H'YLTHRIH'YLTHRI
Membership: Sss'Lethcott, Sssesthanag, Sssesthugar
Purpose: To protect their race by destroying the human race or by finding a new world to inhabit
Affiliations: Benjamin,
William Potts, Iron
Fist (H'ylthri automaton), Weed;
formerly the fungal organism later known as the Urchin
formerly Plantman
(Smithers)
Enemies: Death-Sting (Rand), Doctor Strange (Steven Strange), Miss Edmundson, Iron Fist (Zhang Di), Master Khan, Joy Meachum, Misty Knight, Namorita, Plantman (Smithers), Wendell Rand, Shakari, Sharyd (Conal D'Hu-Tsien), Malik Shippinsky, Sub-Mariner (Namor), the fungal organism later known as the Urchin, Colleen Wing, Wolverine (James Howlett)
Base of Operations: Dimension of K'un-Lun
First Appearance: Iron Fist I#2 (December, 1975)
Traits:
The bodies of
the H'ylthri race are composed of vegetable fiber and are fairly
resistant to injury as they contain few vital organs. The H'ylthri are super-strong, and they
can control and manipulate plant
life, including mighty roots, enormous vines, and plant-generated
poisons and gasses. The H'ylthri grew strength from various sources,
including draining human life forces and solar energy. They can also
generate humanoid replacements that can mimic human memories,
personalities, and abilities; these replacements appear completely
human, even believing themselves to be so, until their innards are
exposed.
History: (Namor I#24 (fb)) - The H'ylthri
race was the dominant life form in the K'un-Lun dimension long before
any humans settled there.
(Iron Fist I#2 (fb) - BTS) - A group of humans settled and built a city called K'un-Lun. The H'ylthri attempted to make peace with the humans, but were rejected, and they noted that the humans killed all plants except the ones the humans cultivated themselves. The H'ylthri developed a hatred of the humans. They saw to it that any human who left K'un Lun for the H'ylthri's forest was slain.
(Contagion#1 (fb) - BTS / Contagion#2 (fb) - BTS) <"Thousands of years" ago> - The fungal organism that became known as the Urchin was a living weapon created by the plant-beings known as the H'ylthri to wipe out the humanoids as they first settled in K'un-Lun. However, the fungus turned on the H'ylthri, nearly wiping out their population. Unable to destroy the entity, the H'ylthri contained/entombed it.
(Namor I#22 (fb)) - In the
earliest days of
K'un-Lun's human settling, there was only a small population of humans
occupying an outpost. When a H'ylthri disguised as a man
infiltrated their borders, he was quickly noticed and
attacked.
After he was beheaded, his body changed into an ivy-like substance, to
their horror.
(Iron Fist V#75 (fb) – BTS) – 600 years ago, a new Iron Fist, Zhang Di, was killed by the H’ylthri.
(All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#7) - A mighty sorcerer, Master Khan, took refuge in K'un-Lun and covertly manipulated the humans and the H'ylthri to battle each other, letting neither side gain the upper hand, over the following years.
(Namor I#25 (fb) - BTS) - The H'ylthri soon learned that the human infestation had poisoned the land against them, so they determined to invade another land where they could live.
(Power Man and Iron Fist I#75 (fb)) - Two K'un-Lun humans, Wendell Rand and Shakari, walked near the city and were attacked by H'ylthri. Shakari was killed by a thrown projectile.
(Namor I#24/Strange Tales I#113 - BTS) - Seeking to branch out to Earth for domination when they were no longer thriving on K'un-Lun, the H'ylthri opened a portal to the Earth, where they viewed Samuel Smithers, a struggling gardener, and sent a seeming lightning bolt that gave Smithers super-powers. Smithers became the Plantman and embarked on a criminal career.
(Iron Fist I#2 (fb) - BTS) - When two humans, Miranda Ran'd'Kai and Conal D'Hu-Tsien, from K'un Lun entered the forest, they weren't killed. Intrigued, Sssesthugar and the H'ylthri captured them and put them into feeding pods. Their ally, Iron Fist, soon pursued them and was put into a deep sleep when he smelled the D'yratha blossom, which should have killed Iron Fist, but didn't.
