DARBIAN race Classification: Humanoid extraterrestrial race
Location/Base of Operations: Darbia (aka
Warworld), third planet from the sun, on the outer rim of an unidentified galaxy so far remote as to be
undiscovered by Earth-bound astronomers, orbiting a massive, unidentified Red Giant
of a star;
Darbia does not (or did not) revolve: One face was always trapped in
the sun's searing heat, while the other was caught in the frozen grip
of eternal night; ringing the little planet's twilight regions are
(were) miles of fortifications, all built in the name of conquest
Known Members: Blustar, General Damos, Durbuur, Jaagur, Jophurg, Myrrhot, Lord Umbra,
Affiliations: An unspecified number of Darbians were used as lobotomized servants by the Byan'hantandu
Enemies: Cloak (Tyrone Johnson), Dagger (Tandy
Bowen), Fantastic Four (Human Torch/Johnny Storm, Invisible Woman/Sue
Richards, Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards, She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters,
Thing/Ben Grimm), Old Man, humanity;
the empires of Umbra and Jaagur were long at war with each other
First Appearance: Fantastic Four I#297 (December, 1986)
Powers/Abilities: Darbians have advanced technology, including advanced body armor, faster than light travel, the Star-Tap Siphon, and the warp harness.
They utilized energy blast-firing airships if not space ships.
The twilight regions at the junction of eternal light and eternal night were ringed by was bunkers.
The Darbian warriors wore full body armor and used energy rifles.
The lobotomized servants of the
Byan'hantandu had limited speech and reasoning capacity, and they were
used in capture and combat, although they were also useful in repairing Byan'hantandu technology. 9' tall, powerfully built males were the only ones seen.
Traits: The Darbians are roughly humanoid;
there is a caste of large warrior-types, as well as other, smaller
variants; it is unrevealed what percentage of the population was either
type. Only one scientist type was seen.
The Darbians seemed to exist for war and conquest.
The lobotomized servants of the
Byan'hantandu followed orders without question and were used in simple
tasks, but they would use force and violence when instructed to do so.
I don't believe female Darbians
were seen, unless the males and females were indistinguishable by
facial appearance and body dimensions. No further information is
available in this matter.
Type: Bilaterally symmetric humanoid bipeds
Eyes: Two (on head);
Fingers: Four (plus opposing thumb)
Toes: Five
Skin color: Pink
Average height: Warrior caste, large, reportedly 8'10" (see comments);
other, smaller variants existed (see comments)
History:
(Fantastic Four I#297 (fb) - BTS) - From their ruling father, Umbra received cunning, while Jaagur received strength.
(Fantastic Four I#297 (fb) - BTS) - Umbra and Jaagur came to rule opposing armies on Darbia, each seeking to terminate the other.
(Fantastic Four I#297 (fb) - BTS) -
As Damos led the building of fortresses within Warworld, scientist
Myrrhot created the Star-Tap Siphon for Umbra, installing its focusing
circuitry in Umbra's battle armor.
(Fantastic Four I#297 (fb) - BTS) - Within
Warworld base, Lord Umbra sent an unshielded message, hoping to lure Jaagur and his forces to invade
Warworld to attack them.
(Fantastic Four I#297)
- Within Warworld base, Umbra incinerated Myrrhot to eliminate anyone
else with knowledge of his Star-Tap Siphon and then instructed General
Damos to prepare for their enemy's arrival.
Jaagur arrived, fought past Umbra's forces and engaged Umbra
(Fantastic Four I#297)
- Jaagur's forces assaulted Umbra's fortress, pounding the fortress
ring with concussion beams and bombs, while on the surface, Jaagur's
troops met Umbra's infantry in mutual slaughter.
Armed with a micro-miniature warp engine in his battle armor, Jaagur approached from the little-guarded sunward side, almost reaching the fortifications before he was detected.
After breaching the inner wall, Jaagur smashed past the
guards until finally being confronted by Umbra, who shattered his armor
before insisting he get to his feet and join him in final battle.
However, Reed Richards of Earth had detected the Star-Tap Siphon's effects on Earth's sun. To prevent this, he constructed a Counter-Phase Cannon, which fired its cannon through Starcore and into Earth's sun, and the energy fed into and overloaded Umbra's armor's circuitry.
