Type:  Bilaterally symmetric semi-humanoid bipeds
Eyes: Two (on head; solid white color seen)
Fingers: Two (plus opposing thumb); a group of Druffs have three fingers and an opposing thumb.
Toes: Unrevealed (see comments)
Skin color: Unrevealed (covered by pink or brown fur)
Average height: Approximately 3'5"

History:

(Incredible Hercules I#118 (fb) - BTS) - The extraterrestrial Druff race of Ryas worshiped the nameless Blessed-of-Litters, awaiting for Blessed-of-Litters to deem several multiple-moon eclipses auspicious enough for the race to reproduce asexually. Blessed-of-Litters stood for the noblest values of the Druffs. 

(The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#3: Alien Races Appendix: Druffs entry / Incredible Hercules I#118 (fb) - BTS) <25,000 years ago>- The extraterrestrial Skrulls colonized Ryas.

    The Skrulls eventually conquered Ryas and Blessed-of-Litters, building temples to their own gods, Kly'bn the Eternal and Sl'gur't of the Infinite Names. These temples were decorated with statues of gods conquered by the Skrulls, including Blessed-of-Litters.

(Incredible Hercules I#118 (fb) - BTS) - Over time, the Druff forgot Blessed-of-Litters.

(Fantastic Four I#37 (fb) - BTS / The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#3: Alien Races Appendix: Druffs entry) - The Druffs spread to other worlds in the Skrull Empire, including the Skrull homeworld, Tarnax IV, by stowing away aboard starships. 

    Considered vermin by the Skrulls, they were periodically slaughtered.

(Guardians of the Galaxy VI Annual#1/3 (fb)) - During a long summer on Ryas, the ground became parched and the trees ceased to produce fruit. The Druff made children, and the children ate what they could find, but there too many of the Druff, too quickly. (Guardians of the Galaxy VI Annual#1/3 (fb)) - An unidentified being approached Ryas and observed the Druff. Seeing how swiftly they replicated, the being sought to make the Druff worship him so that when the time came, they would serve as his crusading army, one capable of making more of itself in no time at all. It intended to train them in warfare. (Guardians of the Galaxy VI Annual#1/3 (fb)) - When a spherical structure crashed on Ryas from the skies, the Druff felt that gods from the Heavens had come to destroy them, and they thought it was mercy. However, they instead found the structure to be full of fruits, water, and fuel to burn. The Druff pledged themselves to the god-like being they believed was nourishing them thusly, and they built a temple for him, within which they placed the sphere he had delivered. (Guardians of the Galaxy VI Annual#1/3 (fb) - BTS) - One of the Druff sat on a throne next to the sphere, wearing a crown and presumably serving as representative to their god.  (Guardians of the Galaxy VI Annual#1/3) - After escaping a black hole, Adam Warlock entered Ryas' atmosphere, and the Druff witnessed his fiery landing and considered him to be their god. Having crashed into the temple, Adam apologized and repaired it, but they silently led him to the sphere. The representative of their "god" told Adam that it knew their devotion to their god would be rewarded and that they had awaited this day for a long time.      When Adam asked who they were and what was this place, the representative paused before surmising that they could not expect God to know their names. It then told Warlock who they were, noting that while others considered them vermin and tried to exterminate them, only in "his" eyes were they more than pests, as "he" had fed them and gave them warmth.      After Adam asked what the sphere was, the representative asked if he had not sent it, and Warlock assured the representative that he was not their god, and he further noted that he was suspicious of anyone who gave gifts and called themselves a god.      After Adam noted that they deserved to know this being, the representative touched his face, noting that they had been doomed before this blessing, and it asked if Adam was not their god if he could not be their god's herald from the Heavens and lead him to his light.     Sitting on the throne and wearing the crown, Warlock asked them to tell them more of their god, and their tellings allowed him to see this being in their minds. SECRET WARS III HAPPENED (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#29 (fb) - BTS) - The Druffs were blackmailed by a fake Silver Surfer and his two fellow space-hunks. The Druffs complied with their demands. (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#29) - The Druffs joined a fleet of 76 extraterrestrial races to get revenge on the Silver Surfer. (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#30) - After it became clear that the Silver Surfer that screwed them over was actually not the real Silver Surfer, the alliances between the 76 races crumbled and their grievances with other were reignited.    Squirrel Girl worked out a plan to fix the problems between the many races, including the problems the Druffs had with the Gloomgorians and others (Squirrel Girl's bushy tail was in the way). (Guardians of the Galaxy VI Annual#1/3 - BTS) - Warlock flew out into the space above Ryas and encountered the "god of the Druff." Learning that the being intended to make the Druff into his army, Warlock became enraged, but the being taunted him, telling Adam to kill him and then watch the Druff bury their young from starvation and cold. Nonetheless, Warlock apparently destroyed the creature in a fiery explosion. (Guardians of the Galaxy VI Annual#1/3) - Observing the flash of light in the sky, the Druff considered this to be a sign of their god, and they waved their hands and cheered.  (Guardians of the Galaxy VI Annual#1/3 - BTS) - Adam resolved that the Druff need not know that their god was dead and they would be free to live and believe in him as they chose. He would use his power to protect the Druff, and he would "garden <their> purity gently with my own two hands...and I will protect you from the truth of your god."

