Ep. 11---The Defeat of Ogrun

On a personal note--this is one of my favorite episodes in terms of exciting and imaginative fight choreography.

I think this is the first time we've met invading aliens who DON'T know about Zandor and the Herculoids. We're never told why they want to invade Amzot, but access to the Energy Rocks is always a likely motivation.

The episode adds the Black Pool to known features of Amzot. This does present a puzzle. At first, the alien ship is hiding beneath the surface of the pool, but later the pool seems to suck down first Ogrun's fighting vehicle and then the mother ship to their respective dooms.

I think the explanation here comes from Zok firing his eye lasers into the pool just prior to Orgun crashing into it. Let's theorize the water of the lake is laced with a chemical compound--that--when energized--turns the water into a thick, viscous solution.

We also see a couple of skeletons of large monsters at the lake. One looks like it might be a giant snake--so I'm going to go with that. The other is a large skull with a single, curved horn at its nose. I'm going to call this a rhinoid. Since we never see living examples of these monsters, I'll place their usual habitat in an area north of the lake, well away from the Herculoids' home.

To the map below, I've added a preface containing general information about the planet.

AMZOT--GENERAL INFORMATION: Amzot is in the same solar system as the planet Zodan, both of which have breathable atmospheres and Earth-like gravity.

Amzot is tidally locked, with one hemisphere always facing the sun. But the solar system is near a nebula, which causes large clouds of cosmic dust to drift through the system. This dust occasionally eclipses the sun, causing "night" on Amzot's daylight side.

AMZOT—DAY SIDE

A--Desert (mesas, cliffs, occasional tar pits, occasional flora including Iron Trees) The home of the fortunately rare Giant Vultures. The north end of the desert area contains the White Cliffs.

B-Jungle (various flora, including Rubber Vines & Kona-nuts. Also, Lizard-Birds, ants, grubs & snails)

C-Canopy Trees

E—Endless Caves: On the surface, the terrain is very much like the desert area near the Herculoids' home. Underneath this is the domain of the Spider Men. These are four-foot tall insect-like humanoids. They are sentient, have a language, and have the technology to produce “web guns,” which fire blobs of sticky and very strong webs. They train large ants the size of small ponies to use as mounts. The Spider Men are a nomadic society, though their domain is largely underground in the huge and labyrinthian Endless Caves. They conduct raids on the Mole Men (traveling to the Mole Men domain via secret tunnels) and occasional raid the surface for slaves and/or resources. Because they are tribal, they have never banded together strongly enough to be the threat that the Mole Men and Parrot People are, but they are still dangerous.

U-Underground domain of the Mole Men. The Mole Men are small but resilient humanoid creatures with a monarchical government. They have a technological society, with the skill to produce energy weapons and advanced vehicles such as hovercraft. They were once very aggressive, conquering vast portions of the surface world. Only internal dissension among them (some factions of the Mole Men society were more pacifistic) prevented them from gaining supremacy over the technologically backwards Parrot People. They are now largely contained in their underground domain by the Herculoids.

BP—The Black Pool. A large lake of water that is laced with a chemical compound unique to Amzot. When struck with energy (such as Zok’s laser beams), the water is transformed into a thick, viscous solution in which creatures and vehicles are trapped and rapidly disintegrate. The lake will slowly revert back to water at a rate that depends on how much energy was added. The area north of the lake are home to giant snakes (about 30 feet long) and rhinoids—large dinosaur-like quadrupeds about the size of Earth elephants.

1. The Dark River--flows south from jungle, with a 300-foot high waterfall known as The Bottomless Waterfall located not far out of the jungle.

2. Monkey-People--strong but shy & unaggressive flying monkeys. They are semi-sentient, with a very primitive language and loose tribal structure. They eat plants, insects and small mollusks.

3. Hill area that is home to the Parrot People. They are avian humanoids with a warlike, aggressive culture that once enslaved the Monkey People. They are omnivorous & have a sophisticated language and some technology, allowing them to make clothes and fashion wooden clubs. They are largely contained to the hill area due to their fear of the Herculoids.

Iron Trees--Large (50 foot or higher) trees that sparsely populate the desert area. These trees have very deep roots to access underground water sources. Their name derives from their extremely tough outer bark, which can withstand violent impacts without showing any damage. Zandor's shield is made from Iron Tree bark.

Rubber Vines--Thick, pliable vines that grow down from the limbs of certain tall trees. They anchor themselves in the ground to search for additional water. Zandor has learned to use the vines as personal catapults to vacillitate rapid travel through the jungle.

