GERR

Real Name: Gerr

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (mutant sub-race of the Rigellians)

Occupation: Unrevealed;
    at least formerly an adventurer;
    formerly maintenance work

Group Membership: Rigellian mutant race (Bolaa, Jukka, Tryx)

Affiliations: Avalon and the Caretakers of the Rhunians, Balder Odinson, Silas Grant, Kragonn, Tana Nile, Sif, Thor Odinson

Enemies: Dracus, mainstream Rigellians;
    formerly Avalon, Balder Odinson, Silas Grant, Rhunians, Tana Nile, Sif, Thor Odinson

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    last seen in the vicinity of the planet Rhun and its four other "Black Stars" when they were in the Milky Way Galaxy;
    formerly Rigel-3 (aka the Command Planet at the Constellation Rigel)

First Appearance: Thor I#218 (December, 1973)

Powers/Abilities: Like other Rigellian mutants, Gerr is tall, with a disproportionately large head. 

    He appear to have superhuman and strength and durability of an unspecified degree, perhaps lifting 1-10 tons (enough to briefly restrain a surprised Thor but not enough to hold him when he fought back).

    A strike from Thor's mystic hammer, Mjolnir, knock Gerr and his allies off their feet, but did not incapacitate them. However, Thor was likely not striking at full force due to unfamiliarity with his opponents' durability.

    Gerr is skilled with a lasso, which could restrain Tana Nile despite her psychic powers, and he also possibly wielded a blade (see comments).

    Like his allies, Gerr was willing to fight for his and his allies lives, but he was apparently otherwise a peaceful being. 

    Although resenting being treated as outcasts, the Gerr and the other Rigellian mutants apparently accepted their fate. 

    Gerr and his allies were willing to risk their lives to help those allied with them and/or those whose fates they sympathized with, such as other outcasts. 

History:

They banished the mutants to dwell in the underground of Rigel-3. 

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II (Deluxe Edition)#11: Rigellians) - The mutant class were used as workers of unspecified tasks, perhaps maintenance of sewers or other underground repairs out the sight of the mainstream Rigellians. 

(Thor I#220 (fb) - BTS) - As outcasts, the Rigellian mutants learned the art of subterfuge.

(Thor I#218 - BTS) - With no females to carry on their species, Bolaa, Gerr, Jukka, and Tryx considered themselves to be the last of their kind.

(Thor I#218 / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II (Deluxe Edition)#11: Rigellians (see comments) - As the world-destroying Black Stars (led by the Rhunians) approached Rigel-3, the nine billion Rigellians still living on Rigel-3 escaped aboard a fleet of gigantic starships via the plan of the Grand Commissioner. 

(Thor I#218 (fb) - BTS) - Jukka saw the Rigellian fleet's navigation charts. 

(Thor I#218 - BTS) - The Rigellian mutants were left behind to die.

(Thor I#218) - Following an instruction of Odin to investigate a threat to Rigel that would next threaten the worlds of men, the Asgardian Starjammer -- carrying the Asgardians Balder, Sif and Thor, the Rigellian Tana Nile, and Blackworld native Silas Grant -- arrived on Rigel-3.

    Although Rigel initially seemed vacant, the Rigellians mutants Bolaa, Gerr, Jukka, and Tryx -- sick with fear and afraid to meet death -- soon assaulted them. 

    Gerr's lasso snared Tana and Silas, after which he joined Jukka -- who had tackled Thor -- instructing him to hold their foe while he "fixed him" with his blade (see comments). 

    However, as the blade neared Thor's face, Thor hurled both Gerr and Jukka off of him and then ordered an end to the fight and asked why these four had been left behind. 

    With the Rigellian mutants continued to fight, Thor hurled his enchanted hammer, Mjolnir, to strike and knock down at least Jukka, Gerr, and Tryx. 

    Accepting a truce, Jukka then explained the origins and fate of the mutant race. 

    Gerr and the other mutants then gratefully accepted Thor's offer to seek the Colonizers and perhaps learn the meaning of the Black Stars. 

(Thor I#218 (fb) - BTS) -Before departing, Gerr and the other mutants gathered spacesuits.

