KRONAK THE BARBARIAN
Real Name: Kronak
Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Terragonia) human magic user
Occupation: Mercenary, warrior, soldier, pirate, Captain of the Guards of the King, tyrant.
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Dragonus,
his soldiers;
formerly King Modrian,
King Ystrigall
Enemies: Hulk (Bruce Banner), King Modrian, Shamu-Shan, the people of Terragonia
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: His castle in Terragonia
First Appearance: Incredible Hulk II#201 (July, 1976)
{Edizione Italiana L'Uomo Ragno#229 Editoriale Corno
(12 febbraio 1979)}
Powers/Abilities: Kronak was very strong (athlete level) and was an exceptional warrior; he was highly skilled at sword-fighting and hand-to-hand combat.
He also possessed the mystic Ruby of Shadows, which gave him the ability to summon a creature from another dimension, and possibly other unspecified magic powers.
Height: Unrevealed (6'3"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
Distinguishing Features:
Due to an injury suffered in battle, the right side of Kronak's face was
marked with a large vertical scar, and his right eye was "milky-white as
the moon" (perhaps due to a cataract?).
History:
(Incredible Hulk II#201 (fb) - BTS) -
Kronak was born in the lands of the north. During a summer, when
Kronak's age was "less than twenty winters," he participated in
the battle of Agaron and became a true warrior.
(Incredible Hulk II#201 (fb)) - The mercenary Kronak was employed as a soldier in the army King Ysdrigall, during the holy war between the city-states of Gurdun and Kammatet. Kronak killed many enemies, and plied the warrior's trade well; but he was wounded by a Gurdunian battle-axe, which left his face scarred, and he lost his right eye.
At the war's end, Kronak deserted the army and became a pirate--for a while, he plundered and pillaged the Emerald Coast aboard the legendary pirate ship, Black Lion.
Then Kronak became the captain of the personal guard of King Modrian of Terragonia; but Kronak coveted the king's priceless Ruby of Shadows and his throne; during a stormy night, he killed King Modrian and usurped the throne of Terragonia. With the assistance of the warlock Draonus, Kronak ruled the realm of Terragonia with an iron fist, becoming a tyrant and an oppressor.
(Incredible Hulk II#201) - One day, a slim man (Bruce Banner, see comments) was brought in chains before Kronak. King Kronak was informed by Dragonus that the slender prisoner was the supposed champion for whom his oppressed people had been so long praying; Kronak responded with mocking laughter and commented about the outrageous jest, "They might as well have sent a flea to slay an elephant!". Bewildered by the whole situation, the prisoner pleaded with Kronak to be cautious, but the barbarian-king ordered his soldiers to take the prisoner into the arena.
Kronak's oppressed people were ordered to attend the duel between King, Kronak, perhaps the strongest warrior in the realm, and the weak man, who could barely lift his sword. Without mercy, Kronak charged to attack the man; but as the slim man's heart pounded and his pulse raced, he soon transformed into a green giant: the Hulk, the true champion of the oppressed people!
Kronak struck the jade giant with his sword, but the blade shattered against the Hulk's skin; realizing he was outmatched by the Hulk's strength, Kronak used the mystic power of the Ruby of Shadows to summon the monstrous Guardian of the Gem to fight in his place. However, the Hulk soon defeated the Ruby's Guardian, so Kronak ordered his soldiers to attack, but the Hulk scattered them aside.
Grabbing another sword, the barbarian again attacked the Hulk, however the sword broke when he attempted to stab him, so he then assaulted the Hulk with his bare hands; but Kronak's punch proved to be futile against his green-skinned opponent. The Hulk then picked up Kronak and threw him into the howling crowd of Kronak's oppressed subjects, who took their revenge upon him with clubs and apparently beat the tyrant to death.
Comments: Created by Len Wein, Sal Buscema and Joe Staton.
The first time I read the story I thought it a sub-dimensional world, but Kronak also could live on an Earth of a divergent timeline, equivalent to the Hyborian Era. These could be the correspondences in order of appearance or naming:
| Terragonia | Earth-616 Hyborian Era |
| Terragonia | Aquilonia or Tarantia |
| Kronak the Barbarian | Conan the Barbarian |
| Aragon | Venarium |
| Gurdun and Kammatet | Turan and Makkalet |
| King Ystrigall | King Yildiz or Yedzigerd |
| During the war Kronak was wounded by a Gurdunian to an eye and gained a long scar on the face | During the war Conan wounded Yedzigerd of Turan and left him a long scar on the face |
| Kronak's ship of pirates was the Black Lion | Conan tamed Shulo (Amra's black lion) and then was known as Amra on the Black Coast |
| King Modrian | King Numedides |
| Drox | Mitra?, Crom? |
| The Ruby of Shadows | The Heart of Ahriman |
| The Guardian of the Ruby | Only a slight physical resemblance with the Guardian of the Pit of Skelos |
The environment of this world appeared to be quite Earth-like, and various animals native to Earth (e.g. elephant, flea, lion, cat) were mentioned by characters in the story, so Kronak's world could indeed be an alternate Earth.
