Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Human (African) mutate (Pre-Modern to modern era)
Occupation: Tribal god, seeker of vengeance
Group Membership: None; formerly S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Howling Commandos unit (Abominable Snowman, Bradley Beemer, Brother Voodoo, Clone of Frankenstein, Glob/Joe Timms, Gorilla Man/Ken Hale, Groot, Hellstorm, It the Living Colossus, Lilith, Living Mummy, Clay Quartermain, Sasquatch/Walter Langkowski, Vampire by Night, Warwolf/Vince Marcus, Zombie"John Doe", many others), Wabuzi tribe
Affiliations: Kid
Kaiju (Kei Kawade), unidentified teacher;
temporarily Abominable Snowman, Blip,
Bruttu,
Crawling Creature, Creature
from Krogarr, Creature
from the Black Bog, Fin
Fan Foom, Googam,
Goom, Gorgilla,
Green Thing,
Insect Man,
Klagg, Metallo,
Monsteroso,
Monstro,
Monstrom, Moomba, Oog,
Orrgo, Pildorr the
Plunderer, Quogg,
Rommbu, Sporr, Thing
that Crawled by Night, Tim
Boo Ba, Ulvar,
Vandoom's
Monster, Zetora,
Zzutak
Enemies: Leviathon Tide, Merlin, python, Russians
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly Monster Island;
formerly Wabuzi village, somewhere in Africa
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense I#18/1 (June, 1961)
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Powers/Abilities: As a result of the radiation he absorbed, Kraa's body grew to larger proportions than a normal human's, and he possessed at least enhanced strength--in the early stage of his mutation, he claimed to be "as powerful as a hundred men," putting him at Class 10 level or higher. His size continued to increase until he reached a maximum height, but decreased afterward (see comments). Height: (Human) 6'; (mutated) 20'+ (by
approximations [see comments]) |
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History: Staggering helplessly through the jungle, the tribesman finally realized he was growing larger by the minute, as he mutated into a grotesque orange creature. But suddenly, a hungry lion (see comments) lunged at him. Initially shocked, it took but moments for him to realize that with his overpowering size and superhuman strength, even the king of beasts was no match for him--he caught the lion in mid-leap with one hand and easily lifted the fully-grown animal as if it were a cub. He released the lion, and it fled from him in fear; the mutated tribesman noticed that he was still growing, and he wondered if there would be any limit to his size and strength. |
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The mutated tribesman returned to the village of his people, where his fellow Wabuzies mistook him for Kraa, the spirit-god from beyond foretold in their beliefs. The Wabuzies worshiped him and carved idols in his image, so the mutated tribesman played along with the role they fashioned for him. He ordered the Wabuzies to tell neighboring villages that he had placed a taboo upon their village, to keep prying eyes away from him. Learning from the Wabuzies that the "foreign warriors" had fled after the great explosion, Kraa decided he would not be cheated of his revenge, and once he had grown to sufficient size, he would make the entire civilized world pay for what had been done to him.
(Tales of Suspense I#18/1) - An American teacher was searching for the secret behind the idols of Kraa, so he traveled to Africa and interrupted a ceremony in Kraa's village. Kraa captured the teacher, and offered him a last request before killing him. Stalling for time, the teacher asked to know Kraa's story, and so Kraa told him his origin. Kraa also confessed that he had been in pain since the day of the explosion; the teacher determined that the radiation had burned him, so he provided Kraa with an ointment to ease his pain. The grateful Kraa was impressed with the teacher's display of kindness and friendship.
However, before they could do anything more, the teacher was attacked by a giant python, which ensnared him in its coils. Feeling indebted to the teacher for his aid, Kraa nobly saved him, but as he grappled with the huge snake, Kraa fell from a cliff and seemingly perished. The Wabuzies then honored the teacher as a god, believing he had slain Kraa himself.
(Warlock and the Infinity Watch#7) - But Kraa actually survived--now grown to gigantic size (see comments) he somehow ended up on Monster Island.