(Thor I#218 - BTS) - After the Starjammer's departure, the Black Stars arrived and destroyed Rigel-3, shattering it with multi-blasts of cosmic energy. 

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II (Deluxe Edition)#11: Rigellians) - Virtually all of the mutant worker race were left behind and destroyed along with Rigel-3.

(Thor I#218) - Guided by Jukka's knowledge of Rigellian navigation charts he had glimpsed, the Starjammer caught up to the Rigellian fleet. 

    When the Colonizer ship nearest them fired on the strange craft approaching (as the Grand Commissioner had ordered that none may impede their journey), Thor flew to the attack, and Gerr and the Rigellian mutants donned their spacesuits to join him in battle. 

(Thor I#218 - BTS) - Soon after Thor's allies joined the battle, the Grand Commissioner ordered an end to hostilities and invited the Asgardians, Tana Nile, and Silas Grant aboard; however, they insisted that the mutants remain aboard the docked Starjammer.

(Thor I#218 - BTS / Thor: Official Index to the Marvel Universe) - Upon arriving aboard the Rigellian flagship, Thor noted his dislike in forcing his newfound friends to remain behind, and he questioned why they could not join them as free beings among the civil. 

    The Grand Commissioner explained that the mutants could not come aboard because if his people learned of their presence aboard the woefully-overcrowded flagship, they would rebel. Acknowledging that it was a barbaric custom, the Grand Commissioner noted that these were barbaric times and that the danger of a potential riot was inconceivable. 

(Thor I#219) - At least three of the Rigellian mutants (and presumably all four of them) were aboard the Starjammer when Thor and the others returned and noted their goal of confronting the masters of the Black Stars.

    As the Starjammer approached the Black Stars, a massive space scoop carrying the Rhunians' reluctant giant Knight/Caretaker Avalon was sent towards them. As Avalon reached for and inadvertently ripped open the bottom of the wooden ship, his arrival was mistaken for an attack, and the Asgardians and the Rigellians mutants assaulted him. 

    Unharmed by their assaults, the giant Avalon cast off his assailants and then welcomed them as friends and offered to show them the nature of the Black Stars. Avalon led the group to meet the other Caretakers, who revealed themselves to be artificial servants created by their masters.

    Considering that these Caretakers had been cheated of natural life just as they had been cheated by the Colonizers, the Rigellian mutants (notably Jukka and Bolaa) voiced their desire to help fellow outcasts. 

(Thor I#220) - After the Masters of the Black Stars were revealed to be the immense, 2000' tall beings, Thor attempted to face them directly, which seemed doomed to failure.

    The Rigellian mutants, however, sneaked out on the space scoop and spied on the immense Rhunians Kragonn and Dracus, although the volume of the giants' raised voices pained them. 

    Nonetheless, they learned that the giants believed the Black Stars to be the only inhabited planets in the universe and thus reasoned that the minute beings they had encountered must be from one of the other four "Black Star" worlds to whom the Rhunians sent power from worlds they destroyed, although they had not contacted those other worlds in 20,000 years. 

(Thor I#220 (fb) - BTS) - Bolaa, Jukka, and Tryx climbed onto Dracus' body and climbed toward his neck, while Gerr accessed Dracus' equipment.

(Thor I#220) - Later, as Dracus spotted the relatively small spot on the ground where the alien "invaders" fought the Rhunians' Protectors (relatively giant to the Asgardians, but still tiny to the Rhunians) and prepared to stomp on them, Bolaa, Jukka, and Tryx combined their efforts and pressed on a nerve in Dracus' neck that temporarily paralyzed him from the neck down and caused him to collapse. 

    Gerr then used the communication equipment to project his image and voice to communicate with Rhunian leader Kragonn, informing him of Dracus' treachery, the existence of other races in the universe (and the inhabited planets they had been destroying) and their suspicion that the other "Black Star" worlds were no longer inhabited. 

    After Kragonn confirmed the mutants' suspicion and found the other worlds dead and barren, the mutants explained their suspicions as based on the lack of communication and the apparent lack of technological development/pursuit from those worlds. 

    No longer needing or wishing to consume other worlds, Kragonn allowed the aliens' tiny ship to depart in peace. Additionally, the Rhunians freed Avalon and the sub-worlders.