As energy rushed back and forth
along the extradimensional link, gigantic solar flares erupted from
Earth's sun, and, on Warworld, an "infinity vortex" developed,
enveloping both Umbra and Jaaguar and then allowing Warworld to be
wrenched apart by the gravity field of the great red star.
Via the vortex, a few charred remnants of Warworld erupted from Earth's sun.
(Fantastic Four I#298 (fb)) - The Counter-Phase beam momentarily reversed the siphon effect, momentarily drawing matter from Warworld to Earth's solar system; thusly transported, Umbra and Jaagur were merged into a single being.
(Fantastic Four I#298) -Exploring Starcore's existing technology, Umbra/Jaagur
determined Earth to have caused their union, and they used their warp
harness to transport themselves to Earth, arriving via (and on) a
radiotelescope dish on Australia's Starwatch Base.
Attacking the base, Umbra/Jaagur
fiercely battled the Fantastic Four before being ultimately defeated by
the Thing.
With Umbra/Jaagur
contained within the Invisible Woman's force field, the composite being was
brought to
the base's experimental laboratory.
When Reed Richards initiated his
efforts to separate the two brothers, per their request, however, the
two brothers fought to kill each other, eventually overloading the
warp-effect circuitry and causing an explosion that disintegrated both
Umbra and Jaagur
(The Mutant Misadventures of
Cloak and Dagger#3 (fb)) - Due to their own physical immobility, the
extraterrestrial Byan'hantandu sought others to act as their agents. They chanced upon
the Darbians, who were strong but savage and uncontrollable. The
Byan'hantandu had the Darbians lobotomized to make them more
cooperative, but this left them unable to perform any but simple tasks under
explicit commands. 
(The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger#2) - Along with the Grund, the Darbians served the Byan'hantandu in their efforts to secure a dangerous object on Earth that had been subconsciously/unwittingly cobbled together by the young Franklin Richards.
(The Mutant Misadventures of
Cloak and Dagger#2 - BTS) - When the Grund used the human mutate Cloak
(Tyrone Johnson) as a portal in their quest to obtain the object and
then return to the Byan'hantandu ship, Cloak ended up trapping the
object with the Darkforce dimension that he accessed.
(The Mutant Misadventures of
Cloak and Dagger#2) - Seeking
Earth's portal guardian, the Byan'hantandu sent Jophurg to Earth, atop
a mountain in Nepal, where he used a Bhontar (Byan'hantandu
transport/containment sphere) to transport a being known only as the
"Old Man" to the Byan'hantandu ship.
(The Mutant Misadventures of
Cloak and Dagger#3 (fb) - BTS) - Jophurg brought the Old Man before the
Byan'hantandu, who swiftly realized that this was the
previous portal guardian.
(The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger#2) - Another Darbian (presumably Jophurg) ambushed Cloak and tried to recover the object; failing this, he transported Cloak back to the Byan'hantandu ship via a Bhontar.
(The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger#3) - Darbians labored on the Byan'hantandu ship while the Old Man explained his understanding of the nature of the portal guardian to Cloak.
At the Byan'hantandu's instruction, Jophurg sent the old man back to Earth in a Bhontar.
After Blustar failed to force Cloak to allow them access to the Darkforce dimension, Cloak manipulated
events to cause Dagger to release her energy into the ship, overloading
many of their primary power sources. While the Darbians worked in
repairs, the Byan'hantandu determined Dagger to be a sacred "begetter
of the living light," causing them to choose to spare Earth. Cloak was
sent back in a partially powered Bhontar that left him stranded in
space for a time.
Comments: Created by Roger Stern, John Buscema, and Sal Buscema.
The Official Handbook of
the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#15: Appendix: Alien Races: Darbians
entry discuss the size and power of the combined Umbra/Jaagur who is
pictured in that entry. Normal Darbians don't have energy powers. I
don't know how tall Umbra and Jaagur were before the merging, but I
believe the 8'10" size reported referred to their combined form. I
would think that Umbra and Jaagur were individually somewhat shorter,
but, again, we have no frame of reference.
Blustar, Durbuur, and Jophurg were all a good 8'
tall, if not taller...their appearances came after the handbook
appearance, and they may have used that information as reference.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Darbians should be distinguished from:
Blustar was one of the Darbians lobotomized and used as physical agents by the Byan'hantandu.
