LIZARD MEN of TOK

Classification: Extradimensional (Microverse) semi-humanoid reptilians

Location/Base of Operations: Tok, a planet, within the Microverse (formerly in Sub-Atomica)

Known Members: Zorak the Merciless (aka Zorak the Terrible)

Affiliations: Monster Island's monsters (Abominable Snowman, Blip, Brute that Walks, Gog, Goom, Gorgolla, It the Living Colossus, Moomba, Rorgg, Two-Headed Thing, Xemnu, Zzutak and one of the Flora colossus (like Groot));
former allies of Dr. Doom (Victor von Doom), Yandroth

Enemies: Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Ant-Man (Henry Pym), Pearla and the people of her kingdom, Thing (Ben Grimm), X-Men (Magik/Illyana Rasputin, Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde)

First Appearance: Fantastic Four I#16 (July, 1963)

Powers/Abilities: The Lizard Men have some degree of superhuman strength and durability, as their native world has gravity that is a dozen times stronger than that of Mirwood. Zorak had at least Class 25-75 strength, but he may have been a mutant, mutate, or enhanced by his armor.

The Lizard Men are fierce and terrible warriors. They possess ships for interplanetary transport, as well as various energy weapons, and they were armed with conventional axes.

Their homeworld apparently had large diamond mines.

Traits: A bellicose race, their entire lives are devoted to the arts of war and conquest. Some of the Lizard Men apparently had horns protruding from their foreheads (see comments).

Type: Semi-humanoid
Eyes: Unrevealed
Fingers: Three, with opposing thumb
Toes: Two
Skin color: Green
Average height: 6' 5" (by approximation)

History:
(Fantastic Four I#16) - Dr. Doom was shrunken into Sub-Atomica (after Fantastic Four I#10) and appeared on the "micro-world" of Mirwood. After he used his shrinking ray to capture Princess Pearla and her father, the King, Doom contacted the planet of Tok--he attempted to force Pearla to marry him, and he threatened to betray her world to the Lizard Men if she refused him.

   When the Fantastic Four were transported to Sub-Atomica, Doom imprisoned them as well. As a reward for joining him, Doom offered the Fantastic Four to the Lizard Men as their slaves--Mr. Fantastic would be forced to serve as a bailey bridge during their invasions, the Thing would work in their diamond mines, the Human Torch would be forced to help in the Lizard Men's invasions, and the Invisible Girl would serve as a scullery maid. Agreeing to Doom's offer, the Lizard Men sent one of their spacecrafts to Mirwood.

   However, with the aid of Ant-Man (Henry Pym), the Fantastic Four escaped and drove off Doom, ruining his plans. As the Lizard Men's spaceship was approaching Mirwood to make a landing, the Thing tore a control tower out of the ground and swung it like a baseball bat--he hit a "home run" with the spacecraft and sent it hurling away.

(Marvel Two-In-One I#87) - Zorak, the leader of the Lizard Men, vowed to ravage the kingdom of Pearla (now queen of her people) if she could not produce a champion to defeat him in single combat. If he conquered her people, Zorak vowed to make Pearla his bride. Remembering the past aid from the Fantastic Four, Pearla had her scientists bring the Thing to Mirwood to serve as her champion. However, rather than honoring the trial by combat, Pearla drugged the Thing to ensure his cooperation--Pearla intended Zorak to triumph, and while all eyes were focused on the combat, she would launch an armada to destroy the homeworld of the Lizard Men (see comments).

   But the Thing was aided by Ant-Man (Scott Lang), who had followed him to Pearla's world. Zorak swiftly had the Thing at his mercy, but Ant-Man shocked the Thing out of his drugged stupor, and the Thing made short work out of Zorak. The Thing stopped Pearla's fleet from assaulting the Lizard Men's world, and then forced Pearla and Zorak to sign a peace treaty.

(Fantastic Four I#284 (fb) - BTS) - The Lizard Men apparently honored the newly signed treaty between them and the people of Mirwood -- on Mirwood, all was peaceful and the future seemed assured...until the Psycho-Man attacked.

 

(Defenders II#1 - BTS) - As part of his assault on Earth and the Defenders, Yandroth summoned the Lizard Men of Tok to Earth, and they inundated the nation of Genosha.



(Uncanny X-Men III#33 - BTS) - At some point, a Lizard Man of Tok was relocated to Monster Island, in the sea of Okhotsk (see comments).

(Uncanny X-Men III#33) - That Lizard Man was one of the many monsters who witnessed the arrival of X-Men Magik and Shadowcat and got into a fight with them--the two had come to Monster Island to save a little mutant girl named Bo; after they found her, Magik teleported herself, Kitty and Bo back to the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.