In the previous issue (Incredible Hulk II#200), the Hulk had been reduced to microscopic size with the Micron-Cannon; he was then sent into the brain of the comatose Major Glenn Talbot, where he battled and defeated the "Mental Block," and Talbot revived from his coma. Afterward, when the Hulk began to return to his normal size, another blast from the Micron-Cannon shrank him down even further and seemingly reduced him to nothingness; the Hulk next found himself standing before Shamu-Shan.--Ron Fredricks
It could be that Shamu-Shan's enchantment summoned the
Hulk from Talbot's brain and transported him to the divergent reality,
and that when the spell's effects faded, the miniaturization restarted
to work (or a lot of other possibilities).
Note, the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
Deluxe Edition: Appendix to alternate dimensions, classifies
Terragonia as a Micro-World, but there's no reason it couldn't still
be some sort of alternate Earth developing under such conditions.
Nonetheless, it is a world of swords and sorcery.
Further, all of the Micro-Realms have apparently
been merged into a single dimension during an unpublished conflict
between Thanos and Baron
Karza.
--Snood
Profile by Spidermay. Expansion by Ron Fredricks.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Kronak the Barbarian is probably an extradimensional
counterpart of:
...and has no known connections to:
Argaron has no known connections to:
Dragonus has no known connections to:
Shamu-Shan has no known connections to:
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A fortress in the realm of Terragonia, it was formerly the home of King Modrian, until the barbarian Kronak killed him and usurped his throne. The castle included a gladiatorial arena, in which Kronak eventually met his downfall when he battled the Hulk. --Incredible Hulk II#201 |
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King Modrian was the ruler of the realm of Terragonia; he wore the sacred Ruby of Shadows around his neck. Although not the best of kings, Modrian was considered to be a fair ruler by his people. Modrian had hired Kronak to be the captain of the palace guards; but Kronak coveted the Ruby and the king's throne, so one stormy night, Modrian was killed by his treacherous bodyguard. --Incredible Hulk II#201 (201 (fb, d) |
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Dragonus was a warlock and possibly an alchemist; it is unclear if Dragonus supported Kronak before the barbarian usurped the throne of King Modrian, but he helped Kronak to keep the people of Terragonia under his heel. One day, Dragonus saw a giant green "demon" (the Hulk) assaulting the royal palace and scattering the guardsmen away as if they were leaves muddled by the storm. Concealed in the shadows, Dragonus threw a glass vial containing a special liquid at the giant's feet. As it stuck the ground, the vial shattered, and the liquid created swirling sorcerous fumes that disintegrated a section of the castle's wall, and the rubble fell on the "demon". Dragonus ordered the soldiers to remove the blocks and kill the demon, but they were all surprised when they found a slim man (Bruce Banner) under the debris. Some time later, Dragonus had the slim man put in chains and taken to the presence of the tyrant Kronak; Dragonus accused the man of being the champion of the people of Terragonia--Kronak could only laugh at Dragonus' jest. Shortly after, Dragonus followed Kronak into the arena, where he announced the start of the duel between Kronak and the puny stranger. But after the slim man transformed back into the "demon" and soundly defeated Kronak, Dragonus fled when he realized the tide had turned against him. --Incredible Hulk II#201 |
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The soldiers of the Guard were trained to fight with various weapons; other than helmets, the were unarmored, and were usually armed with swords, spears, and a round shields. Originally, the guards protected the castle, and some of them were King Modrian's personal bodyguards. One day, the King hired Kronak who became the captain of the guards. When Kronak killed King Modrian and usurped his throne, the guards then became servants of Kronak. The Guards of the Palace tried to defend the Palace when the giant green "demon" (the Hulk) attacked, but all their weapons were broken when they hit the "demon"; moreover, they were too weak for the incredible strength of the "demon", but they were helped by Dragonus in defeating him. Hours later, many of them surrounded the arena, where they forced the oppressed people to attend the duel between Kronak and a slim man (Bruce Banner). When the slim man transformed back into the "demon," Kronak ordered them to intervene and surround the green beast, but they were easily swatted away. Following the uprising of the oppressed people against Kronak, the few guards remaining ran away. --Incredible Hulk II#201 (Comment: For some reason, the lead guardsman referred to his fellow soldiers as his "cat-brothers" (see first image, underlined in red)--the significance of this term was never explained.) |
