The exact background of Gnarrk is unknown, though he is revealed to have been exposed to the modern world once before. This left him with a severe technophobia which remained with him until his meeting with the Teen Titans. Kole and Gnarrk eventually teamed up and retreated into a subterranean prehistoric world still populated by dinosaurs, where they have remained ever since. Gnarrk can understand English but is unable to speak it.