(The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger#3) - When Cloak refused to open the portal to the Dark(force) dimension, the Byan'hantandu instructed Blustar to make Cloak fear for his life and send him into the Darkforce dimension, after which Blustar would recover a certain item hidden within.
Blustar acknowledged with a "Yuh."
Frustrated at the manipulation, Cloak punched Blustar in the face, to minimal effect.-- The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger#3
Damos was the general of the forces serving Lord Umbra.
(Fantastic Four I#297 (fb) - BTS) -
As Damos led the building of fortresses within Warworld, scientist
Myrrhot created the Star-Tap Siphon for Umbra, installing its focusing
circuitry in Umbra's battle armor.
(Fantastic Four I#297 (fb) - BTS) - Within Warworld base, Lord Umbra sent a message to their agents in System-12 via unshielded carrier beam, hoping their enemies, including their leader (and Umbra's brother), Jaagur, would follow the beam and invade Warworld to attack them.
(Fantastic Four I#297) - Within Warworld base, General Damos informed Lord Umbra about the unauthorized message. Fearing that it would be intercepted by enemy forces, Damos advised that they must evacuate Warworld immediately, but Umbra explained that he had sent the message with the intention to draw out their enemies.
Damos warned that their fortifications were not yet complete and their infantry was sure to suffer heavy losses in such an attack; ignoring Damos' arguments, Umbra informed Damos that it was a soldier's duty to die for his leader and that infantry was cannon fodder.
Scientist Myrrhot then taunted Damos, warning him against challenging the leader, as generals could be cannon fodder as well. However, as Myrrhot was the only other one who knew the secret of the Star-Tap Siphon that powered Umbra's armor, Umbra incinerated Myrrhot, informing the others that scientists could also be cannon fodder.
When Umbra then instructed Damos to prepare his men as best he could for the imminent arrival of the enemy, the terrified Damos assured him it would be done. Umbra then considered how the sun's power would allow him to kill Jaagur and to ultimately gain dominion of his entire galaxy.
(Fantastic Four I#297
(fb) - BTS) - Alerted to the Star-Tap Siphon's draining Earth's sun's
power, Reed Richards designed a Counter-Phase Cannon to disrupt this.
(Fantastic Four I#297 - BTS)
- Jaagur's forces assaulted Umbra's fortress, pounding the fortress
ring with concussion beams and bombs, while on the surface, Jaagur's
troops met Umbra's infantry in mutual slaughter.
Armed with a micro-miniature warp
engine in his battle armor, Jaagur approached from the little-guarded
sunward side, fighting his way through Umbra's forces and engaging Umbra himself.
After Richards'
Counter-Phase Cannon fired its cannon through Starcore and into Earth's
sun, the energy fed into and overloaded Umbra's armor's circuitry and
ultimately caused an "infinity vortex" that caused Warworld to be
wrenched apart by the gravity field of the planet's great red star.
--Fantastic Four I#297
Note: Damos
presumably perished when Warworld was wrenched apart by the red star's
gravity field...if not, he may also have been lobotomized and enslaved
by the
Durbuur was one of the Darbians lobotomized and used as physical agents by the Byan'hantandu.
(The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger#2) - As ordered by one of the Byan'hantandu, Durbuur brought them their Book.
From the Book, they learned that an unidentified "Old Man" was the portal guardian on Earth.
-- The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger#2
Note: All we saw of Durbuur was his hand.
He was presumably as large and strong as Blustar and Jophurg
Jophurg was one of the Darbians lobotomized and used as physical agents by the Byan'hantandu.
(The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger#2) - Aboard the Byan'hantandu spacecraft near Earth, one of their Darbian servants (presumably Jophurg) restrained one of their Grund agents, holding his whole body tightly in his massive fist.
The Byan'hantandu instructed Jophurg to use the Bhontar (a spherical transport) to travel to Earth's surface and to bring the being pictured in the Book (the "Old Man," whom they believed to be Earth's current portal guardian) back to the spaceship. When Jophurg acknowledged with "Yuh" that he comprehended these instructions, they sent him on his way.
Arriving near the snow-covered top
of a mountain in Nepal, Jophurg approached the Old Man, whose hat blew
off and landed at Jophurg's feet. The Old Man remarked about the
stranger being "the homeliest hallucination that ever crawled out of a
bottle," but Jophurg silently picked him up, ignoring instructions to
put him down and queries of what he was doing, activated the
Bhontar,(s) and transported them both to the Byan'hantandu ship.
