(Creatures on the Loose I#17/1)
- The time-lost
Earthman Gullivar Jones was also hauled to the altar as an
offering and trussed up next to Chak, who warned Jones of their fate, just as the giant creature Phra
surfaced to claim his offerings.
CHAK
Real Name: Chak
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Martian,
Wing-Men)
mutant (circa 1
billion
years ago)
Occupation: Adventurer;
formerly outcast
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Gullivar
Jones, Heru,
Noltoi
outcast (loose)
Enemies: Ar-Hap, Bloodbeast, Giant
Slugs, Jen-In,
Lizardmen, Noltoi
(Spider-Swarm), Parth, Phra,
Ra-Kar, Technics
Guild and
their hybrids (Firstborn,
others)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Mobile on Mars (circa 1 billion
years ago)
First Appearance: Creatures on the Loose
I#17/1
(May, 1972)
Powers/Abilities: Chak has heightened senses with sensitive hearing and sharper vision. Winged, he can fly at the speed of running man and can carry a grown man while flying. The wings initially appeared feathered but seemed to have later mutated to be bat-like, possibly due to rampant radiation in areas on Mars.
He is
ambidextrous and while
skilled in sword-fighting, in his later
adventures, he armed himself with a ball-and-chain. Although rejected
by his own people, he still feels strong loyalty toward them.
Height:
5'10" (main body only, excluding tall wings, by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Black
Hair: None (bald)
History:
(Creatures on the Loose I#19 (fb) - BTS) - Chak was born a mutant Martian Wing-Man; while he had the same skin hue and wings as his fellows, he had a human face instead of the usual beak and horn. He was mocked and took to wearing a full helmet to imitate his fellow Wing-Men and hide his human features. But his people still made him an outcast.
(Creatures on the Loose I#17/1 (fb) - BTS) - Chak's
lonely voyages took him to the icy wastelands of the spider-like
Noltoi, who captured him and tied him up as an offering to the giant
god Phra.
(Creatures on the Loose I#17/1)
- The time-lost
Earthman Gullivar Jones was also hauled to the altar as an
offering and trussed up next to Chak, who warned Jones of their fate, just as the giant creature Phra
surfaced to claim his offerings.
(Creatures on the Loose I#18/1) - Phra ripped Chak and Jones from the altar and took them underwater to his hidden lair. While Phra slumbered nearby, Jones used his newfound strength to free himself and Chak, who revealed his mutant Wing-Men nature and human features. The duo found a video database that summarized Martian history: the golden-hued Hither People were once technologically advanced, but repeated cataclysms caused evacuation from cities; the power-hungry Technics Guild rose to safe-keep some scientific knowledge, but a Martian diaspora led to the evolution of eight additional races in a ravaged landscape.
Phra suddenly awakened and lunged at the two. Chak, who no longer acknowledged Phra as a god, and Jones fought back, toppling the giant, but this triggered fires amongst the old machinery. Chak and Jones fled by jumping into the water; Phra's lair exploded, pushing Jones and Chak to the outside surface, and Phra failed to escape. The two emerged amidst a graveyard of dead bodies entombed in ice.
(Creatures on the Loose I#19/1) -
Amongst the
ice-bound Martian corpses, the injured Chak and Jones found a cavern
and lit a fire to keep warm, but strange sounds troubled them. Chak
told of his history just as the sounds were revealed to be a massive
horde of Parth (small, fanged creatures). Using abandoned weapons, the
two cleared the Parth out of
their cave, but were left exhausted. Later, feeling quickly healed,
Jones realized his amulet held special healing properties and let
Chak hold it to heal his injuries. But with the amulet, Chak saw
the otherwise invisible Ra-Kar, a savage creature intent on killing
them. Jones took the amulet and sword to
fight the creature, but was distracted by the amulet's
vision of his love Heru in danger. Ra-Kar used the opportunity to knock
down the
two.
(Creatures on the Loose I#20/1) - Chak helped Jones recover, and they coordinated a counter-attack that saw Ra-Kar kicked over a deep cliff face. Chak and Jones slowly climbed down the icy mountain, taking warmer clothes, food and weapons left for the spirits of the dead. Chak taught Jones of local edible fruits. They encountered and fought an encampment of Lizardmen. Continuing their descent, Chak told Jones that the star of Jones' home was considered lifeless by Martian scientists, reminding the Earthman of how far back in time he had been cast. But a roving patrol of Wing-Men captured the two and brought them to the camp of nefarious Lizardmen headed by Ar-Hap, keen for revenge against Jones. Chak was suspended in a cage while Jones was sent to a duel.
