TRULL

Real Name: Trull

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Delta Centurius Galaxy); (Pre-modern era to modern era)

Occupation: Would-be world conqueror

Group Membership: Damage Control (Ant-Man (see comments), Lenny Ballinger, Robin Chapel, Albert Cleary, Goliath/Tom Foster, Monstro/Frank Johnson, John Porter, Visioneer/Abigail Dunton, others);
formerly Ghost Rider Assassination League (Big Wheel/Jackson Weele, Blackout (Lilin), Deacon, Madcap, Orb, Scarecrow/Ebenezer Laughton, Vengeance/Kowalski)

Affiliations: Big Wheel (Jackson Weele)

Enemies: Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze), Ghost Rider (Den Ketch), Gloria, Bart Hanson, Leviathon Mother, Phil, Rajah, Roxxon

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Trull the Mighty, Trull the Unhuman

Base of Operations: Damage Control Headquarters, New York City;
   formerly a jungle in Africa;
    formerly Delta Centurius galaxy

First Appearance: Tales to Astonish I#21/1 (July, 1961)

Powers/Abilities: Trull can project his life essence from his physical body, though it's unknown if this is possible at any time, or only at the time of the body's death. In the form of the steam shovel, Trull was extremely powerful, able to lift massive rocks with its "mouth." Trull could "speak" by manipulating parts of the steam shovel's mechanism to simulate a "voice."

History:
(Tales to Astonish I#21/1) - While voyaging through space, Trull's spacecraft's anti-magnetic reactors failed and his ship crashed just inside the coast of Africa. Though his physical body was killed, Trull used his natural abilities to release his life essence, which began to search for a new body.  He came across an experimental new steam shovel designed by Phil. Taking over the machine, Trull revealed his presence to Phil, as well as Bart Hanson (the construction crew's foreman, who was dating Phil's ex-fiancee Gloria). He held them hostage while he planned on how to take over Earth. When the three tried to escape, Trull pursued them, but was attacked by Rajah, an elephant that Phil had saved from Hanson's abuse earlier. The elephant cracked the machine's engine cylinder, destroying it. Weakened, Trull's essence escaped into the African jungle.








(Ghost Rider VI#33 - BTS) - Deacon and Blackout considered him as a possible agent in their fight against Ghost Rider (Blaze).

(Ghost Riders: Heaven's on Fire#2 (fb) - BTS) - Blackout, Deacon and Orb recruited Trull for Zadkiel's Ghost Rider Assassination League.

(Ghost Riders: Heaven's on Fire#2) - Trull was present when Blackout, Deacon and Orb picked up Vengeance (Kowalski) as the last member of their group.

(Ghost Riders: Heaven's on Fire#3) - Big Wheel assaulted the Ghost Riders (Johnny Blaze & Dan Ketch) on their way to a Heaven portal. During their fight Ghost Rider (Ketch) fell down a chasm and ended up in the jungle where Trull, still residing in a steam shovel, attacked him. Ghost Rider (Ketch) tossed the steam shovel to a nearby Roxxon gravel pit, then destroyed the steam shovel with a tree trunk. Trull left the steam shovel and took control over another machine, but each machine Trull took control of was quickly destroyed by Ghost Rider (Ketch). Trull ended up in a chainsaw and still gloated over how he would destroy Ghost Rider (Ketch), but he crushed the possessed chainsaw with his boot, leaving Trull without a form to possess.

SECRET WARS III HAPPENED

(Civil War II: Choosing Sides#1/3 (fb) - BTS) - Albert Cleary bought cheap machines from South America for Damage Control, including the steam shovel once again under Trull's control.

(Civil War II: Choosing Sides#1/3 - BTS) - During the night Trull began to build his machine army by stealing parts of Damage Control's vehicles.

   In the morning his vandalism was discovered, but Parker Industries had already loaned new machines to Damage Control. Porter had promised Parker not to leave the machines unattended and without a night crew Porter, Chapel, Cleary, Ballinger and Monstro camped nearby to guard the machines.

(Civil War II: Choosing Sides#1/3) - Trull stole parts from Parker Industries' machines to build his army, but was discovered by Chapel and Porter. He sent his machines after them, but they all went the wrong way. Trull kept building while explaining he was a conqueror from Centurius. Monstro talked some sense into Trull and convinced him to stop his ways of conquest and instead join Damage Control. Though Trull had cost them 1.2 million dollars Robin Chapel, Lenny Ballinger and Albert Cleary liked the idea to have Trull on board. Porter was against it at first, but when he heard Trull talk about leaving it to the professionals he made the line and Trull part of Damage Control's new commercial.

(Damage Control IV#2 (fb)) - Trull worked for Damage Control to save people from a destroyed building alongside Ant-Man, Goliath, Monstro and Visioneer.

(Monsters Unleashed II#5 (fb) - BTS) - Kid Kaiju summoned Trull to fight the Leviathon Mother.

(Monsters Unleashed II#5) - After the Leviathon Mother was defeated by Kid Kaiju's own monsters Trull was among the last monsters to teleport back to where they came from.

(Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Surpeme#9-10) - As part of Damage Control Trull helped with cleanups in Central Park, New York City after a battle between Doctor Strange and a group of time-displaced Sorcerers Supremes and the Author of the Word of God.

(Damage Control IV#3) - As part of Damage Control's Search and Rescue division Trull was sent to Trenton, New Jersey. Trull helped with clean-ups following a battle between Thor and a giant mutate and fixed the sign on Trenton's bridge, but accidentally screwed up Trenton's slogan "Trenton makes the world takes" by changing it to "The world makes Trenton takes." Lenny told Trull the mistake he made, but to Trull neither slogan made sense.

Comments: Created by Stan Lee (or Larry Lieber), Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.

Tales to Astonish I#21/1 was reprinted in Creatures on the Loose#10.

The story is a complete and blatant rip-off of Theodore Sturgeon's 1944 classic KILLDOZER story (which was adapted for TV in 1974).
--Jean-Marc Lofficier

The Killdozer story was also adapted by Marvel Comics in Worlds Unknown#6 (see here).
--John McDonagh

I have no clue who the Ant-Man was supposed to be in the flashback in Damage Control IV#2, but it can't be O'Grady, who was already dead and replaced by the LMD that became known as Black Ant at the time Trull joined Damage Control. The Ant-Man seen in the flashback was wearing the Ant-Man suit built for S.H.I.E.L.D., but maybe Damage Control got their hands on it and was allowed to keep it and gave it to one of their employees.

Profile by Madison Carter. Update by Markus Raymond (Ghost Riders: Heaven's on Fire to Damage Control).

Clarifications:

Trull has no known connections to

Gloria

Once engaged to Phil, she left him after his failures caused him to become a "milksop." She ended up with Bart Hanson, who happened to be the foreman on an African construction job that Phil was designing equipment for. The three of them were held hostage by Trull, and when they tried to escape, it was Phil and not Bart who rescued her. After Trull was defeated, Gloria asked Phil to take her back, but he refused, seeing her as someone who only wanted to be with a "winner."




-- Tales to Astonish I#21/1  (  21(fb), 21



Bart Hanson

A macho man, Bart ended up with Gloria after she dumped Phil. He was a foreman on the construction job, and after abusing an elephant named Rajah, was confronted by Phil. When Trull threatened Gloria's life, Bart was too scared to save her. She left Bart and begged Phil to take her back, but he told her off, telling her she deserved Bart.









-- Tales to Astonish I#21/1

Phil

Phil was an architect whose career was ruined when a bridge he designed collapsed just moments before its grand opening. His girlfriend Gloria left him, and, defeated, he retreated to Africa, where he could design smaller machines and no one would know who he was. He designed a powerful new steam shovel for the construction company, and by pure coincidence learned that Gloria had hooked up with the foreman and both would be arriving. When Trull possessed the steam shovel, he held the three hostage. When the alien threatened Gloria, Phil saved her, and Rajah, an elephant that Phil had previously saved from Bart Hanson's (the foreman) abuse destroyed Trull. Gloria begged Phil to take her back, but he refused.



-- Tales to Astonish I#21  (21 (fb), 21

images:
 Ghost Riders: Heaven's on Fire#3, p13, pan3 (main image)
Tales to Astonish I#21, p2, pan3 (Trull's original form)
Tales to Astonish I#21, p6, pan2 (Trull as steam shovel)
Ghost Riders: Heaven's on Fire#3, p17, pan2 (as chainsaw, "final form")
Civil War II: Choosing Sides#1/3, p6, pan2 (Trull is back!)
Tales to Astonish I#21, p7, pan1 (all 3 humans)

Appearances:
Tales to Astonish I#21 (July, 1961) - Stan Lee or Larry Lieber (writer), Jack Kirby (penciler), Dick Ayers (inker), Stan Lee (editor)
Ghost Rider VI#33 (2009) - Jason Aaron (writer), Tony Moore (artist), Axel Alonso (editor)
Ghost Riders: Heaven's on Fire#2-3 (November-December, 2009) - Jason Aaron (writer), Roland Boschi (artist), Sebastian Girner (editor)
Civil War II: Choosing Sides#1 (August, 2016) - Chad Bowers & Chris Sims (writers), Leonardo Romero (artist), Wil Moss (editor)
Monsters Unleashed II#5 (May, 2017) - Cullen Bunn (writer), Adam Kubert (artist), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Surpeme#9 (August, 2017) - Robbie Thompson (writer), Javier Rodriguez (pencils), Álvaro López (inks), Darren Shan (editor)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Surpeme#10 (September, 2017) - Robbie Thompson (writer), Nathan Stockman (artist), Darren Shan (editor)
Damage Control IV#2 (November, 2022) - Adam F. Goldberg & Hans Rodionoff (writers), Will Robson (artist), Tom Brevoort & Wil Moss (editors)
Damage Control IV#3 (December, 2022) - Adam F. Goldberg & Hans Rodionoff (writers), Nathan Stockman (artist), Tom Brevoort & Wil Moss (editors)

First Posted: 08/22/2006
Last updated: 10/16/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com/

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters