THE TIRENIANSTHE TIRENIANS
Classification: Extraterrestrial
humanoid race
Location/Base of Operations: The planet Tiran
Known Members: Allehk,
Alturi,
Horrk
the Stargazer, King
Urid, King
Warka, Ry
Affiliations: Red Hulk (Thaddeus Ross)
Enemies: The Hedzek race (King Bellusk,
numerous others), Kargus the Deadly;
formerly the Red Hulk (Thaddeus Ross)
First Appearance: Hulk II#34 (August, 2011)
Powers/Abilities: Members
of the Tirenian race
do not seem to possess any inherent superhuman powers but they are
well-adapted to their planet's environment, their appearance reflecting
their diet and evolution. All of the Tirenians have pointed ears.
Some of the Tirenians possess skin webbing under their arms but what additional abilities this might provide the Tirenians who had the webbing remains to be seen.
Traits: All Tirenians
have tribal markings on their body, though it is unclear if
the markings are natural or some sort of tattoo or war paint. They are
mostly a warrior race, originally believing that only the strongest
should rule all.
Type: Bilaterally symmetrical humanoids
Eyes: Two
Fingers: Five (four fingers and a thumb)
Toes: Five
Skin color: Gray
Average height: Unrevealed (up to approximately 7'0")
History:
(Hulk II#34 (fb) - BTS) - The Tirenians were an humanoid alien race
from the planet Tiran.
(Hulk II#35 (fb) - BTS) - Ancient legends believed by
the Tirenians stated that a king came from the stars to build their
society and lead them, killing all potential challengers and usurpers
to the throne.
(Hulk II#34 (fb) - BTS) - Also believing that the
only law was might, the Tirenians warred with the neighboring Hedzek
race from the planet Randaa and over time, they buried their dead in a
field where the
Mindroot plant grew. Over time, the Mindroot learned to understand
the Tirenean language, having absorbed much from the Tirenean dead
buried in its fields.
(Hulk II#35 (fb) - BTS) - Throughout
the years, various Tirenian kings, ruling by proving their strength,
often attempted bold charges against the Hedzek and as time passed,
both the Tirenians and the Hedzek forgot the reasons why they had went
to war in the first place.
(Hulk II#34 (fb) - BTS) - At
some point, the violent Warka killed the Tirenian King Urid despite
being connected to the brain-fogging Mindroot to become the new
Tirenian king.
(Hulk II#35 (fb) - BTS) - At
one point, Tirenian elder Alturi suggested the concept of knowing one's
enemy and King Warka threatened to eat Alturi for the suggestion.
(Hulk II#34) - When the Red Hulk passed through a
gravitational vortex in space, his shuttle was pulled onto the red
planet of Tiran, where he was assaulted by its Tirenian natives riding
flying insectoids. Thinking the Red Hulk was a monster sent to attack
them by their enemies, the Hedzek, and they hit him with a plant that
emitted a type of knockout gas. As he awoke, the Red Hulk found himself
connected to the Tirenian Mindroot, which prevented him from attacking
any of the Tirenians or fighting back in any way. The Tirenian Ry kept
watch on the waking Red Hulk and when he noticed the Hulk trying to
fight against the Mindroot, he laughingly tried to provoke the Red
Hulk, knowing full well the Mindroot prevented the Hulk from acting.
The elder Alturi soon approached and asked Ry if the Red Hulk had spoke
and after being told that the Hulk spoke no language they could
understand, Alturi asked Ry to step aside as he adjusted the Mindroot
to broaden the Red Hulk's mind enough to allow the Hulk to speak
Tirenean in hopes of learning what secrets the Hulk possessed. Ry
quickly noticed that Alturi mentioned having the Hulk tell them their
secrets and asked if Alturi meant for the Hulk to tell their king,
Warka, his secrets and Alturi covered up his statement, commenting that
he of course meant for the king to learn Hulk's secrets.