(Iron Fist I#2 (fb)) - Iron Fist woke up and was confronted by Sssesthugar, who informed Iron Fist he was their prisoner. He explained the hatred that the H'ylthri had for all humans. They moved to put Iron Fist in a third feeding tube, but he fought them and tried to reason with him, though the H'ylthri soon reminded him of the hatred in his heart for another. Iron Fist was soon defeated and left behind. The H'ylthri took Miranda and Conal deep into the woods.
(Power Man and Iron Fist I#75 (fb) - BTS) - Conal and Miranda were used as fertilizer for the growing H'ylthri plant pods. The H'ylthri entered another war with the humans and took many of them captive, using them to feed their young. These wars were likely caused by Master Khan.
(Power Man and Iron Fist I#75) - Power Man and Iron Fist returned to K'un-Lun and fought the H'ylthri to gain entrance into the city. They later joined many of K'un-Lun's natives in attacking the H'ylthri back, breeching the H'ylthri's gates and destroying the entire plant species, or at least they believed they'd done so.
(Namor I#23 ( fb)) - When Iron Fist returned to K'un-Lun to recover from radiation poisoning, he entered a trance for healing and was taken over and replaced by a H'ylthri in human form.
(Namor I#22 (fb) - BTS) - After Luke Cage, "Iron Fist," and Colleen Wing left, the Thunderer began to recall the myths of the H'ylthri, wondering if Iron Fist's change might be connected to them. He traveled to the valley "where the H'ylthri were known to hold their high parliament" and was put to sleep with the plant's aromas there and taken over by the H'ylthri plants.
(Power Man and Iron Fist I#120-125 - BTS) - The H'ylthri "Red Iron Fist" returned to Earth and participated in a series of adventures. Since the duplicate copied Iron Fist's memories and traits, it also copied Iron Fist's identity crisis, filling it with guilt, and Iron Fist's exposure to radiation, which caused a process that was slowly killing Iron Fist. In a complicated plot by Master Khan, "Iron Fist" was killed, causing all his friends to believe the real Iron Fist was deceased.
(Namor I#16) - Seeking to finally branch out on Earth, the H'ylthri sent a cake to Plantman in jail. When he opened the package, they revealed themselves from inside the cake and made a proposition. (This was the first time that Smithers learned of his true origins).
(Namor I#19) - Freed from jail, Plantman went through Miss Edmundson, a realtor, to find a greenhouse and set up a base. He indulged himself by having one of his plants murder her.
(Namor I#20) - Sssesthugar told Plantman that killing that female may have been premature, and cautioned their pawn on jeopardizing the H'ylthri's plans to rule the world.
(Namor I#21) - Plantman tried unsuccessfully to convince Sssesthugar that the plan was going well when they heard an intruder outside. Snared in some plants, Wolverine listened as Sssesthugar ordered him killed, but Plantman figured they could get information out of Wolverine. Meanwhile, Namor, Colleen Wing, and Misty Knight took the decayed plant matter to Dr. Strange for investigation. Strange identified the matter as H'ylthri and transported the heroes to K'un Lun to investigate. They found the city overrun by plants and the Thunderer attacked them.
(Namor I#22) -
After a brief battle, Namor,
Misty, and Colleen were able to defeat the H'ylthri that controlled the
Thunderer by uprooting it. Soon, the Thunderer led the three
heroes into the forest to investigate. Colleen, Misty, and
the
Thunderer were quickly controlled by the aromas knocking them
unconscious, but Namor seemed to plunge to his death. He soon
came upon the feeding bubbles of the H'ylthri, where he battled a few
of them briefly before seeing Iron Fist's body in one of the
bubbles. Back on Earth, Sssesthugar and Plantman continued to
interrogate Wolverine, waiting for him to weaken enough to be
controlled by them.
