Ghoul

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Ghoul (食尸鬼)
Species/Race	Intelligent subterranean humanoid monster
Affiliation	Ghoul Kingdom
Occupation/Role	Carrion-eating underground society; infiltrators of human settlements
Status	Extant; hundreds of toyified Ghouls later reawakened in New York 161
First Appearance	Chapter 61, “John, the Strongest Cleric” 61

Appearance

Ghouls resemble corpse-white, skeletal humanoids with animalistic features. Their forms are commonly compared to hairless hyenas or bent, dog-like creatures 16 110.

• Corpse-white, wrinkled skin stretched tightly over a thin frame 110.
• Oversized hands and feet with blackened nails 110.
• Hyena-like mouths filled with uneven fangs 110 160.
• Often move on all fours, though they can stand upright and climb walls or structures 111 161.
• Their cries resemble a child’s wail, but are also used as structured speech 110 111.

Biology and Society

Diet and Habitat

Ghouls feed on rotten flesh and inhabit underground locations such as tunnels, tombs, sewers, caves, and hidden passages beneath settlements. Their willingness to remain underground is tied to their sole concern: a reliable supply of carrion 111.

Intelligence and Social Structure

Ghouls are not mindless scavengers. They communicate through rhythmic cries, possess intelligence comparable to humans, and maintain a large subterranean society 111.

• Their kingdom included a ruined castle, young Ghouls, and clothed Ghoul “nobles,” indicating a social hierarchy 112.
• The kingdom beneath the Black Tower was far larger than historical records suggested, possibly numbering in the hundreds or thousands 111.
• Ghouls can coordinate in large hunting packs and divide their forces when confronting multiple threats 111.

Assimilation of Human Children

Ghouls sometimes exchange their own infants for human babies, then raise the stolen human children as carrion-eaters. The children are taught Ghoul cries and fed decaying flesh until they are assimilated into Ghoul society 111.

Ghoul children raised among humans cannot become fully human because of their bloodline, though they may retain human memories and behavior 111 113.

Abilities and Traits

Mobility and Hunting

Ghouls are highly agile predators capable of rapidly pursuing prey through rough terrain.

• Can run on all fours and scale buildings to evade armed opponents 111 161.
• Their agility is compared to that of trained acrobats 111.
• Large packs can overwhelm armed agents by attacking from windows, rooftops, and enclosed spaces 161.

Claws and Bite

Their claws and fangs are their primary weapons.

• Standard Ghouls can bite through human necks and maul unprotected targets 157 392.
• David Delapool’s gamma-mutated claws could shred reinforced glass and carve deep gouges into walls 156.
• Smaller Ghouls remain vulnerable to sustained gunfire 161.

Toyification

Li Zu’s Toyification can convert Ghouls into plastic toys, allowing him to store, transport, and redeploy them.

• Li Zu transformed an entire Ghoul castle, its structures, and its inhabitants into toys during the Ghoul Kingdom incident 112.
• He later released the toyified Ghouls in Devil Reef’s underwater city, where they massacred Deep Ones before being converted back into toys 128.
• The Energy Conversion Equation can temporarily restore a Ghoul toy to life using stored energy; one Tyrant’s energy sustained a Ghoul for roughly five minutes 354.

Known Individual

Name	Description	Notable Events
David Delapool	A timid Ghoul who was originally a Ghoul infant raised in the human world. He retained fragments of human memory, recognized his seventeenth-century Bible, and was unusually averse to violence 113.	Li Zu spared and toyified him after discovering his concealed knowledge of the Ghoul Kingdom’s connection to the witch 115. Stern and Professor Lizard later injected him with gamma-irradiated blood, enlarging him to lion size and giving him immense strength 155 156. Other Ghouls recognized the Hulk-transformed David as their king after his escape in New York 161.

Story Role

Ghoul Kingdom

Li Zu and Erika Bason discovered a Ghoul beneath an abandoned well, then descended through the Black Tower into a vast underground kingdom. After being pursued by an overwhelming Ghoul horde, Li Zu used Toyification on the castle and the surrounding Ghouls, nearly turning himself into a plush toy from the strain 110 111 112.

The aftermath revealed David Delapool, a gentle Ghoul with human memories. David led Li Zu and Erika back toward the town during the Witch Fire Festival, then was later toyified after Li Zu learned that he had hidden information about the kingdom’s relationship with the ancient witch 113 115.

Devil Reef Massacre

Li Zu released the Ghoul toys inside the Deep Ones’ underwater city beneath Devil Reef. The restored Ghouls rapidly overpowered the Deep Ones through pack tactics, though Li Zu converted the surviving Ghouls back into toys once the battle was over 128.

New York Outbreak

S.H.I.E.L.D. agents stole a bag of Ghoul toys from Li Zu’s Toy Shop. The bag expanded and burst during transport, releasing five to six hundred Ghouls into New York’s streets 160 161.

• The Ghouls caused civilian casualties, traffic disasters, and widespread destruction while evading gunfire by entering nearby buildings 161.
• They coordinated their attack to free David from electric restraints 161.
• After David regained his freedom, the pack knelt before him and followed him through the city as their king 161.
• Modern weapons eventually proved effective against the ordinary Ghoul horde, though David remained a major threat 164.

Relationships

• Li Zu — Destroyed and toyified the Ghoul Kingdom, then treated its inhabitants as collectible weapons and expendable combat units 112 128 354.
• Erika Bason — Identified the species, explained its assimilation practices, and acted as an interpreter for David Delapool 111 113.
• Deep Ones — Hostile species; Li Zu unleashed toyified Ghouls against them in Devil Reef’s underwater city 128.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. — Its seizure of Ghoul toys directly caused the New York outbreak 160 161.