MORAG
Real Name: Morag
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Kree, Distant Past), alien technology user
Occupation: Hunter, tribal leader and conqueror
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Dorrek I (Skrull Emperor) (former)
Enemies: The Cotati, Dorrek (Skrull Emperor), Skrulls
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Hala;
Earth's Moon (former);
Mobile in space using early Skrull technology
First Appearance: Avengers I#133 (March, 1975)
Powers/Abilities: Morag was described as the "mightiest male" of the barbarian Kree (at Year Zero). He was warlike and brutal, but a strategist with little honor, killing to gain more of anything. He was also a sharp thinker and quickly adapted to new situations and information, while also being a visionary builder. He was adept at using crude spears and axes, but his sharp mind let him quickly adapt to new technology. He was also a skilled leader who was very capable at rallying his people.
He wore rudimentary green fur, thin brown belt, bandaged boots, plus a thin silver circlet on his bald (shaven?) head, which denoted his position as leader.
History:
(Avengers I#133 (fb)) - Morag was the leader of the Kree on Hala at a
time when they first began to record history (Year Zero). He led his
tribe in hunting for fresh meat every day, selecting the largest beasts
to kill. The Kree, being meat eaters, and the plant-life Cotati, left
each other alone.
(Avengers I#133 (fb)) - A Skrull ship, headed by Emperor Dorrek of the then pacifist Skrulls, landed near the border between the Kree and the Cotati. He issued a challenge for the two races to determine which would represent Hala in an alliance of sorts with the non-warlike Skrulls. Seventeen Cotati representatives were sent to a separate, barren planet, with 17 Kree later left on an uninhabited planetoid that was actually Earth's moon in an area that would later be known as the Blue Area of the Moon.
The Skrulls provided an artificial atmosphere, supplies, tools and rudimentary Skrull technology. Morag then led his troop of Kree men (no women were seen) to construct an unforgettable structure. With what would become a Kree trademark by using a regimented and focused style, they mined, refined and built a massive city that would later be used by the Watcher. Morag's efforts impressed the Skrulls, and he and his men were transported back to Hala.
But the Kree were not accorded heroes' welcome upon their return, and Morag was puzzled. This turned to rage when he found out that the Cotati defeated them in this test by nurturing alien seeds creating a paradisiacal garden. Under darkness, Morag led his warriors in an attack on the Cotati, killing every last plant creature in a fit of genocidal fury. The next day, Morag confronted Dorrek with the genocide, stating that there was no longer any choice to be made between the Kree and the Cotati. However, the Skrulls were repulsed by the Kree's barbarism and decreed that Hala be shut forever away from their empire.
Angered even more, and not wishing to be denied technology for his tribe's advancement, Morag then directed another immediate attack, this time on the pacifist Skrulls, and slaughtered them. He then declared that Hala would be the homeworld to a Kree empire that would seek to destroy all Skrulls.
Comments: Created by Steve Englehart (writer), Sal Buscena & Joe Staton (artists).
And so the Kree-Skrull war begins. Effectively, the Skrulls are responsible for unleashing the militaristic Kree, but the Kree are responsible for turning the Skrulls into warriors.
In The Untold Legend of Captain Marvel#1 (April, 1997), Mar-Vell boards the Kree battle-cruiser Pama aboard the shuttlecraft Morag, potentially named after this historical figure.
Morag is a female name on Earth, especially amongst Scots.
It should be noted that Morag and his fellow Kree tribesmen should
have been colored blue instead of pink in that story, since the
original 'purebred' Kree tribesmen were always described that way. He
was colored correctly in the Deluxe Handbook (aka '80's version) Kree
entry.
--Elf with a Gun
Clarifications:
Morag has no known connections to:
And should be distinguished from:
images:
Avengers I#133, p9, pan6 (hunting)
First Posted: 11/13/2005
Last updated: 11/12/2005
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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