Soon after Alturi adjusted the Mindroot, the Red Hulk began speaking and understanding Tirenean and Alturi explained the Mindroot's properties. A Tirenian female approached moments later and explained to the Red Hulk that he was on Tiran, one of two planets in their system. The female then called the Red Hulk stupid for not knowing of the two planets but Alturi disagreed, wondering why the Red Hulk was not coated in rootsalt to counteract the Mindroot if he had been sent by the Hedzek. As the other Tirenians ignored Alturi's wonderings, King Warka approached and when the Red Hulk scoffed at the king, Warka leaped from his mount onto the Red Hulk to rough the Hulk up in anger. Alturi quickly tried to discourage the king from harming the Red Hulk, suggesting that the Hulk was not an agent of the Hedzek and that they could enlist him to their cause, but Warka swatted Alturi aside and instead announced that the Red Hulk would be participating their gladiatorial sport the next day.
Prior to the gladiatorial battles, Alturi visited the Red Hulk and explained how King Warka had once been able to resist the Mindroot due to the Tirenian Shaman Council of the day not knowing how to properly proportion the Mindroot. Revealing that Tirenian plant weaponry was unparalleled when properly administered, Alturi began mixing a potion for the Mindroot and the Red Hulk asked if he would be drugged by the Mindroot during the next day's battles. Alturi replied in the affirmative but revealed that the Mindroot would be adjusted to allow the Red Hulk to battle only his opponent and the two began a discussion, with Alturi very interested in what an outlander had to say. The next day, the Red Hulk was led to the gladiatorial arena in the Tiran capital city of Warkalla, where it was announced he would be battling the captive Hedzek creature called Kargus the Deadly. As King Warka stood up to announce the beginning of the fight, however, the Red Hulk pulled Warka into the arena and Warka quickly realized Alturi had betrayed him by tampering with the Mindroot connected to the Hulk. Warka then put up a fierce fight but the Red Hulk ultimately punched Warka so hard that his neck snapped and the Tirenians declared the Red Hulk their new king, much to the Red Hulk's dismay.
(Hulk II#35 (fb) - BTS) - The
Red Hulk reluctantly ruled the Tirenians as a tolerant presence,
spending much of his time researching the history of the Hedzek with
Tirenian historian Allehk.
(Hulk II#35) - The Red Hulk
broke up a fight between two Tirenian females who were arguing over
which would be taken as the Red Hulk's wife. Alturi explained to the
Red Hulk that he may unmarry one of King Warka's wives and choose
another for himself but reminded the Hulk that one of Warka's wives had
to remain by law. Alturi then admitted that the other Tirenians were
somewhat confused by the Red Hulk's tolerant nature and desire to spend
most of his time researching the Hedzek with Tirenian historian Allehk.
The Red Hulk responded by stating that the concept of knowing one's
enemy had apparently not reached Tirenus
and Alturi remarked on how Warka had once threatened to eat him for
even making the suggestion to research their enemies. Allehk
interjected, happily remarking on how he had been telling the Red Hulk
all that was known about the Hedzek and their legends. The three
discussed the Hedzek legends until a Tirenian soldier entered the room
and announced that the Hedzek were attacking one of the Tirenian camps.
Ultimately defeating the Hedzek and their Hydreka creatures, the Red
Hulk devised a plan for a counterattack based on Earth's Trojan Horse
maneuver and he had several of his soldiers' skin dyed yellow to match
the Hedzek. That night, the Red Hulk prepared for the upcoming attack
by discussing the plan with Alturi, who admitted that past Tirenian
kings had made charges against the Hedzek but never with so much deceit
involved. The Red Hulk explained that the element of surprise was a key
tipping point in battle. The Tirenians and the Red Hulk continued to
discuss battle strategy until they fell asleep.
The next morning, the Red Hulk led the disguised
Tirenians through the planetary slipstream onto the planet Randaa
hidden inside the corpses of the Hedzek's Hydreka creatures. When the
Hydrekas were brought before the Hedzek King Bellusk, the Red Hulk led
the Tirenians in an all-out attack on the Hedzek. As the Tirenians
battled the Hedzek, the Red Hulk leaped into hand-to-hand combat with
King Bellusk, whom he easily defeated by breaking both of Bellusk's
arms. The Hedzek proclaimed the Red Hulk to be their new king but the
Red Hulk instead abolished kings for both races and announced the end
of the war between the two races. He then announced that he was leaving
to return back to his own planet and that the Tirenians and Hedzek now
had a choice on how to govern themselves. Remarking that they might
possibly return to their old ways or perhaps follow someone with "half
a brain," the Red Hulk suggested Alturi as a possible new leader before
departing, taking the defeated King Bellusk with him to prevent him
from trying to rule again.
