CHNITT race

Classification: Semi-arachnoid extraterrestrial race 

Location/Base of Operations: A contingent formerly dwelled in a mothership orbiting an unidentified traders' planet (described as "galaxies distant" from Earth); another mothership (at least) presumably orbited Karel's planet, and presumably other worlds as well.
    planet of origin unrevealed

Known Members: None identified

Affiliations: Formerly Tu

Enemies: The Barodi of the city of Kuth, Lucas Bishop, Deathbird (Cal'syee Neramani), Karel, Tu; Karel's race, and presumably multiple other races they conquered.

First Appearance: (Behind-the-scenes; unidentified; mothership only seen) Uncanny X-Men#354 (April, 1998);
    (seen, identified) Uncanny X-Men#358 (August, 1998)

Powers/Abilities: The Chnitt are monstrous creatures, with semi-humanoid arms but are otherwise semi-archnoid in appearance; they appear to have 4-6 long legs. They are stronger than human (or even the superhumanly strong Deathbird (who can lift 6 tons), at least by virtue of their size. Apparently covered by multiple (chitinous?) plates, they are very likely superhumanly durable as well; as with many organic beings, their eyes are weak points. They have lots of sharp teeth.

    They make a constant "Chit chit chit chit" noise that is very arachnoid/insectoid-sounding (but why aren't they called the "Chit"...or why don't they make a "Chnitt" sound)

Traits: The Chnitt are a race of conquerors. They use large "motherships" to overpower worlds and then take up a place in those worlds' orbits, preventing the inhabitants from escaping.
    Expecting and prepared for massive assaults, they were less ready for small scale attacks.

    On the "traders' planet," the Chnitt purchased prisoners captured by the Ursaa scavengers. According to Karel (who considers them evil), the Chnitt take pleasure in slow execution.

Type:  Apparently bilaterally symmetric semi-humanoid/semi-arachnoid
Eyes: Apparently four to six (on head; there are four large eyes, but possibly two smaller ones between the upper and lower rows...or maybe those are nostrils?)
Fingers: Three (plus an opposing thumb)
Toes: One (their apparent legs seem to come to a point)
Skin color: Orange and black(?) with armor plating
Average height: Unrevealed (perhaps 18' tall/long; they look to be about three times the size of the 5'8" tall Deathbird)

History:
(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - The Chnitt built great "motherships" that would help them overcome other worlds and then take up a place in those worlds' orbits, preventing the inhabitants from escaping.

(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - A Chnitt mothership established orbit around an unidentified traders' planet, effecting a blockade that prevented others from leaving that world.

(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - The Chnitt ravaged and razed a planet that was home to a man known as Karel. He subsequently sought out the traders' planet in hopes of finding a weapon powerful to destroy the Chnitt and return his world to the peace it had always known before.

(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - The Chnitt shot down Karel over the trader's world, causing him to crash there.

(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - While Karel speculated that the Chnitt knew of the warp gate in the Barodi city of Kuth (through which one could travel off planet), the city's location across the dangerous and virtually unnavigable flats (which was teeming with predators and ravaged by storms) would have forced the Chnitt land to their mothership to take the city, which would end their blockade in orbit.

(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - Karel obtained three "nullifier" charges, devices that, once unleashed, would eat whatever metal it contacted. With these, Karel planned to destroy the Chnitt on his homeworld, but needed aid in accessing the warp gate.

(Uncanny X-Men#354 - BTS) - A Chnitt mothership shot down the spaceship carrying the Shi'ar Deathbird and the human mutant Lucas Bishop (who Deathbird was keeping immobilized as her prisoner, though she claimed to be treating him for paralysis) as they passed by the trader's world. The damaged ship was pulled by the trader's world's sun's gravity.

(Uncanny X-Men#357 - BTS) - Bishop convinced Deathbird to free him, and he pulled out of the sun's gravity well, though he was unable to prevent them from being pulled by the trader's world's gravity.

(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - Bishop and Deathbird's ship crashed on the trader's world.

(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - While Karel was out meeting and allying with the human Lucas Bishop and Shi'ar Deathbird, the Chnitt found and destroyed Karel's camp.

(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - Karel met with his ally Tu to find a place to rest and hide out from the Chnitt before heading to Kuth in hopes of accessing the warp gate to bypass the Chnitt blockage of escape from the trader's world.