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Shamu-Shan was a sorcerer, albeit a poor one; he worshiped several gods of Terragonia, including Drox. He wasn't an enemy of King Modrian, but when the barbarian Kronak killed Modrian and usurped his throne, Shamu-Shan stayed with the oppressed people of Terragonia, and decided to help them. For several days. Shuamu-Shan stood before a flaming well and prayed to the ancient gods to send them a champion, so they could overthrow the cruel Kronak. When a "demon" (the Hulk) appeared in the flames, Shamu-Shan was surprised to see that the champion was a monster, but he soon understood that the monster could help them overthrow Kronak. Shamu-Shan calmly explained the situation to the "demon," convincing him to give them the help they needed. Shamu-Shan and his followers went to the arena, where Kronak was battling against their champion, and they saw the "demon" defeat Kronak and his guards. But Shamu-Shan didn't arrive in time to thank their champion, because the green giant shrank in size and disappeared at his feet--all that remained to commemorate the fall of Kronak's empire was a shattered fragment of the Ruby of Shadows. --Incredible Hulk II#201 |
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An unspecified number of inhabitants of the realm of Terragonia, they were human-like and had Caucasian skin. Their level of civilization was approximately medieval-type, or equivalent to Hyborian Eara at the time of Conan. They probably worshiped several gods, but the only one mentioned was Drox. When the Terragonians were ruled by King Modrian, they were treated fairly by him; but after Kronak killed Modrian and usurped his throne, he ruled the people like an iron-fisted tyrant. The sorcerer Shamu-Shan helped the people by summoning a green "demon" (the Hulk) to be their champion. When the "demon" arrived on their world and seemed that he wanted to attack the old wizard, they were ready to defend their friend and attack the "demon". With Shamu-Shan's explanation, the green "demon" agreed to help them overthrow the cruel Kronak. When they learned that Kronak was dueling against their green-skinned champion in the arena, they went there in hopes of seeing Kronak defeated. In fact, the "demon" did defeat Kronak and his guards, so the people intervened and battled the remaining soldiers. When the "demon" threw the screaming Kronak to them, the oppressed people greeted his "gift" with open arms, and they beat Kronak with clubs until his screaming stopped, thus freeing themselves from his tyranny. --Incredible Hulk II#201 |
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The mystic Ruby of Shadows was a source of magic power. The full extent of the power that the Ruby could give to its wielder is unclear, but when Kronak realized he was no match for the Hulk, he used it to summon the Guardian of the Ruby (a large and monstrous ruby-red creature, taller than the Hulk and with super-human strength [Class 90?] comparable to the Hulk's). As Kronak held the Ruby in his hand and recited a mystic incantation, a shadowy mist emerged from the gem, and the Guardian appeared. |
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The Guardian of the Ruby then seized the Hulk by his wrists, and for interminable moments, the two monstrous beings were locked in an intense stalemate. But the Hulk's boundless rage eventually gave him the strength to break free, then he punched the Guardian away--the Ruby subsequently shattered, and the Guardian vanished back into the mists. It seemed that the will-power of the wielder was the power source of the Ruby. Kronak's concentration wasn't very strong, and when the Hulk defeated the Guardian, it probably caused Kronak's self-confidence to break as well. --Incredible Hulk II#201 |
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images: (without ads)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p3, pan7 (main image - Kronak)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p9, pan2 (headshot - Kronak, wearing crown)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p10, pan7 (in arena, Kronak charges to attack Bruce Banner)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p17, pan2 (Hulk throws screaming Kronak to the oppressed people)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p3, pan5 (Shamu-Shan's hand pointing to Kronak's castle)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p4, pan4 (in flashback, King Modrian, wearing Ruby of Shadows)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p4, pan6 (in flashback, Kronak kills King Modrian)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p8, pan1 (Dragonus throws glass vial)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p8, pan6 (Dragonus)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p15, pan5 (palace guards charge to attack the Hulk)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p15, pan6 (Hulk scatters palace guards)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p2, pan1 (Shamu-Shan, speaking to Hulk)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p17, pan8 (Shamu-Shan holding shattered fragment of Ruby of Shadows)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p2, pan4 (oppressed people of Terragonia)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p17, pan3 (oppressed people take their revenge upon Kronak)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p12, pan4 (Ruby of Shadows worn around Kronak's neck)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p12, pan6 (Kronak holds Ruby of Shadows and recites mystic incantation)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p13, pan1 (Guardian of the Ruby appears)
Incredible Hulk II#201, p17, pan7 (Shamu-Shan's hand reaching for fragment of Ruby of Shadows)
Appearances:
Incredible Hulk II#201 (July, 1976) - Len Wein (writer/editor), Sal Buscema (pencils), Joe Staton (inks), Glynis Oliver (colors), John Costanza (letters)
First posted: 05/14/2005
Last updated: 09/10/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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