| Keill Randor | |
|---|---|
| The Last Legionary character | |
| First appearance | Galactic Warlord |
| Created by | Douglas Hill |
| Information | |
| Aliases | The Last Legionary |
| Relatives | None (entire race annihilated) |
Keill Randor is a fictional character, the protagonist of Douglas Hill's science fiction quintet for young adults, The Last Legionary. He is the last surviving inhabitant of a planet named Moros.
Randor lives within our galaxy at an intermediate time in the distant future, where interstellar travel has become commonplace. Although no other sentient races were found during Earth's push out to the outer reaches of the galaxy, many planets were colonized, and some, due to environmental conditions, caused subtle altering of the human form - these people are known as the 'altered races'. Keill, however, is outwardly humanoid.
Randor's people were hardened over generations by their inhospitable planet, which (combined with rigorous combat and martial arts training) resulted in them exhibiting speed, reflexes, strength, and fighting abilities all at the very upper limit of human ability and Randor himself is one of the most skilled amongst them, twice winner of the planetwide martial arts contest, a feat bettered by only one other legionary in the history of the contest. The people of Moros acted effectively as mercenaries; however they were careful to only offer their services to clients fighting in self-defense.
Randor's home planet Moros was covertly attacked by an entity known only as 'The Warlord', seeking to wreck the galaxy through a carefully orchestrated campaign of formenting war between all of the planets then rising to rule over the ruins. Seeing the Legions of Moros as a potential threat due to their stance of aiding planets under attack and fearful that they might discover his design and move against him, the Warlord unleashes a deadly new isotope of radiation hidden inside a shipment of grain. The radation wipes out all life on the planet and in orbital space leaving Randor as the lone survivor, albeit with a lesser exposure to the radiation that gives him only a limited time to live.
Searching for the perpetrators of the attack, Randor comes into contact with a group known as 'The Overseers' who are the only group aware of the Warlord's existence and plans but lack the influence or power to directly oppose him. Initially reluctant, Randor agrees to work as The Overseers' agent, after they cure his thought to be incurable radiation poisoning by replacing his irradiated bones with a new unbreakable skeleton made of an advanced organic alloy. Together with a telepathic alien companion named Glr, who acts as backup and as a communications link with the secretive Overseers, Randor embarks on a dangerous mission to avenge his people and bring down the Warlord before he can destroy the galaxy.
Randor appears in the following novels:
Keill Randor has been described as the cybernetic Bruce Lee of the future.[1]