Comments: Created by Gerry Conway, John Buscema, and Jim Mooney.

    Are they mutants? 

    Generally, in the Marvel Universe, the term mutants (at least prior to the whole retcon of Earth mutants as a separate species) refers to beings whose genes/chromosomes had some variation during gestation and were born and/or developed differently from the race of there parents. 

    To me, they are genetic variants of the Rigellians. I suppose it is just semantics.

    So, after saving the day against the vastly powerful Rhunians, the Rigellian mutants were not seen nor heard from again. In Thor#221, there's a flashback where Thor's crew has returned to the Rigellians, who note their appreciation, and then Silas decides to stay with Tana Nile with the Rigellians...but the Rigellian mutants were neither seen nor mentioned. 

    Did the Rigellian mutants return to the Rigellians and somehow arrange some sort of peace? Doesn't seem likely, as nothing had changed that time with them all just being crowded on the ships.

    Did the Rigellians mutants stay with Avalon and the others, who they had previously considered fellow outcasts? That would be very interesting (and would warrant some sort of follow-up), but there's no story information to support (or refute) it.

    Did the Rigellian mutants ask to be dropped off somewhere along the way back to the Rigellian fleet? That would also make sense, but there's no evidence to support (or refute) it.

    The image of Gerr and Jukka fighting Thor seems to have some of the dialog messed up. While neither of their faces can be seen, Gerr is wearing blue and Jukka is in orange. Given their positions, the voice balloon that says "Hold him, Jukka, while I fix him with my blade," could belong to either of them...but the one with the blade is wearing orange and so should be Jukka.
    As Jukka is shown holding a blade in his hand when he first tackled Thor, it would seem most likely that it should have said the other Rigellian mutant's name (although only three of the four mutants were named in this issue...other had to wait nearly 40 years (see below)). However, it is possible that the costumes were colored wrong and/or that they both had blades, with only one being visible as only one arm/side is shown in the image for both characters.

   The image of Gerr on the computer screen in front of Thor reminds me of Kurrgo, although Kurrgo's got more facial hair and other differences. 

    Gerr was identified in Thor: Asgard's Avenger.
    The name is obviously an homage to writer/creator Gerry Conway.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Gerr should be distinguished from:

• GERRAR, Senator - --Captain America I#250
• ALBAN GERROD of Earth-75011 - scientist, apparently discovered Slow Glass, and it was taken by the Peddler from his future--Other Days, Other Eyes; (Marvel Universe) Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction#4
• GERROLD - Marrs Corporation--Namor I#1
• GERRY ?? - apparent hypochondriac--Mosaic#2
• GERRY ?? - husband of Mandy, father of unidentified boy, confronted by Mindbender, who was driven off by Spider-Man--Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man II#1/2
• GERRY of Earth-200111 - deputy of Branding, Texas, backed down from helping sheriff Southall against the gunrunners of Monastery Hill, tracked down Rev. McCarthy for the murder of Clark, turned him over to the Punisher--Punisher VI#29 
• “GERRY GIRAFFE” - Wonderworld, robot version battled and destroyed by Human Torch, Mole Man, and Thing--Fantastic Four I#264
• GERRY and the SKRULL PACEMAKERS - Skrulls, associates/rivals of the Skrull Beatles--[Wisdom#2]
• other "Gerr" characters, groups, items, events, races, or places...

Thor: Asgard's Avenger (June, 2011) - Jeff Christiansen & Mike O'Sullivan (head writers/coordinators), Stuart Vandal, Markus Raymond, & Mike Fichera (assistant coordinators), Michael Hoskin, Stuart Vandal, Sean McQuaid, Markus Raymond, Kevin Garcia, Ronald Byrd, Paul Fairchild, Rob London, Chris Biggs, Anthony Cotilletta & Gabriel Shechter (writers), James Emmett & Joe Hochstein (editorial assistants), Alex Starbuck & Nelson Ribeiro (assistant editors), Jennifer Grunwald & Mark D. Beazley (editors, special projects), Jeff Youngquist (editor)

First posted: 03/13/2023
Last updated: 03/13/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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