DERATH

Real Name: Derath'ath Machlan'n

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (A'askvarii race) technology user

Occupation: Explorer; former Farscout Officer in A'askvarii fleet, physicist

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Black Goliath (Bill Foster), Celia Jackson, Keith Jackson

Enemies: Mortag, Kirgarian dune cat

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Sharra's Forge, Kirgar (planet);
    formerly Oerlanii (home planet)

First Appearance: Black Goliath#5 (November, 1976)

Powers/Abilities: Derath possessed the typical attributes of a member of the A'askvarii race, and had six tentacle arms. He possessed gills and was presumably amphibious; he required a special uniform to prevent rapid dehydration on land. He possessed rudimentary telepathy, which enabled him to assimilate the language of another sentient being by direct contact with him or her.

In addition, Derath used a variety of advanced equipment, including his convertor and blaster.

Derath possessed advanced training in Physics, and he had a knowledge of technology beyond that of Earth's. He claimed to be able to construct a functional starship given the materials and some basic tools; he was able to adapt ancient Kirgarian technology into a functioning dimensional transporter.

Height: Unrevealed (5'9"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed (170 lbs.; by approximation)
Eyes: Red
Hair: None

History:
(Black Goliath#5 (fb) - BTS) - Derath was once the foremost Farscout in the A'askvarii fleet, an explorer seeking life on other worlds.

(Black Goliath#5 (fb) - BTS) - Derath encountered enough mammals in his time to learn of their susceptibility to temperature extremes (which was less than that of the A'askvarii).

(Black Goliath#5 (fb) - BTS) - Derath had heard of the planet Kirgar and its history, but like most others, believed it to be a mere legend.

(Black Goliath#5 (fb) - BTS) - On one mission, Derath discovered the desolate (desert and mountains) world of Kirgar (second planet from the blue-white star Dharhalla), and his sensor scans revealed a significant amount about the planet's former stronghold (the mere tip of which existed as a pyramid above the sands) before he carelessly crashed on Kirgar, damaging his ship beyond repair. Derath knew that there was available equipment in the former stronghold of the Kirgarian race, but he lacked the strength and endurance to survive the trek across the hostile terrain of Sharra's Forge to reach it -- the length of time Derath was on Kirgar is unrevealed, but he kept a recorded personal log of his experiences on the planet.

(Black Goliath#5) - The Earth hero Black Goliath, along with Celia and Keith Jackson were banished to Kirgar by an energy blast from Stilt-Man's Z-Ray. Derath encountered the three of them, and after a brief misunderstanding--when his attempts to learn their language by direct contact were mistaken as an attack--he showed them the way to the stronghold. Black Goliath protected the three others from the harsh environment of Sharra's Forge. Derath noted that without him they would never had found a possible way home, while without Black Goliath, he would have perished before reaching the stronghold.

(Black Goliath#5 - BTS) - Their journey took a night and a day of hard travel.

(Black Goliath#5) - Upon reaching the pyramid-tip of the stronghold, Derath noted that his sensors revealed that the base of the structure was set on the original floor of the desert, over a terrestrial mile beneath their feet. He further noted that the stronghold had stood inviolate for ten thousand centuries...but no longer, as he blasted a way into it. Despite the information from his sensors, Derath remained worried, recalling the legend that when the last warlord of Kirgar died, he left a guardian to protect his stronghold; and if the stronghold had survived all this time, might not the guardian have survived as well?

   After wandering the facility for hours, Derath led his new allies to the stronghold's primary research center and turned on the facility's power and lights; despite what he already knew, Derath was astounded by the kilometer upon cubic kilometer of machinery and instrumentation stretching off in every direction...and all of the equipment functioned perfectly, despite eons of inactivity.

   Derath set to work almost instantly on devising a means of travel. He quickly determined from the radioactive residue on Black Goliath's costume that Stilt-Man's beam weapon was powered by neutron star matter (indicating Stilt-Man was playing with incalculably deadly forces), which had warped local space about the trio. He set to work at a way to duplicate the effect in reverse, which would transport them all back to Earth. Some time later, Derath adapted some of the technology in the stronghold to successfully construct a dimensional transporter that would do just that, and he was looking forward to visiting Earth with his three friends.