Canopy Trees—Large trees whose thick, tough foliage form a sort-of ledge half-way up the trunk, with more foliage forming a roof. Zandor and his family make a home in one of these trees.

Kona Nuts--a tasty fruit found in the jungles of Amzot. In size, shape and taste, it is nearly identical to Earth's coconut.

Lizard-Birds—A bird/reptile hybrid about the size of Earth’s condor.

Giant Vultures—These very large predatory bird/reptile hybrids are more reminiscent of pterodactyls than Earth’s vultures. They like to carry captured prey back to their nests while the prey is still living, then consume it there. Giant vultures are solitary, living alone when not in heat.

Giant Ants—Subterranean ants the size of small ponies that live in the Endless Caves. They  have the intelligence and capacity to be trained similar to ponies as well, being used as mounts by the Spider Men. They can run at very fast speeds for short distances.

AMZOT—Night side.

One of Amzot’s hemispheres is in perpetual darkness.

1: The Stone Forest—an area in which many stone towers give the impression of having grown there like trees. Some of the small rocks are “flare rocks,” which generate bursts of light upon impact. This area also contains many cliffs and chasms. The following fauna lives here:

The Dorgytes—A sentient species of pygmy-sized humanoids with large eyes designed to allow them to see in the dark. In fact, Dorgytes can’t survive for lengthy periods of time in direct sunlight. They build huts in the “branches” of the towers in the Stone Forest and have limited technology.

Night Scarabs—Semi-sentient species of insect-people. The Scarabs are carnivores and lurk in the shadows in packs, leaping out at helpless and unsuspecting prey but running when danger seems to threaten.

Hooded Caterpillar—This creature is about 20 feet long. Able to fire the spikes that grow out of its body, it is carnivorous and very aggressive.

Armored Killer—About the size of an Earth pony, this four-legged carnivore is also aggressive. It is protected by a thick, spiked carapace.

Electro-Beetles—5-foot long insects able to fire energy blasts from their antenna. They are carnivorous and travel in packs, working together via instinct.

Episode 10--The Android People

A race of androids arrive on Amzot, but unlike most invaders, they are not here to loot the planet's resources. Rather, they want to use Zandor as a model for building a perfect android warrior race and then conquer the galaxy.

This story gives us more fodder for expanding Zandor's back-story. He recognizes the Android People and knows their leader's name (Korvac). Have the Androids visited Amzot before, or did Zandor encounter them in a pre-Amzot adventure? Remember that we are theorizing that Zandor was a geneticist, who created the Herculoids and brought them to Amzot to give them purpose. To bring peace to a planet infested with dangerous fauna and being fought over by Parrot People, Spider Men and Mole Men would mean Zandor would have needed to already have experience as a warrior and leader even before arriving. In fact, by this episode, he apparently has a galaxy-wide reputation as a kick-butt warrior, which is why the Androids want to use him as a template for their own warriors.

So I think Zandor did have some adventures--either with or without the Herculoids--before coming to Amzot.

Also, Zandor flips over a piece of heavy equipment without apparent effort. It seems that he did some genetic tinkering on HIMSELF, since he has low-level super-strength.

As far as Amzot is concerned, I think this is the first episode that doesn't add any thing knew to our knowledge of the planet's native flora and fauna. So the map & list from the previous post are still current.

EDIT: But we do have a new element that adds some confusion about Amzot's rotation (or lack thereof). In "The Lost Dorgyte," it seemed to be established that Amzot is tidally-locked, with the Herculoids living on the side of perpetual daylight and nocturnal creatures such as the Dorgyte living on the "night side." But when THIS episode begins, the Herculoids are asleep and it appears to be night time.

So does Amzot rotate or not? I'm going to say it doesn't. My theory is that the solar system that includes Amzot is located near a nebula. Occasionally, bands of cosmic dust from the nebula drift through the system and temporarily block out sunlight, producing brief periods of "night-time" on Amzot's daylight side.

Episode 9: The Spider Man

Gee whiz, yet another violent sentient race on Amzot!

Like the Mole Men, the Spider Men dwell underground. I'm theorizing they are nomadic, with the Endless Caves that are identified as their home large enough to allow for that. They raid the surface for slaves and resources. They have technology, but aren't organized enough to produce anything other than their web guns. Not that the web guns aren't dangerous--if that webbing is strong enough to hold Torgo prisoner for even a short time, then it's pretty effective stuff.

