In prehistoric times, King Kull was the ruler of a race of protohumans known as the Submen, a brutish but technologically advanced race which ruled humanity until eventually overthrown in a revolt. Kull survived until the 20th century locked in a state of suspended animation. He awakened and repeatedly threatened the human-dominated modern world with his immense strength and bizarre technology. He was usually thwarted by Earth's mightiest mortal Captain Marvel, but one particularly well-planned escapade required the efforts of the Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America (in one of their dimension-crossing team-ups), as well as a group of heroes of Captain Marvel and King Kull's home universe of Earth-S, referred to unofficially as Shazam's Squadron of Justice. During this incident, Kull had captured both the wizard Shazam (who grants Captain Marvel's powers) and the ancient gods the powers are drawn from. He later became a member of Mister Mind's Monster Society of Evil.