(Namor I#23) - Namor battled H'ylthri around the feeding pods as they turned the very earth against him and surrounded him with superior numbers. Namor defeated, the H'ylthri hoped that by adding these extra Earth heroes to feeding tubes, it would help keep them alive for longer. Misty Knight briefly escaped and called out to Iron Fist in his pod for help before she was recaptured. It worked, however, and Iron Fist reawakened and began battling his way through the H'ylthri. After he killed all the H'ylthri there, he collapsed. Back on Earth, Sssesthugar and Plantman tested the now-mind-controlled Wolverine against a plant simulacrum.
(Namor I#24 (fb)) - After the other heroes reawakened, they helped reawaken the other surviving humans from their feeding pods. Those humans decided to stay there and fight against the plants while the heroes decided to travel back to Earth.
(Namor I#24) - Doctor Strange returned the heroes from K'un Lun to Earth, fighting back the H'ylthri as he closed the portal. After Dr. Strange traced the H'ylthri's presence on Earth, Namor went to investigate and was attacked by Wolverine. Soon Plantman interrupted them and recited his origins until Sssesthugar shut Plantman up. He'd received news on Iron Fist's escape and determined that the plan to conquer Earth would need to be accelerated. The grabbed Namor, determined to enslave him and all the other humans they could grab.
(Namor I#25) - Namorita attacked and was taken captive by the H'ylthri, though Plantman helped her escape. While Sssesthugar continued trying to convert Namor, his forces prepared to enter New York City where they would release spores that would kill all humans there. Namorita soon freed Wolverine, who slew some of the H'ylthri. When Master Khan arrived, he cast a spell that killed all the H'ylthri there.
(Iron Fist III#3 (fb) - BTS) - One H'ylthri, Sss'Lethcott, made his way to Earth and attempted to grow a new race of H'ylthri. Determining he needed a special weapon, the Scorpio Key, to revive his race, he freed Conal and Miranda and blackmailed them into retrieving the key to receive their freedom. Conal and Miranda outfitted themselves as villains Sharyd and Death-Sting to do so.
(Iron Fist III#1-2 - BTS) - Sharyd and Death-Sting, in a complicated plot, retrieved the key.
(Iron Fist III#3) - Sharyd and Death-Sting returned the key to Sss'Lethcott, but before he could retrieve it Iron Fist, Joy Meachum, and Malik Shippinsky arrived to stop them. Death-Sting used the key to destroy Sss'Lethcott and the growing H'ylthri pods in order to save Iron Fist's life.
Comments: Created by Chris Claremont (writer), John Byrne (pencils) & Frank Chiaramonte (inks).
In Galacta: Daughter of
Galactus#1, Galacta consumed some Kosmosians. I would not think the character
and stories in Galacta are part of Reality-616, but that has yet to be
definitively confirmed anywhere.
For the record, around that same time, she also feeds on
some Badoon,
Kosmosians,
Tribbitites, Shi'ar, Pheragots, Tektons, Herms,
Aedians,
Laxidazians, Centaurians,
A'askvarii,
Flb'dbi, Ul'lula'ns, and R'malk'i.
Clarifications:
No known connection to:
(Namor I#19) -
As a realtor, Miss
Edmundson worked with a Mr. Smith (secretly Plantman) to sell him a
large estate with a garish green house on the property.
Asking
what he did, Miss Edmundson was shown some seeds which quickly grew and
murdered her.
--Namor I#19
(Namor I#24) William Potts, Benjamin, and Weed were recruits of the Plantman, who promised them shares of ruling the world if they aided his attempt to take over the world with the H'ylthri. After meeting one of the H'ylthri, the recruits shared their doubts with Plantman, who sent William and Benjamin out in the hall where Sssesthugar killed them.
--Namor I#24
(Iron Fist III#3 (fb) - BTS) - One H'ylthri, Sss'Lethcott, made his way to Earth and attempted to grow a new race of H'ylthri. Determining he needed a special weapon, the Scorpio Key, to revive his race, he freed Conal and Miranda and blackmailed them into retrieving the key to receive their freedom. Conal and Miranda outfitted themselves as villains Sharyd and Death-Sting to do so.
(Iron Fist III#1-2 - BTS) - Sharyd and Death-Sting, in a complicated plot, retrieved the key.
