most observers believe it was caused by the Quracis themselves, testing a nuclear device without proper care or shielding. Since then Marlo used the disaster as justification to embark on a course of international terrorism. (Who's Who: Update '87 v1 #4)

AmerTek came to operate in the country where they were developing a powerful weapon called the BG-50 with prototypes being made for testing. AmerTek's Colonel Weston came to order John Henry Irons to test the weapons in Qurac in order to view their effectiveness against Kurdish rebels. He later came to find the weapons having been used on innocent women and children with his AmerTek employer's considering it a successful field test. Blaming himself, he knew that the Colonel would not let him go and decided to erase all data on the more advanced BG-80's from the company's computers. Irons then faked his won death and disappeared to prevent him from being hunted down by AmerTek. (Steel v2 #0)

President Marlo came to assemble a team of Metahuman beings to form a group called Onslaught that were to be superpowered terrorists for hire. An airport was made to look like one in the U.S. with the team tasked with destroying it as a test of their capabilities. (Suicide Squad v1 #1)

Superman devastated the country's military in order to confront President Marlo over the actions of Quraqui terrorists. (Adventures of Superman v1 #428)

After the abduction of President Marlo, the country fell into a state of civil war. (Deathstroke the Terminator v1 #2) During this time, General Avral Kaddam emerged where he seized control of Qurac where he sought to extend his powerbase as he feared the other Arab countries signing treaties with Israel. (Deathstroke the Terminator v1 #3)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of history was created with a different series of event.

The Russian scientist Mikhail Arkadin empowered himself with the Firestorm Protocols becoming the superhuman being known as Pozhar where he journeyed to Qurac where he attacked one of the people disseminating the stolen Firestorm data. (Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men v1 #4)

Red Lantern Guy Gardner confronted the powered Quraci dictator Shahkavat before he could launch his invasion against Dubai. Their fight was interrupted by the arrival of the New God Malhedron who effortlessly defeat the Qurac leader. Malhedron and followers in the Wheel then departed after receiving orders from Highfather to return to New Genesis. (Red Lanterns v1 #35)

Overview

The Gulf nation of Qurac ran along the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula from Oman and the Rub' al Khali on the south, Saudi Arabia and the Summan on the west, and Iraq, the Karrocan Emirate. (Birds of Prey v1 #15)

Locations in the country include:

• Saqar Prison : situated in Tren'hei District. (Checkmate v2 #6)
• Adaam : a location that had a secret underground hanger. (Deathstroke the Terminator v1 #1)
• Dhurhran-Dhurhran : a location in Qurac. (Deathstroke the Terminator v1 #1)
• Al-Doha : (Wonder Woman v5 #20)
• K'Kyesh : a city. (Red Hood and the Outlaws v1 #9)
• Jotunheim : a fortress built by Nazi Germany in the southern part of Qurac during World War II with the Quraci's claiming that only a race of giants could have built it which was why they named it after the mythological land of giants. (Suicide Squad v1 #1)
• Belum : a region in Qurac that was home of the 'Green Mile' that was a 100 feet of green concrete where convicted killers were transported to the electric chair. (The Trials of Shazam! v1 #4)
• Bana-Mighdall :

Organizations that operated within Qurac included:

• Jihad :

A neighbouring nation that bordered Qurac was the Karrocan Emirate where there was a long disputed frontier on the Al Tagir that had been a flashpoint for war. (Birds of Prey v1 #15) One of the country's neighbours was shown to be Dubai. (Red Lanterns v1 #35)

Inhabitants

• Davood Nassur :
• Rayhan Mazin :
• Hurrambi Marlo :
• Avral Kaddam :
• Shahkavat : a male superpowered being who rose to power and intended to launch a military attack against neighbouring Dubai but Red Lantern Guy Gardner confronted him and the New Malhedron effortlessly defeated the Quraci dictator. (Red Lanterns v1 #35)
• Chanda Madan :

