KKRUL
Classification: Terrestrial humanoid lizards
Location/Base of Operations: Maine, USA
Known Members: None named
Affiliations: None
First Appearance: Astonishing#18/6 (October, 1952)
Powers/Abilities: Kkrul were lizard-like humanoids with scaly skin and adapted to living underground, although they preferred the surface. Kkruls did not blink their greatly rounded eyes and did not sleep. Their greatest power was osmosis, which allowed their minds to inhabit another creature's mind, subverting the host's mind and acquiring some of its knowledge and language skills; the Kkrul's body faded into the host in the process. However, a Kkrul carried some physical elements over into its host, such as not requiring sleep and not blinking. A sign that a creature was controlled by a Kkrul was that its wrist gained scales and the eyes became rounded (see comments).
Traits: Kkruls documented their history and acquired vast knowledge, learning much of their fellow creatures and potential hosts. They had a strong sense of survival.
History:
(Astonishing#18/6 (fb) - BTS) - The Kkrul was a long-lived race. Many centuries ago, a huge storm hit their homeland and forced them underground into catacombs, where they became sealed in. They recorded their history in old books, including their past encounters with humans. There came a time when there was only one Kkrul left.
(Astonishing#18/6) - A major storm hit the Maine coast, dislodging rocks that had sealed in the catacombs, and the last Kkrul crawled out. Its sensations enhanced with the wind and the rain, it decided to stay on the surface, but knew that the surface-dwelling humans would fear and kill it. The Kkrul chose to become a surface being by inhabiting a human host. Nearby, a car carrying three hunters, Mitch, Stan and Doc, crashed into a tree, and all were knocked unconscious. The Kkrul chose to merge with the strongest man, who had been thrown from the car wreck, the osmosis process causing the Kkrul's physical body to fade away as his mind inhabited Mitch, although Stan vaguely saw something strange going on. The other two hunters quickly recovered and helped "Mitch" to their nearby cabin. The Kkrul inside was disoriented, so the others made preparations and slept till the morning, but the Kkrul did not sleep and instead paced the room; this was noticed by Stan. Doc and Stan both privately voiced concern over their friend's strange behavior; Doc suggested that going on a hunt would help. Stan took "Mitch" down an old game trail, but noticed that "Mitch" didn't blink his eyes and he had a green scaly wrist. Now discovered, the Kkrul declared it would kill him, but Stan was able to escape and ran back to the cabin. The Kkrul made it back as well, overpowering Doc and merging with his body; it then entered the room where Stan was and killed him.
Comments: Created by an uncredited writer and John Romita Sr. (art).
The signs of Kkrul possession of a human host, especially the scaly wrist and increasingly rounded eyes, suggest that the Kkrul DNA would eventually transform the host into a Kkrul body; humans must blink and sleep to live.
The story states that the storm that first locked the Kkrul underground occurred "untold centuries" before; could this have been the Great Cataclysm of many millennia ago?
No gender, if there was any for Kkruls, was specified, so I'll just go with "it".
Kkrul are possibly some relation to the Lizard Men (for possible possession, see Eric Kane),
although I think they have a slight resemblence to "Xenarthrans".
---John Kaminski
This story was reprinted in Uncanny Tales#6/1 (October, 1974), which is where the images are from.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Kkruls have no known connections to
images:
(without ads)
Uncanny Tales#6/1, p2, pan1 (main image)
Other Appearances: None
Last updated: 01/22/11
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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