KRYLLK the CRUELKRYLLK the CRUEL
Real Name: Kryllk
Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Asgardian) rock troll (see comments)
Occupation: Leader of his army, would-be ruler (or destroyer) of Asgard
Group Membership: Rock Trolls of Asgard
Affiliations: Leader of a troll army
Enemies: Asgardian gods, Odin Borson, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Thor Odinson, Uatu the Watcher;
apparently all of humanity and the Asgardians, although Fandral of the
latter group and Iron Man (Tony Stark) and the Scarlet Witch (Wanda
Maximoff) were among the few clearly shown
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "Foul Kryllk” and "Demon” (descriptions by Thor);
"this
Kryllk creature” (description by Uatu);
his troll army was called "the Seven Dwarfs” by Spider-Man and "armored
demons” by Thor
Base of Operations: Rock Troll tunnels beneath Asgard and a base within an asteroid orbiting near Jupiter.
First Appearance: Marvel Team-Up I#7 (March 1973)
Powers/Abilities: Kryllk apparently possesses great strength and swordfighting abilities but did not exhibit any of these qualities, preferring to use the Dark Crystal and his troll soldiers to fight his battles.
Kryllk carries a sword and laser pistol, although he was not shown to use them.
He apparently has great leadership skills, with his army willing to fight and die for him.
The Dark Crystal stops time and apparently allowed Kryllk to teleport and to repel Thor’s attack.
Height:
Unrevealed (approximately 6'6")
Weight:
Unrevealed
Eyes: Dark, possibly brown
Hair:
Black
History:
(Marvel Team-Up I#7 (fb) - BTS) - "Ages ago," Kryllk invaded Asgard by coming up through
the ground but "made a deadly mistake" and was defeated by Odin. Thor remembered
this battle and possibly participated.
(Marvel Team-Up I#7 (fb)) - Kryllk found the Dark Crystal (a power item of Uatu the Watcher; see comments) in a cavern beneath Asgard. It "told"
him things so that the mysteries of the universe became his weapons.
(Marvel Team-Up I#7 (fb) - BTS) - Believing that Odin had stolen "both land and life" from
the trolls, Kryllk vowed revenge and planned to "destroy Asgard while its gods
stood outside the flow of time." Regarding Earth as a stepping stone and "cosmic
pawn" to conquer Asgard, (and fearing that its heroes would protect the
Asgardians), Kryllk took the Dark Crystal and used it to "dam the stream of
time."
(Marvel
Team-Up I#7) - The Crystal froze the cosmos, turning everything (and
everyone on
Earth) into an immobilized and "negative form" of him/her/itself (like
a film negative, with everything reversed from dark to light) except
for Thor and Peter Parker who
happened to be together when the negative effect began and who were
protected
by Thor’s Mjolnir-created vortex.
(Marvel Team-Up I#7) - After Peter put on his Spider-Man costume, the army of trolls
attacked. Thor recognized them, saying, "These armored demons do stir
nigh-buried memories of a war eons removed and of a vicious troll named Kryllk
the Cruel."
(Marvel Team-Up I#7) - Kryllk led his men into battle against Thor and Spider-Man. He showed the heroes the Dark Crystal, after which he used its power to make himself and his men disappear.
Thor and Spider-Man went to Avengers Mansion where, using Peter
Parker’s science knowledge, they rewired a now-negative monitor to plot
Kryllk’s path of escape. They found that his path struck both Asgard and an
asteroid near Jupiter. With Thor currently exiled from Asgard, Spider-Man
traveled there while Thor arrived on the asteroid. Finding the trolls
underground, Thor attacked, only to be repelled by a "force field" effect
protecting Kryllk when he stood near the Crystal.
(Marvel Team-Up I#7) - In Asgard, Spider-Man also found Kryllk and his army. Standing by the Crystal in the same pose as his counterpart, this Kryllk was not protected. When Spider-Man punched Kryllk in the chest, his fist went right through Kryllk’s body, and the Kryllk on the asteroid collapsed from the blow. Thor prepared to take advantage of this weakness, but before his own punch landed, Kryllk and his army disappeared.
Uatu he
Watcher appeared (along with Spider-Man). He told the heroes that the Crystal
belonged to him, "stolen by this Kryllk creature." He explained that "by using
it to freeze the space time continuum," Kryllk "created a temporal echo,"
perhaps explaining why one Kryllk and army were on the asteroid while their "echoes"
were on Asgard. With the Watcher removing the trolls and recovering his
Crystal, the threat was ended.
Comments: Created by Gerry Conway, Ross Andru, and Jim Mooney.
Per the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, in general, trolls are stocky and massive, have thick body hair (almost
fur) and tend toward a ruddy orange in color. Trolls have superhuman
strength (lifting from 25-95 tons), endurance (2.5 times an average
human’s) and durability, resistance to disease, and longevity; however,
they are generally slower than humans. Their height varies from 3 to 7
feet, their weight ranges between 100-800 lbs. Trolls require less
oxygen than humans and their vision extends into the infra-red
spectrum, enabling them to see well in relative darkness and making
them well suited for underground living.
Kryllk is more human in conformation, and his appearance in the story
is more consistent with a human than an Asgardian Troll (the cover, at least, makes him more orange in color). Whether that
is signficant to his true nature or merely artistic license is
unrevealed.
--Snood
Kryllk
refers to "the god named Woden," an earlier name for "Odin of Asgard," perhaps
demonstrating his long-term animus and giving a hint to the time of the "ages
ago" battle. His "deadly mistake" that cost him the battle is not explained.
It
is unclear what was keeping Kryllk from immediately executing his revenge; or
where the Watcher sent him and his men; or why the Watcher took so long to
step in and recover his Crystal; or why the Watcher kept the Crystal in a cavern
below Asgard.
Kryllk’s
apparent teleportation away from Earth may be another aspect of the echo
effect. Although Spider-Man and Thor battled the troll army (as Spider-Man
battled the "echoes" on Asgard), they may not have actually been on Earth at
all.
Kryllk of Earth-50302 faced Thor and Spider-Man in Marvel Age Spider-Man Team-Up I#4 (December 2004)
This profile was completed 7/14/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary's celebratory event.
Profile
by Al Sjoerdsma
Clarifications:
Kryllk’s army is composed of shorter trolls who wield swords, spears, knives, battle axes and laser pistols.
Kryllk had them do all of the fighting against Spider-Man and Thor.
--Marvel Team-Up I#7
A possession of the Watcher, who kept it in a cavern below Asgard, the Crystal is a large blue gem on an ornate "Ark of the Covenent-like" litter.
Those close to the Crystal are protected by a force field-effect and have the mysteries of the universe explained and conveyed into their minds.
The Crystal can also "dam the stream of time" and, possibly, allow the wielder to teleport.
Kryllk believed the possessor of the Crystal "controls the fate of worlds."
The origin of the Crystal is unrevealed
--Marvel Team-Up I#7
First posted: 09/18/2021
Last updated: 09/17/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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Kryllk’s Troll
Dark Crystal