Karmang

Karmang the evil is a fictional character from DC Comics. He was an evil sorcerer who lived on the planet Mars, in the universe of Earth-1. His debut and only appearance (Pre-Crisis) was in All-New Collectors' Edition #C-58, "Superman vs. Shazam!", created by Gerry Conway and Rich Buckler.

Origin

Karmang lived on Mars, and is the sole survivor of an advanced Martian civilization of more than a million years ago, predating the civilization of J'onn J'onnz (the Martian Manhunter). As a result of energy given off by a scientific experiment that made Karmang immortal, their entire civilization (except Karmang) was killed. Karmang, haunted by the ghosts of his people over the millennia, gradually became evil and deranged, and began studying magic, seeking a way to restore the Martians' spirits to life.

Karmang summoned Black Adam (archenemy of Captain Marvel) and a then-recent Superman enemy called Quarmer (a being in Superman's form created from the desert sand in the aftermath of a chain reaction that destroyed all Kryptonite on Earth). Karmang used these two villains to provoke a battle between the two heroes in their two separate dimensions. He created the illusion that Black Adam was Captain Marvel, and Superman was Quarmer. Each disguised villains fought briefly with the opposite hero to the one whom he personified, to create rivalry between the two heroes. Then Adam and Quarmer secretly activated machines in Superman's world, Earth-1, and Captain Marvel's world, Earth-S, that would draw the planets from their separate universes together, causing an explosion that would release the spirits of the Martians which Karmang had trapped in a ghostly limbo when he was trying to find a way to make himself immortal. While Superman and Captain Marvel fought each other, distracted according to Karmang's plan, Supergirl and Mary Marvel discovered the enemies responsible for the mess. They defeated Black Adam and the Quarmer, flew to Mars, and faced Karmang in his castle. Meanwhile, Shazam the Wizard warned Captain Marvel and Superman about the plot, ending their fight, and the two heroes teamed up to destroy the machines. Karmang was defeated by Supergirl and Mary Marvel, who activated a machine that sent Karmang to limbo along with the rest of his ancient civilization.

Powers and abilities

Karmang was an immortal sorcerer, able to cast spells powerful enough to subdue powerful beings such as Black Adam. He is also an advanced scientist. It is unclear whether Karmang had any of the powers of Martian Manhunter, nor are there any known details about his people, who although white-skinned seem to have had no connection with the later white Martians. Unlike the later Martians, apparently he was not weakened by fire, as was seen to summon a fireball in his own hand. He did not demonstrate abilities like shapeshifting and super-strength characteristic to later Martians. He had a monitor capable of observing events in different universes.