 


Comments: Created by Stan "The Man" Lee and Jack "King" Kirby.

In Fantastic Four Unlimited#8 (December, 1992), Pearla tells how the Lizard Men of Tok tried to resist a takeover attempt by Dr. Doom, who slaughtered them to the man. However, it was later revealed that Doom did not return or try to take over anyone, but rather the Psycho-Man was merely using Pearla in an effort to gain vengeance on the Fantastic Four (and particularly Sue). So there's no evidence that the Lizard Men were wiped out by anyone.

...but perhaps Pearla's story of the Lizard Men being slain had a bit of truth to it--perhaps it was actually the Psycho-Man who killed a group of them, but one surviving Lizard Man fled by using Doom's enlarging ray to transport himself to Earth, and he was that lone Lizard Man seen on Monster Island (@ Uncanny X-Men III#33)...or maybe he was one of the Lizard Men who inundated Genosha but got left behind (@ Defenders II#1).

And three Lizard Men were depicted with horns in one panel of Fantastic Four I#16 (see second image), while all others were hornless in the rest of that issue and every appearance since--perhaps this was a trait that only a minority of them had.--Ron Fredricks

As a result of an as-yet unseen struggle between Thanos and Baron Karza, all of the "Micro-Realms" such as Sub-Atomica, now exist within a single dimension.

I'm not sure why they referred to the Lizard Men's world as "their homeworld," rather than Tok. Perhaps Tok is their throne-world, but not their world of origin.

Profile by Snood. Updated by MarvellousLuke (Uncanny X-Men). Expansion by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Lizard Men of Tok have no known connection to:

Zorak has no known connections to:

Zorak

An inhabitant of the Microverse (formerly Sub-Atomica), he was the leader of the Lizard Men of Tok, and their deadliest, most fearsome warrior.

Zorak came to Queen Pearla's world of Mirwood, where he threatened to ravage her kingdom and make her his bride unless she could produce a champion who could defeat him in mortal combat. Pearla chose the Thing (Ben Grimm), and had him brought to her world; then she had the Thing drugged to ensure his cooperation, because she intended Zorak to triumph in the battle--while all eyes were focused on the combat, Pearla intended to launch an armada to destroy the homeworld of the Lizard Men.

Clad in battle-armor, Zorak faced the Thing in the gladiatorial arena, but he was disappointed by his drug-addled opponent, who stumbled about "like some drunken fool" and passed out. As Zorak raised his battle-axe, ready to strike a death-blow upon the fallen Thing, he mentioned that he had never tasted such an unsatisfying victory.

But suddenly, Zorak found himself attacked by a swarm of Mirwood's native insects--controlled by Ant-Man (Scott Lang)--which swept into his armor and blinded him. Ant-Man then used his cybernetic disruptors to snap the Thing out of his drug-induced haze. The revived Thing grabbed Zorak and hurled him into Pearla's spectator section of the arena.

Following the defeat of Zorak, the Thing and Ant-Man turned their attention to fighting Pearla's soldiers and destroying her armada.

Afterwards, the Thing and Ant-Man forced a truce between Zorak and Pearla by making them sign a peace treaty--although he complained about being reduced to such an "unmanly act," Zorak begrudgingly complied.

--Marvel Two-in-One I#87

images: (without ads)
Marvel Two-in-One I#87, p11, pan5 (Queen Pearla tells Ant-Man about Lizard Men of Tok)
Fantastic Four I#16, p17, pan8 (in Princess Pearla's speculative narration, Lizard Men of Tok disembark from their spaceship)
Marvel Two-in-One I#87, cover (Zorak in armor, with Thing at his mercy; Ant-Man (background))
X-Men III#33, p4, pan4 (on Monster Island, Magik battles Lizard Man of Tok; Shadowcat, Xemnu (background))
Marvel Two-in-One I#87, p12, pan1 (Zorak)
Marvel Two-in-One I#87, p16, pan7 (Zorak, in armor; Thing (foreground))

Appearances:
Fantastic Four I#16 (July, 1963) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (pencils), Dick Ayers (inks)
Marvel Two-in-One I#87 (May, 1982) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Wilson (pencils), Chic Stone (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Defenders II#1 (March, 2001) - Kurt Busiek & Erik Larsen (writers), Erik Larsen (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Uncanny X-Men III#33 (April, 2015) - Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Kris Anka (pencils, inks), Mike Marts, Xander Jarowey (editors)

First Posted: 06/01/2004
Last updated: 07/08/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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