Dherk (Earth-616)

Dherk
Name	Dherk
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Shanna the She-Devil
Marital Status	Single
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Irises: Brown
Hair	Brown
Unusual Features	Ghostly Apparition
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Human scientist placed in suspended animation due to his predictions about Atlantis sinking.
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Birth	Atlantis
Personal Information
Identity	Secret
Citizenship	Pre-Cataclysmic Atlantean
Occupation	Head scientist
Base of Operations	PangeaSavage Land Formerly Atlantis
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Bruce Jones, Brent Anderson
First	Ka-Zar the Savage #6 (May, 1981)
First	Ka-Zar the Savage #6 (May, 1981)

History

Pre-Cataclysmic Age

Dherk headed a team of scientists in Atlantis during the Pre-Cataclysmic Age. With his team, he predicted the destruction of their world, but this prediction caused Dherk to be banished to Atlantis' remotest outpost, Pangea, by Atlantis' "enraged ruler" (presumably Kamuu, see notes).

There, he began research on a Hybernation Chamber, which he hoped could save all of Atlantis. One such was built on Nahgen Island, another on mainland Pangea.

As he was testing the latter, the Great Cataclysm hit the world. Energy backlash from Atlantis' ruined energy plants caused the chamber to malfunction, trapping Dherk within it, but somehow feeding him information, thus causing him to sank into a frozen sleep while witnessing the destruction of Atlantis.

After the Cataclysm

Centuries later, the mechanism entered a new phase, Dherk awoke in a half-life state, being able to exist for short periods of time as a mental projection, and even briefly solidify, though needing to return to his sleeping body regularly.

Modern Age

One day, Shanna was having delusions due to the effects of the mind-switching device, the Hybernation Chamber. Ka-Zar had been stung and poisoned by a giant scorpion, and Shanna started seeing a ghostly figure, as Dherk introduced to her, revealing her the Atlantean origin of Pangea.

Dherk body's was placed in suspended animation. He was able to appear as a projection, but he could temporarily made himself tangible. Dherk first saw Shanna while she was in the mind transfer device and from there he had fallen in loved with her.

Shanna did have mutual feeling for the man which was possibly also a result of the machine's influence. Shanna rejected his advances and stubbornly tried to drag Ka-Zar to the Aerians in the hoped of a cure. Dherk appeared later and informed her that they would not arrived on time. He told her he possessed a cure kept near his physical body, but would only share it if she agreed to joined him in his slumber. Out of desperation she agreed, and set out. Due to the distance and freezing mountainous terrain, she passed out from exhaustion. Dherk manifested physically and saved her, and after her pleas for help he reluctantly rescued Ka-Zar. Due to remaining physical too long Dherk eventually died. Dherk's consciousness was eventually revealed to had been transferred into an android duplicate of himself and continued to act as caretaker of the atlantean machines.

Whether or not the android Dherk survived the apparent destruction of Pangea remains unrevealed.

Attributes

Powers

Dherk possesses a number of superhuman powers ultimately derived from his artificial substance and metabolism. Dherk’s android body is functioning replica of a human body containing analogues to virtually all human organs, blood, and tissue, composed of an unrevealed synthetic organic-like substance.

• Superhuman Strength: Dherk’s body is stronger then an average human, but unclear of his exact strength level.

• Superhuman Stamina: Dherk’s is capable of exerting himself at peak capacity for about twenty-four hours.

• Superhuman durability: Dherk’s body is more durable than a human as it took his own power to rip his mechanical frame apart.

• Superhuman Reflexes: Dherk’s practical reaction time is more than twice as fast as that of an average human being.

• Computer Interface: The Dherk can communicate and interact with other computer systems.

• Superhuman Intelligence: Dherk was a genius as a human but in his android body he is capable of rapid analysis of huge amounts of data.

• Holographic Manipulation

Weaknesses

He is not invulnerable as Belasco made him tear himself apart.

Notes

• The identity of the ruler who banished Dherk remains unrevealed, but given Dherk lived in the years before the Great Cataclysm, and that a similar story exists in which King Kamuu (the last king of Atlantis before the Cataclysm) banished Zhered-Na for a similar prediction, it can be assumed that it was Kamuu who exiled Dherk.

See Also

• 13 appearance(s) of Dherk (Earth-616)
• 3 mention(s) of Dherk (Earth-616)
• 2 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Dherk (Earth-616)
• 2 image(s) of Dherk (Earth-616)