Kong

KONG

Real Name: Kong

Class: Cro-Magnon

Occupation: Hunter

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: Attu (mother, deceased), Trog (father)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Prehistoric Earth

First Appearance: Kong The Untamed #1 (June-July 1975)

Powers: Kong was an excellent hunter, gatherer and a savage fighter.

History: (Kong The Untamed #1) - Attu was one of the mates of Trog the One-Eyed, chief of his tribe. During a search for new hunting grounds Trog’s clan was ambushed by Beast Men, and Attu, about to give birth, fled to a nearby mountaintop. The moon was full, and Attu believed it was a sign that the moon goddess Lural was watching over her. Her son was born and she brought him to Magl, the tribe’s shaman. Her son had blonde hair like the legendary warrior Kong, and Magl believed her son was Kong reincarnated and destined to grow up to be a legendary warrior. Trog didn’t like the idea that his son could one day challenge him for leadership of the tribe, and raised his axe to kill the child. Attu staid his hand, and for defying him he banished both Attu and Kong from the clan. Magl sprayed them with powder made from bear teeth and declared them cursed. Attu found no tribe member willing to help her because they all feared Trog. Over the first few years of Kong’s life she taught him to forage and use medicinal herbs, and as a young boy Kong spied on hunters from his former tribe, learning their ways. From a distance Attu and Kong watched on as Karas challenged Trog for leadership of the clan. Trog killed his rival, and Attu told Kong about her belief that one day he would become a warrior mightier than Trog. Kong sought to prove himself, and stole a brand from the sacred fire Trog’s clan kept, an offense punishable by death were he to be caught, and Attu praised him. A few years later Kong practiced hunting, but was captured by the Beast Man Gurat. Beast Men always tried to kill their Cro-Magnon rivals on sight, so Gurat tied Kong up, cut his chest with a knife, and waited for big cats to be attracted to the smell of blood and devour him. Kong freed himself from the bonds, and lured Gurat into a pitfall trap. Gurat climbed out, but Kong was ready for him, and threw a sharp spear into his chest. Atta brought Kong before Trog, saying he’d earned their way back into the tribe with his show of bravery. Trog said he didn’t believe him, so Kong left to retrieve Gurat’s weapons and prove his deed. Gurat’s fellow Beast Men were waiting for Kong, and abducted him. Attu worried when her son hadn’t returned to Trog’s cave and went looking for him, again defying Trog, who said he’d kill her if she tried to find their son. The Beast Men had Kong tied up, and were getting ready to cook him, but Attu freed him, and they fled. The Beast Men threw spears at the fleeing mother and child, and one struck Attu in her leg. Attu told Kong to go on without her, but he refused, hiding with her on a nearby hillside. Kong left to find herbs that would stop her bleeding, but when he returned he found Attu dead, having been tortured and hung. The footprints leading away from the scene indicated Trog as the murderer and Kong vowed to make him pay.

(Kong The Untamed #2) - Kong left his mother’s side and was soon beset by a pack of hungry wolves. He threw rocks to ward them off, but lost his footing and fell into a raging river. Kong made it back to land, and remembering the sparks the stones he threw gave off as they struck other rocks, he decided to try striking various rocks against each other, becoming the first man to make fire. The Beast Men spotted him, and dragged him off, tying him up in a cave to be a sacrifice to their god, a cave bear. Gurat, having survived his encounter with Kong, freed the boy, saying someone mighty enough to battle him deserved a better end than being a sacrifice. The cave bear found them, and together they killed it. The Beatst Men spotted them fleeing the cave, and Gurat knew he would no longer be welcomed by his tribe. Gurat and Kong came across the Deer People, who were praying to their god, and Kong told Gurat he despised the gods for giving him blonde hair and allowing his mother to be brutally killed. The Deer People were hostile, because they’d never seen a Cro-Magnon and Beast Man together who were not trying to kill each other, but the members of Gurat’s tribe caught up to them, and the Deer People were forced to fight alongside Kong and Gurat to slayu them. A small army of Beast Men arrived, and Kong set fire to the brushland, driving them off. The Deer People were ready to kill Gurat, proclaiming him to be an evil spirit, but Kong threatened their shaman, saying he could burn them all to ashes. The Deer People relented and freed Gurat. Kong told Gurat they had to go their separate ways so Kong could avenge his mother by killing Trog. Gurat told him they’d bled in battle together, so that made them blood brothers, and he said he’d accompany Kong in his quest. Kong was taken aback because the only person ever to show him kindness in life was Attu. He clasped Gurat’s hand, cementing their bond.

