KARZZ, the CONQUEROR

Real Name: Karzz

Identity/Class: Extratemporal (Earth-67626) extraterrestrial (unidentified) technology user

Occupation: Conqueror

Group Membership: Former leader of an intergalactic army

Affiliations: numerous android doubles; briefly controlled Goliath

Enemies: Avengers (Captain America, Goliath, Hawkeye, Iron Man (Tony Stark), Wasp), numerous races he had conquered

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: The Earth-Wrecker (only in the title of the book)

Base of Operations: currently unknown (somewhere in Earth-67626);
    formerly bases in Mt. Everest, the Antarctic, South Pacific Islands, Sahara Desert, and the Pacific Trench;
    formerly mobile thoughout the Milky Way galaxy in Earth-67626;
    Formerly an unidentified planet in the Vega star system, Milky Way galaxy, Earth-67626, @ 70th Century

First Appearance: The Avengers Battle the Earth-Wrecker (June, 1967)

Powers/Abilities: Karzz's true form is semi-humanoid and of human size. It possesses blotched purple skin, ghastly green lips, and eyes that were fiery-red like hot coals. In place of arms it has tentacles with ten slender, writhing "fingers." Its two gnarled legs end in hooves. It breathes chlorine gas and cannot long survive in an oxygen rich atmosphere such as Earth's. However, he is able to shape shift into a variety of forms, including an amorphous blob, gas, and a more humanoid form. While on Earth, in order to breathe, he adopted a more humanoid form, with average height and weight, possessing a saturnine cast to his face and a pair of frosty blue eyes, infinitely cold and hostile. His costume "resembled no style ever seen on Earth before," with a large belt containing numerous control buttons.

    Karzz is able to assimilate large volumes in data within a very short time. He could also transmit his thoughts via telepathy.

    Karzz wore a belt which generated a personal force field, could fire energy blast for a variety of effects, such as disintegration, oxidizing (rust), etc.
    He used a communication device to instruct his agents in his future reality to send him weapons of great destructive power, such as his time travel device; the ultramagnet - allegedly powerful enough to pull the moon out of orbit; his Infrared Beam could generate a radiating form of heat which could fill an entire continent and then cause enough heat to melt all of the ice within it (a process which took a little over a week for a continent the size of Antarctica; the spreading process took the bulk of the time, when it filled its destination, it could cause virtually instantaneous melting); the Vulcan Machine, which would shatter random spots in the Earth's crusts, causing eruptions of magma to the Earth's surface; the Storm Satellite, able to generate 500 mph winds across a planet's entire surface; a dimensional transporter that allowed him to phase into the 4th Dimension and then return to Earth at a location of his choosing; a hypno-ray, able to control those bathed in its rays, but requiring frequent treatment to maintain efficacy; android duplicates of others, possessing their full range of abilities (it is unclear whether he can create androids that match superhuman powers); and even robot insects.

    Karzz' greatest power, presumably accomplished via his advanced equipment, was the ability to alter the course of time. He could use this effect focally, reversing only certain events without affecting the memories of those involved with such events, etc. The limitations on this ability are unclear, but he may have only been able to affect events he had performed or caused himself.

    Due to his assimilation of all of the languages of Earth, Karzz spoke English to the Avengers, but he would frequently blurt out a variety of foreign phrases or speak in slang, such as the lingo of the 1960's.

History:
(The Avengers Battle the Earth-Wrecker (fb) - BTS) - Originating on a planet in the Vega solar system in an alternate future, Karzz became a mastermind of warfare, conquering his own planet and people. Building a space warfleet, he swept out and conquered his solar system, then the worlds of surrounding stars. Spreading ever further, Karzz conquered ten thousand worlds and grew to rule half of the galaxy. However, upon encountering Earth, he found a technology and drive superior to his own. His vast fleet was decimated, crushed his power, and smashed his hard-won empire. Karzz was left with a fragment of his former army and arsenal.

(The Avengers Battle the Earth-Wrecker (fb) - BTS) - Karzz came upon the idea of traveling back in time and destroying Earth and humanity so that it would not be able to have opposed him in his future, allowing him to eventually conquer the whole galaxy.

(The Avengers Battle the Earth-Wrecker (fb) - BTS) - Karzz arrived on Earth, taking a week to review all broadcasts to master the languages, geography, governments, technology, etc. of Earth. He made a base within Mt. Everest and had his agents send him an ultramagnet, with which he began to draw a comet from across the galaxy, sending it hurtling on a collision course with Earth, assuring the destruction of most life on the planet.