Comments: Created by Stan "The Man" Lee, Jack "The King" Kirby, and Chic Stone.

    Presumably, the Druff's replication was once restricted to certain times by the Blessed-of-Litters, but thereafter, they would apparently replicate whenever...whether triplicating via impact or by budding offspring.

    How did a Druff (or Druffs) end up on the scholarly planet Rus given their lack of technology, etc.? 

• Well, they have a history of stowing away on various ships, and given their ability to multiply so readily, it's not much of a stretch to figure that a Druff could have arrived on Rus at some point. 
• Or, perhaps, some, or at least one, of the Druff, had more advanced intelligence and specifically sought out Rus.
• While this character is blue, rather than pink or brown, as other Druff have been shown to be, it is certainly possible that that is another color for Druff fur, or it is possibly a coloring error, as there is miscolored Badoon a few panels later.
• Or, it's not a Druff. The Druff are the closest match to this character, but it's not a perfect match. However, he's much closer to a Druff in appearance than the confirmed Druff in Guardians of the Galaxy Annual#1/3 (more on that below).

    When the Druffs' feet are shown, they appear to be spatulate or lacking in toes...however, they do have furry feet, so the fur could be covering toes. Both the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#3: Alien Races Appendix: Druffs entry and the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II (Deluxe Edition) #15: Appendix: Alien Races: Druffs entries picture the Druffs with two toes on each foot, but the text describes them as having three toes. Maybe it varies between species/variants, like two- and three-toed sloths?
    And then the Druffs seen in Silver Surfer III#32 are shown to have three fingers and a thumb, but
    ...and then the Druff in Guardians of the Galaxy Annual#1/3...well, let's just talk about that one in a separate paragraph.

    Differences in Guardians of the Galaxy Annual#1/3

• Intelligence/speech/culture: 
• In Fantastic Four I#37 and Avengers I#94, Druffs did not speak, and they seemed to almost be fauna, rather than a human-level intelligence race. 
• The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe entries noted them to be timid creatures with no more than child-like intelligence
• The character Thor I#335, which may or may not have been one of the Druff, did not speak. See the first paragraph, discussion above, as that being MAY have been different than the average Druff.
  
• Silver Surfer III#32 noted them to be mute: "If they had voice, these gentle creatures would scream"
• In Guardians of the Galaxy Annual#1/3, they not spoke readily and highly articulately. They also had the culture to worship a powerful being that saved them as their god.
• Appearance
• In Fantastic Four I#37, Avengers I#94, the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe entries, and Silver Surfer I#32 (and Thor I#335), the Druff are short and squat, with fluffy fur and solid white eyes. They are cartoonish and cute.
• In Guardians of the Galaxy Annual#1/3, the Druff are still about the same height, but they are much more lean, akin to a lean adult human in proportions. Their fur is much more flat to their face, and they have darker eyes, blue with black. They are a little more horror-centric than cute/cartoonish; they remind me just a little of the Scarecrow...or something....
• Replication
• Avengers I#94 first showed the Druffs triplicating (one being replicating twice to yield a total of three identical versions) on impact.
• That manner of reproduction is slightly expanded upon in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe entries.
• Guardians of the Galaxy Annual#1/3 noted that their children grow from their own bodies, three for each one of them, for a total of four, with an adult and smaller child versions)
• So, what's the dealy-o?
• The real answer is likely either poor research for Guardians of the Galaxy Annual#1/3 or a deliberate desire to change the race from the status quo.
• In universe, I think that the Druff's rapid replication would make them prone to mutation, which could swiftly propagate. There were 30 years real time between Silver Surfer I#32 and Guardians of the Galaxy Annual#1, which would amount to perhaps 6 years of Marvel Time...
• Given the Druff's history of stowing away and spreading elsewhere, I would think it likely -- and I would certainly prefer it -- that both forms of the Druff exist concurrently in the universe...and perhaps both still exist on Ryas. Maybe the Druff from Guardians of the Galaxy Annual#1 existed long before they were shown?

    What of the Skrulls?

