COUNT VARRON
Real Name: Stjepan Varron
Identity/Class: Normal human (1950s Era) (Bosnian by birth)
Occupation:
Pirate, leader of a small group of pirates;
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: DiCasto
Enemies: Marvel Boy (Bob Grayson), Fish People
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Atlantic Ocean
First Appearance: Marvel Boy I#1/1 (December, 1950)
Powers/Abilities: Count Stjepan Varron was a normal human with a monocle who was a forthright leader and proficient with guns, but was greedy and lacked compassion.
History:
(Marvel Boy I#1/1 (fb) - BTS) - Count Varron felt he had become a man without a country, having been denied citizenship by the countries near his native land of what had once been Bosnia. He turned to piracy and led a small group of pirates in the Atlantic Ocean.
(Marvel Boy I#1/1) - Varron and his crew aboard their freighter were caught up as the lost "continent" rose from the sea at latitude 50, longitude 5, with ship resting on open land. Considering himself the first to discover the new land mass, he proclaimed it "Varronland" and declared himself its ruler. News spread quickly, even to Uranus, where Marvel Boy found out about it and he rushed to Earth to investigate. Meanwhile, Varron warned other countries to stay clear of his land and ordered his second-in-command, DiCasto, to unload the ship while he explored the area. Varron then found the indigenous people of Varronland and called them Fish People for their appearance. Fearing they could thwart his claim of sovereignty, he and his men opened fire on them, even taking a female Fish Person hostage, but released her when confronted by Marvel Boy. When Marvel Boy left to speak with the arriving international representatives, Varron ordered that dynamite be set off to kill the Fish People in order to cement his claim on the newly risen land. However, the explosion generated fissures that caused the land mass to sink once more beneath the waves, with Varron also disappearing beneath the sea, crazily still calling out that the land was his.
Comments: Created by Stan Lee (writer) and Russ Heath (art).
Count Varron's first name was revealed in the OHOTMU A-Z #7.
Thanks to the Grand Comics Database for identifying the writer.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Count Varron has no known connections to:
DiCasto was Varron's second-in-command and was beside the Count when "Varronland" surfaced. He was ordered by Varron to unload the ship but then encountered Marvel Boy and threatened him with a gun. Marvel Boy instead used his wrist jewels to briefly blind DiCasto and his fellow pirates, and then violently interrogated him to find out where Varron was. DiCasto immediately contacted his boss to warn him, but disappeared beneath the waves when Varronland submerged once more. He wore an eye patch over his right eye.
--Marvel Boy I#1/1
The original inhabitants of the resurfaced continent, dubbed Fish People by Varron, were originally humans until an earthquake caused their continent to sink beneath the ocean 1,200 years ago with millions dying. Hidden in caves, they accessed air via a long tunnel but had adapted to underwater life when a storm ripped the tunnel apart 700 years later. They had evolved to have scaly skin, webbed hands and overdeveloped muscles, but needed helmets to move above ground (presumably filled with fresh seawater) and were armed with tridents. Initially peaceful, they greeted Marvel Boy but quickly retreated when Varron and his pirates opened fire on them. When Varronland collapsed back into the ocean, they withdrew back into the southern Atlantic Ocean, hoping one day to return to land.
Only two were named: Protus (in the yellow trunks in the picture) and Faftal (in the green trunks). They may well have had some sort of link with Atlanteans of that era.
--Marvel Boy I#1/1
images:
(without ads)
Marvel Boy I#1/1, p10, pan5 (main image)
Other Appearances: None
Last updated: 10/21/09
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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