(Nick Fury's Howling Commandos#6) - Kraa (now much smaller (see comments)) was recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Howling Commandos supernatural team. He was among the members that launched an assault on Merlin's forces.
SECRET WARS III HAPPENED
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(Monsters Unleashed II#3 (fb) - BTS) - The Inhuman Kid Kaiju summoned Kraa, along with numerous other monsters, to an area outside San Diego, California in defense against the Leviathons. (Monsters Unleashed II#3) - Kraa joined the fight against the Leviathons. Earth's heroes watched the monsters summoned by Kid Kaiju defeat the Leviathons. After the battle, Kraa and the other monsters were teleported back from where they came. |
Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.
A monster who looks just like Kraa was among the Mole Man's monsters seen in Warlock and the Infinity Watch#7...but as this monster was about as big as Godzilla, he couldn't have been Kraa...not unless the radiation made him grow a few stories taller.
The Marvel Pets Handbook (2009) profile on Mole Man's
Monsters confirmed Kraa's appearance in Warlock and the Infinity
Watch#7.
--David A. Zuckerman
Appendix reader Carycomix theorizes that Kraa may have had ties to other pre-Marvel monsters. He suggests the possibility that the African who would become Kraa may have come into contact with the same radioactive materials that the Deviant known as Warlord Kro used to create Grottu. Also, given the "Unhuman" nickname, Kraa may have been possessed by the formless creature known as Trull the Unhuman, who called the mutated tribesman "Kraa" due to some sort of subconscious memory of hearing the name"Kro".
Big thanks to MD Carter for originally allowing me to borrow images from his website, The Monsters of Jack Kirby.
About a year later, Kraa's origin would sort of be reused for the Incredible Hulk.
When he was on Monster Island, Kraa appeared to be about 60' tall, but by his next appearance, he looked to be about 12' tall--maybe the radiation that mutated him was wearing off, and he eventually returned to normal.
And maybe the story of Kraa could be connected with a
slightly later story: Perhaps the lion that attacked Kraa was the same
one who became the "Lion
King"--perhaps it was the same nuclear explosion that mutated
both of them.
--Ron Fredricks
Profile by Prime Eternal. Expansion by Ron Fredricks.
Updated by Markus Raymond (Monsters Unleashed).
CLARIFICATIONS:
Kraa the Unhuman should not be confused with:
The Wabuzi tribe should not be confused with:
The giant python should not be confused with:
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A tribe of primitive African natives, one of their deities was Kraa, the spirit-god from beyond. After an atomic explosion mutated one of their tribe-members into a giant grotesque creature, they assumed him to be Kraa, so they worshiped him and carved idols in his image. They captured an American teacher who came to their village to investigate the meaning of the idols. But when Kraa fell off a cliff during his struggle with a giant python, the Wabuzies assumed the teacher had supernatural powers and had slain their spirit-god himself; afterward, the Wabuzies fashioned statues of their new idol: The teacher. -- Tales of Suspense I#18/1 |
 
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Carved by Wabuzi tribesmen, they were made in the image of a member of the tribe who had been mutated by a nuclear explosion. The statues served as a warning for neighboring villages, to let them know that the Wabuzi village was taboo, so other tribes would avoid the region. One of the idols ended up in the possession of an America teacher, who subsequently went to Africa to learn what strange thing the figure represented. -- Tales of Suspense I#18/1 |
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He was a life-long resident of an unidentified small town somewhere in America. He taught geography at the high school, and showed his class a Wabuzi idol; but when he overheard one of the students mocking him because he'd never been more than five miles outside of town, he sadly realized that he led a dull and ordinary existence, because all he knew of the world was what he read in books and studied on maps. When summer break came, the teacher decided to put some adventure and interest in his life, so he drew his savings from the bank and took a trip to Africa, to learn the meaning of the strange idol. When he arrived in Africa, he couldn't find a guide to take him to the Wabuzi village, because everyone considered it taboo. The teacher eventually found the village himself, and witnessed the Wabuzi tribesmen worshiping a giant statue that looked like the idol he had; but he was shocked when the statue suddenly moved! |
