The Vile Menagerie: N'OR COTT

Alter Ego: N'or Cott
Occupation: Commander of the Martian Army
Marital Status: Unknown
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Martian Army
Base of Operations: Mars II
First Appearance: ADVENTURE COMICS #449 (January/February, 1977)
Height: Approx. 6'2"+ (Variable)
Build: Athletic (Variable)
Weight: Approximately 215 lbs.+ (Variable)
Eyes: Green (Variable)
Hair: None (Variable)

History:
N'or Cott was among the exiled survivors of the Blue Flame of Mars' destruction of his home world. Cott had found an abandoned Superman Robot while living on Mars, and cleverly made off with it as he joined his people in colonizing Mars II. While on a scouting mission, N'or Cott alone discovered the underground city of Baltaz. Marveling at the civilization's wonders, Cott was surprised by a citizen, whom he shot with his ray pistol. Before he expired, the citizen claimed that his city's very air would avenge his death. N'or Cott reported his findings to the Keeper of the Sacred Martian Symbols, R’es Eda, and the pair hatched a plan to conquer Baltaz. The leader of the colony, J'onn J'onzz, was Re's Eda's best friend, but he was seen as an obstacle that would have to be eliminated.

N'or Cott was present with other Martian troopers as R'es Eda began to present J'onn J'onzz with the Scepter of State, and in secret fired a ray blast that felled his co-conspirator. After the seeming assassination of R'es Eda, N'or Cott tried to prevent the Manhunter from leaving Mars II to investigate the supposed murder. Cott's sword was kicked out of his hand, and he was beaten to the ground by an unusually violent and unreasonable J'onn J'onzz. Cott staggered to his feet and ordered his men to pursue J'onzz to the Spacefort. There, the Manhunter stole one of the only two functioning spacecraft his people spared from cannibalization. The embittered N'or Cott commandeered the other ship, this one armed with missiles, and pursued J'onzz to Earth.

Cott blasted J'onzz's ship out of the sky over the city of Metropolis, U.S.A., which attracted the attention of Supergirl. A dazed Martian Manhunter had escaped his craft just as it exploded, so N'or Cott targeted him with a pair of missiles, which were intercepted by the Maid of Might. Supergirl offered to retaliate, but believing N'or Cott was only doing his duty, the Manhunter forgave Cott and continued with his investigation alone.

Though N'or Cott felt obligated to oversee J'onn J'onzz's demise, he allowed the Martian Manhunter time to confront the Thanagarian heroes Hawkman and Hawkgirl aboard their starship with wild accusations of murder, hoping J'onzz would be dispatched in the process. A scuffle ensued, while Cott looked on at a distance from his own spacecraft. Recognizing there would be no actual bloodshed, N'or Cott happened to have stowed his Superman Robot on board his vessel. Arming it with a fire bomb, N'or Cott sent the artificial impostor to slay J'onzz and his cohorts, but it was detected and expelled from their ship. The eventual explosion struck N'or Cott's vessel, forcing it to crash land on Earth.

On learning of the Martian Manhunter's quest, the Batman volunteered to track down N'or Cott on Earth while J'onzz and Superman flew to Mars II. Two days later, N'or Cott was found in a desert, but not in time to prevent him from ambushing the Dark Knight Detective. However, N'or Cott was by this point dying from his exposure to the atmosphere in Baltaz, and put up little struggle against the Caped Crusader. His allergic reaction causing his flesh to die cell by cell, N'or Cott turned penitent, fearing the same fate for his people. Cott revealed his conspiracy to the Batman, and with him journeyed to an old mine for ore to smelt, which could be used to repair his ship's damaged rocket tubes.

The pair managed a return to Mars II, where N'or Cott took back command of the Martian Army from R'es Eda just as it was set to invade Baltaz. Making an example of his own mottled flesh, Cott explained to the Army the price of entering Baltaz, then exposed with his dying words the treachery of R'es Eda.

Powers & Weapons:
N'or Cott presumably possessed all the powers and abilities inherent in the Martian race, but displayed none in his appearances. He instead relied upon his sword, ray pistol, and the use of an armed space shuttle.

Weaknesses:
Martians are known to be terribly vulnerable while in the presence of fire. N'or Cott fell victim to an allergic reaction to the atmosphere of Baltaz, which claimed his life.

Quote: "My duty as a peace officer is to eliminate J’onn... but I am perfectly willing to let the Thanagarians perform the task for me!"

Created by: Denny O’Neil & Mike Nasser

See Also: Adventure Comics #449, #450, #451
World's Finest Comics #245