(The Mutant Misadventures of
Cloak and Dagger#3 (fb) - BTS) - Jophurg brought the Old Man before the
Byan'hantandu, who swiftly realized that this was the
previous portal guardian.
(The Mutant Misadventures of
Cloak and Dagger#2) - Another Darbian (presumably Jophurg) entered the room
in which the recently-blinded Dagger had been hospitalized, and he hid underneath the bedsheets. When Cloak
approached the bed and pulled back the sheets, the Darbian reached into
Cloak's chest, seeking the object. Although Cloak refused to open the portal, the Darbian
activated the Bhontar(s) and transported them both to the Byan'hantandu ship.
(The Mutant Misadventures of
Cloak and Dagger#3) - At some point, the Byan'hantandu
instructed one of the Grunds that they didn't need the Old Man anymore,
and the Grund instructed Jophurg to send the Old Man back to where they
got him; with a "Yuh!" Jophurg complied, pushing a lever and sending
the Old Man home in a "Bhontar."
The Grund then had Jophurg carry Cloak (within another Bhontar), along with Gromitz, to the Byan'hantandu. At his masters' request, Jophurg confirmed that Cloak was indeed the correct portal guardian of "sector AEN-ZIOB*," the one who contained the article they sought.
Ultimately, Cloak manipulated his
ally Dagger into using her light energy to disrupt the Byan'hantandu
ship's power systems.
--
The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger#2 (3
(Fantastic Four I#297 (fb) - BTS) - Scientist
Myrrhot created the Star-Tap Siphon for Umbra, installing its focusing
circuitry within Umbra's battle armor.
(Fantastic Four I#297) - Within Warworld base, as enemy forces approached, General Damos warned Umbra that their fortifications were not yet complete and their infantry was sure to suffer heavy losses in such an attack; ignoring Damos' arguments, Umbra informed Damos that it was a soldier's duty to die for his leader and that infantry was cannon fodder.
Myrrhot then taunted
Damos, warning him against challenging the leader, as generals could be
cannon fodder as well. Myrrhot continued, bragging how his genius had
provided their overlord with the Star-Tap Siphon.
Umbra noted that that the Star-Tap Siphon would ensure his victory over Jaagur; however, as only he and Myrrhot shared the secret of its design, Umbra then incinerated Myrrhot, noting that he never liked to share power, and that knowledge was power true. Umbra then advised Damos that Myrrhot had fancied himself Umbra's equal, and that it had never occurred to him that scientists could also be cannon fodder.
--Fantastic Four I#297
Note: Myrrhot can be seen full body and in a more distant, but straighter shot of his face in the sub-profile for Damos.
images: (without ads)
Fantastic Four I#297, pg. 1, panel 1 (Warworld)
pg. 2, panel 1(Myrrhot mostly full; Damos full, armored);
panel 3 (Myrrhot face; Damos face);
panel 5 (Myrrhot face; laughing oblique);
pg. 13, panel 3 (ships at war);
panel 4 (troops at war);
pg. 14, panel 5 (Umbra's troops);
pg. 21, panel 3 (vortex on Warworld);
The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger#2, pg. 16, panel 4 (Durbuur holding Book);
pg. 17, panel 6 (Jophurg face);
panel 7 (Jophurg body);
#2, pg. 16, panel 1 (Blustar, face);
panel 3 (Blustar, full)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#15; Appendix: Alien Races: Darbians
Appearances:
Fantastic Four I#297 (December, 1986) - Roger Stern (writer), John and Sal Buscema (artists), Don Daley (editor)
Fantastic Four I#298 (January, 1987) - Roger Stern (writer), John and Sal Buscema (artists), Don Daley (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#15: Appendix:
Alien Races (March, 1987) - Mark Gruenwald (writer/producer), Peter
Sanderson (writer/researcher), Kyle Baker (penciler), Josef Rubinstein
(inker), Gregory Wright (assistant editor), Marc McLaurin (editorial
assistant)
The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger#2 (December, 1988) - Terry
Austin (writer), Dan Lawlis (penciler), P. Craig Russell (inker), Carl
Potts (editor)
The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger#3 (February, 1989) - Terry
Austin (writer), Mike Vosburg (penciler), Scott Williams (inker), Carl
Potts (editor)
First posted: 05/05/2019
Last updated: 05/05/2019
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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