(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - Tu informed the Chnitt of Karel's plans and locations, but they rewarded him for his aid with death.

(Uncanny X-Men#358) - One of the Chnitt ambushed Deathbird while the trio rested, but Karel advised Bishop of the Chnitt's weakness being their eyes, and he wounded the creature with a blast with his energy gun. Taking advantage of the creature's weakness/distraction, Deathbird grabbed Bishop's gun and placed it against the creature's head, apparently killing it with a point blank blast.

(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - After realizing Tu had sold them out, Karel advised his allies to hurry as there would be more of the Chnitt coming.

(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - Correctly realizing that Karel posed a threat to them, the Chnitt elected to send their mothership to Kuth to destroy the city to eliminate the warp gate.

(Uncanny X-Men#358) - Shortly after Karel, Bishop, and Deathbird reached Kuth and began plotting on how they could access the warp gate, the Chnitt mothership appeared and began devastating the city; thousands of Barodi perished swiftly. Bishop convinced Karel to give him one of the nullifier charges, and he sent Karel and Deathbird to reach the warp gate. Climbing atop a building, Bishop hurled the nullifier charge into the mothership, which was soon consumed, releasing a powerful explosion in the process. Deathbird stayed behind and waited for Bishop, while the warp gate collapsed into rubble as soon as Karel had escaped through it.

Comments: Created by Steve Seagle, Joseph Harris, Chris Bachalo, and Tim Townsend.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Chnitt have no known connections to

mothership


(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - The Chnitt built great "motherships" that would help them overcome other worlds and then take up a place in those worlds' orbits, preventing the inhabitants from escaping.
    Expecting and prepared for massive assaults, they were less ready for small scale attacks.

(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - A Chnitt mothership established orbit around an unidentified traders' planet, effecting a blockade that prevented others from leaving that world.

(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - While Karel speculated that the Chnitt knew of the warp gate in the Barodi city of Kuth, the city's location across the dangerous and virtually unnavigable flats (which was teeming with predators and ravaged by storms) required that the Chnitt land their mothership to take the city, which would end their blockade in orbit.

(Uncanny X-Men#354 - BTS) - A Chnitt mothership shot down the spaceship carrying the human mutant Lucas Bishop and the Shi'ar Deathbird as they passed by the trader's world. The damaged ship was pulled by the trader's world's gravity into its atmosphere.

(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - Bishop and Deathbird's ship crashed on the trader's world.

(Uncanny X-Men#358 (fb) - BTS) - Correctly realizing that Karel posed a threat to them, the Chnitt elected to send their mothership to Kuth to destroy the city to eliminate the warp gate.

(Uncanny X-Men#358) - Shortly after Karel, Bishop, and Deathbird reached Kuth and began plotting on how they could access the warp gate, the Chnitt mothership appeared and began devastating the city; thousands of Barodi perished swiftly. Bishop convinced Karel to give him one of the nullifier charges, and he sent Karel and Deathbird to reach the warp gate. Climbing atop a building, Bishop hurled the nullifier charge into the mothership, which was soon consumed, releasing a powerful explosion in the process. Deathbird stayed behind and waited for Bishop, while the warp gate collapsed into rumble as soon as Karel had escaped through it.

A single mothership can devastate a city, killing thousands, within seconds, by firing energy blasts from surface weapons.

Note: Given the size of their mothership and how easily it was destroyed, even by the metal-eating "nullifier" weapon, I would speculate that they used multiple such ships to overcome whole planets, and then the motherships formed a web, each covering portions of the the planets' orbital region.

--Uncanny X-Men#358

images: (without ads)
Uncanny X-Men#358, pg. 13, panel 4 (Chnitt assaulting Deathbird)
        pg. 14, panel 1 (Chnitt face in partial profile - included along with the above image as part of the main image);
        pg. 18, panel 1 (Chnitt mothership destroying Kuth);
        pg. 19, panel 1 (Chnitt unleashed on Kuth)

Appearances:
Uncanny X-Men#354 (April, 1998) - Steve Seagle (story), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Uncanny X-Men#357 (July, 1998) - Steve Seagle (story), Dan Norton (penciler), Scott Hanna & Dexter Vines (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Uncanny X-Men#358 (August, 1998) - Steve Seagle (story), Joseph Harris (script), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Mark Powers (editor)

Last updated: 12/03/13

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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