Open the door! Get on the floor! Let’s learn about Devil Dinosaur! There are many dinosaurs in comics but Devil Dinosaur may be one of the greatest. What makes him so special? Where does he come from? Let’s find out!
Born in prehistoric times, possibly on a different planet but one known as Dinosaur World, there lived a green tyrannosaurus rex. This was a time when small mammals and dinosaurs lived side by side but not really getting along. A perfect example was when our green friend was attacked by the Killer-Folk. But, instead of meeting a grisly end of fire and teeth, something strange happened. For one, the fire transformed the dinosaur, its skin turning bright red and growing in power. Another was a creature from the rival Small-Folk tribe named Moon-Boy helped save the Rex that would be Devil Dinosaur.
Now going by Devil Dinosaur due to his red hue and might, Devil Dinosaur would travel with Moon-Boy as best friends exploring Dinosaur World, and beyond. While they would become sort-of peacekeepers of the land. They would often times end up time traveling and dimension hopping. Devil and Moon-Boy have fought alongside a shrunken Godzilla sent back in time by S.H.I.E.L.D.
When a bunch of present day mutant teenagers end up in Dinosaur World, Devil would take care of them and become their protector as best he could. Sadly, he’d end up squashing one of the poor kids and while he traveled with them into the present day and back again, they’d eventually disband.
Devil would come across such Marvel heroes and villains that would either end up in Dinosaur land or plucking him out of his own time to the present or other dimensions. He’d get drawn into a fight between a team of intergalactic bounty hunters and Lockheed the alien dragon. Be pitted against the Hulk by the powerful Celestials. He’d even cross the great gap and appear in the DC Comics universe for a brief time. He’d face off against the Kraken with a Hulked out Deadpool where he’d even end up in the Old West and nearly eat a cowboy.
Howard the Duck would use the aide of magic to return to his home planet but instead Jennifer Kale the sorceress ended up summoning a scared Devil Dinosaur who would rampage across New York in confusion. It would take the Ghost Rider to subdue him into calming down. Stuck in the present day, Devil and Moon-Boy would end up being enchanted into joining the Circus of Crime against their wills. Spider-Man would free them and help them relocate to the Savage Land, a dinosaur jungle in Antartica.
While in the Savage Land something very interesting happened. Devil had a clutch of eggs that were fertilized. During this time he would become incredible protective of them to the point of pushing Moon-Boy away. When the Heroes for Hire came to collect Moon-Boy for S.H.I.E.L.D. Devil was too preoccupied with protecting his eggs. When realizing what had happened, Devil was sent into a depression and refused to eat or do anything that didn’t involve protecting his eggs. It took Stegron, the dinosaur man, to attack S.H.I.E.L.D. to return Moon-Boy back to the Savage Lands restoring Devil to a healthier state.
Reunited it wasn’t long before more adventure came their way while Devil did his best to protect his clutch of eggs. They would take on the Roxxon Corporation when they would try to destroy their home to get to the Vibranium-rich deposits of the Savage Lands. Devil would come across the Pet Avengers but they would arrive in such a fashion that they would have to fight him since they came off as a threat. Devil is kind of a bite your head off and ask questions never dinosaur, Dinosaur World is about survival. They would survive and leave Devil in peace. Spider-Man would team up with Devil and Moon-Boy again to fight the villainous Brainchild who stole Devil’s eggs to help create a cybernetic dinosaur army. They would return the eggs just in time for them to witness the hatching of one of the eggs, a beautiful red baby Tyrannosaur.
Devil has appeared in other possible realities of Marvel such as a hyper-intelligent, near-immortal who ate Moon-Boy and hated all mammals, especially humanity. He’d be a major villain of Nextwave, this seems to be occuring at the same time Devil is living in the Savage Lands so it’s possible this Devil is from another dimension. Speaking of other dimensions, during the latest Secret Wars, the hodgepodge Pangaea of dimensions called Battleworld has Devil Dinosaur teamed up with a Steve Rogers fighting in gladiatorial combat as a team. They are hired by Lord Doom to travel to the Green Lands, a realm of Hulks, to kill the Red King so Steve may be reunited with Bucky Barnes. They hope to travel Battleworld as a trio, bringing justice for those who need it most.
There you have it folks! That’s one big red T-Rex with his ape best friend having adventures all through out time and space. Where will they end up next? Who knows but I’ll love to find out, hopefully, now you will too. See you next time! *T-Rex roar sound effect!*
Suggested Reading
Devil Dinosaur
Godzilla #21-22
Fallen Angels #4-8
Ghost Rider Vol. 2 #81-82
Devil Dinosaur Spring Fling
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1998
Marvel Monster: Devil Dinosaur
Heroes for Hire Vol. 1 #9-10
NextWave: Agents of H.A.T.E.
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
