Often comic books attempt to rewrite history through fictional war heroes or alien ancestors, in this case Marvel Comics took a step back in time to provide us with a pair of prehistoric adventurers. This week's Z-Listers are Moon-Boy & Devil Dinosaur.
Back in the dawn of civilization there existed a tribe of ape-like humans called The Small Folk. Moon-Boy was a member of this tribe and partook in hunting and gathering. One day, Moon-Boy had stumbled upon a tyrannosaurus-rex and it's three children being tormented by a rival tribe called The Killer Folk. These savages killed the T-rex and two of her babies, they then used torches to burn the last baby to death. The Killer Folk wandered off believing the scorched-red dinosaur to be dead, but he had actually survived the assault and was taken in by Moon-Boy who named him Devil. The Small Folk did not want Moon-Boy to raise Devil Dinosaur on their land, so in loyalty to his new companion Moon-Boy left his tribe with Devil Dinosaur.
Devil Dinosaur would grow into a large and extremely intelligent creature, loyal only to Moon-Boy. Their travels would have them encounter alien beings, fallen angels and even Marvel Comic's version of Godzilla. Eventually they would find themselves in a place unchanged by time, The Savage Lands. When this peaceful reservoir of the past was invaded by The Roxxon Oil Company, Moon-Boy and Devil Dinosaur joined Ruler Ka-Zar's army to defend The Savage Lands. After these events, Moon-Boy was captured by a group of mercenaries and held by SHIELD for genetic studies. Without his friend, Devil Dinosaur had become depressed and refused to hunt or eat. A human-like dinosaur named Stegron left The Savage Lands and waged war on SHIELD with his dinosaur army in order to rescue Moon-Boy and save Devil Dinosaur. Although his army was defeated, a young hero named Reptil learned of Stegron's motives and helped smuggle Moon-Boy out of SHIELD custody, reuniting Moon-Boy with Devil Dinosaur.
It is quite admirable that Moon-Boy would care so much about a creature's well being that he'd give up his own home to assure it's safety. A creature who by himself could rip Moon-Boy and his tribe to sheds, mind you. It really does come down to the friendship between master and pet, man and beast, monkey and dinosaur. I kind of winged that last example, but these two present a lot of potential in both morals and stories, I can only hope to see Marvel do more with this duo. After all, you're not going to find a pair like this anywhere else. Until the eventual Land Before Time 22, of course. Thanks for reading! Check out The Panel Biter on Facebook!
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