Night-Crawler/Dark-Crawler

|Dark-Crawler is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe.Dark-Crawler is also known under the Aliases Night-Crawler'Dark-Crawler was the former ruler of The Realm of Shadows until it was destroyed.The origins of the Dark-Crawler are unrevealed, however it is clear that he is an extra-dimensional entity referred to as the Dark-Crawler's Dark Dimension. At some point in time the Dark-Crawler became the bitter enemy of the Undying Ones due to the function of his Dark Dimension, which allows access to other dimensions and planets. The Undying Ones tried multiple times to annihilate Dark-Crawler, but he killed every enemy sent by them.

.Dark-Crawler is also known under the Aliases Night-Crawler'Dark-Crawler was the former ruler of The Realm of Shadows until it was destroyed.The origins of the Dark-Crawler are unrevealed, however it is clear that he is an extra-dimensional entity referred to as the Dark-Crawler's Dark Dimension. At some point in time the Dark-Crawler became the bitter enemy of the Undying Ones due to the function of his Dark Dimension, which allows access to other dimensions and planets. The Undying Ones tried multiple times to annihilate Dark-Crawler, but he killed every enemy sent by them.

Publication history

The character first appeared, as the Night-Crawler, in Incredible Hulk #126 (April 1970), and was created by Roy Thomas and Herb Trimpe. He also appeared as Night-Crawler in Marvel Fanfare #8 (May 1983).Dark-Crawler was created by Roy Thomas and Herb Trimpe,and first appeared as the Night-Crawler in 1970's The Incredible Hulk #126, but later became known as the Dark-Crawler in 1982's The Incredible Hulk #269 in order to avoid confusing him with the X-Men's Nightcrawler.The character appears as Dark-Crawler in Incredible Hulk #269-270 (March–April 1982),along with character strange alien artist named Bereet who first appeared in the Rampaging Hulk magazine. Before Bereet arrives, though, Banner receives other guests. It's the Nightcrawler (now Dark Crawler to avoid confusion with the X-Man), Torgo, and Amphibion.The Hulk has met Dark Crawler and Amphibion before, but Torgo is an old Thing foe, so he's an interesting third choice. In the course of fighting these three heavy hitters.the Hulk loses a little ground, and it causes Rick Jones to run into Banner's lab and exposes himself to gamma radiation, with the hopes that he'll transform into a second Hulk.In the meantime, the leader of the Hulk's three opponents shows up. She's the leader of the alien rebels that the Hulk once helped fight the Galaxy Master. It turns out that Galaxy Master is back, and the leader - Princess Daydra - recruited Dark Crawler, Torgo, and Amphibion to fight him, but they were all defeated by the Master's champion, so they tried to recruit the Hulk.But Amphibion's temper got the best of him and that's why the fight broke out.Torgo has been shown as a noble guy, and they make the case in this issue that Dark Crawler was just misunderstood (but still, he's the ruler of an alternate dimension, not exactly a hero for hire), but Amphibion is a straight-up bad guy, and there's no real motivation for him to be helping here. The Dark Crawler especially just doesn't feel like a guy that should be hanging around performing tasks for other people.Next, the Galaxy Master's champion turns out to be the Abomination. the Abomination was initially stronger than the Hulk in his first appearance until the Stranger Banner took some of his strength away.Torgo has been shown as a noble guy, and they make the case in this issue that Dark Crawler was just misunderstood (but still, he's the ruler of an alternate dimension, not exactly a hero for hire), but Amphibion is a straight-up bad guy, and there's no real motivation for him to be helping here. The Dark Crawler especially just doesn't feel like a guy that should be hanging around performing tasks for other people. Anyway, the Galaxy Master's champion turns out to be the Abomination.They are reminded that the Abomination was initially stronger than the Hulk in his first appearance until the Stranger Banner took some of his strength away. The Dark Crawler's next appearence is Defenders #1 (March 2001).

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Dark Dimension) magic user

Occupation: Former ruler of the Dark Dimension; warrior; would-be conqueror; agent of chaos

Group Membership: Hulk-Hunters/Horror-Hunters (Amphibion, Torgo)

Affiliations: Leads an army of demonic beings; briefly allied with the Hulk, formerly employed Empress Daydra and the Sagittarian empire; briefly possessed and controlled James Mandarin; former pawn of Yandroth; he has invoked for power Azathoth and Sominus, and presumably others unidentified.

Enemies: Abomination, Clea, Dr. Strange, the Galaxy Master, Hulk, James Mandarin, Meredith, The Nameless One, The Undying Ones

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Night-Crawler, Slitherer, Slitherer in Shadows, Worm of Darkness

Base of Operations: Currently unknown; formerly the Dark Dimension/Shadow Realm;  the dimension of the Undying Ones

First Appearance: Incredible Hulk II#126 (April, 1970)

Powers/Abilities: The Dark-Crawler has superhuman strength and durability, as well as undefined magical abilities. His powers appear to wax and wane, from taking a gigantic form with great physical and magical power, to that of a more human form, possessing perhaps Class 25 strength. Presumably, his powers vary with his location, being much greater within his home dimension, other magical realms, or when summoned by beings via magic, whereas his powers are greatly diminished in a non-magical environment. He has a tail which can be used as a blunt weapon. He can emit beams of sonic force from his crown. Under certain cirumstances he can possess and control others, open portals to other dimensions, and alter his shape at will.

He uses the Sceptre of Shadow to project "black light," presumably a form of the Darkforce, which can blind those trapped within its rays. In some cases, the Sceptre can project solid beams that can ensnare and transport others. The ray can be terminated by the shattering of the sceptre -- it appears to be about as durable as ordinary glass -- but the sceptre can be reformed, in some cases within a few hours time.

Fictional character biography

The Dark-Crawler, formerly known as the Night-Crawler, is a large extradimensional humanoid being with a tail. He is originally from a "dark dimension" (not related to Dormammu's dimension).Template:Issuehis is the conclusion of a story that began in Doctor Strange #183 and continued in Sub-Mariner #22. As evidenced by the fact that this story and the Sub-Mariner issue were reprinted in a comic called Day of the Defenders, these issues can be seen as a foundation for the Defenders team.References to theThe age of the Undying Ones on Earth is uncertain and struggles with the Night/Dark-Crawler are supposed to take place over eons is unknown. Eon can just mean an immeasurably long time period, or it may refer to a period of 1 billion years, as in geology.They may have been battling the Dark-Crawler long before ever coming to Earth, and were just trying to get through his realm to conquer other worlds.Alternatively, the Dark-Crawler may have been exaggerating and his struggles with the Undying Ones took place only over the last millennium or time moves differently in the semi-mystic realms of the Undying Ones and/or Dark Crawler.

In Defenders I#20, van Nyborg and his followers are worshipping the Nameless Ones. While this isn't technically incorrect, as the Nameless One is two-headed, two-minded creature, it is still usually referred to in the singular. It was probably just confusion of the Undying and Nameless One(s) names. It also seems that Barbara would have remained trapped in the Undying Ones' original realm, which was overtaken by the Dark-Crawler. However, when the Defenders later encountered the Nameless One, she was in the same dimension as he. So, either she was taken to their new realm when they fled the Dark-Crawler (that's my guess), or they eventually retook their own realm, which is in contrast to info from the Dark-Crawler at a chronologically later date--both Marvel and real time. The name Stephen Sanders comes from the brief period when Eternity erased all knowledge of the name Stephen Strange, in order to preserve the secret identity of the Sorcerer Supreme, who had blurted his name out in a crowd. He replaced all memory and written evidence of the name "Stephen Strange" with "Stephen Sanders." This is when Strange first wore that funky blue face mask with his costume. Strange briefly retired shortly thereafter, but when he returned to activity, the Ancient One returned his powers, and erased all memory of Stephen Sanders from Earth. Some cultists that serve the Undying Ones find Bruce Banner (who has been sleeping in the grass since his battle with the Absorbing Man) and bring him to their mansion. They send him into a dark dimension to fight a creature called the Night Crawler (his name will later be changed to Dark Crawler to avoid confusion with the fuzzy elf from the X-Men).