(Kong The Untamed #3) - Kong and Gurat were hunting a boar, but a sabretooth tiger took their prey. Kong wanted to kill the sabretooth, but Gurat advised against it, and pointed out that a storm was brewing, so they sought shelter in a cave. Deep within the cave they witnessed Magl and Kong’s former tribe performing a ritual to appease their gods. The sabretooth made it’s lair in the cave and appeared, frightening off Magl and his tribe. Kong and Gurat happily feasted on the meat Magl had brought to offer the gods, but Magl and his men soon returned. Magl accused the pair of sacrilege, and his men were able to overwhelm Kong and Gurat. They brought the pair to Trog, who was amused that Kong wanted to kill him to avenge his mother. Trog offered to fight him one-on-one, and easily pummeled the boy. Trog ordered Kong and Gurat to be bound, and they were hung over a fire pit to be roasted alive. Magl pointed out that a nearby volcano was belching smoke, obscuring the moon, but as the smoke dissipated it revealed a full moon. Magl said it was a sign that Lural disapproved of her chosen warrior Kong being killed by Trog. Trog freed Kong, and told his son he’d give him a chance to prove himself, handing him a spear and telling him to kill Gurat. Kong threw the spear at the ropes that bound Gurat, freeing him, and they ran. Trog and his tribe pursued them, but the volcano erupted, spewing lava, and they scattered in terror. After the eruption an earthquake followed, and a fissure opened up beneath Kong and Gurat. They fell into a cave system, and spent hours wandering until they emerged into a hidden valley. They were attacked by a Tyrannosaurus, but Kong lured it into a pit of quicksand. The pair were then harried by a pterodactyl, and as they contended with it someone spying on them threw a spear at them.

(Kong The Untamed #4, 5) - Another spear flew through the air, striking Gurat in the back, and he tumbled into a stream. Kong confronted his attacker, Rolen and Sharra. Sharra was the daughter of Jelenna, a priestess and ruler of the valley tribe, who demanded that her tribe kill all outsiders. Sharra staid Rolen from killing Kong, realizing he was just a boy, but when he attacked them she knocked him out with a rock. Kong awoke in Jelenna’s hut, and she made it clear that he would serve her and the women of her tribe, as all men of the valley were required to do. Kong overheard Rolen pleading with Jelenna to let him marry her daughter, and Jelenna demanding the skull horn of a spike-tail (Ankylosaur) as a dowry. Kong realized Rolen had attacked him because he feared Jelenna, and his hatred refocused on her for what had befallen Gurat. Gurat survived his injuries and once he struggled out of the stream he was drifting in he collapsed in a nearby forest. Kong shadowed Rolen on his hunt for the spike-tail, but Rolen soon spotted him. He was interested in Kong’s stories about his tribe, in which women served men, and decided that was the natural order. Kong helped him kill the spike-tail, goading it into chasing him onto a cliff face, and stepping aside as it charged and fell to it’s death. Rolen decided not to claim his bounty, but to return to the valley and demand that Jelenna free the men of his tribe from servitude and step down. Jelenna sacrificed a stag to her goddess Dra and Sharra said she was worried about her love, and that she cared more for Rolen than worshiping Dra. Jelenna struck her and said Rolen deserved to die, because she knew he criticized her and her religion in private. Rolen returned with Kong and preached to the men of the village, telling them they had to shake off servitude to Jelenna and Dra and find their own male god to worship. Sharra hit him in the head with a rock, knocking him out. She wept at her own betrayal of her love, but told Kong she had to be devoted to her mother and her goddess before Rolen and his heresy. Jelenna had Rolen tied to a stake and lit a bonfire beneath it. Komng tried to save him, but was restrained by Jelenna’s followers. Rolen accepted his martyrdom, and told Kong Jelenna and the women didn’t know what they were doing was wrong. A neighboring village was at war with Jelenna’s tribe, and attacked. They flew pterodactyls as steeds, and burned down Jelenna’s village. Jelenna herself was struck with a spear in the back. One of their number, Errus, had found the near-dead Gurat and saved him. Gurat took Kong on Errus’ steed, and they flew away from the carnage.

Comments: Created by Jack Oleck and Alfredo Alcala

Kong received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #12.