JACOB ROARK
Real Name: Jacob Roark
Identity/Class: Human magic user
Occupation: Retired,
grandfather;
formerly executive
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Doctor Strange
Enemies: Unnamed thing from an extradimensional plane
Known Relatives: Unnamed daughter and son-in-law, Corinne (granddaughter), Brian (grandson)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Hermitage on unnamed mountains
First Appearance: Strange Tales II#19 (October, 1988)
Powers/Abilities: Jacob Roark had very little magic powers, but when he came in contact with the thing from another plane, his power considerably grew. He was enabled to invoke several Mystic Entities and use the power they granted to him, such as the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, the Shield of the Seraphim, the Moons of Munnopor, the Demons of Denak and the banishing powers of the Hosts of Hoggoth.
History:
(Strange Tales II#19 - (fb) - BTS) - Jacob Roark had lived a life of work and love, but when he was old, he believed that his life was empty and meaningless. He then left the civilized world and started a journey for the solitary study of cosmic mysteries. His daughter went to find his father, sometimes, to dissuade him from continuing his current lifestyle, but Jacob remained there.
(Strange Tales II#19 (fb)) - After five years of reading and meditation, his abilities in magic powers were miniscule. Jacob's daughter and her family went to find him in his hermitage, and Jacob coincidentally found access to all the power he had sought. In fact, in those days, the barriers between the planes of reality had been weakened and the magic power that Jacob had acquired was the power coming from a thing belonging to another time and space, and Jacob had unwittingly given it a link to the Earth plane. The slimy, tentacled, horrible but nameless thing came from beyond and attacked Jacob and his family. Jacob's daughter and son-in-law died while trying to go out and search for help, so Jacob remained home to defend his grandsons with his new powers like a magic warrior.
(Strange Tales II#19) - Every day for two weeks, the thing attacked, and every day Jacob held it back, but every day, the thing approached a bit more. However, Doctor Strange arrived at Jacob's hermitage, and let him recognize "who" was the link of the thing. Jacob then rejected his powers, appealing to the deeper, inner fire, the power of love for his children and had the thing disappear. He and the children were saved.
Comments: Created by Peter B. Gillis (writer), Rich Case (pencils) and Randy Emberlin (inks).
Brian could see Strange's astral form. Strange does not usually let people to see him in astral form, so it is possible that Brian had inherited a little magic power from his grandfather or some other relative.
Profile by Spidermay.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Jacob Roark has no known connections to
Corinne, Brian and Jacob's family
(Strange Tales II#19 (fb) - BTS) - Roark's daughter was a normal human. She and her husband tried several times to convince Jacob to change his ideas and lifestyle and go back home with them. Unfortunately, during one of their visits, the creature from another dimension attacked Roark's hermitage and they were killed. However, Corinne and Brian survived because had remained in the house, defended by Jacob, but for two weeks, they had to live with the terror of the unknown, afraid of any strange noise, odd smell or weird light. Doctor Strange's arrival freed their grandfather from his "curse" and they were all saved.
--Strange Tales II#19
The thing from another world was a horrible creature apparently without a set shape. It had tentacles, claws, fangs and mouths, plus many eyes without a head. It was solid and fluid and had a certain resistance to magic attacks, but was not immune to them. Its presence on the Earth stank like burning rubber and bad rotten meat. Roark believed that the creature came from the Pits of R'Lyeh, but he was self-convinced about several wrong things, so, the creature probably was only a being from another plane.
In the past, the thing had been rejected on its plane, and the gate between its home and the Earth had been shut. But when the barriers between the worlds were broken because of the destruction of some important amulets, the thing found a link in Roark's need for power. The creature replied to Roark's need to have an adversary to fight with his magic power, and the more Roark battled it, the greater and the stronger became the creature. The creature killed Roark's daughter and his husband, but was stopped and battled by Roark's powers for two weeks until Strange's arrival. When Roark rejected his magic powers, the thing lost his grip on the Earth plane and vanished.
--Strange Tales II#19
Images:
Strange Tales II#19, p13, pan2 (Roark, main image)
Strange Tales II#19, p19, pan1 (Roark, head shot)
Strange Tales II#19, p19, pan3
(Roark's daughter and
family)
Strange Tales II#19, p22, pan1
(Corinne and Brian)
Strange Tales II#19, p22, pan4
(thing)
Appearances:
Strange Tales II#19 (October, 1988) - Peter Gillis (writer), Richard Case (pencils), Randy Emberlin (inks), Carl Potts (editor)
Last updated: 07/30/12
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