(The Avengers Battle the Earth-Wrecker) - Iron Man felt the effects of the ultramagnet while testing his power in the winds around Mt. Everest, causing him to discover Karzz and the magnet. Karzz revealed his intent to destroy Earth and attacked Iron Man, ultimately driving him off with his rust ray. Iron Man recruited the rest of the Avengers against Karzz, coating his own armor with a rust proof plastic in the process, and the heroes succeeding in destroying the ultramagnet, but not before the comet was already locked into its course and would strike Earth in ten days.

    Karzz, not content with one assured destruction, escaped the Avengers and communicated with his minions in the future, instructing them to send him his Infrared Beamer, with which he would melt the ice in Antarctica, flooding Earth; his Vulcan machine, with which he would cause eruptions in every volcano on Earth; and his Storm Satellite, with which he would cause 500 mph hurricanes across the planet. The Wasp had followed him and overheard the types of weapons and their locations, and she informed the Avengers, who split up to foil him. Iron Man, in the meantime, developed a Z-Ray, which could neutralize Karzz's force field. Hawkeye and Iron Man traveled to Antarctica and destroyed the Infrared Beamer; Goliath and the Wasp traveled to an island in the South Pacific and destroyed the Vulcan Machine; and Captain America traveled to the Sahara desert and destroyed the control panel for the Storm Satellite. However, in each case the Avengers found that Karzz's devices had already accomplished their missions, setting into motion an unstoppable course of events, each of which was devastate Earth within the next several days. In addition, while the Avengers appeared to capture Karzz, each was actually an android duplicate. Karzz told them he would stay on Earth for a few days to make sure the threats were not foiled, before returning to his own time and conquering the rest of the galaxy.

    Iron Man managed to track Karzz' energies to the Pacific Trench between Hawaii and Japan, and the Avengers, intending to force Karzz to somehow reverse his efforts, traveled to his base there, only for him to escape once again. Knowing Karzz would need the equipment in this base to return home, they left Goliath to guard the base, while the other four returned to Avengers mansion where they used some of Tony Stark's technology to scan outward, spending the next week searching the planet for the alien brainwaves of Karzz. When the effort failed to locate Karzz, they realized that he was actually hiding out in their own mansion. In the time there, he had created two devices: one allowing him to slip into the fourth dimension and return anywhere on Earth (which he used to escape and return to his Pacific Trench base) and the other allowing him to hypnotize another being, which he used to take control of Goliath.

    The Avengers returned to Karzz's base and fought Goliath futilely, until the Wasp managed to destroy the hypno-ray. The Avengers then stripped Karzz of his weapons belt, leaving him virtually powerless. Using the threat of remaining on Earth as the four assaults destroyed it, the Avengers forced Karzz to use his ability to manipulate time to reverse the course of the comet and the effects of the Infrared Beamer, Vulcan Machine, and Storm Satellite. Iron Man then used Karzz's technology to send him back to the future, despite his protests, where, as  a defeated conqueror, he was hated and despised. He knew the people of his time would hunt him down ruthlessly and execute him.

Comments: Created by Otto Binder.

    Despite the story taking place in 1967, and being written by a man who was not part of Marvel's regular stock, the idea of time travel and diverging realities is very similar to the general rule of thumb of Marvel's time travel policy. Changing the past simply creates a divergence, rather than altering the present or future. However, in Karzz's case, he either could or believed he could shift that divergence to the prime reality. Perhaps he just had the means to choose which reality he would return to.

    This story takes place after Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch have departed from "Cap's Kooky Quartet", presumably within the early 30's of the first Avengers series.

    Karzz could just have traveled back to his own future rather than remain on Earth after causing any of threats to Earth. However, if he had destroyed Earth, than Marvel Comics probably wouldn't sell as well.

    This story was published by Bantam Books, which was an official license of Marvel Comics Group at the time.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connection to:

The 4th Dimension to which Karzz traveled has no KNOWN connection to:

FOURTH dimension - home to Mercurio and the Gramosians-Thor I#208
    Nothing would prohibit them from being the same, either, but in general the Fourth Dimension typically refers to time, which would be consistent with Karzz's abilities

images:
No images provided in the book.
If anyone wants to take a stab at them based on the descriptions listed in the first paragraph of powers (which is all there was), send them to me, and I'll consider adding them!

Last updated: 08/09/04

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