With every episode, we get a better sense of how epic the battles and dangers to carve out a safe place on Amzot must have been when Zandor, his family and his genetically-engineered creatures first arrived. The Monkey People, Dorgytes and other peaceful peoples must have suffered for centuries before our heroes brought relative peace. This is a story that MUST someday be told.

AMZOT—DAY SIDE

A--Desert (mesas, cliffs, occasional tar pits, occasional flora including Iron Trees) The home of the fortunately rare Giant Vultures. The north end of the desert area contains the White Cliffs.

B-Jungle (various flora, including Rubber Vines & Kona-nuts. Also, Lizard-Birds, ants, grubs & snails)

C-Canopy Trees

E—Endless Caves: On the surface, the terrain is very much like the desert area near the Herculoids' home. Underneath this is the domain of the Spider Men. These are four-foot tall insect-like humanoids. They are sentient, have a language, and have the technology to produce “web guns,” which fire blobs of sticky and very strong webs. They train large ants the size of small ponies to use as mounts. The Spider Men are a nomadic society, though their domain is largely underground in the huge and labyrinthian Endless Caves. They conduct raids on the Mole Men (traveling to the Mole Men domain via secret tunnels) and occasional raid the surface for slaves and/or resources. Because they are tribal, they have never banded together strongly enough to be the threat that the Mole Men and Parrot People are, but they are still dangerous.

U-Underground domain of the Mole Men. The Mole Men are small but resilient humanoid creatures with a monarchical government. They have a technological society, with the skill to produce energy weapons and advanced vehicles such as hovercraft. They were once very aggressive, conquering vast portions of the surface world. Only internal dissension among them (some factions of the Mole Men society were more pacifistic) prevented them from gaining supremacy over the technologically backwards Parrot People. They are now largely contained in their underground domain by the Herculoids.

1. Dark River--flows south from jungle, with a 300-foot high waterfall known as The Bottomless Waterfall located not far out of the jungle.

2. Monkey-People--strong but shy & unaggressive flying monkeys. They are semi-sentient, with a very primitive language and loose tribal structure. They eat plants, insects and small mollusks.

3. Hill area that is home to the Parrot People. They are avian humanoids with a warlike, aggressive culture that once enslaved the Monkey People. They are omnivorous & have a sophisticated language and some technology, allowing them to make clothes and fashion wooden clubs. They are largely contained to the hill area due to their fear of the Herculoids.

Iron Trees--Large (50 foot or higher) trees that sparsely populate the desert area. These trees have very deep roots to access underground water sources. Their name derives from their extremely tough outer bark, which can withstand violent impacts without showing any damage. Zandor's shield is made from Iron Tree bark.

Rubber Vines--Thick, pliable vines that grow down from the limbs of certain tall trees. They anchor themselves in the ground to search for additional water. Zandor has learned to use the vines as personal catapults to vacillitate rapid travel through the jungle.

Canopy Trees—Large trees whose thick, tough foliage form a sort-of ledge half-way up the trunk, with more foliage forming a roof. Zandor and his family make a home in one of these trees.

Kona Nuts--a tasty fruit found in the jungles of Amzot. In size, shape and taste, it is nearly identical to Earth's coconut.

Lizard-Birds—A bird/reptile hybrid about the size of Earth’s condor.

Giant Vultures—These very large predatory bird/reptile hybrids are more reminiscent of pterodactyls than Earth’s vultures. They like to carry captured prey back to their nests while the prey is still living, then consume it there. Giant vultures are solitary, living alone when not in heat.

Giant Ants—Subterranean ants the size of small ponies that live in the Endless Caves. They  have the intelligence and capacity to be trained similar to ponies as well, being used as mounts by the Spider Men. They can run at very fast speeds for short distances.

AMZOT—Night side.

One of Amzot’s hemispheres is in perpetual darkness.

1: The Stone Forest—an area in which many stone towers give the impression of having grown there like trees. Some of the small rocks are “flare rocks,” which generate bursts of light upon impact. This area also contains many cliffs and chasms. The following fauna lives here:

The Dorgytes—A sentient species of pygmy-sized humanoids with large eyes designed to allow them to see in the dark. In fact, Dorgytes can’t survive for lengthy periods of time in direct sunlight. They build huts in the “branches” of the towers in the Stone Forest and have limited technology.

Night Scarabs—Semi-sentient species of insect-people. The Scarabs are carnivores and lurk in the shadows in packs, leaping out at helpless and unsuspecting prey but running when danger seems to threaten.

