Dukie

DUKIE

Real Name: Dukie

Class: Parallel Earth (Earth-AD) human

Occupation: Sideshow performer

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Earth-AD

First Appearance: Kamandi #24 (December, 1974)

Powers: Dukie possessed limited speech and intelligence, but had above average strength and brawling abilities. Dukie was a skilled acrobat.

History: (Kamandi #24) - Flim-Flam and his traveling sideshow of trained humans Dukie, Lukie and Jukie crashed their showboat on a remote island dominated by a large, crumbling pre-Disaster building. They were tormented by the Curse, a seemingly supernatural presence. Kamandi washed ashore on the island, and Flim-Flam and his men were convinced he was the Curse. After a brief scuffle the Curse, who was watching them, levitated and shattered a number of boulders before using his telekinetic powers to bounce Kamandi off a few stone walls, knocking him unconscious. Flim-Flam and his companions carried Kamandi inside the house, and seeing they had nothing to fear from him, revived him. Kamandi searched the building, hopeful somewhere inside he’d learn the secret of the Curse, but he was discouraged when every book he touched crumbled to dust. The Curse tormented them by twisting Dukie’s body into a monstrous form and terrifying the group with winds and flames before collapsing the roof on Flim-Flam. Kamandi dragged Flim-Flam to safety, angering the Curse who said they were all his playthings, and they lived only so long as tormenting them amused him. The Curse possessed Lukie, but Kamandi noted that the Curse had to break his hold when Jukie rushed to the young boy’s aid. Kamandi led Jukie around with a rope to direct him, and examined some documents that didn’t crumble. The building was once the Reim Institute, and was undertaking Project 412, a government program involving ESP. Kamandi realized Jukie was immune to the Curse’s power because he was simple-minded. The Curse disliked his secrets being uncovered, and confronted them. Kamandi had worked out that the 412 subjects were cats, and the Curse was their powerful descendant, mutated into humanoid form after the Great Disaster. The Curse said he was expected to play with his prey even though he was much more than just a cat. Flim-Flam directed Dukie to grab the Curse from behind, and Dukie proceeded to fling him out a window. Kamandi looked out the shattered window, seeing stones and sea, but no more Curse.

(Kamandi #25, 26) - Flim-Slam showed Kamandi the wrecked remains of his showboat while they tried to figure out how to escape the island. Kamandi’s mutant friends Ben Boxer, Steve and Renzi reunited with him, having walked the entire sea bottom in their organic steel form to find their friend. Flim-Flam and his companions hid until Kamandi assured them his mutant friends were no threat. Flim-Flam mentioned that he had a popular traveling show with Dukei, Lukie and Jukie performing acrobatic tricks and a juggling act, Flim -Flam said if Kamandi and his mutant friends joined his act people would call him Flim-Flam the Great, but everyone was insulted by the offer. A giant mutant sea creature attacked them, before being dragged under the sea by an equally gigantic rival mutant. Kamandi and his friends knew they had to get off the island fast, and searched the Reim Institute grounds until they found a hovercraft. After saving the vessel from a mutant eel they set set course away from the island. The engine gave out just as they were confronted by flying sharks that battered the hovercraft. Kamandi managed to fight them off long enough for Ben Boxer to get the engine running again, and they soon spotted land protected by a great wall. Kamandi and friends tried to figure out how to scale the vast walls, and fell in luck with a giant mutant eagle. Ben Boxer and a more reluctant Kamandi agreed they’d use the eagle to fly up the wall, and hoped to reunite with their friends later. Flim-Flam, his men and Renzi and Steve said their goodbyes as Ben and Kamandi flew into the Dominion of the Devils.

Comments: Created by Jack Kirby.