   However, the guardian of the stronghold, a powerful robot named Mortag, had been activated by their intrusion into the pyramid. Mortag stalked and prepared to strike a killing blow to Black Goliath and Celia Jackson, who had slipped away for a romantic interlude. But Derath saw Mortag about to strike, so he heroically pushed Black Goliath and Celia out of harm's way, taking a fatal blow to his back from Mortag's axe in the process.

   After engaging Mortag in battle and defeating the giant robot, Black Goliath told Keith and Celia that for his sacrifice, they owed their deceased friend Derath a debt they could never repay.

(Black Goliath#5 - BTS) - Black Goliath, Celia, and Keith used the dimensional transporter to return to Earth.

(Black Goliath#5) - Keith Jackson decided to continue with Derath's personal log and keep it until he could return it to Derath's people and/or his family.

Comments: Created by Chris Claremont and Keith Pollard.

When he initially felt threatened by Black Goliath, Derath invoked the phrase, "by the First Egg..." -- whether that refers to some specific being, such as a deity, or just the first of Derath's species, or something else altogether, is anyone's guess.
And when he saw Mortag about to strike Black Goliath and Celia, he also referenced "Lord of the Dark Tower..."

Derath seemed to be a benevolent, capable, and likeable guy. Too bad Bill and Celia had to get hot and bothered, or he would have survived and had a happy ending.

Just before they used the dimensional transporter, Black Goliath told Keith to "gather up Derath's equipment," so presumably they also brought the convertor and blaster back to Earth with them.--Ron Fredricks

Profile by Snood. Expansion by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Derath has no known connections to:

• any other characters with similar names
  

Derath's convertor It was one of the pieces of equipment carried by Derath. Its only depicted use was to manufacture molecule-thick "skinsuits" for Celia and Keith Jackson, to protect them from the harsh environment of the planet Kirgar. Any other capabilities it may have possessed are unrevealed. --Black Goliath#5

	Derath's blaster One of the pieces of equipment carried by Derath, it fired a beam of destructive energy. It was first used by Derath to incinerate a Kirgarian dune cat that was about to pounce upon Celia Jackson; afterward, he warned his three friends that they had better make haste and leave the area, for a blaster that was effective against one dune cat was rarely effective against a pack of them. Derath later used it to blast a hole in the pyramid-tip of the Kirgarian stronghold.
	After Derath was killed by Mortag, Celia used it to momentarily stun the giant robot, but--because of its alien design--she had some difficulty holding the weapon. --Black Goliath#5

dimensional transporter After analyzing the radioactive residue on Black Goliath's costume, Derath hoped to reverse the process which had banished Black Goliath and Celia and Keith Jackson to Kirgar; to accomplish this, he restructured some of the technology available in the Kirgarian stronghold into this device. Some time later, Derath completed the dimensional transporter, and he was looking forward to accompanying his three friends to Earth; but Derath sacrificed his life to protect his friends from the guardian robot Mortag. After Mortag's destruction, Black Goliath, Celia, and Keith used the transporter to successfully return home to Earth. --Black Goliath#5

images: (without ads)
Black Goliath#5, p4, pan7 (Main Image - Derath)
Black Goliath#5, p5, pan4 (Headshot - Derath)
Black Goliath#5, p4, pan1 (Derath first encounters Keith Jackson)
Black Goliath#5, p12, pan6-7 (Derath pushes Black Goliath and Celia Jackson out of range of Mortag's axe; death of Derath)
Black Goliath#5, p6, pan3-4 (Derath reprograms convertor to produce "skinsuits")
Black Goliath#5, p7, pan2 (Derath fires blaster at dune cat; Celia Jackson)
Black Goliath#5, p9, pan2 (Derath uses blaster to blast hole into stronghold)
Black Goliath#5, p15, pan6 (Celia Jackson fires blaster at Mortag)
Black Goliath#5, p12, pan1 (dimensional transporter; Derath, Keith Jackson)

Appearances:
Black Goliath#5 (November, 1976) - Chris Claremont (writer), Keith Pollard (pencils/inks), Bonnie Wilford (colors), Irv Watanabe (letters), Archie Goodwin (editor)

First posted: 09/03/2001
Last updated: 01/29/2023