King Kull (DC Comics)

King Kull
King Kull battling the Justice League, the Justice Society, and Shazam's Squadron of Justice on the cover of Justice League of America #135. Art by Ernie Chan.
Publication information
Publisher	Fawcett Comics (1951–1953) DC Comics (1976–present)
First appearance	Captain Marvel Adventures #125 (October 1951)
Created by	Otto Binder C. C. Beck
In-story information
Full name	Kull
Team affiliations	Monster Society of Evil
Notable aliases	Beastman

King Kull (sometimes called the Beastman or the Beast Man) is a comic book supervillain originally published by Fawcett Comics and now owned by DC Comics and appearing as a foe of Captain Marvel. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist C. C. Beck, Kull's first appearance was in Captain Marvel Adventures #125 (cover-dated Oct. 1951). Kull appeared in adventures of Captain Marvel during the 1950s and the period in which DC Comics revived the hero during the 1970s.

In prehistoric times (according to one account around 28,000 BC), King Kull is ruler of the Submen, a brutish but technologically advanced race which ruled humanity until overthrown in a revolt thousands of years ago, as the humans vastly outnumbered them and killed all the other Beast-Men. Kull fakes his death with a bomb and survives until the 20th century in suspended animation in a cavern, then awakens due to an earthquake and repeatedly threatens the human-dominated modern world with his immense strength, durability, and bizarre technology, which is in Captain Marvel's region. However, other versions claim he emerged throughout human history and attempted to stop the spread of democracy, and is apparently the basis for the Bogeyman and other mythical monsters.

He is usually thwarted by Captain Marvel or the Marvel Family, despite releasing the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man and using Sin bombs to try destroying the world, and trying to turn Billy to stone instead on one occasion, but one particularly well-planned escapade requires the efforts of the Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America (in one of their dimension-crossing team-ups, which DC produced annually from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s), as well as a group of heroes of Captain Marvel and King Kull's home universe of Earth-S, referred to unofficially as Shazam's Squadron of Justice. All of these are required because Kull has captured both the wizard Shazam who grants the Marvel Family's powers and the ancient gods and goddesses the powers are drawn from after gaining access to the Rock of Eternity with a faster-than-light ship, paralyzing them with a device that slowed down their impulses, except for the swift Mercury who was able to get away in time and after Shazam made telepathic communication with him he warns other heroes from the Three Earths about King Kull. Johny Thunder's Thunderbolt helps the Marvels get their powers back in the final issue and transports them to the Rock of Eternity. Kull recruits the aid of villains from the three earths, Penguin, Queen Clea, Blockbuster, and Ibac for his Earth-2 attack, where he tries to wreck Atlantis and use a cloud to sink islands. For Earth-S he recruits the Earth-2 Joker, the Weeper II, Doctor Light and the Shade, who trap one side of the world in light and another in darkness, and try to transform people into different materials. For Earth-1 he recruits Mister Atom and Brainiac, who attack the city of Tomorrow, and increase the Earth's rotation to send people into the air. He is trying to wipe out humanity on all three Earths so his people can rule once again. They are all defeated, and the heroes then head to the Rock of Eternity, with Superman leading the attack. Despite turning Superman against the other super heroes using a Red Kryptonite which fills Superman's mind with rage and makes him invulnerable to green kryptonite he is eventually defeated after Captain Marvel knocks him out, Jr. destroys the Red Kryptonite, Mary frees the Elders, and Cap uses his lightning to restore Superman's mind. King Kull was imprisoned with magic chains that supposedly even Hercules couldn’t break, and the heroes returned to their own worlds.