Membership:
Skol (former leader), KraggTROGLODYTES
Membership:
Skol (former leader), Kragg
Purpose: Survival
Affiliations: Worshipped or allied with a giant cave-dwelling insect-thing
Enemies: Avengers (Black Panther, Captain America, Iron Man, Mantis, Scarlet Witch, Swordsman (DuQuesne), Thor, Vision)
Base of Operations: The caverns beneath Garrett Castle
Aliases: The People (name for themselves)
First Appearance: Avengers I#115 (September, 1973)
Powers: None. The Troglodytes had excellent night vision (presumably due to an increased number of rods in their retina) as a result of spending their entires lives below ground. Despite this, they were not blinded by a sudden emergence into daylight. They used swords and spears as weapons. They also had access to a subterranean gas which apparently could subdue even gods, androids, and people in full body armor with a self-contained oxygen supply.
They also utilized a giant insect, to which they would sacrifice their foes. This insect was most similar to a giant scorpion, and it possessed a venomed tail and large powerful pincers on its claws. It was completely white, and also completely blind.
HISTORY: (Av115(fb)) - Centuries ago, during the Middle Ages, a group of British peasants/nomads were driven into seclusion by the forces of the King of England. They found caves which they made their own, enlarging them into a large series on tunnels.
Garrett Castle was built above these caverns and the People (the Troglodytes) learned to steal food from its kitchens. Unfortunately, after centuries of inbreeding and living below the ground, in the words of their leader, Skol, "People forget to be smart."
(Defenders I#4 - BTS) - In recent years, after the Black Knight was turned to stone by the Enchantress, Dr. Strange created a mystical barrier around Garrett Castle to seal it from further intrusion.
(Av115(fb)) - The Trogs were surprised to find the invisible barrier keeping them out of Garrett Castle. They also saw Dr. Strange and the others carry the Black Knight statue into the castle. They correctly blamed the colorfully dressed "Toppers" for their problems.
(Av115) - The Avengers traveled to Garrett Castle in search of the missing Black Knight. The Trogs saw the colorfully dressed Toppers arrive and assumed them to be in league with the other Toppers. Skol directed the Trogs to ambush the Avengers, and between rocks and their powerful gas (insert joke here), the Trogs overpowered them.
Skol had the still-bound Avengers tossed into a pit, where they were attacked by the blind giant insect. The Avengers slew the big insect (the meanies!), but then the Trogs doused the torches, leaving them in the dark. The Trogs thought they'd be easy prey, but the Black Panther saw them sneaking up on them. T'Challa punched out Skol and a few others and the Trogs surrendered. The Avengers called in British medical and "governmental" personnel to take charge of the Troglodytes--to begin the slow task of repairing the damage done by an overzealous monarch three centuries before.
COMMENTS: Created by Steve Englehart and Bob Brown.
The word Troglodyte refers to any of the prehistoric people who lived in caves (that's one definition, anyway, and the most relevant one).
Let's see...the Avengers -- including Thor, Iron Man, and the Vision -- get their butts whupped by a bunch of inbred Britons lacking anything but swords, ropes, gas, and a big insect...hmmm...Up next, the Hulk faces his greatest challenge: a two-year-old armed with a wiffle ball bat.
Quoth the Vision: "Even my synthetic eyes are useless in total darkness." (and yet the Black Panther and Troglodytes could see perfectly)...hmmm...Too bad they didn't have anyone with them who had a built in chest lamp, or the ability to summon lightning to see by...oh wait, they did. Engelhart always does things like this: thinking of some contrived reason why certain characters should be helpless or immune to some attack (Just read the Cotati gas attack in the Avengers: Celestial Quest#5...its just plain goofy).
This story was just part of the entry point into the first Avengers-Defenders clash...where it finally got really good. And Englehart finally started to hit his stride and write some truly excellent stories.
CLARIFICATIONS: The Troglodytes, aka the
People, of Garrett Castle have no known connection to:
, also referred to as the Troglodytes, were the human
followers of Set, servants of Sligguth, Ebora, N'Gabthoth and
others, natives of the town of Starkesboro, who took on reptillian
characteristics, and some even became hosts for the spirits of
the original Serpent Men, @ Marvel Premiere#4
Skol the Troglodyte has no known connection:
images: (without ads)
Avengers I#115, p6, pan3 (Troglodytes main image)
Avengers I#115, p10, pan4 (insect-thing)
Avengers I#115, p8, pan4 (Skol head shot)
Avengers I#115, p8, pan3 (Skol)
First Posted: 02/7/2002
Last updated: 08/01/2002
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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