A cult worshiping the Undying Ones sent the Hulk to his dimension hoping the Hulk would destroy him. To motivate the Hulk to fight, the Undying Ones sent an unconvinced member, Barbara Norriss, knowing that the Crawler would attack her.When one of the cultists, Barbara Denton, has second thoughts, she is sent to the dark dimension too. As part of a very confusing origin, Barbara will eventually become the Valkyrie.This is especially creepy because it turns out that the head cultist is her husband. Bruce turns into the Hulk and fights the Crawler. If he wins, it means that the undying ones will be able to cross into the Earth's dimension. When the Hulk destroys the Night Crawler's floating rock, the Crawler teleports them all to the Undying One's dimension, where blue faced Dr. Strange is held prisoner.ince the Nameless One and his Undying Ones are now busy fighting the Night Crawler, that threat is ended. In order to redeem herself for her part in the cult ritual, Barbara trades places with Dr. Strange, who has been a prisoner of the Nameless One. Strange teleports back to Earth with Banner, and the two of them head to Strange's house for a change of clothes. For once, Banner winds up with different color pants (although green isn't exactly a normal color for pants either). The battle that followed destroyed the Crawler's scepter and his realm and he was sucked into the Undying Ones' dimension. Once there, the Crawler battled the Undying Ones up until the moment where their plan to invade Earth was spoiled - meanwhile, the Hulk escaped with the help of Undying Ones' prisoner.

Dr. Strange, and thanks to Norris' sacrifice staying behind. Dr. Strange also decides to hang up his cape this issue, on the grounds that the Undying Ones threat has ended. Considering all the other threats Strange has faced, it's not exactly a logical conclusion.Roy Thomas actually "retired" Dr. Strange in this issue, probably under the belief that since he couldn't sustain a solo series, the character was better off eliminated.This is later revealled to temporary.Template:R e later became master of the Undying Ones' dimension after defeating the Nameless One.Template:IssueDefeating the demons and their leader the Nameless One and became the ruler of the Undying Ones changing his name to Dark-Crawler. Eventually the Nameless One was again shown to be in control of the undying ones so his fate is curently unkown. He later assisted Empress Daydra and the Sagittarians, along with the Hulk, Torgo, and Amphibion against the Galaxy Master and the Abomination.

Meanwhile, the villain Leader discovered Hulk's past encounter with the Crawler. The Leader included the Crawler in an array of simulated super-villains he sent against the Hulk in an attempt to cause him a heart attack.Template:R Dr. Strange and Clea deal with a low level mage named James Mandarin and his artist girlfriend who get themselves mixed up with the Night Crawler/Dark Crawler creature that Strange and the Hulk encountered in the Dark Dimension in the lead-up to the formation of the Defenders. Marvel Fanfare #8;Published Date: May 83,Title: "The light that never was!"Credits: Peter Gillis - Writer,Carmine Infantino - Penciler,P. Craig Russell - Inker arvel Fanfare I#8) - Novice sorcerer James Mandarin used a spell from Van Nyborg's book -- "The Secrets of Light and Shadow" -- with which he unwittingly summoned the Night-Crawler, who brought him back to his realm. Mandarin's girlfriend, Meredith, contacted Dr. Strange, and the mage opened a portal to his Realm of Shadow. The Night-Crawler -- who was most often referred to as the Slitherer -- used the power of the Sceptre of Shadows to seal the Eye of Agamotto, and then pulled Strange, Clea, and Meredith into his realm with tendrils of shadow.

There they were confronted by a Slitherer-possessed James Mandarin, who was leading an army of demons, planning to conquer Earth. Mandarin wielded the Chaos Sword and rode a flying horse against Strange, parrying his strongest spells, and threatening to crack through his Shield of Seraphim. However, Meredith was able to get through to James' mind and convince him to throw off the Slitherer's control. Mandarin turned and attacked the Slitherer, but was no match for him. Strange then sent his astral self to join with Mandarin's body, empowering him to break free from the Slitherer. Meredith then used her will to summon a shield for the two combined sorcerers, and with the shield to protect them, they managed to shatter the Slitherer's Sceptre of Shadows (and cut off a few of his fingers/tentacles). Without his sceptre of power, the Slitherer could not stand against Strange, who banished him and his demons back to his realm. He later confronts Doctor Strange; he is now twenty-five feet tall.(Defenders II#1) - The Night-Crawler -- now a 25' tall powerhouse -- was one of the beings summoned to Earth by Yandroth by power usurped from Gaea. He was enraged at being thus transported, and threatened Dr. Strange, ordering him to tell him why and how he was there, or he would destroy both him, "your insignificant planet--and all those who dwell thereon!" When the Defenders defeated Yandroth, all those he had summoned to Earth were returned to their respective realms.

