Karel
Karel
Real Name: Karel
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial, technology user
Occupation: Would-be liberator; adventurer
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Lucas Bishop, Deathbird (Cal'syee Neramani);
formerly
Tu;
potentially the
Barodi of the
city of Kuth
(he escaped the traders' world with the aid of their warp portal...if he met
them again in the future, he might consider he owes them a debt of honor...)
Enemies: Chnitt race, Tu, Ursaa race
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unidentified home planet light
years from the trader's world;
formerly a "traders'
planet"
First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men I#358 (August, 1998)
Powers/Abilities:
Karel did not demonstrate any superhuman abilities. He is a skilled pilot of
both interstellar crafts and low-flying air-cruisers. He was a talented
survivalist. His willingness to fight for freedom was considered a deviant trait
amongst his race.
Karel utilized an air-cruiser able to carry at least two other passengers across harsh landscapes. It was swift enough that Karel could pilot it to avoid a giant, tentacled sand creature. The air-cruiser could also be camouflaged.
On the trader's world, Karel obtained three "nullifier" charges, devices that, once unleashed, would eat whatever metal they contacted. A single weapon was powerful enough to destroy a Chnitt mothership.
Height: Approximately 5'9" (he looks pretty close to
Deathbird when they are standing face-to-face)
Weight: Approximately 185 lbs.
Eyes: Unrevealed (his irises are almost impossible to see in any images,
though they could be blue, or possibly even black)
Hair: Black (or possibly dark blue)
Skin: Light green (or possibly yellow)
History:
(Uncanny X-Men I#358 (fb) - BTS) - Karel was part of a peaceful race. Those few --
like Karel -- with the will to fight were considered deviants/outcasts.
(Uncanny X-Men I#358 (fb) - BTS) - The Chnitt ravaged and razed
a planet that was home to a man known as Karel. He subsequently sought out the
trader's world in hopes of finding a weapon powerful to destroy the Chnitt and
return his world to the peace it had always known before.
He realized that many of the members of his race would
condemn
(Uncanny X-Men I#358 (fb) - BTS) - The Chnitt shot down Karel over the trader's world, causing him to crash there.
(Uncanny X-Men I#358 (fb) - BTS) - While Karel speculated that the Chnitt knew of the warp gate in the Barodi city of Kuth (through which one could travel off planet), the city's location across the dangerous and virtually unnavigable flats (which was teeming with predators and ravaged by storms) would have forced the Chnitt land to their mothership to take the city, which would end their blockade in orbit.
(Uncanny X-Men I#358 (fb) - BTS) - Karel obtained three "nullifier" charges, devices that, once unleashed, would eat whatever metal it contacted. With these, Karel planned to destroy the Chnitt on his homeworld, but needed aid in accessing the warp gate.
(Uncanny X-Men I#358) - A trio (at least) of Ursaa assaulted the Shi'ar Deathbird
and the human mutant Lucas Bishop after their ship crashed on the traders'
planet, shot down by the orbiting Chnitt mothership. As Bishop and Deathbird
fought back, Karel -- seeking allies to escape the traders' planet -- approached them in
a air-cruiser, offering Bishop and Deathbird to "come...if you want to live."
He further advised them that a colony of Ursaa were soon to follow and would
prove to much for the warriors...and he stressed that he would not offer again.
Pulling the harpoon from his side, Bishop accepted the offer, and Karel took
them aboard and departed with them.
(Uncanny X-Men I#358 (fb) - BTS) - While Karel was out meeting and allying with the human Lucas Bishop and Shi'ar Deathbird, the Chnitt found and destroyed Karel's camp.
(Uncanny X-Men I#358) - Impressed with Bishop surviving an Ursaa harpoon meant to pierce freighter hulls, Karel flew Bishop and Deathbird to his camp, where he felt they would be safe. Upon arrival, however, he was distraught to see the camp had been found and destroyed by the camp...and everything Karel had owned along with it. Nonetheless, he told Bishop and Deathbird they should count themselves lucky that they weren't there when the Chnitt arrived, as the Chnitt took pleasure in slow execution.
(Uncanny X-Men I#358 (fb)) - Karel met with his ally Tu,
introduced Tu to Bishop and Deathbird, and asked his aid in
finding a place to rest and hide out from the Chnitt before heading to Kuth in
hopes of accessing the warp gate to bypass the Chnitt blockage of escape from
the trader's world.