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After being captured, the teacher learned that the "statue" was actually a Wabuzi tribesman who had been mutated by the radiation of a nuclear explosion. The teacher applied some ointment to Kraa's body, to soothe the pain he felt from radiation burns, and Kraa was grateful. Suddenly, the teacher was seized by a giant python; but because of his act of kindness, Kraa saved him. As Kraa struggled with the huge snake, both he and the python fell off a cliff. Afterward, the Wabuzi tribe thought the teacher had supernatural powers, so they let him leave their village unharmed. When he returned to America, the teacher told his disbelieving class about his adventure in Africa (although he never mentioned Kraa); then the students saw a photograph in a magazine featuring a statue of the new Wubazi idol: Their teacher! Figuring that he must have done something great, the class developed a new respect for their teacher. (Comment: Although the story was told from his narrative perspective, his name was never mentioned, and his students only addressed him as "Teach".) -- Tales of Suspense I#18/1 |
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A large snake living near the village of Africa's Wabuzi tribe, it attacked an American teacher. But the teacher was rescued by Kraa, a Wabuzi tribesman who had been mutated by an atomic explosion. During their struggle, both Kraa and the python fell off the edge of a cliff and landed on the rocks far below. Although Kraa was later seen to have survived, the final fate of the python is unrevealed. (Comment: Since it was so much larger than pythons typically grow, perhaps it was mutated by the same atomic blast that affected Kraa.) -- Tales of Suspense I#18/1 |
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images: (without ads)
Tales of Suspense I#18/1, p6, pan5 (main image - Kraa approaches captured teacher)
Tales of Suspense I#18/1, p12, pan3 (headshot - Kraa)
Nick Fury's Howling Commandos#6, p10, pan2 (Kraa)
Monsters Unleashed II#3, p3, pan1 (Kraa)
Tales of Suspense I#18/1, p8, pan5 (in flashback, tribesman before mutation, climbing out of pit)
Tales of Suspense I#18/1, p9, pan1 (in flashback, tribesman begins to mutate after atomic explosion)
Tales of Suspense I#18/1, p10, pan1 (in flashback, Kraa first approaches Wabuzi tribesmen)
Tales of Suspense I#18/1, p10, pan3 (in flashback, Wabuzi tribesmen)
Tales of Suspense I#18/1, p5, pan2 (Wabuzi tribesmen worship Kraa)
Tales of Suspense I#18/1, p10, pan2 (in flashback, Wabuzi tribesmen present idols to Kraa)
Tales of Suspense I#18/1, p2, pan2 (unidentified teacher holding idol of Kraa)
Tales of Suspense I#18/1, p2, pan1 (unidentified teacher with his class)
Tales of Suspense I#18/1, p11, pan4 (unidentified teacher presents bottle of ointment to Kraa)
Tales of Suspense I#18/1, p11, pan6 (unidentified teacher rubs ointment on Kraa)
Tales of Suspense I#18/1, p12, pan2 (python ensnares unidentified teacher; Kraa {right])
Tales of Suspense I#18/1, p12, pan4 (Kraa battles python; unidentified teacher [left])
Appearances:
Tales of Suspense I#18/1 (June, 1961) - Stan Lee (writer/editor),
Jack Kirby (pencils), Dick Ayers (inks)
Warlock and the Infinity Watch#7 (August, 1992) - Jim Starlin
(writer), Tom Raney (pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Craig Anderson
(editor)
Nick Fury's Howling Commandos#6 (May, 2006) - Keith Giffen
(writer), Mike Norton (pencils), Derec Aucoin & Norman Lee
(inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Monsters Unleashed II#3 (April, 2017) - Cullen Bunn (writer),
Leinil Francis Yu (pencils), Gerry Alanguilan & Michael Jason
Paz (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
First posted: 07/12/2003
Last updated: 02/28/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099
Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you
should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!