XORAK the OUTCAST

Real Name: Xorak (presumably)

Identity/Class: Demon/Magical creation

Occupation: Former guardian of the Temple of Cyttorak

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Cyttorak (master)

Enemies: Ancient One (Yao), Cyclops (Scott Summers), Marvel Girl (Jean Grey)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: The Outcast

Base of Operations: Formerly the Crimson Cosmos, accessed via the Crimson Ruby of Cyttorak (see comments);
    formerly the Temple of Cyttorak, Choson (now Korea)

First Appearance: X-Men I#33 (June, 1967)

Powers/Abilities: Xorak had a number of magical powers, including projection of magical bolts, ensnarement of foes within mystic bindings, teleportation, size-changing (see comments), etc. Much of his power was drawn from Cyttorak, such as his Scarlet Circles of Doom, which unravel to bind and ensnare others, or the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, which can encircle or bind others. He was also susceptible to magical assaults drawn from Cyttorak by others. Rendered ageless within the Crimson Cosmos, his immortality was apparently ended by proximity to a temporal device, such as a wristwatch, which caused him to age rapidly (perhaps by his true age finally catching up with him), and he was reduced to dust.

Height: Unrevealed (7'; by approximation); variable (see comments)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: No visible pupils
Hair: None

History:
(X-Men I#33 (fb) - BTS) - When Cyttorak was banished from the earthly plane, he created Xorak to be guardian of his temple, in the land that would become Korea.

(X-Men I#33 (fb) - BTS) - As travelers entered the temple, Xorak destroyed them, preventing any being from accessing the power of the Ruby and becoming a Juggernaut.

(X-Men I#33 (fb)) - Hundreds of years ago, a young Mystic (who would become the Ancient One) traveled to the Temple of Cyttorak to study the Crimson Ruby of Cyttorak. Shortly after his arrival, Xorak appeared, attacking the Mystic with a spell of encirclement. The Mystic fought back, and Xorak--made careless by eons of easy victories--was stunned to find himself mystically entwined. The Mystic used the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak to draw Xorak back into the Crimson Cosmos within the Ruby. The Mystic vowed that if Xorak ever returned, he would defeat him anew.

(X-Men I#33 (fb) - BTS) - Trapped within the Crimson Cosmos, Xorak eventually mastered the energies of his new realm, becoming its supreme (and sole) power.

(X-Men I#33) - Learning of Xorak by probing the mind of the unconscious Professor X (who had just interfaced with the Juggernaut), the X-Men sought to contact the Ancient One, but instead reached Dr. Strange, who gave them the spell needed to access the Crimson Ruby. Strange warned them that if they spent more than an hour within the Crimson Cosmos, they would be trapped there forever. He then teleported Cyclops and Marvel Girl to the Temple of Cyttorak, and they used Dr. Strange's spell to enter the Crimson Cosmos. Almost immediately upon arrival, they were confronted by Xorak, who claimed that as the Outcast within the Crimson Cosmos, he was supreme.

   Cyclops and Marvel Girl tried to explain that they only wanted the prototype of the Crimson Ruby that existed within the Crimson Cosmos, but Xorak--bitter over being exiled from Earth--vowed to destroy them utterly. He summoned the Scarlet Circles of Doom, which uncoiled and wrapped around the two mutants until Marvel Girl forced them back at Xorak with her telekinesis. Vanishing in smoke as the Scarlet Circles struck him, Xorak waited until the two approached the prototype ruby, at which point he ensnared them with crimson tentacles anew. The tentacles drew Cyclops and Marvel Girl towards the now immense form of Xorak (see comments). As they fought back against him, Xorak taunted them for not suspecting the truth about the Crimson Cosmos, at which point he vanished again, reappearing almost instantly and confronting them as if it were their first meeting.

   Marvel Girl realized that Xorak was affected by the timeless silence of the Crimson Cosmos, though for her and Cyclops, time had kept marching on, and they were only a minute away from having been in the Crimson Cosmos for an hour. However, they then noticed that the ticking of Marvel Girl's wristwatch was terrifying Xorak, who commanded them to keep it away from him. Marvel Girl offered to take the watch away if he would give her the prototype ruby, but Xorak refused, so she used her telekinesis to press her watch up against the back of Xorak's head. In agony, Xorak begged her to remove the timepiece, promising to give them the prototype, but Marvel Girl found that she could no longer remove it--it was as if the watch had a life of its own . Bound to the watch's time, Xorak aged hundreds of years before Cyclops and Marvel Girl's eyes, and he soon crumbled into dust.

   Cyclops and Marvel Girl quickly located the prototype ruby and escaped from the Crimson Cosmos just before their hour had ended. They then confronted the Juggernaut, who mistook the prototype for its earthly counterpart and grabbed it; the prototype drained his powers and banished him to the Crimson Cosmos.

Comments: Created by Roy Thomas, Werner Roth, and John Tartaglione.

In the 8th Day storyline, Kurt Busiek clarified that it should technically be the Crimson Crystal of Cyttorak (proper alliteration, you know), but it's always been the Crimson Ruby in every other story, so I'm going with that.

Possibly Xorak's ability to change his size was just an illusion -- he only made himself into a giant once, but otherwise retained his usual size for the rest of his appearance. -- Ron Fredricks

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Xorak the Outcast has no known connection to:

• Abomination (Emil Blonsky) - gamma ray mutate, whom Xorak kind of resembled [green skin, big ears, lumpy head]--Tales to Astonish I#90
• Xoorr - leader of the Mole Men--Tales to Astonish I#16/3
• Xorr the God-Jewel - last remnants of the Xorri race, the alleged common ancestor of all humanoid races--Thor I#214
• X'orr - slave market of the galaxy--Sensational She-Hulk#43
• Zorak - leader of the Lizard Men of Tok--Marvel Two-in-One I#87
• Outcast - Lilin, tore open Lilith's belly to allow the Lilin to be born. red-brown fur, spikes + claws--Ghost Rider III#41
• Outcast - see Crimson Dynamo (Yuri Petrovich)--Champions#7
• Outcasts of the Arctic Circle - tribe of deformed people, befriended Frankenstein Monster in 18^th Century, slain by another tribe--Frankenstein Monster#4
• Outcasts (Boulder, Digger, Landslide, Water Witch) - group of unsightly humans who have chosen to dwell in Subterranea, some were empowered by Mole Man through unknown means--(outcasts) Fantastic Four Annual#13, (super-outcasts) Marvel Treasury Edition#25
• Outcasts, including Rattilore, who are animals mutated by gamma radiation--Incredible Hulk II#329
• Outcasts (Cleft, Depth Charge, Flagstone) - post-World War II mercenaries, former partners of Puck--Alpha Flight I#122/2
• Outcasts of Dark Dimension - ancient wizards mutated and exiled by Dormammu--Dr. Strange II#71
• Outcasts of Earth-Age of Apocalypse (Brute, Forge, Mastermind, Soaron, Sonique (Siryn), Toad, X-Man/Nate Grey)--X-Man#1
• any other "Xor" or Outcast characters

images: (without ads)
X-Men I#33, p10, pan2 (main image - Xorak)
X-Men I#33, p16, pan4 (headshot - Xorak begins to rapidly age)
X-Men I#33, p13, pan4 (Xorak projects Scarlet Circles of Doom)
X-Men I#33, p16, pan1 (Marvel Girl frightens Xorak with her wristwatch)

Appearances:
X-Men I#33 (June, 1967) - Roy Thomas (writer), Werner Roth (pencils), John Tartaglione (inks), Sam Rosen (letters), Stan Lee (editor)

First posted:
Last updated: 06/26/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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