Karel then shared his history with Bishop and Deathbird. He
announced his vow to destroy the Chnitt (whom he condemned as evil) or be
destroyed trying, and also revealed his plan to access the warp gate in Kuth to
escape the Chnitt blockage. Interested in using the gate to get back to Earth,
Bishop agreed that he and Deathbird would aid Karel in his travel to Kuth.
(Uncanny X-Men I#358 (fb) - BTS) - Tu informed the Chnitt of Karel's plans and locations, but they rewarded him for his aid with death.
(Uncanny X-Men I#358) - One of the Chnitt ambushed Deathbird while the trio rested, but Karel advised Bishop of the Chnitt's weakness being their eyes, and he wounded the creature with a blast with his energy gun. Taking advantage of the creature's weakness/distraction, Deathbird grabbed Bishop's gun and placed it against the creature's head, apparently killing it with a point blank blast.
(Uncanny X-Men I#358 (fb)) - After realizing Tu had sold them out, Karel advised his allies to hurry as there would be more of the Chnitt coming.
(Uncanny X-Men I#358) - Aboard his camouflaged air-cruiser, Karel flew Bishop and Deathbird across the dangerous flats -- which were safer at low sun. Nonetheless, they narrowly evaded the encircling tentacles of a monstrous sand creature.
(Uncanny X-Men I#358) - Karel stopped just outside Kuth, instructing his allies they would blend in better on foot. At that point, Karel told them of his nullifier charges and plans to use them to eradicate the Chnitt from his world.
(Uncanny X-Men I#358 (fb) - BTS) - Correctly realizing that Karel posed a threat to them, the Chnitt elected to send their mothership to Kuth, breaking their orbital blockade to destroy the city to eliminate the warp gate.
(Uncanny X-Men I#358) - Karel pointed out the Barodi controlling
the gate, noting that while they could be bought, neither he nor his allies had
any money with which to pay them. As he asked for other options, the Chnitt
mothership appeared. The Chnitt assaulted Kuth,
slaughtering the Barodi and apparently seeking to destroy the warp gate and/or
slay Karel. Thousands of Barodi apparently perished in the Chnitt assault. Karel
urged his allies that they must get to the warp gate while there was still time,
and Deathbird joined him, though Bishop stayed behind, convincing Karel to give
him one of the nullifiers, with which he ultimately destroyed the Chnitt
mothership.
Karel made it through the portal just before it collapsed, reduced
to rubble, though Deathbird stayed behind and waited for Bishop.
The pair planned to depart the traders' planet and continue
their journey back to Earth.
Comments: Created by Steve Seagle, Joseph Harris, Chris Bachalo, and Tim Townsend.
We don't have any idea how long Karel was on the traders' planet and/or how long before that the Chnitt devastated his planet. He was on the trader's world long enough to learn much about the world and its inhabitants.
Sammy7D wrote a profile on Karel back in
August 2002, in the early days of the Appendix. While doing profiles on the
Barodi, Chnitt, and Ursaa, I decided to profile Karel as well (since we don't
know enough about his race to profile them). It wasn't until I got most of the
way through that I actually checked to see that Karel already had a profile.
Nonetheless, the early profiles were lacking in detail and imagery compared to
the modern ones, and most of the original Appendix profiles could use a revamp.
So, I re-vamped this one.
Tu will get his own profile in the next couple weeks,
replacing the sub-profile Sammy had in his Karel profile. Then, finally, the
trader's world itself...and then on to Id the Selfish Moon and the aliens
associated with that story arc.
Sammy also noted:
It might be an interesting space adventure for the X-Treme X-men to see how Karel did in liberating his home world.
Profile by Snood (original profile by Sammy 7D).
CLARIFICATIONS:
No KNOWN connections to:
images: (without ads)
Uncanny X-Men I#358, pg. 5, panel 1 - on air-cruiser, lateral;
panel 4 -
air-cruiser - front-view;
pg. 7, panel 2 - main image;
pg. 21, panel 2 - nullifier
Appearances:
Uncanny X-Men I#358 (August, 1998) - Steve Seagle (story), Joseph Harris (script),
Chris Bachalo (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Last updated: 12/03/13
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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