Tundra (Marvel Comics)
| Tundra | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Alpha Flight #1 (Aug 1983) |
| Created by | John Byrne |
| In-story information | |
| Team affiliations | Great Beasts |
| Notable aliases | The Land Beast |
Tundra is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Tundra is a mystical spirit which inhabits an ever-growing mass of Canadian land in gargantuan semi-humanoid form, and is the enemy of the Inuit gods whom he trapped in another dimension.[1]
Publication history
[edit]Tundra first appeared in Alpha Flight #1 (August 1983), and was created by John Byrne.
The character subsequently appears in Alpha Flight #24 (July 1985), #38 (September 1986), #55 (February 1988), #64 (November 1988), X-Man #39-40 (July 1998), and Wolverine #172 (March 2002).
Fictional character biography
[edit]Tundra is the first of the Great Beasts confronted by Alpha Flight.[2] In a mystic ritual, a possessed Richard Easton traces a gigantic human shape in the barren land of Canada's Northwest Territories and then dons a metallic crown that summoned the spirit of Tundra. Easton's corpse animates, the land mimicking the corpse's movement, until Tundra rises in the shape of a humanoid mass of earth. According to Shaman, Tundra was supposed to be controlled by the mind of the human who summoned him, but because of Richard Easton's weakened state, Tundra's real personality quickly took over.[volume & issue needed]
Opposing him was a difficult matter. For instance, the monster intended on causing destruction and could not be persuaded otherwise by Shaman or Snowbird. Furthermore, technological attacks on Tundra as those from Guardian caused violent tremors in the surrounding land that threaten to cause severe damage throughout Canada. While Sasquatch managed to temporarily wound him by tearing off large portions of body mass before he is brushed off, the arriving sibling superheroes, Northstar and Aurora, made better progress by creating a wind vortex around him to remove more mass. Realizing that naturally eroding Tundra is the only safe way to defeat him, Shaman magically created a rainstorm to wear down the monster. Although he ran out of atmospheric moisture to continue the deluge, the arrival of Marrina with her characteristic water spout transportation power supplied all the water Shaman needed to create a torrential downpour to finally destroy Tundra.[volume & issue needed]
Tundra is arch-enemy to the Great Beast Kariooq, the Corruptor.[volume & issue needed]
Chaos War
[edit]During Chaos War, Sasquatch summons the Great Beasts to Earth to kill Amatusu-Mikaboshi. Snowbird ends up freezing them, after which Mikaboshi impales them with his tendrils, preseumably killing them.[volume & issue needed]
Powers and abilities
[edit]Tundra's powers stem from the land itself. He can summon mosquitoes, hurl boulders from his body, and increase his size by absorbing land mass. Since he is connected to the land, earthquake-style upheavals occur in the surrounding area when he is injured.
References
[edit]- ^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains. New York: Facts on File. p. 354. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.[1]
- ^ Alpha Flight #1