(Iron Fist III#3) - Sharyd and Death-Sting returned the key to Sss'Lethcott, but before he could retrieve it Iron Fist, Joy Meachum, and Malik Shippinsky arrived to stop them. Death-Sting used the key to destroy Sss'Lethcott and the growing H'ylthri pods in order to save Iron Fist's life.
--Iron Fist II#3 (Iron Fist II#3 (fb) – BTS, 1-2 – BTS, 3
(Namor I#22) - Sssesthanag was part of a group of H'ylthri who, in the dimension of K'un-Lun, apprehended Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, and Lei Kung, the Thunderer. Namor, the Sub-Mariner escaped.
--Namor I#22
(Iron Fist I#2 (fb)) - Sssesthugar was among the H'ylthri that captured Iron Fist.
(Namor I#20) - Sssesthugar led an invasion force on Earth, chiding Plantman for rash actions.
(Namor I#21) - Sssesthugar helped capture the mutant Wolverine.
(Namor I#22) - Sssesthugar worked to bring Wolverine to their side.
(Namor I#23) - Sssesthugar and Plantman saw Wolverine brainwashed and fighting on their side.
(Namor I#24) - Namor defeated Wolverine, and was defeated by Sssesthugar. Sssesthugar rejected Plantman and decided to speed up the H'ylthri's invasion of Earth.
(Namor I#25) - Master Khan arrived and defeated the H'ylthri.
--Iron Fist I#2 (Iron Fist I#2 (fb), Namor I#20-25
(Namor I#24) - Weed, William Potts, and Benjamin were recruits of the Plantman, who promised them shares of ruling the world if they aided his attempt to take over the world with the H'ylthri. After William and Benjamin expressed doubts, one of the H'ylthri, Sssesthugar, killed them while Plantman was spending personal time with Weed. She was distressed, but he told her she'd have less competition in ruling the world now.
--Namor I#24
images:
Power Man and Iron Fist I#75, p5, pan5
Namor I#20, p14, pan1
Namor I#22, p19, pan6 (Feeding tubes)
Namor I#19, p16, pan1 (Miss Edmundson)
Namor I#24, p11, pan1 (William Potts and Benjamin)
Iron Fist III#3, p17, pan1 (Sss'Lethcott)
Namor I#22, p18, pan4 (Sssesthanag)
Namor I#21, p7, pan4 (Sssesthugar)
Namor I#24, p11, pan4 (Weed)
Iron Fist I#2 (December, 1975) -
Chris Claremont
(writer), John Byrne (penciler), Frank Chiaramonte (inker), Marv
Wolfman (editor)
Power Man and Iron Fist I#75 (November, 1981) - Mary
Jo Duffy (writer), Kerry Gammill (penciler), Ricardo Villamonte
(inker), Dennis O'Neil (editor)
Power Man and Iron Fist I#120-125 (October,
1985-March, 1986) - Jim Owsley (writer), Mark Bright (penciler), Jerry
Acerno (inker), Denny O'Neil (editor)
Namor I#16, 19-25 (August, November, 1991-April,
1992) - John Byrne (writer, penciler, inker), Terry Kavanagh (editor)
Iron Fist III#1-3 (July-September, 1998) - Dan
Jurgens (writer), Jackson Guice (penciler), Scott Koblish (inker), Tom
Brevoort (editor)
All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
I#5,7 (May, July, 2006) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer), Jeff
Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editors)
Galacta: Daughter of Galactus#1 (July, 2010) -
Adam Warren (writer), Hector
Sevilla Lujan (pencile/inker), Jordan White (editor)
Iron Fist V#75 (February, 2018) - (Ed Brisson (writer), Mike Perkins (artist), Mark Basso, Jake Thomas (editors)
Contagion#1
(December, 2019) - Ed Brisson (writer), Roge Antonio (artist), Lindsey
Cohick (assistant editor), Jake Thomas (editor)
Contagion#2 (December, 2019) - Ed Brisson (writer), Mack Chater
(penciler), Stephen Segovia (inker), Lindsey Cohick (assistant editor),
Jake Thomas (editor)
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™
and ©
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