| Lunatik | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Defenders #51 (Sept. 1977) |
| Created by | Keith Giffen |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Arisen Tyrk, Harrison Turk |
| Team affiliations | Empire State University |
Lunatik is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics.
Lunatik first appeared inDefenders #51 (September 1977), though a laterretcon identifies him as an incarnation of Arisen Turk, a character who appeared inCreatures on the Loose #35-37 (May-September 1975), which was written byDavid Anthony Kraft and pencilled byGeorge Pérez. According to Kraft, he had been trying to link Lunatik to theCreatures on the Loose story arc during his time as writer onDefenders, and his successorEd Hannigan picked up on this, but made a different connection between the two than Kraft had had in mind.[1]Keith Giffen stated "Lunatik was a character I came up with in high school. When it went radically wrong, I went toDC [Comics and] took the basic concept of Lunatik and ... split [it] into two characters:Lobo had his mercilessness, andAmbush Bug had his goofiness."[1]
The character was created and designed in a hurry, with his appearance based onAlice Cooper,[2] when Giffen suddenly left Marvel to work forDC Comics.[3]
The character subsequently appears inDefenders #51-53 (September-November 1977), #55-56 (January-February 1978), #61-62 (July-August 1978), #64-65 (October-November 1978),Marvel Premiere #45-46 (December 1978, February 1979), andDefenders #70-73 (April-July 1979).
An unrelated character named Lunatik appears inMarvel Comics Presents #172-175 andLunatik #1 (December 1995). He is a cosmic mercenary who is later killed byDrax the Destroyer.
Arisen Tyrk is the tyrannical god-king of the dimension called Other Realm. He seeks the power of the Godstone, which is bonded toJohn Jameson as the Man-Wolf. Tyrk hiresKraven the Hunter to attack Man-Wolf, but Man-Wolf fights Kraven off. Rebels from Other Realm bring the Man-Wolf to their land and he deposes Tyrk.[volume & issue needed]
Tyrk tries to escape through an extra-dimensional portal, but the portal is damaged and fragments Tyrk into a number of forms in a number of realms. Four of Tyrk's fragments go to Earth, becoming the crazed Lunatik. These four duplicates of Tyrk plague theDefenders until they are reunited to recreate the original Lunatik. He fights the Defenders in this form, but they eventually defeat him.[volume & issue needed]
For a time, he poses as drama professor Harrison Turk atEmpire State University.[4]
There is also a cosmic mercenary by the name of Lunatik. He kills one of Tyrk's fragments, claiming that he does not like anyone else "using his name".[volume & issue needed] This Lunatik is seen on a prison ship, theDredge 01, on its way to theKyln. The ship crashes on Earth, withDrax the Destroyer,Paibok, and theBlood Brothers as the only survivors. Lunatik is killed by Drax, who crushes his head.[5]
Lunatik appears inGuardians of the Galaxy, voiced byJohn DiMaggio.[6] This version is an old friend ofStar-Lord who owns a nightclub on theGrandmaster's space station, theConjunction.