TANIR

Real Name: Tanir

Identity/Class: Cro-Magnon; pre-Cataclysmic era (circa 50,000 BC)

Occupation: Adventurer

Group Membership: Partner of Tuk the Caveboy

Affiliations: King Amir, Atlanteans, Cave People, Cretans, Princess Eve

Enemies: Acidal, Bonzo and his men, Goreks, Hairy Ones, Witches of Endor

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Prehistoric wilds of 50,000 BC

First Appearance: Captain America Comics#1/6 (March, 1941)

Powers/Abilities: Compared to his contemporaries, Tanir was considered a giant. His size granted him considerable strength, which combined with his natural thirst for battle, made him a formidable opponent whose levels of durability and stamina neared peak human levels. Tanir was also an expert hunter, firing arrows with unerring precision.

Height: 6'3" (by approximation)
Weight: 145 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Black
Hair: Blond

History:
(Captain America Comics#1/6) - While exploring the jungles beyond the Rock Country, Tanir spotted two members of the cannibalistic Gorek tribe about to kill a boy. He decided to intervene, saving the lad by shooting an arrow through the chest of one of them, while their prey swung the other one to his death from a tree branch. Next Tanir noticed another attacker, a huge snake who was about to swoop in. He used a vine to swing down and rescue the lad again. The boy thanked Tanir for his help and introduced himself as Tuk, taking an instant liking to him, they shared a campfire that night where Tuk told him of his origins and goal: searching for his ancestral home Attilan, the fabled island of the Gods. Believing such a quest the envy of any fighting man, the battle thirsty Tanir vowed to join Tuk on his quest.

(Captain America Comics#2/4) - The search for Attilan led Tuk and Tanir to the city of Crete. The duo hoped to get the counsel of the wise king Amir. Crete, however, had been overrun by the apish Hairy Ones who held King Amir and other surviving inhabitants of Crete hostage in the city's court yard. Together, Tuk and Tanir managed to kill all the Hairy Ones. An overjoyed Amir more than happily provided the duo with the route that would lead them to Attilan.
    Amir's route, however, forced the duo to cross the Valley of Mist, infamously known for being covered in anesthetic gas. Tuk and his companion were overcome as well and found themselves the captives of the valley's native inhabitants, the Witches of Endor. Trapped in the Witches' lair, they heard the screams of another prisoner, Princess Eve of Atlantis. As part of their regular recruitment routine for captives, the Witches of Endor tried to burn her face with an acidic liquid, figuring the scarring would force anyone to remain with the Witches, Tuk and Tanir intervened, rescuing Eve from the Endorian witches and escaping the valley by using their special vapor masks that blocked the effects of the gas. Tuk and Tanir decided to see the princess home, but when Eve revealed her mad uncle Acidal had usurped her throne, Tuk vowed to restore the beautiful princess to her rightful place as ruler of her kingdom.

(Captain America Comics#3/4) - Covering up Eve's features with a simple disguise, Tuk and Tanir attempted to take the princess to Atlantis. However, her uncle and his court magician spotted their approach courtesy of the mage's all-seeing crystal ball. Before they could enter, the false king ordered the city gates closed. Eve however knew of a hidden passageway that led them through a secret system of tunnels, eventually delivering them beyond the city walls. Reaching the castle Tuk and Eve confronted Acidal, who pulled his dagger, ready to kill the princess as he feared the people of Atlantis would see that their rightful heir was still alive. He was defeated through the combined efforts of Tuk and Tanir. When Princess Eve revealed her true identity to the Atlantean guard, the false king was taken captive and locked up in the dungeon for his treachery. Princess Eve, newly restored to the throne, offered the wealth of Atlantis to Tuk and Tanir for their help. Tuk declined, however, preferring to continue on his quest to find Attilan.

(Captain America Comics#4/5) - While on their journey, Tanik and Tuk Tanir came across the Cave People who fled from their settlement as the tyrant Bonzo was on his way to murder and plunder the place. Always eager to help, the duo stayed and watched as Bonzo and his men arrived. When the invaders killed one of the Cave People whose only crime was to stay behind in order to protect his weak wife and newborn baby, Tanir intervened by using his bow and arrows to kill one of Bonzo's men. Having never seen such a weapon, Bonzo deemed the bow to be "MAGIC!". He ordered his men to catch Tanir. While the Cro-Magnon was captured, Tuk managed to rescue the woman and her baby. Bonzo wanted the secret of the bow and threatened to kill Tanir if he wouldn't join his warriors. Tanir agreed to join, though secretly deciding to wait around until he could find a way to dispose of Bonzo. To prove his loyalty, Tanir was ordered to kill his partner Tuk. Forced to shoot one of his "magic sticks," Tanir purposefully caused the arrow to miss, allowing Tuk to get away. Later, he tracked down his friend, unaware Bonzo had sent one of his men to spy on him. Tanir and Tuk had a secret meeting in which they discussed how they could dispose of Bonzo in the best way. When he noticed Bonzo's spy, Tanir killed the man by throwing him of a cliff, later returning to Bonzo's side, acting as if nothing had happened.

