Kraken (Atlantean monster, Andromeda foe) (original) (raw)
KRAKEN
Real Name: None
Identity/Class: Terrestrial animal; possibly a mutate (see comments)
Occupation: Servant of Proteus Horn's wielder
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Andromeda, Attuma
Enemies: Atlantean rebels and soldiers, Nautak, Xiomara
Known Relatives: At least four other Kraken
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: caves deep within the oceans
First Appearance: Marvel Comics Presents I#121/4 (1993)
Powers/Abilities: The Kraken was part of a race of ancient creatures, resembling carnivorous aquatically reptiles. Their proportions were enormous (an Atlantean was just as big as the eye of a Kraken). They moved on four extremities, had a very strong tail and possessed over 40 sharp teeth. Their lifespan was unknown.
The Kraken could be summoned with the sound of the Proteus Horn like many other monsters of the sea.
History:
(Marvel Comics Presents I#121/4 (fb) ) - The Kraken were a race of monstrous creatures that lived in caves deep down in the oceans. They were used by Atlantis as weapons and could be summoned through the Proteus Horn. As far as the Atlanteans knew there were only five Kraken still in existence. Attuma used the Proteus Horn to find a Kraken and sent it into a cave he used as a weapons fault. There the monster waited for further orders.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#121/4) - Andromeda found the Proteus Horn in Attuma's hidden weapons vault. She blew the horn and awakened the Kraken that slept beneath the ground. The Kraken rose from the ground and Atlantean warriors and rebels fled in fear. Many of them were squashed by the monster itself or the debris coming down on them from the monster's movement. It tried to follow the fleeing Atlanteans, but the entrance to the cave collapsed before the Kraken could leave it. It was buried beneath tons of rubble.
Comments: Created by Karl Bollers, Mark Moretti & Joe Rubinstein
Profile by Markus Raymond
A distant cousin of the Kraken that was used in an attack on New York City by Namor was mentioned. This event was too long ago for Andromeda to have participated in it. So it was probably the attack from Fantastic Four I#4 and Giganto was the distant cousin.
I don't know why this thing was called Kraken. It is confusing because traditionally a Kraken is something else.
Kraken is of Norwegian origin for large beasts sighted by the Vikings, possibly attributed to whales and giant squids. --Will U
Still it could be that Atlanteans understood something else as Kraken than the average human. Andromeda heard in school about this Kraken above, but she can be wrong about the name. If she was wrong this creature could've had a different name like "Reptillus", "Saurus" or something like that and not Kraken as this giant lizard really isn't something anyone would call a Kraken.
Giant squids (the creatures mostly associated with the word kraken) were also around in the Marvel Universe in the past (and one probably still is). They were seen in the past in stories with Conan and Kull (see clarifications for example).
At least one giant squid lives in the New York harbors. Just ask Sid Saggio or check out Punisher VI#23.
--Snood.
Still the name Kraken will stick with this monster as well because I don't think that somebody will or can clear up the situation too soon (or ever).
The Kraken and his relatives could be Deviant mutates, radioactive mutates, long-lived lizards from the distant past or something else. The only thing clear about this Kraken is that it is extremely old and that it is one of the monsters used by Atlantis as a weapon.
There is another possible appearance of this monster. At the end of Bloodstone#4 (the mini series that introduced us to Ulysses' daughter Elsa Bloodstone) a kraken was mentioned as the next enemy of Elsa, but it is unconfirmed that it was such a Kraken as the one dealt with in this profile.
Clarifications:
The Kraken has no known connection to
- Black Kraken, giant squid of the Hyborian era @ Conan the Barbarian Annual#7/Graphic Novel: Conan of the Isle
- Commander Kraken, Namor foe @ Sub-Mariner I#27
- kraken of Sekhmet Tharn, of the pre-Cataclysmic era @ Marvel Preview#26
- Kraki, Korgon's follower @ Fantastic Four I#224
- Krakkan, a mystic entity involved in Wager of the Octessence @ Dr. Strange II#45
- or to any other kraken or characters with a similar name
images:
Marvel Comics Presents I#121, barcode side, p14, pan5 (main)
p15, pan2 (head shot)
Appearances:
Marvel Comics Presents I#121 (1993) - Karl Bollers (writer), Mark Moretti (pencils), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Terry Kavanagh (editor)
First Posted: 11/06/2004
Last updated: 11/06/2004
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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