Kraken (Marvel)

The Kraken made multiple appearances in Marvel continuity, including The Avengers #27 (April 1966, Marvel Comics), Tales to Astonish #93 and Sub-Mariner #27 (July 1970), before returning years later in the second issue of the limited series Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America (#1 - 5, June-Aug. 2007). A Kraken appeared in the short story "When Strikes The Kraken!" in Kull The Destroyer #17 (Oct. 1976), and was reprinted in Chronicles of Kull 2: The Hell Beneath Atlantis and Other Stories. Another Kraken (a gigantic squid) debuted in the black and white Bizarre Adventures #26 (May 1981). A creature called The Black Kraken debuted in the short story "Red Shadows and Black Kraken!" (based on the 1968 fantasy novel Conan of the Isles written by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter featuring Robert E. Howard's hero Conan the Barbarian. The story is republished in the graphic novel Conan of the Isles.) in Conan The Barbarian Annual #7 (1982). Another version of the Kraken (four-armed and reptilian in appearance) debuted in Marvel Comics Presents #121 (Jan. 1993). It returned in Marvel Action Hour featuring the Fantastic Four #2-4 (Dec. 1994-Feb. 1995) and in the one shot title Namora #1 (Aug. 2010). A Kraken (a horned squid creature) appeared in the 2009 one-shot comic Sub-Mariner Comics: 70th Anniversary Special., while another (a house sized crab/octopus hybrid) appeared in Fantomex Max issues #2 and #3. This Kraken was modified into a remote controlled cyborg to protect an underwater base of a brilliant scientist.

Two additional versions possessed ties to Greek mythology. The first served the Olympian Gods and debuted in the one shot Chaos War: God Squad #1 (Feb. 2011) before returning in Incredible Hulk #622 (April 2011). The second Kraken appeared in the four-part limited series Wolverine/Hercules: Myths, Monsters & Mutants. Spirited away by the god Poseidon after a defeat by Greek hero Perseus, the creature is revived in modern times by King Eurystheus to battle the heroes Hercules and Wolverine.

Marvel characters
A villain who adopted the name of Commander Kraken debuted in Sub-Mariner #27 (July 1970) and battled several of Marvel's heroes before finally being killed in Captain America #319 (July 1986). An elite assassin and member of the terrorist organization HYDRA also used the name and debuted in Secret Warriors #2, March 2009. Writer/artist Jonathan Hickman stated in an interview with Comic Book Resources that ""Kraken" is a new character. The other HYDRA character with that name [Commander Kraken] was "a real b-list character and pretty lame. Our Kraken...has a long and elaborate history and we're going to be delving into that in a major way".

The Ultimate Marvel imprint title Ultimate X-Men featured an "Agent Kraken", acting as a bodyguard to the President of the United States.

In Captain America & Namor #635.1, "Kraken" is a name given to a powerful mystical artifact created by an ancient Lemurian death cult. It was a tentacled skull mask that embued its wearer with mystical powers.