Garokk

Garokk (/ˈɡærɒk/; also known as the Petrified Man) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a resident of the Savage Land and an enemy of the X-Men and Ka-Zar, and possesses a stone-like body and matter-manipulating abilities.

Garokk
Garokk as depicted in X-Men #115 (November 1978). Art by John Byrne.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Astonishing Tales #2 (Nov. 1970)
Created by	Roy Thomas (writer) Jack Kirby (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Unknown (first body) Kirk Marston (second body)
Species	Human mutate
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 has made limited appearances in media outside comics. An uncredited actor voiced him in X-Men: The Animated Series, while Dwight Schultz voiced him in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse.

Publication history

Garokk first appeared in Astonishing Tales #2 (Nov. 1970) and was created by Roy Thomas and Jack Kirby.^[1]

Creation

Roy Thomas explained in an interview the creation of the character stating,

"So, the Petrified Man clearly is similar to elements in the later Burroughs Tarzan novels where he'd have some kind of weird character that Tarzan would encounter. And Tongah was like a combination of Tarzan's native buddies that he would occasionally have. And it was also reference to one of my favorite series from Gold Key Comics Turok, Son of Stone. And so, Turok... Tongah... there was an element of that."^[2]

Fictional character biography

Garokk was originally an unnamed sailor from Great Britain whose ship, the H.M.S. Drake, crashed in Antarctica in the 15th century. A warm ocean current carried him to the Savage Land, where he encountered the Sun People, who worshiped the sun god Garokk. After drinking from a cup under a statue of Garokk, his body is transformed into immortal, organic stone.

After being chased off by the Sun People, the sailor returns centuries later and discovers that they are waging war as a form of worship to him. Now known as the Petrified Man, he encounters Ka-Zar and works with him to stop the Sun People, but goes insane and believes himself to be Garokk. However, Ka-Zar drains him of his powers, causing him to age rapidly and die.^[3]

Zaladane, the leader of the Sun People, later resurrects Garokk.^[4] In subsequent appearances, Garokk battles Ka-Zar and the X-Men, with one battle having him transform into a molten crystal form after falling into a thermal shaft.^[5]

Powers and abilities

Garokk possesses a stone-like body that gives him immortality and superhuman physical abilities. He can additionally project energy blasts from his eyes, create dimensional portals, and manipulate matter on a molecular level.^{[citation needed]}

Other versions

An alternate universe variant of Garokk from Earth-928 appears in 2099: World of Tomorrow, where he possesses the Sorcerer Supreme Mlle Strange.^[6][7]

In other media

Garokk as depicted in X-Men: The Animated Series.

• Garokk appears in the X-Men: The Animated Series two-part episode "Savage Land, Strange Heart", voiced by an uncredited actor.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13]}
• Garokk appears in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, voiced by Dwight Schultz.^[14] This version was previously defeated by the High Evolutionary and imprisoned in the Earth. He manipulates Storm into using her elemental energy to help him break free, but is defeated when Sauron absorbs his energy, becoming big and powerful enough to fight him.