Comments: Created by Jeff Parker, Carlo
Pagulayan and Danny Miki.
At the end of the story involving the Tirenians and the Hedzek, the Watcher who pulled the Red Hulk through time mentioned that the Red Hulk was placed within the temporal scenario involving the two warring races and, according to the Watcher, the scenario essentially didn't exist in the grand scheme of time and space. The vague statement could mean a variety of things. The entire scenario could've been constructed virtually by the Watcher or it could've just meant that the Watcher picked that particular scenario for the Red Hulk to experience via time travel through the temporal shadow and that the actual war between the two races were not important in the grand universal scheme of things. I chose to interpret the Watcher's words as the latter, meaning that the two races did exist and the Red Hulk's experience there did not change the grand timeline much. Whether that means the war was destined to end on its own or if the Red Hulk altered the events in some way remain to be seen...if that is indeed how the Watcher's words should be interpreted. Then again, even IF the Watcher had fabricated the entire scenario, the Hedzek did still exist for a time, however short, and are therefore, still worthy of a profile!
At one point in the story, the Red
Hulk remarks "I guess the concept of knowing your enemy hasn't reached
Tirenus yet." It is unclear what "Tirenus" is, as the home planet of
the Tirenians is called "Tiran" and its capital city was "Warkalla."
Perhaps "Tirenus" was another city on Tiran that the Red Hulk based his
kingdom out of? Perhaps the Red Hulk simply wasn't familiar enough with
the area and called Tiran "Tirenus" by mistake? Perhaps the writer
simply mistakenly called the planet "Tirenus" on that one panel? It may
also be the name of the king's base of operations on Tiran. For the
purposes of this profile, I am choosing to treat "Tirenus" as either a
city or the base of operations for the king on Tiran. If something ever
definitively clears this up, I'll adjust the profile to reflect this.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Tirenians have no known connections to:
Allehk was the Tirenian historian. After becoming king, the Red Hulk spent much of his time with Allehk, researching the history, customs and legends of the Tirenians' enemies, the Hedzek. Shortly after, Allehk met with the Red Hulk and Alturi, explaining what all he had told the Red Hulk about Hedzek history.
--Hulk II#35 (fb) - BTS (#35,
Alturi was a Tirenian elder who had mastered the proportions of the mind-fogging Mindroot and he was quite skilled at devising potions to manage how much the Mindroot affecting those attached to it. Despite having logical suggestions for how the Tirenians should live, Alturi was cast aside by the Tirenian King Warka but when the Red Hulk arrived on Tiran, Alturi was tasked with ensuring the Red Hulk was given enough of the Mindroot's influence to render him a non-threat. Intrigued by the Red Hulk, Alturi was quick to realize he had not been sent to Tiran on behalf of the Hedzek and he was keen to listen to the Red Hulk. He ultimately betrayed King Warka and tampered with the Red Hulk's Mindroot enough to allow the Red Hulk to challenge Warka's rule. After the Red Hulk easily beat Warka, Alturi proclaimed the Red Hulk the new Tirenian king and remained by his side as an advisor. Following the Red Hulk's attack on and defeat of the Hedzek King Bellusk, the Red Hulk ended the war between the two races and nominated Alturi as the new leader for both races.
--Hulk II#34 (#35,
Horrk the Stargazer was a Tirenian who noted the Red
Hulk's plan to attack the Hedzek as the sky showed swirling light.
Later, when the elder Alturi discussed the attack plan with the Red
Hulk, Alturi mentioned Horrk's note.
--Hulk II#35 - BTS
King Urid was the former king of the Tirenians. He
was killed by the violent Warka despite Warka being connected to the
Mindroot and Warka became the new Tirenian king.
--Hulk II#34 (fb) - BTS
King Warka was a violent Tirenian who had once resisted the effects of the Mindroot to kill the previous king, Urid. Ruling with an iron fist on a platform of strength, Warka demanded praise from his followers and when the Red Hulk was taken captive, Warka arrived to see the new captive, only to be insulted by the Hulk. Gloating how he had killed the previous king, Warka ordered the Red Hulk to the gladiatorial arena for a fight the following day. When the day came, Warka personally appeared at the gladiatorial arena to announce and view the fight. When Warka stood up for an announcement, however, the Red Hulk pulled Warka into the arena, having resisted some of the Mindroot's effects thanks to the Tirenian elder Alturi purposely tampering with the Mindroot. Warka put up a brief but fierce fight against the Red Hulk, who ultimately punched Warka so hard that it snapped his neck. With Warka dead, the Red Hulk was proclaimed the new king.
