The
Snarks, whose name is more property transliterated into English as Zn'rx, are
a sentient alien reptilian race who inhabit a planet known on Earth as Snarkworld,
located in an undisclosed area of the Milky Way Galaxy. (The. Zn'rx were dubbed
"Snarks" by Aelfyre Whitemane, a member of the Kymellian race who was
a student of the works of Earth's Lewis Carroll, and likened the members of the
Zn'rx race to the monstrous title character in Carroll's poem "The Hunting
of the Snark."). Snarks
are physically stronger than Earth human beings due to their greater size. An
average Snark is about 8 feet tall from head to toe; about 11 feet long from snout
to tip of tail, and weights 400 pounds and can lift (press) about 400 pounds.
The so-called "High Snarks," who apparently only exist within the Snark
royal family, are stronger than others of their race, and can lift (press) roughly
700 pounds. Female Snarks are oviparous like Earth reptiles: their offspring hatch
from eggs. Snarks are longer lived than Earth human beings, although the average
length of a Snark lifespan has not yet been determined. Like Earth reptiles, Snarks
are cold-blooded, and grow sluggish in cold weather. Intensely cold temperatures
can cause a Snark to hibernate, and extreme cold can kill a Snark. The atmosphere
and level of gravity on Snarkworld appear to be roughly similar to those of Earth.
Snarkworld appears to be a barren planet and the Snarks dwell in caverns.
The
Snarks are ruled by an emperor, who has many wives, each of whom is designated
as a queen mother, and each of whom heads her own clan, composed of her offspring,
relatives, and supporters. Each queen mother hatches one High Snark son, who is
designated as a prince. Upon the death of the Emperor, the queen mothers' clans'
war upon each other to determine which clan's High Snark will become the new emperor.
These recurring conflicts are known as the "Snark Wars" and lead to
considerable destruction, often involving other, innocent alien races.
The
current emperor, Bhadsha, was aware that the queen mothers'
clans were importing weapons from other planets' civilizations
for use in the wars following his approaching death. The
most dangerous of the queen mothers was, Maraud, mother
of the High Snark Jakal. Maraud; in fact, was bringing about
Bhadsha's death by secretly having him slowly poisoned.
In her search for weaponry, Maraud sent Snark warriors to
Earth to obtain knowledge of the matter/antimatter conversion
process developed by Dr. James Power. (The subatomic particles
comprising antimatter have a opposite charge to those of
the equivalent particles of matter. When matter contacts
antimatter, both are converted entirely into vast quantities
of energy.) Maraud intended to use this method of creating
vast quantities of energies as a weapon in the war of succession,
and then as a means of conquering other worlds. However,
the Snarks' attempt at stealing the secret of the process
were thwarted by Dr. Power's children, the Power Pack, who
had been granted superhuman powers by the Kymellian Aelfyre
Whitemane.
To
avert the destruction he believed would occur in the wars of succession, Bhadsha
sought to make reforms so that the succession would be decided through single
combats among the princes, not full-scale civil war. It was to prevent these reforms
from being instituted that Maraud secretly had Bhadsha poisoned over a long period
of time. She also had the Power Pack captured and brought to Snarkworld where,
employing a transfer matrix machine from another world, she had their powers transferred
into her son Jackal. However Jakal was unable to retain these powers, which caused
his brain to be destroyed, and which reverted to the Power Children once more
(although each received a different superhuman power than he or she had had previously.)
In dying, Jakal confessed that Maraud had been poisoning Bhadsha and offered his
body as a substitute for Bhadsha's dying one. The Kymellians created a mind transfer
device with which Bhadsha projected his mind into Jakal's body so that now Bhadsha
has a young, healthy body and will presumably rule for many more years to come.
Bhadsha banished Maraud and her clan from Snarkworld. Although
the Snarks refer to their "empire," as yet there is no evidence that
they rule any planets other than Snarkworld itself. Snark
technology is more advanced that that of Earth; the Snarks have developed warp-drive
starships, for example. However, they import much of their advanced technology
from other alien civilizations. Known
members of the Snark race include Emperor Bhadsha, Queen Mother Maraud and Jenteel,
the late High Snark Jakal, the late Chancellor Hadj, and warriors Awf, Gelk, Grung,
and Snapf. Snarkworld is also inhabited by a sentient mammalian race called the
Burrowers.
First
Appearance: Power Pack #1
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