(Captain America Comics#5/6) - To start their secret plan, Tuk impersonated the mating call of a saber-toothed tiger thereby summoning the beast, making sure it was on a direct path to meet Bonzo and Tanir. When the animal attacked Bonzo, he was saved by Tanir, which only helped to gain the savage leader's trust even more. After the tiger's death, Tuk showed himself, and Tanir was once again ordered to kill his best friend. Lighting one of his arrows on fire, Tanir once again missed his target, instead hitting the highly flammable, dry woods Tuk was hiding in. The fire instantly grew into a massive blaze, which caused a stampede of giant mammoths who came crashing out of the flaming jungle in a desperate attempt to find safety. Tuk, riding one of these enormous beasts, saved Tanir from getting trampled. Tanir then used his own bow and arrow to kill Bonzo, ridding the prehistoric time of perhaps it most persistent tyrant.
    In the aftermath, Tuk and Tanir wondered where their next adventure would take them.

Comments: Created by Jack Kirby & Joe Simon.

Before MARVEL UNIVERSE (short lived, seven issue marvel series from 1998) was canceled, I had plans to reintroduce Tuk the Caveboy. -- Roger Stern.

A few further comments courtesy of Wolfram Bane:

•     The date of circa 50,000 BC would place these events during the Pre-Cataclysmic Age between 100,000 BC and 18,000 BC. The geography of Atlantis and Eurasia/Thuria was notably different during the Pre-Catalysmic Age, but if the mentioned cities of Atlantis, Attilan and Crete are in the same approximate geographical locations as today, then during 50,000 BC the cities of both Atlantis and Attilan would be on the island if Atlantis and the city of Crete would exist north of the Elder Stygia (the land that would later become Hyborian era Stygia and modern era Egypt) and south of the Seven Empires.
•     Incredible Hercules#123 verified that the Olympian gods were worshiped in ancient Atlantis during the late Pre-Cataclysmic Age circa 18,000 BC. In Captain America Comics#3/4, one of the Atlantean guards proclaimed "Great Neptune!" This would imply that the Olympian gods were worshipped as far back as circa 50,000 BC.
•     The uncle of Princess Eve who had usurped her throne was named Acidal in OHOTMU A-Z Hardcover #14 (2010).

Here's how the Golden Age Captain America Omnibus HC credits the Tuk stories in Cap Comics #1-5 (information courtesy of Jeph York):

#1 - by Jack Kirby
#2 - art by Al Gabriele* & unknown
#3 - art by Mac Raboy*
#4 - art by unknown with Al Gabriele*
#5 - title page pencils by Jack Kirby, title page inks by Joe Simon, pencils by Al Avison*, inks by Al Gabriele* 

* It was not industry standard in the Golden Age of comics to provide detailed credits for each strip. The artists worked with an ever-changing studio of assistants and secondary artists, while writers often did not sign their name to their work. The stories in this volume were produced by the Simon & Kirby studio and may have included varying levels of work by the creators cited as well as others:

Al Avison, Fred Bell, Martin Burstein, Reed Crandall, Howard Ferguson, Harry Fisk, Al Gabriele, Fred Guardineer, Ernie Hart, Chu Hing, William Clayton King, Bernard Klein, Mort Meskin, George Roussos, Gustav Schrotter, Syd Shores & C.A. Winter

Profile by MarvellousLuke

CLARIFICATIONS:
Tanir has no known connections to

• Tannar, Children of Ootah, son of the Chief, lover of Taiya @ Fantastic Four I#252
• Tanith, Inhuman, mother of Agon, grandmother of Black Bolt, wife of Sumac @ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#2
• Tanith-Lee, of the Hyborian era - Khauran, daughter of Xaltotum, put through trial by father to prove she was worthy of marriage to Gebel-Han @ Savage Sword of Conan#67
• or any other "Tanir" characters

images: (without ads)
Captain America Comics#2, p50, pan2 (main image)
Captain America Comics#1, p61, pan2 (rescues Tuk)
Captain America Comics#3, p52, pan3 (fights the guards of Atlantis)
Captain America Comics#5, p49, pan2 (captured by Bonzo)

Appearances:
Captain America Comics#1/6 (March, 1941) - Jack Kirby & Joe Simon (co-writers), Jack Kirby (pencils)
Captain America Comics#2/4 (April, 1941) - Jack Kirby & Joe Simon (co-writers), Pierce Rice (pencils), Arthur Cazeneuve (inks)
Captain America Comics#3/4 (May, 1941) - Jack Kirby & Joe Simon (co-writers), Mac Raboy (pencils)
Captain America Comics#4/5 (June, 1941) - Jim Mooney (pencils), Chu Hing (inks)
Captain America Comics#5/6 (August, 1941) - creative team remains unknown, this was clearly a different creative team than issue 4.

First Posted: 06/25/2014
Last updated: 06/25/2014

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com