Terrax
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Terrax the Tamer is a fictional supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. First appearing in the pages of Fantastic Four, Terrax became a regular villain of the mid-nineties comic New Warriors. Once a herald of Galactus, Terrax often finds himself battling the Silver Surfer and other heroes with a cosmic bent.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
Terrax was originally known as Tyros, ruler of the city Lanlak on the planetoid Birj, which was a satellite of the gas giant Marman. Tyros possessed limited powers over the elements of earth and he abused these powers in order to become tyrant over his people. Tyros was ruthless and cruel, which brought him to the attention of Galactus, who had decided that the weakness of his former Heralds had been their compassion. Galactus compelled the Fantastic Four against their will to retrieve Tyros for him, in exchange for assisting the Four in combatting the Sphinx.
Empowered with the "Power Cosmic," Tyros became "Terrax the Tamer, master of all things rock and earth." But his ambition and power-lust drove him to challenge Galactus, who easily defeated him by stripping away the power cosmic.
Later, in the "Trial of Galactus" story-arc in Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom used his technological expertise to restore some of Terrax's former power, in exchange for his help in destroying the Fantastic Four. During the battle, Silver Surfer appeared and ultimately destroyed him.
Notable appearances include New Warriors issue #1, in which a re-embodied Terrax is the threat that unites the fledgling super-hero team; and Fantastic Four Issue #258, in which he waxes nostalgic about his destructive powers. Shortly afterward, Terrax engaged the Silver Surfer and was marooned on an uninhabited, grassy planet and his axe was cast into a nearby asteroid field. During the Herald Ordeal, Silver Surfer lead a group of former Galactean heralds in opposition to Morg, Galactus' then Herald. In Silver Surfer #74, Terrax was the last former herald that the Silver Surfer collected by saving him from that unnamed planet and finding his axe. In issue #75, Terrax joins the other heralds in battling Morg. Morg and Terrax take almost instantly to a rivalry, as they are the only two heralds that wield axes and both enjoy fights. During the battle, Terrax' axe crumbles and Morg successfully knocks him out. After the battle, Terrax takes the recently deceased Morg's axe and takes to the stars on an asteroid, content to never see any of his allies again. Presumably between Silver Surfer #75 and #81, Terrax is captured by Tyrant where he is held with several others who are less than enthusiastic to share his company. Terrax and his fellow prisoners manage to free themselves, and Terrax again takes off, wanting only to be left alone.
In the Cosmic Powers mini-series, Terrax is recruited by Thanos of Titan to again fight Tyrant. Issue #2 focuses on Terrax, and opens with him fighting in a very Roman looking arena. He wins the battle and wins the one thing he probably has the least use for in all the world - a beautiful woman. She leads him into the desert with promises of riches for her safe return, but he is ambushed by her brothers. Thanos comes in at the tail end of the slaughter, and the woman appeals to him to save her from Terrax, to which his response is that she had made her bed and it was time to lie in it. Terrax lets Thanos know that he is ready to battle him, and Thanos replies that he offers vengeance against Tyrant. Terrax then helps Thanos recruit Ganymede and eventually Legacy and Jack of Hearts, who are collectively betrayed by Thanos. While Thanos is battling Tyrant, Terrax and the others flee in Thanos' craft, the Demeter.
Another notable appearance was in the GLX Christmas Special, where he was beaten easily by Squirrel Girl.
He also appeared in the The Sentry as a momentary annoyance mostly to display Sentry's level of power. He takes Terrax's axe away from him and further humiliates "the tamer" by shattering it with his bare hands.
In the events of Annihilation: Silver Surfer, Terrax has been captured by Annihilus' forces for an unknown purpose.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Terrax was apparently born with a limited mental control over rock and earth, which he used to create simple constructs. After his powers were enhanced by Galactus, his ability was enhanced in terms of volume and complexity. He was also awarded superhuman strength and durability. Like all of Galactus's Heralds, he is immune to the vacuum of space. His cosmic-powered axe is magically sharp and can generate waves of force. Originally he could fly through space on his own by riding masses of stone which he levitated, but after taking over a human body (Harmon Furmintz, the creator of Psionex), he needed the additional power of his axe to travel through space.
[edit] Appearances in other media
Terrax and Firelord both appear as servants to Galactus in Season 1 of Fantastic Four (1994 TV series). They appear in the episode, "The Silver Surfer and The Coming Of Galactus". Terrax's appearances in Season 2 episodes "To Battle The Living Planet" and "When Calls Galactus" have him as Galactus' 2nd herald and seem to ignore his Season 1 appearance. Terrax betrays Galactus by feeding him a poisonous planet and tries to blackmail the Fantastic Four into killing Galactus, but in the end, Terrax is punished by Galactus, who strips him of the Power Cosmic and transforms Terrax into a worm-like creature.
Terrax was to appear in the scripted (unproduced) second season of The Silver Surfer (TV series).[1] He would make his debut as Galactus' 3rd Herald as he had less of a conscience than the Silver Surfer and Nova. His axe allows him to absorb the power cosmic from The Surfer and Nova. He would have also appeared in the 3 part episode "Down To Earth" along with The Fantastic Four. Mr Fantastic uses the recently discovered Negative Zone as a means to hold Terrax.
Terrax is also mentioned in the hip hop song "Metal Thangz" by Pharoahe Monch: "if it's activatin me, believe i'm captivatin' heat, plus i'm decapitatin three MC's with my axe like Terrax's, practice allows me to receive information like faxes"
