Vanth Dreadstar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dreadstar, Vanth | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Vanth Dreadstar was a comic book character created by Jim Starlin, originally introduced in Epic Illustrated magazine, in a storyline called "Metamorphosis Odyssey" which ran in the first eight issues, and which culminated with the destruction of the Milky Way galaxy.. He began in the pages of Epic Illustrated and several graphic novels before gaining his own series, Dreadstar.
Spoiler Warning -Metamorphosis Odyssey
Vanth Dreadstar was born on Byfrexia, a harsh and frigid world located in the Vega system. Vanth's story begins as a teenager, when he had to witness the brutual slaying and devouring of his parents at the hands of snow beasts (later described as snow bears). Stranded and miles away from any settlements he would of died of exposure and starvation but instead he found the Sword of Power created by Lord Aknaton. The weapon gave Vanth wonderous powers allowing him not only to survive but to thrive.
Vanth's grief over his parents drove him mad with and he declared a one man war against the snow beasts, hunting and slaughtering each one he found. The beasts being the primary food source of neighboring settlements were almost decimated. The settlers hunted the "Cold Man," bent on bringing the him to justice before he obliterated their food supply. Vanth promptly hijacked a ship and left the planet. Sometime later Byfrexia was invaded by the Zygoteans, an evil alien race that was conquering and wiping out the Milky Way. Vanth returned to Byfrexia to defend his people from the invasion. With his unique powers he singlehandedly set back the Zygoteans invasion plan, prompting the Byfrexians to name him leader of the rebellion.
Aknaton came back to Byfrexia and found Vanth recruiting him to be a bodyguard for three special beings he had a part in creating, Za, Juliet & Whis'Par, who were planning on stopping the Zygotean menace. Vanth leapt at the chance that there might be a plan to destroy the Zygoteans; though he was shaken when Aknaton revealed the exact nature of the plan to him and the others. Aknaton had reasoned that since the Zygoteans were undefeatable, and the death of the galaxy could not be prevented, the only remaining kindness was to make the end as quick and painless as possible. He therefore created the Infinity Horn...whose purpose was to destroy the entire Milky Way. Appalled, but convinced that Aknaton's plan was the only option, Vanth and the others agreed. Fighting their way past an army of Zygoteans and their slaves (who had become aware of the plan and fought desperately to stop it), they returned to the cavern on the planet Dreamsend. As Aknaton and Vanth held off the Zygoteans outside, Za, Juliet, and Whis'Par entered the cavern and sounded the Infinity Horn, destroying the entire Milky Way. Aknaton had used his mystic powers to encase himself and Vanth in a bubble of force and throw them into intergalactic space. Eons later they crashed on a planet named Caldor in another galaxy, where Vanth shot Aknaton in a fit of rage and guilt over the slaying of the Milky Way. Mortally wounded, Aknaton confessed that he had goaded Vanth into killing him because he could not live with the guilt over what he had done. As he died, he told Vanth that he had saved him and brought him here because this galaxy was at a point where it might go the way of the Milky Way, and develop Zygoteans of its own. Aknaton wanted Vanth to change the destiny of this new galaxy, or, failing that, find the Infinity Horn and give this galaxy the same mercy-killing they had given the Milky Way.
Spoiler Warning - Dreadstar (Graphic Novel & Series)