Notes

• Qurac was created by Marv Wolfman and Rich Buckler where it made its first appearance in Tales of the Teen Titans v1 #51 (March, 1985)
• In Batman: Gotham City Secret Files and Origins v1 #1 (2000), the Djinn Arrakhat was said to be a product of Quraci mythology with it being native to O'salla Ben Duuram - "the Oasis of the Damned".
• In Adventures of Superman v1 #428, the country's airforce was referred to as the Quraqi airforce.
• The Atlas of the DC Universe v1 (1980) had an entry on Qurac that included some backstory on the nation on Page 100. According to the guide, the Republic of Qurac was located on the eastern edge of the Sinai Peninsula on the Persian Gulf where it was once part of the Ottoman Empire until after World War I. It served as a British stronghold until World War II Hassan al-Sadr under the name of Suleiman used funds from his German allies to found the country of Qurac where he allowed the Nazi's to build their fortress of Jotunheim. After Suleiman's defeat, the country was established as a republic until the 1970s when General Marlo formed an anti-West and anti-Israeli military coup that overthrew the civilian government to institute a military dictatorship. Under his rule, the once prosperous oil rich nation fell into economic hardship as the country tested a nuclear device that contaminated its oil reserves with Marlo blaming the West for this state of affairs. In time, the country became to export terrorism after taking lessons from neighbouring Bialya whereupon it began to encounter the world's superheroes leading to President Marlo seeking to create his own such counter in the form of Jihad. Major cities in the country were stated to be Al Kuwait, Bahrein, Doha and Abu Dhabi with cast stretches being uninhabited desert and was home to Bedouin tribes.
• In JLA v1 #83 (2003), Superman came to use J'onn J'onnz's Transconsciousness Articulator in order to sort out trouble spots between his conscious and subconscious mind. This causes him to enter into a dream world where he imagines Lex Luthor waging an unjust war against the nation of Qurac based on insubstantial evidence.

Alternate Versions

• In Justice League Adventures v1 #3 (2002), an alternate version of Qurac appeared in the comic tie-ins to the DC Animated Universe. It was shown as being a war-torn nation whose aggressive actions were perpetrated by its military leader. An exiled group of Daxamites after gaining their powers under Earth's yellow sun went about ending conflict on the planet. This saw them going to Qurac in order to remove its leader form office and restore democratic choice to the people. However, the Daxamites attempted to achieve their goals through any means necessary even trying to kill those obstacles in their path.
• In Injustice: Gods Among Us v1 #3 (2013), Qurac appeared in an alternate universe that was a tie-in to the Injustice games. It was shown that it ignored its neighbouring nation of Jusdals calls for a ceasefire and continued to attack that country with Wonder Woman intervening to stop the conflict.

In other media

Television

• In Young Justice, Qurac appeared in the setting of the animated television series. The episode "Bereft" showed that Qurac shared a border with Bialya. The Team were dispatched to the Quraci desert by the Bialyan border to investigate an unusual power reading from the area. In the episode "Image", it was established that the capital city was Dhabar. Queen Bee used Psimon to get President Rumaan Harjavti to sign over the country to her with Bialyan troops entering Qurac despite the protests from the people. This was until Miss Martian publically revealed Queen Bee's deceptive role in taking Qurac with the merger between the two nations ending. In "Happy New Year", President Harjavti's daughter Noor Harjavti was among the people kidnapped and replaced by the Kroloteans who was freed by the Team. In Young Justice: Outsiders, it was revealed that Qurac was invaded by neighbouring Bialya causing a wave of refugees to escape the country some of whom were afforded sanctuary in Markovia.
• In Arrow, Qurac was mentioned in the setting of the live-action television series set in the Arrowverse. According to Felicity Smoak, it was the largest untapped oil field on the planet. In the episode "Sara", it was said Komodo's target was a businessman who worked in Qurac.
• In Supergirl, Qurac appeared in the setting of the live-action television series set in the Arrowverse. The episode "Reality Bytes" showed that on March 14, 2020, Prince Raakaan El-Farah of Qurac met with Lex Luthor so that Obsidian Platinum lenses could be distributed in his country.

Film

• In Wonder Woman: Bloodlines, Qurac briefly appeared in the setting of the 2019 animated film. Villainy, Inc. had a base of operations in the country where they traded with militants for materials. Silver Swan after her transformation was used to acquire relics provided to Doctor Cyber where she was commanded to kill the Quraci soldiers.
• In The Suicide Squad, Qurac was referenced in the setting of the live-action film. Rick Flag and Bloodsport were deployed as part of a special forces mission that was sent into the nation to take down Avral Kaddam.

Appearances

• Tales of the Teen Titans v1: (1985)
• Deathstroke the Terminator v1:
• Suicide Squad v1:
• Steel v2:
• Birds of Prey v1:
• The Trials of Shazam! v1:
• Red Hood and the Outlaws v1:
• Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men v1:
• Red Lanterns v1:
• Red Hood and the Outlaws v2:

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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