Garokk

Garokk
Garokk reborn. Art by John Byrne.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Astonishing Tales #2 (November, 1970)
Created by	Roy Thomas (writer) Jack Kirby (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Unknown (first body) Kirk Marston (second body)
Partnerships	Zaladane Magneto
Notable aliases	The Petrified Man, Lazarus, Terminus
Abilities	Energy and matter manipulation Shape-shifting Telepathy Superhuman strength, stamina and durability Immortality

Garokk (also known as the Petrified Man) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Garokk first appeared in Astonishing Tales vol. 1 #2 (November 1970) and was created by Roy Thomas and Jack Kirby.

Garokk was originally a sailor from Great Britain, whose ship the H.M.S. Drake crashed on the shores of Antarctica during the 15th century. The sailor was swept overboard and taken by a warm stream to the Savage Land. Wandering the Savage Land, the sailor entered the lands of the Sun People, who worshipped the Sun god Garokk. The sailor found a statue of Garokk with a cup beneath it. Thirsty, the sailor drank from the cup, but was chased off by the Sun People. The sailor escaped and managed to return to the Kingdom of England, but found that he had become immortal after drinking the potion. Over time, the sailor's body became a living, organic, stone-like substance until he looked identical to the statue of Garokk. Nearly five centuries after he had left, the sailor returned to the Savage Land and discovered that the Sun People believed that their god would return and their high priestess Zala waged war as a form of worship to him. The sailor, now known as the Petrified Man encountered Ka-Zar and related his story to Ka-Zar. The Petrified Man allied himself with Ka-Zar and journeyed with him to the Savage Land to prevent his worshippers from waging war there. The Petrified Man gained energy powers, and transformed into pure energy. The Petrified Man managed to stop Zala and her people by dissolving their weapons, and then returned to his physical form. However, the Petrified Man then went mad and believed himself to be Garokk himself. Garokk sought to destroy all life on Earth to bring about peace, and he and Ka-Zar fought each other. On Zala's instructions, Ka-Zar lured him inside an underground pool which turned Garokk human and mortal again. His age caught up with him rapidly and he died shortly afterwards. As he died of extreme old age, he recovered his sanity and then his corpse turned to ash.