Powers: The Crater People were a subspecies of human that rapidly developed intelligence once they were born, and grew faster than normal humans, but their lifespan was extremely short, with no Crater Person living beyond age five.

History: (Kamandi #37, 38) - In the aftermath of the Great Disaster most of humanity was wiped out, with most remaining humans becoming feral, and animals evolved intelligence. The Crater People were a subspecies of humanity who kept their intelligence, and whose brains and bodies developed much more rapidly than ordinary humans. Their life span was exceedingly short, with no Crater Person living beyond the age of five, and they planned to capture ordinary humans and have them marry into the tribe and interbreed in hopes of extending their lifespan. They employed the Red Riders, a group of Crater People armed with prods and riding ATV bikes to round up humans for that purpose. Kamandi, Dr. Canus and Pyra stumbled across the crater-filled wasteland where the Crater People lived underground, and witnessed a large group of humans being herded by the sound of music. They found the music was coming from speakers embedded in the rocks of the wasteland, and Kamandi wanted to investigate, fearing the humans were in danger, so he blended in with the herd with Canus and Pyra providing air support from Pyra’s UFO. The humans were beset by the Red Riders, capturing any human they deemed a promising specimen. Kamandi got one of the Red Riders to chase him and leapt aside as he tried to drive him down, crashing into a crater. Kamandi jumped aboard the bike, grabbed a gun, and tried to save a girl one of the Riders captured. He was subdued, and the Riders were excited at the prospect of finding a talking human, deciding to bring Kamandi before the council of the Crater People. Pyra and Canus tried to fly to his rescue, but an anti-aircraft gun emerged from a crater and shot them down. Kamandi was introduced to the council, who explained their situation, and they thought Kamandi was an excellent candidate for breeding with them. Kamandi was alarmed, and they introduced him to Arna, the woman they wanted to pair him with. Kamandi went into a rage and attacked the Crater People, who worried that he was too wild to be part of their society. Arna had two of her servants subdue him, and took him to the Stalls, a maternity ward for the Crater People that was once part of a government Experimental Population Center that aimed to solve the problem of overpopulation. The tests performed there resulted in the short-lived humans that would become the Crater People. She had Kamandi stick his hand in a genetic reader and informed him that the machine would combine his genetic profile with hers to produce a child. Kamandi was distraught at the idea she’d tricked him into becoming a father and fled the Stalls, hiding in the Crater People’s underground complex. Crater Person Bruno found Kamandi had escaped and informed the council, who sentenced Arna to death for allowing their hope for their people’s future to slip away. They drew their guns and Arna fled, running into Kamandi who’d discovered an old anchorage and a working motor boat. Against his better judgment Kamandi let her escape with him, not wanting to see her executed. Bruno vowed to kill Kamandi if he ever returned. Arna tried to calm Kamandi down by lying and claiming the genetic sampler actually siphoned a bit of his life energy to sustain her people and would not result in the birth of a child. A giant lobster attacked the motorboat, crushing it and dragging Kamandi and Arna underwater.

Comments: Created by Jack Kirby.