(Creatures on the Loose I#21/1) - Jones soon escaped and freed Chak, who permanently abandoned his beaked helmet. Fleeing, the newly-in-command Lizardman Jen-In threatened his captive Heru, so Chak disarmed him, then Jones killed him with a single powerful punch. Heru pledged her love for Jones. Meanwhile, Ar-Hap woke and charged his troops at the trio, who bested many foes. Soon Wing-Men also arrived and Jones sent Heru away with Chak for safety. The Wing-Men's simmering feud with the Lizardmen erupted into savage battle with the Wing-Men as victors. While the Wing-Men promised Jones their friendship, they still refused Chak. Jones soon rejoined Chak and Heru, and recognized hazards lay ahead, but believed that peace and love were worth fighting for.
(Monsters Unleashed I#4/5) -
Keen to find a way home
to Earth, Jones traveled with Chak and Heru through the desert to the
ancient city of Seth to challenge the Technics Guild for information.
Chak resolved to stay
with Jones in the hope of eventually freeing his people. However, they
had been
shadowed by a Noltoi outcast, which had been exiled due to physical and
mental differences, and sought the three as companions. Protective of
Heru and hateful of the Noltoi, Jones and Chak attacked. Jones killed
the Noltoi outcast,
discovering the telepathic outcast's peaceful
motives too late. All three were saddened and learned not to act so
brashly in the future.
(Monsters Unleashed I#8/5) -
Approaching Seth, the
trio saw a giant Bloodbeast hybrid attacking the local Hither People
and
killed it. The Hither People were initially passive in response, but
seeing their outcast princess, they became abusive. Chak discovered a
tag showing the hybrid
beast belonged to the Technics Guild. The threesome pushed past to
challenge the owners, but the Guild's
defenses kicked in, first with piercing sound that disoriented Chak,
followed by winged humanoid slug
hybrids armed with swords. The trio forced the
hybrids' retreat, but new Technics appeared and easily overpowered the
trio with sleeping gas. The trio were manacled and hauled for trial,
and woke to hear the death sentence pronounced. The Technics' leader
revealed his face, which was deformed from radiation, and unleashed a giant,
tentacled cyborg
monster dubbed Firstborn to kill them. Jones used his augmented
strength to break
his chains, then freed Heru and Chak. Jones killed the creature and
berated the Technics for wasting scientific opportunities on
genetic experiments.
Realizing the Technics Guild could not help them, the trio strode off.
Comments: Created by Roy Thomas, Gil Kane, Bill Everett.
The Monsters Unleashed stories were published in black & white.
This profile was completed 7/9/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Chak has no known connections to:
images:
(without ads)
Creatures on the Loose I#21, p6, pan1 (main image)
Creatures on the Loose I#18, p5, pan1-2 (revealing headshot)
Creatures on the Loose I#18, p8, pan6 (diving flight)
Creatures on the Loose I#19, p8, pan3 (injured arm offered amulet)
Creatures on the Loose I#21, p10, pan3 (armored, no more helmet)
Monsters Unleashed I#8/5, p3, pan6 (flying with ball & chain)
Appearances:
Creatures on the Loose I#17/1 (May, 1972) - Roy Thomas (writer), Gil
Kane (pencils),
Sam Grainger (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Creatures on the Loose I#18/1 (July, 1972) - George Alec Effinger &
Gerry Conway (writers), Ross Andru (pencils), Sam Grainger (inks), Stan
Lee (editor)
Creatures on the Loose I#19/1 (September, 1972) - George Alec Effinger
(writer), Wayne Boring & Gil Kane (pencils), Jim Mooney (inks), Roy
Thomas (editor)
Creatures on the Loose I#20/1 (November, 1972) - George Alec Effinger
(writer), Gray Morrow (pencils/inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Creatures on the Loose I#21/1 (January, 1973) - George Alec Effinger
(writer), Gray Morrow (pencils/inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monsters Unleashed I#4/5 (February, 1974) - Tony Isabella (writer),
Dave Cockrum (pencils/inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monsters Unleashed I#8/5 (October 1974) - Tony Isabella & Doug
Moench (writers), George Perez (pencils), Duffy Vohland & Rich
Buckler (inks), Tony Isabella (editor)
First posted: 09/03/2021
Last updated:
08/31/2021
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.
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix!