DRALLA
Real Name: Drallas (see comments)
Identity/Class: Unrevealed, possibly god (see comments) (early Middle Ages)
Occupation: Liberator, protector
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: The people of Oakfast (including the old man)
Enemies: Unnamed barbarian invaders
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: The Stone Man
Base of Operations: Oakfast, central Europe
First Appearance: Journey into Mystery I#70/3 (July, 1961)
Powers/Abilities: Dralla was a valiant warrior, swordsman and knight. He also had supernatural powers and could apparently transform soil and stones into gold, as well as transfer his spirit into a stone statue and animate it as his own body.
History:
(Journey into Mystery I#70/3 (fb)) - Dralla appeared in central Europe in the early Middle Ages, when barbarian populations raided villages and devastated entire regions. Dralla gathered people and led them against the invaders. His leadership saved Oakfast. Many years later, the people of Oakfast erected a statue in his honor.
(Journey into Mystery I#70/3 - BTS) - In the modern era, the region around Oakfast was in a terrible period of drought and famine. Those among them who had more to give helped the others, but the starvation was too great and all of Oakfast was in danger of dying. An old man went before of Dralla's statue, the Stone Man, and beseeched Dralla to help them. The day after, Dralla sent lots of gold into the village. The people found it on the ground, but not the old man, who was sick for days. Dralla observed the people becoming rich and avaricious.
(Journey into Mystery I#70/3) - When the old man asked for help from his fellow countrymen, they refused. With a thunderbolt, Dralla intervened. His spirit animated the statue and he spoke to the people. He punished the inhabitants of Oakfast for their egoism and greed. The gold vanished, and Dralla took the old man with him and rode, flying up to the skies, to give him his greatest reward.
Comments: Created by Stan Lee (writer) & Steve Ditko (artist).
It may be that Dralla was simply a man during the Middle Ages who gained godhood thanks to his valiant deeds.
This story was reprinted in Kull the Destroyer#12/2 (February, 1974)
The UK printing has him calling himself Drallas - he's
Dralla in the legend, but when he materialises, he calls himself
Drallas. While this is presumably an error, it would be worth mentioning
in the comments - and, arguably, in story you could argue that he knows
his own name - he always calls himself Drallas, but prior to his
appearance it is the townspeople who use Dralla, and that name is first
mentioned in the context of "the legends tell us his name is Dralla" -
in other words, the legends may have gotten it slightly wrong.
--Loki
Dralla isn't the only statue to come to life to help people: [Astonishing#46 (February, 1956) 1st story "Forbidden Forest!"--statue comes to life to help 2 hunters], [Amazing Adventures#6 (November, 1961) 3rd story "The Fourth Man"--animated statue saves Mr. White from mugger] and [Mystery Tales#40 (April, 1956) 5th story "The Silent Stranger"]. Plus Tibo (giant animated Tibetan statue) [Strange Tales I#112 (September, 1962) "The Man Who Dared" (Tibo chased after a thief who stole a large ruby)].
--Gammatotem
Profile by Spidermay.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Dralla the Stone Man has no known connections to
The unnamed old man was an inhabitant of Oakfast. His people were slowly starving, and the only help he could think of was the Stone Man. His faith was rewarded, but he could not pick up any piece of the gold sent by Dralla because he was sick. When he recovered, he was astounded to see that his fellow townspeople had become avid and egoistic. Dralla gave him his rightful reward, taking him away from Oakfast.
--Journey into Mystery I#70/3
images:
(without ads)
Journey into Mystery I#70/3, p1, pan1 (Stone Man, main image)
Appearances:
Journey into Mystery I#70/3 (July, 1961) - Steve Ditko (writer and
artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Last updated: 05/27/08
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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