Fictional character biography
In the late 1930s, Ian Karkull is a scientist and archaeologist working in the Sahara Desert with partner Everett Dahlen to find Ragnor, a mystic city rumored to possess great wealth and a knowledge of dark powers. However, Dahlen betrays Karkull and leaves him for dead, during which he learns magic before being rescued by nomadic Arabs.
After returning to the United States, Karkull builds a machine that can transform men into intangible shadows. He kills Dahlen out of revenge, but attracts the attention of Doctor Fate. Karkull transforms into a shadow to evade him, but Fate destroys the machine that would return him to human form. [1]
For an undetermined period, Karkull wanders Earth, plotting his revenge. At some point, he is contacted by Wotan, another enemy of Doctor Fate, who is trapped underground and needs his help to escape. The two relocate to a hidden city in the Arctic, getting Fate's attention when they kill U.S. Navy scientists who come too close to their lair. After defeating the two, Fate leaves the city to burn to the ground. [2]
Karkull is last seen manipulating Obsidian to gain access to, and subsequently rule the shadow lands; it is revealed that, during a World War II-era confrontation between Karkull and the rest of the Justice Society, exposure to Karkull's energy slowed down the aging processes of much of the JSA, accounting for their good physical health despite their advanced chronological ages. [3] Karkull had seemingly been corrupting Obsidian for months in an effort to get revenge on his enemies in the Justice Society. Obsidian kills Karkull, using his energy to grow to massive size and combat Alan Scott. [4]
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