−The Dark Dimension / 'Realm' of Shadow

An extradimensional realm formerly ruled by the Dark-Crawler. It was composed mostly of floating rocks in a breathable atmosphere. When shattered, the rocks released blinding light. The entire realm apparently collapsed from a resonant sonic frequency released during a struggle between the Dark-Crawler and the Hulk.

Presumably the Dark-Crawler has found a new Realm of Shadows to inhabit, or else his original realm has been restored. Perhaps his new Shadow Realm is the former realm of the Undying Ones.

Comments: Created by Roy Thomas and Herb Trimpe.

Yeah, he's the original Night-Crawler, but after Giant-Size X-Men#1, he was nice enough to refer to himself almost exclusively as the Dark-Crawler, so as to avoid confusion with a certain teleporting mutant.

Everyone who writes the Dark-Crawler seems to have their own ideas about him.

When written by Roy , he was a somewhat belligerent, ancient, extradimensional warrior, with great powers and great size (9' tall?). When written by Bill Mantlo (1981), he was the weakest of the Hunters, limited to using his Sceptre of Shadows, and not being really strong enough to engage the Hulk or the Abomination in hand-to-hand combat. In addition, he was a cool cucumber, and, along with Torgo, served as the voice of reason between the hot-headed Amphibion and Hulk. When written by Peter Gillis (in a story that came out in 1983, but that took place "quite awhile before Dr. Strange II#53," which came out about the same time as Hulk#269+270), he was this evil, demonic, slithering entity, bent on conquering Earth. When written by Busiek and Larsen (2001), he was more of a cross between Thomas and Gillis' versions. He was a physical being, perhaps 25' tall, prepared to conquer Earth. My theory is that he is a magical being, and while his original form and personality at closest to his true nature, he can be summoned or manipulated by others, and used for good (as with Daydra against the Galaxy Master), or evil (when involved with James Mandarin, or when summoned by Yandroth), depending on who summons him and for what purpose. Why else would this extradimensional being come to the Earth dimension, just to fight the Galaxy Master, or the Abomination? While that story, Hulk#269+270, would have been fine if it were the only further appearance of the Dark-Crawler, his two subsequent appearances (including one which took place before the Galaxy Master story) really make his power and behavior from that story seem uncharacteristic. My guess is Daydra, or one of her assistants, cast a spell to summon the Dark-Crawler, and then used it to keep him in line. They were able to control him well, at the expense of markedly dampening his power. Or maybe he's a magically empathic being, whose powers and emotions are significantly influenced by the presence of magic, as well as its nature (black or white magic). Or maybe there's more than one being, with the Slitherer from Marvel Fanfare being a demon that merely posed as the Dark-Crawler. or maybe it's just fiction...nah! Eon can just mean an immeasurably long time period, or it may refer to a period of 1 billion years, as in geology.

Trivia

Here's a little piece of trivia some of you younger fans may not know: Barbara Denton -- the woman who was in the Cult of the Undying Ones, but was then sent to the Dark Dimension as punishment by Van Nyborg -- may be better recognized by her married name, Barbara Norriss. She's the one whose body was converted into the form of the Valkyrie, of the Defenders, and who served as the form of Brunnehilde until she eventually regained her true form in Defenders I#109(?). 

Notes

Dark-Crawler got a full entry in Marvel Legacy: The 1980s Handbook.

CLARIFICATIONS: Dark-Crawler, aka Night-Crawler, the Slitherer, and the Worm of Darkness, should be distinguished from:

NIGHTCRAWLER (Kurt Wagner)-mutant, Jahrmarkt, X-Men, Excalibur--Giant-Size XMen#1 SLITH - monstrous servant of Tribune--Wolverine: Killing SLITHER (Aaron Solomon) - Mutant Force, Serpent Society, Fangs--Captain America An#4 SLITHERING GOD - see SODATHA--Savage Sword of Conan #164 SLITHEROGUE - of the Scorpian race (app)--Skull the Slayer#4 SLITHGARN - Menagerie of Rimthusar, serpentine, briefly possessed a furniture mover —Thor I#320 WORM - Savage Land Mutates--Uncanny X-Men#250 WORMS of the EARTH - sub-human race, possible descendents of Dagon or one of the Elder races

 --Worms of the Earth; [Savage Sword of Conan#16/4], 17/4 other "Dark," "Night," "Crawl," "Slither," "Shadow," or "Worm" characters Dark Crawler's Dark Dimension has no KNOWN connection to:

The DARK DIMENSION, the mystic realm ruled by Dormammu, Clea, Umar, etc.--Strange Tales I#126 The DARKFORCE DIMENSION, the source of the black energy known as the Darkforce, accessed by a large number of superhumans. The fact that Dark-Crawler apparently utilizes the Darkforce does not make his realm the Darkforce Dimension then it does the realm of anyone else who uses the Darkforce, such as Darkstar of Earth. However, the Dark-Crawler does seem to be a shadowy creature, so, who knows? If Dark-Crawler does utilize the Darkforce, then Incredible Hulk II#126 may be the first appearance of the Darkforce. SHADOW REALM (Warlord Kaa, Mister E, Shadow Warriors, Soul Masters, Screamers) - a race of beings able to enter other dimensions as shadows, attempt to conquer other dimensions and annex them to the shadow realm,all apparently destroyed by Captain Marvel and Primus--[Yellow Claw#4], Marvel Spotlight II#4 SHADOW REALM (Darkspawn, Sardanus, Shadow Sharks) - the dark half of the realm of Biphasia --Giant-Size Werewolf by Night#5 other "Dark" or "Shadow" dimensions The Nameless One, the two headed leader of the Undying Ones, should be differentiated from:

NAMELESS ONE - successor to the leadership of the Undying Ones--Dr. Strange III#41 NAMELESS ONE - voodoo lord,zombie, formerly served Mambo and Calypso, destroyed self to escape control of Calypso --Daredevil I#243(244,310 NAMELESS ONE - see DAREDEVIL. briefly controlled by Calypso when she possessed his gros-bon-ange--Daredevil I#311 UNNAMEABLE - powerful evil sorceror, menaced inhabitants of Tunnelworld until defeated by combined might of the Defenders --Defenders I#72, 83 NAMELESS ONES (Lloigoroth ) - a race of demons, possibly another name for the Old Ones?--Avengers I#353 NAMELESS GOD of Brak’s world - deity of monotheistic religion, worshipped by Nestoriamus--[Savage Tales I#7/2] NAMELESS ISLE of the Hyborian era - off the coast of Kush, former base of Serpent Men, held a copy of the Book of Skelos and an idol of Tsathoggua

--Conan the Buccaneer; Savage Sword of Conan#40 (41 UNDYING (Aentaros,Azazel,Semijan, , , , ) - malevolent entities, millions of years old, have possessed people since dawn of history -aka DYBBUKS, RESTLESS DEAD--Cable II#79

--Incredible Hulk II#126

'Demon 'army

An unnamed group of beings, possibly demons or just extradimensional creatures, whom the Slitherer planned to lead to invade and conquer Earth. They were banished back to a shadow realm along with the Slitherer afer his defeat.

--Marvel Fanfare I#8

Powers/Abilities:

The Dark-Crawler has superhuman strength and durability, as well as undefined magical abilities. His powers appear to wax and wane, from taking a gigantic form with great physical and magical power, to that of a more human form, possessing perhaps Class 25 strength. Presumably, his powers vary with his location, being much greater within his home dimension, other magical realms, or when summoned by beings via magic, whereas his powers are greatly diminished in a non-magical environment. He has a tail which can be used as a blunt weapon. He can emit beams of sonic force from his crown. Under certain cirumstances he can possess and control others, open portals to other dimensions, and alter his shape at will. He uses the Sceptre of Shadow to project "black light," presumably a form of the Darkforce, which can blind those trapped within its rays. In some cases, the Sceptre can project solid beams that can ensnare and transport others. The ray can be terminated by the shattering of the sceptre -- it appears to be about as durable as ordinary glass -- but the sceptre can be reformed, in some cases within a few hours time. He uses the Sceptre of Shadow to project "black light," presumably a form of the Darkforce, which can blind those trapped within its rays. In some cases, the Sceptre can project solid beams that can ensnare and transport others. The ray can be terminated by the shattering of the sceptre -- it appears to be about as durable as ordinary glass -- but the sceptre can be reformed, in some cases within a few hours time.

| Equipment = He once wielded the Sceptre of Shadow, an object that could cause complete darkness. He claimed it had far deadlier powers but it was destroyed by Barbara Norriss before he could use them.Template:R