• In Fantastic Four I#37 and Avengers I#94, we saw Druffs on Tarnax IV, and they were speculated to be fauna (or flora) of the Skrull Throneworld. 
• In the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#3: Alien Races Appendix: Druffs entry, it was established that Ryas had been colonized and conquered by the Skrulls.
• When Ryas was first actually seen in Silver Surfer III#32, it seemed to be a primitive planet, and no Skrulls were seen. 
• Obviously, a small, rural portion of the planet was seen, and perhaps Skrulls were only present in the focal locations, such as specific colonies. 
• Or, perhaps the Skrulls withdrew after the Hyper-Wave bomb removed their shape-shifting abilities? 
• Or during the Kree-Skrull conflicts in the immediately preceding Silver Surfer issues?
• No Skrulls were seen or mentioned to be associated with the Druff in Guardians of the Galaxy Annual#1/3. Based on previous behavior, I would think Skrulls would have tried to exterminate such a god of the Druff, or at least terminate the worship, but whether Skrulls were still around and unaware/apathetic, or whether they were no longer present on Ryas is not confirmed. 

    In Silver Surfer III#32, after the Pheragot refinery transferring energy to "a world parsecs distant" is destroyed, Pheragots on Arago-7 noted the destruction of the refinery...but was it transferring energy to Arago-7 or to another world and simply monitored by the Pheragots of Arago-7?
    That information is unrevealed at this time, as far as I know.

    I agree that the unmanned Pheragot refinery in geo-stationary orbit above the planet Ryas was there to process ore taken from the planet. However, I didn't see any evidence that it had actually begun mining the planet...yet.
    It does seem a bit odd that the Pheragots, with their stated reputation for benevolence, would mine a planet that was inhabited. Perhaps they consider the Druffs to be nothing more than vermin? Or maybe their method of mining would not be as destructive as conventional Earth technology? 
    Don Campbell

    After building the Omni-Wave, Mar-Vell used it to free Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, after which he destroyed the Omni-Wave.

    I'll get the "god of the Druff" a profile shortly.

    Thanks to Donald Campbell, whose notes for the Judan involved with the Runestaff I adapted to this profile, as there's no known differences in the circumstances of any released from the Runestaff in Thor I#335. 
    Donald also confirmed my assessment of Silver Surfer III#32.

    Thanks to Roger Ott, for a remastered image from the OHotMU Deluxe Edition and to Jacob for the scan of the original OHotMU Omnibus.

Refurbed images by Ron Fredricks.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Druff should be distinguished from:

• Tribbles, from the Star Trek Universe--Star Trek: The Trouble with Tribbles (1967)...the Druff appeared first, but their rapid replication wasn't revealed until 1971
• other "Dr" or "uff" characters, and/or any other stuffed animal, cartoonish-looking, rapidly replicating  races 

   A Druff (apparently; see comments) who had the misfortune of being on the planet Rus, then located in a far distant galaxy, at a time when Kamo Tharnn, the Elder of the Universe who had established a massive interstellar academy on that planet, had acquired (by force) the mystic Runestaff and begun experimenting with it recklessly. Eventually, an improper conjuration caused the faculty of his academy (and maybe all other living sentient beings on Rus) to be absorbed into the Runestaff where they were trapped in the limbo-like pocket dimension within it.

   Millennia later, the Runestaff was taken from Kamo Tharnn by the Asgardian goddess Sif and the Olympian demigod Hercules who brought it to Earth.

   Months thereafter, Kamo Tharnn reclaimed the Runestaff and again attempted to master its powers. However, he only succeeded in transferring the souls trapped within it (including that of the apparent Druff) into his own immortal body.

   Years later, Sif used the Runestaff on Kamo Tharnn and released all of the beings who had been trapped within his body. The apparent Druff was among the many who were restored to life in the physical world.

--Thor I#335

Note: Somewhat oddly, none of the beings who were rescued from the Runestaff seem to have suffered any adverse physical or psychological effects from their millennia-long imprisonment. This suggests that the mystic realm within the Runestaff may have been somewhat limbo-like in nature and that time may have effectively stood still for those trapped within it. As a result, their bodies did not age and their minds may have existed in a state of deep unconsciousness which prevented them from being aware of any passage of time. Lacking any memories of their imprisonment, the Runestaff inhabitants did not experience any trauma and thus were (seemingly) completely unaffected by what had happened to them.

   And that's all that is known about this particular Druff. His name, when he was on Rus and why he was there (i.e., was he a teacher or a student) have never been revealed. Similarly, what happened to him after he was returned to a physical existence after being trapped in the Runestaff for millennia has also not been revealed. Did his people welcome him home or reject him as unclean for having been trapped in an alien mystical power object for so long?

   Information about the thousands of other beings who were also trapped within the Runestaff can be found here.

    See the main comments section for further discussion on whether this is or is not, and how it could or could not, be the character seen in Thor I#335 and pictured in this sub-profile.