Hooded Caterpillar—This creature is about 20 feet long. Able to fire the spikes that grow out of its body, it is carnivorous and very aggressive.

Armored Killer—About the size of an Earth pony, this four-legged carnivore is also aggressive. It is protected by a thick, spiked carapace.

Electro-Beetles—5-foot long insects able to fire energy blasts from their antenna. They are carnivorous and travel in packs, working together via instinct.

Episode 8--The Lost Dorgyte.

Apparently, Amzot is tidally-locked, with one hemisphere in perpetual darkness. I presume this means is orbits a smaller sun than Earth, since their sun isn't putting out enough energy to cook the day side.

We learn of the existence of a "Giant Vulture" in the desert area near the Herculoids' home. These big guys apparently like to carry their prey home alive to enjoy their meal in their own nest. It's a safe presumption that these creatures are solitary and rare--otherwise Zandor & Co. would have their hands full just dealing with them.

We visit the Night Side of the planet in this episode, meeting a friendly sentient race called the Dorgytes, as well as four species of large carnivores. The map descriptions below describe the various creatures in more detail. I will say that the Stone Forest (where the Dorgytes live) may well be the most dangerous place on Amzot. The poor Dorgytes are surrounded by very large and very aggressive monsters who want to eat them.

Since the Dorgytes don't move somewhere else on the Night Side of the planet, it's safe to presume that the entire Night Side of the planet is dangerous. The various carnivores almost certainly prey on each other as well as the Dorgytes, since it seems like far too large a population of meat-eaters to be supported by herbivore prey.

Is Amzot a failed ecosystem, in which the carnivores are wiping out their own food source and will eventually die out? Zandor ought to do something about that.

AMZOT—DAY SIDE

A--Desert (mesas, cliffs, occasional tar pits, occasional flora including Iron Trees) The home of the fortunately rare Giant Vultures. The north end of the desert area contains the White Cliffs.

B-Jungle (various flora, including Rubber Vines & Kona-nuts. Also, Lizard-Birds, ants, grubs & snails)

C-Canopy Trees

U-Underground domain of the Mole Men. The Mole Men are small but resilient humanoid creatures with a monarchical government. They have a technological society, with the skill to produce energy weapons and advanced vehicles such as hovercraft. They were once very aggressive, conquering vast portions of the surface world. Only internal dissension among them (some factions of the Mole Men society were more pacifistic) prevented them from gaining supremacy over the technologically backwards Parrot People. They are now largely contained in their underground domain by the Herculoids.

1. Dark River--flows south from jungle, with a 300-foot high waterfall known as The Bottomless Waterfall located not far out of the jungle.

2. Monkey-People--strong but shy & unaggressive flying monkeys. They are semi-sentient, with a very primitive language and loose tribal structure. They eat plants, insects and small mollusks.

3. Hill area that is home to the Parrot People. They are avian humanoids with a warlike, aggressive culture that once enslaved the Monkey People. They are omnivorous & have a sophisticated language and some technology, allowing them to make clothes and fashion wooden clubs. They are largely contained to the hill area due to their fear of the Herculoids.

Iron Trees--Large (50 foot or higher) trees that sparsely populate the desert area. These trees have very deep roots to access underground water sources. Their name derives from their extremely tough outer bark, which can withstand violent impacts without showing any damage. Zandor's shield is made from Iron Tree bark.

Rubber Vines--Thick, pliable vines that grow down from the limbs of certain tall trees. They anchor themselves in the ground to search for additional water. Zandor has learned to use the vines as personal catapults to vacillitate rapid travel through the jungle.

Canopy Trees—Large trees whose thick, tough foliage form a sort-of ledge half-way up the trunk, with more foliage forming a roof. Zandor and his family make a home in one of these trees.

Kona Nuts--a tasty fruit found in the jungles of Amzot. In size, shape and taste, it is nearly identical to Earth's coconut.

Lizard-Birds—A bird/reptile hybrid about the size of Earth’s condor.

Giant Vultures—These very large predatory bird/reptile hybrids are more reminiscent of pterodactyls than Earth’s vultures. They like to carry captured prey back to their nests while the prey is still living, then consume it there. Giant vultures are solitary, living alone when not in heat.

AMZOT—Night side.

One of Amzot’s hemispheres is in perpetual darkness.

