"GUARDIAN OF THE BLACK ORCHID"
Real Name: Not applicable
Identity/Class: Possible Deviant mutate (see
comments) (1950s era)
Occupation: Predator
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Jann (Jane Hastings), other dinosaurs
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: An isolated swamp in the
jungles of the Congo, Africa
First Appearance: Jungle Tales I#2/1 (November,
1954)
Powers/Abilities: This creature was a large
brown-skinned reptile similar to, and having the attributes of, a
tyrannosaurus.
Height: 20' (by approximation)
Weight: 5 tons (by approximation)
Eyes: Unknown
Hair: None
History: (Jungle Tales I#2/1 (fb) - BTS) - The
origins of this creature (or any of the other dinosaurs) is unknown (see
comments), but it dwelt in a hidden swamp in the jungles of the Congo.
(Jungle Tales I#2/1) - The jungle girl Jann was exploring a swamp in
search of a rare red orchid plant for her friend, photographer Pat
Mahoney. When she returned to the native village with the flower,
the tribesman Kuba passed out sick from "jungle fever". Pat
noticed other natives yelling about "bubukoo"
and collapsing themselves; another native, Lakai, explained "bubukoo"
meant "sickness of the red orchid"
brought about by smelling the flower. The ill Lakai explained that
it was only deadly to natives of the jungle (which is why Jann and Pat
were unaffected) and that his people would die soon unless they got the
cure of smelling an even rarer black orchid, which could be found
deeper in the swamp. Jann felt responsible for the plight of the
friendly tribesmen, so she returned to the swamp on a quest for the black
orchid.
Deeper and deeper Jann went into the unexplored jungle
until she came upon an area of swampland where the flora and fauna
looked as if it were from the beginnings of time. Jann spotted the
black orchid in some underbrush. She swung from a branch and
landed on what she thought was a rock in a small lake near the orchid, but
the "rock" rose out of water to reveal itself to actually be a
dinosaur! Jann eluded the creature's gaping jaws only to discover
she stirred up other dinosaurs, who also rose out of the water.
Seeing only one chance to escape the prehistoric beasts, Jann leaped
upon the snout of the first dinosaur, then threw a rock at another
dinosaur, causing it to attack the first. Jann leaped to safety as
the two monsters clashed--they had forgotten about Jann because they
were too busy fighting each other.
As Jann approached the black orchid, her way was suddenly
blocked by rapidly-growing living thorns; she managed to free herself
with her knife, but the black orchid was caught in the wall of
thorns. Suddenly from behind, Jann heard a mass scream; she turned
and saw the fever-maddened villagers running towards her, followed by
Pat, who had been unsuccessful at stopping the delirious men.
Determined to reach the orchid, Jann went into the wall of thorns, but
she was hopelessly trapped as the spiny tendrils wrapped around
her. But the natives were now near enough to smell the black
orchid; with their affliction instantaneously cured and their rational
minds returned, the tribesmen freed Jann from the deadly plant.
Comments: Created by Don Rico (script) and Jay
Scott Pike (artist)
This creature was never identified by a name, but a
caption referred to it as the generic "guardian of the black orchid," so
for the purposes of this profile, I went with that to identify it.
The outcome of the battle of the dinosaurs was never mentioned,
either. I'm not quite sure what species of dinosaur the "guardian"
fought was; possibly it was a differently colored tyrannosaurus.
The origins of these dinosaurs was never explained in this
short 6-page story, but the Marvel Atlas#2 entry for the Congo states:
"Dinosaurs, which were evidently bred by Deviant scientists, have been
sighted within the Congo's jungles," so that seems like a reasonable
explanation for theses creatures--there was at least one confirmed
Deviant-created
tyrannosaurus.
In fact, maybe this whole swamp was once a Deviant laboratory filled with some of their experiments, and the orchids and thorns were some form of bio-engineered plant life.
Profile by Ron Fredricks.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The "guardian of the black orchid" has no known connections to:
The red orchid has no known connections to:
The black orchid has no known connections to:
The living thorns have no known connections to:
A rare flower that grew in the swamps of the Congo where it was
found by Jann. She brought it back to a nearby village so her friend Pat
Mahoney could photograph it, but it soon caused a panic among the
villagers, and sickened several tribesmen, who collapsed from the effects of
"jungle fever". It caused symptoms of high fever, delirium,
irrational behavior and eventually death. The plant only affected natives
of the region,and both Jann and Pat were immune to it. Its lethal
effects could only be cured by the victim smelling the even rarer
black orchid.
--Jungle Tales I#2
A very rare flower that grew in an isolated primordial
jungle swamp. Its scent was the only thing that could counteract the
lethal effects of the red orchid, and the cure was nearly instantaneous.
--Jungle Tales I#2
A spiny, rapidly-growing plant that grew in an isolated primordial jungle swamp. It was an obstacle that blocked Jann on her mission to retrieve the black orchid.
--Jungle Tales I#2
images: (without ads)
Jungle Tales I#2, p4, pan5 ("guardian" rising from water with Jann on
its back)
Jungle Tales I#2, p4, pan6 ("guardian" headshot with Jann
in foreground)
Jungle Tales I#2, p5, pan4 ("guardian" battling
other dinosaur)
Jungle Tales I#2, p1, pan3 (red orchid)
Jungle Tales I#2, p4, pan3 (black orchid)
Jungle Tales I#2, p5, pan 6 (living thorns)
Appearances:
Jungle Tales I#2 (November, 1954) - Don Rico (writer), Jay Scott Pike (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Last updated: 06/24/15
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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