Representative of the "God of the Druff"

(Guardians of the Galaxy VI Annual#1/3 (fb) - BTS) - After the "God of the Druff" had begun sending spheres full of life-giving food and fuel to Ryas, one of the Druff sat on a throne next to the sphere, wearing a crown and presumably serving as representative to their god.  (Guardians of the Galaxy VI Annual#1/3) - After escaping a black hole, Adam Warlock entered Ryas' atmosphere. Having crashed into the temple, Adam apologized and repaired it, but the Druff -- believing him to be their god -- silently led him to the sphere. The representative of their "god" told Adam that it knew their devotion to their god would be rewarded and that they had awaited this day for a long time.      When Adam asked who they were and what was this place, the representative paused before surmising that they could not expect God to know their names. It then told Warlock who they were, noting that while others considered them vermin and tried to exterminate them, only in "his" eyes were they more than pests, as "he" had fed them and gave them warmth.      After Adam asked what the sphere was, the representative asked if he had not sent it, and Warlock assured the representative that he was not their god, and he further noted that he was suspicious of anyone who gave gifts and called themselves a god.      After Adam noted that they deserved to know this being, the representative touched his face, noting that they had been doomed before this blessing, and it asked if Adam was not their god if he could not be their god's herald from the Heavens and lead him to his light.     Sitting on the throne and wearing the crown, Warlock asked them to tell them more of their god, and their tellings allowed him to see this being in their minds. (Guardians of the Galaxy VI Annual#1/3 - BTS) - Confronting the "God of the Druff" and finding it intended to conscript them into becoming his army, Adam Warlock apparently slew the god. Warlock apparently arranged for the power of the "god" to continue to serve the Druff and/or he used his own power to do so for a period of time, vowing to use his power to maintain them. --Guardians of the Galaxy VI Annual#1/3

images: (without ads)
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#3: Alien Races Appendix: Druffs entry
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II (Deluxe Edition) #15: Appendix: Alien Races: Druffs
Fantastic Four I#37, pg. 7, panel 1 (Druffs encountered by Fantastic Four);
Avengers I#94, pg. 14, panel 1 (Druffs encountered by Avengers);
        pg. 15, panel 4 (Druffs triplicating on impact);
        pg. 16, panel 1 (Druffs surrounding Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch);
Thor I#335, pg. 17, panel 1 (with other released Runestaff inhabitants);
Silver Surfer III#32, pg. 7, panel 1 (Ryas, from orbit);
            panel 2 (Surfer landing on Ryas);
            panel 4 (Surfer collapsed in field);
        pg. 8, panel 3 (Druffs approaching Surfer);
            panel 5 (fleeing from Surfer);
        pg. 9, panel 2 (Druffs standoff-ish from Surfer);
Guardians of the Galaxy VI Annual#1/3, pg. 2, panel 1-2 (face, masses, and temple as Warlock arrived in atmosphere);
        pg. 4, panel 1-2 (body and face of representative of the "god of the druff");
            panel 3 (adult Druff budding infant);
        pg. 5, panel 2 (scorching drought on Ryas);
        pg. 10, panel 4 (worshipping their "god")

Appearances:
Fantastic Four I#37 (April, 1965) - Stan "The Man" Lee (writer/editor), Jack "The King" Kirby (penciler), Chic Stone (inker)
Avengers I#94 (December, 1971) - Roy Thomas (writer), Neal Adams (penciler), Tom Palmer (inker), Stan Lee (editor)
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#3: Alien Races Appendix: Druffs entry (March, 1983) - Mark Gruenwald (editor/head writer/designer), David Cody Weiss, Peter Sanderson, Roger Stern, Bob Simpson, Bob Harras, Joanne Harras (researchers), Paty Cockrum (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker))
Thor I#335 (September, 1983) - Alan Zelenetz (scripter), Mark Bright (penciler), Vince Colletta (inker), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II (Deluxe Edition) #15: Appendix: Alien Races: Druffs (March, 1987) - Mark Gruenwald (writer/producer), Peter Sanderson (writer/researcher), Kyle Baker (artist for the Alien Races Appendix)
Silver Surfer III#32 (Mid-December, 1989) - Jim Valentino (script), Ron Frenz (penciler), Joe Sinnott (inker), Craig Sanderson (editor)
Incredible Hercules I#118 (August, 2008) - Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente (writers), Rafa Sandoval (pencils), Roger Bonet (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Incredible Hercules I#119 (September, 2008) - Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente (writers), Rafa Sandoval (pencils), Roger Benet (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl II#29-30 (April-May, 2018) - Ryan North (writer), Erica Henderson (artist), Wil Moss (editor)
Guardians of the Galaxy VI Annual#1/3 (August, 2019) - Tini Howard (writer), Ibrahim Moustafa (artist), Lauren Amaro (assistant editor), Darren Shan (editor), Jordan D. White (senior editor)

First posted: 01/20/2022
Last updated: 02/06/2022

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, Master List, etc.!

Back to Races