1: The Stone Forest—an area in which many stone towers give the impression of having grown there like trees. Some of the small rocks are “flare rocks,” which generate bursts of light upon impact. This area also contains many cliffs and chasms. The following fauna lives here:

The Dorgytes—A sentient species of pygmy-sized humanoids with large eyes designed to allow them to see in the dark. In fact, Dorgytes can’t survive for lengthy periods of time in direct sunlight. They build huts in the “branches” of the towers in the Stone Forest and have limited technology.

Night Scarabs—Semi-sentient species of insect-people. The Scarabs are carnivores and lurk in the shadows in packs, leaping out at helpless and unsuspecting prey but running when danger seems to threaten.

Hooded Caterpillar—This creature is about 20 feet long. Able to fire the spikes that grow out of its body, it is carnivorous and very aggressive.

Armored Killer—About the size of an Earth pony, this four-legged carnivore is also aggressive. It is protected by a thick, spiked carapace.

Electro-Beetles—5-foot long insects able to fire energy blasts from their antenna. They are carnivorous and travel in packs, working together via instinct.

Map of Amzot as of Episode 7

A--Desert (mesas, cliffs, occasional tar pits, occasional flora including Iron Trees) The north end of the desert area contains the White Cliffs.

B-Jungle (various flora, including Rubber Vines & Kona-nuts. Also, Lizard-Birds, ants, grubs & snails)

C-Canopy Trees

U-Underground domain of the Mole Men. The Mole Men are small but resilient humanoid creatures with a monarchical government. They have a technological society, with the skill to produce energy weapons and advanced vehicles such as hovercraft. They were once very aggressive, conquering vast portions of the surface world. Only internal dissension among them (some factions of the Mole Men society were more pacifistic) prevented them from gaining supremacy over the technologically backwards Parrot People. They are now largely contained in their underground domain by the Herculoids.

1. Dark River--flows south from jungle, with a 300-foot high waterfall known as The Bottomless Waterfall located not far out of the jungle.

2. Monkey-People--strong but shy & unaggressive flying monkeys. They are semi-sentient, with a very primitive language and loose tribal structure. They eat plants, insects and small mollusks.

3. Hill area that is home to the Parrot People. They are avian humanoids with a warlike, aggressive culture that once enslaved the Monkey People. They are omnivorous & have a sophisticated language and some technology, allowing them to make clothes and fashion wooden clubs. They are largely contained to the hill area due to their fear of the Herculoids.

Iron Trees--Large (50 foot or higher) trees that sparsely populate the desert area. These trees have very deep roots to access underground water sources. Their name derives from their extremely tough outer bark, which can withstand violent impacts without showing any damage. Zandor's shield is made from Iron Tree bark.

Rubber Vines--Thick, pliable vines that grow down from the limbs of certain tall trees. They anchor themselves in the ground to search for additional water. Zandor has learned to use the vines as personal catapults to vacillitate rapid travel through the jungle.

Canopy Trees—Large trees whose thick, tough foliage form a sort-of ledge half-way up the trunk, with more foliage forming a roof. Zandor and his family make a home in one of these trees.

Kona Nuts--a tasty fruit found in the jungles of Amzot. In size, shape and taste, it is nearly identical to Earth's coconut.

Lizard-Birds—A bird/reptile hybrid about the size of Earth’s condor.

Ep. 7--The Mole Men

Gee while, Amzot was a veritable hell planet before Zandor and the Herculoids arrived! We've already met the Parrot People, an aggressive sentient race that had apparently fought Zandor before.

Now we meet the Mole Men, an aggressive sentient race that has apparently fought Zandor before. The Herculoids recognize them, while Zandor and Arkon (the Mole Men's king) know each other by name.

So when the Herculoids first came to Amzot, not only were the Parrot People enslaving the passive monkey people, but the Mole Men were apparently conquering the surface world as well. We can presume the two races battling each other for control of key areas--such as Energy Rock deposits.

Zandor's initial quest to bring peace to Amzot much have been truly epic.

Anyway, the Mole Men are small, but apparently physically resilient--Arkon survives having tons of rock dropped on him twice!  They are also more technologically advanced than the Parrot People, having energy weapons and advanced vehicles. We do meet on Mole Man who objects to Arkon's plans to re-invade the surface, so it was perhaps only internal dissension among them that kept them from simply curb-stomping the Parrot People in the pre-Herculoid days.

We also see what I will call a lizard-bird, a creature perhaps as large as a condor, which we can add to Amzot's native fauna.

I will update the map of Amzot, but it will be a day or so before I'll have it ready to post.