--Hulk II#34d
The Mindroot was a naturally-occurring, mind-altering plant on the planet Tiran and it grew in the fields where the Tirenians laid their dead. Over time, the Mindroot developed a connection to the Tirenians and it learned their language. When the Red Hulk was captured by the Tirenians, they connected him to the Mindroot and its effects kept the Red Hulk from either attacking the Tirenians or freeing himself. Tirenian elder Alturi adjusted the amount of the Mindroot's effects to allow the Red Hulk to speak and understand the Tirenean language and later adjusted its effects once more to allow the Red Hulk to battle and kill the violent Tirenian King Warka. The Mindroot remained partially connected to the Red Hulk as he was forced into the role of king and ultimately remained until the Red Hulk sent back towards Earth by a cosmic Watcher.
--Hulk II#34 (#35,
Ry was a Tirenian who was tasked with watching over the captured Red Hulk. Noticing that the Red Hulk did not speak Tirenean, Ry assumed him to be stupid and when the elder Alturi arrived, he asked Ry to step aside as he adjusted the Mindroot to allow the Red Hulk to speak the Tirenean language. Upon hearing Alturi state his hopes that the Red Hulk who reveal to them his secrets, Ry questioned if Alturi meant that the secrets would be revealed to the king, at which point Alturi claimed that was what he meant.
--Hulk II#34
Tiran was the red-hued home planet of the Tirenians and its capital city was Warkalla. When the Red Hulk was pulled to Tiran by a gravitational vortex, he was captured by the Tirenians and ultimately sent to their gladiatorial arena in Warkalla. After the Red Hulk killed King Warka and was forced into the role of new king, the Red Hulk ruled Tiran with a tolerant nature until the Tirenians' enemies, the neighboring Hedzek race, attacked a Tirenian camp. The Red Hulk then led a counterattack to the Hedzek's home planet of Randaa, where he defeated the Hedzek king and ended the war between the two alien races.
--Hulk II#34 (#35,
Tirenus was apparently some sort of city or perhaps the base of operations for the king on the planet Tiran. When the elder Alturi remarked on how the Red Hulk was spending much of his time researching the Hedzek with the historian Allehk, the Red Hulk remarked that he guessed the concept of knowing one's enemy hadn't reached Tirenus yet.
--Hulk II#35
Warkalla was the capital city on the planet Tiran and it housed a large gladiatorial arena. After the Red Hulk was captured, he was sent to the arena in Warkalla to battle the captive Hedzek creature, Kargus the Deadly, but he ultimately attacked the Tirenian King Warka, killing him and becoming the new king.
--Hulk II#34
images: (without ads)
Hulk II#34, p13, pan1 (Tirenians announcing the arrival of King Warka,
main image)
Hulk II#34, p9, pan2 (Tirenians riding flying insectoids)
Hulk II#34, p19, pan1 (Tirenians at the gladiatorial arena with King
Warka)
Hulk II#35, p5, splash page (Tirenian soldiers led by the Red Hulk
rushing into battle)
Hulk II#35, p11, pan3 (Red Hulk leading a squadron of Tirenians with
dyed yellow skin)
Hulk II#35, p4, pan4 (Allehk)
Hulk II#34, p12, pan1 (Alturi)
Hulk II#34, p14, pan2 (King Warka)
Hulk II#34, p11, pan4 (Mindroot)
Hulk II#34, p11, pan5 (Ry)
Hulk II#34, p7, pan2 (Tiran)
Hulk II#35, p4, pan5 (Tirenus)
Hulk II#34, p18, pan1 (Warkalla)
Appearances:
Hulk II#34 (August, 2011) - Jeff Parker (writer),
Carlo Pagulayan
(pencils), Danny Miki (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Hulk II#35 (August, 2011) - Jeff Parker (writer), Carlo Pagulayan
(pencils), Danny Miki (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
First Posted: 03/01/2023
Last updated: 03/01/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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