Faceless Hunters

The Faceless Hunters are an alien race in the DC Comics universe that first appeared in Strange Adventures #124, (January 1961). They were created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky. The Faceless Hunters hail from Klaramar, the word Klar-a-mar breaks down into "clear of imperfection". Klar is the German language term for "clear", and "mar" can mean either blemish or imperfection.

Publication history

The Faceless Hunters made three appearances in DC Comics flagship science fiction anthology title, all written by Gardner Fox - Strange Adventures, in issues #124 (January 1961) with artists Mike Sekowsky and Murphy Anderson, #142 (July 1962) with art by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson, and #153 (June 1963), with art by Gil Kane and Sid Greene. All three stories also featured on the covers of those issues, with art by Murphy Anderson.

Since then they have made few appearances in the DC Universe: as one of 'The Forgotten Villains' in DC Comics Presents #77 - 78 (January - February 1985), written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by Curt Swan and Dave Hunt, briefly in Resurrection Man #25 (February 1999) and Young Justice #50 (December 2002), in Green Lantern vol 5 #12 (July 2006) and #15 - 16 (December 2006 - January 2007), written by Geoff Johns, and most recently in Superman: World of New Krypton #9 (November 2009).

Fictional character biography

Strange Adventures

Strange Adventures #142, artist Murphy Anderson

The Faceless Hunters first come to public attention in 1961 after one of them, Klee Pan, is intercepted trying to steal major world sculptures such as the Mount Rushmore heads and the Easter Island statues. Oregon Highway Patrolmen Bob Colby and Jim Boone are assigned to Mount Rushmore, and confront Klee Pan, who explains that he 'comes from Klaramar - a world revolving within an atom on the planet Saturn' and he is looking for a stone face left on Earth millennia ago which can help prevent Saturn exploding. He reveals that an evil Faceless Hunter, Chun Yull,^[1] has planted an 'ultimate energy time-bomb' and threatened to detonate it unless he is made supreme ruler, but died giving no clues as to where the face, which can defuse the bomb, was hidden. Boone deduces that the face is on The Moon, and Klee Pan takes Colby and Boone there and then to Saturn - after cutting the face from the Moon's surface. When the face is destroyed by a trap set by Chan Yull the patrolmen help reconstruct it (using an astronomy book Boone happens to have had in the patrol car), disarm the bomb and save the planet. The Faceless Hunters replace the face on the Moon in gratitude, and Klee Pan gives both men telepathic abilities.^[2]

Having in fact teleported himself to Saturn instead of dying, Chun Yull later revives and vows revenge on the patrolmen who had thwarted him, and on Earth. He captures Colby and Boone and builds a new bomb, then teleports them all to Klaramar, where Klee Pan once again foils Chun Yull and returns Colby and Boone to Earth.^[3] A year later, Chun Yull telepathically commands Colby and Boone to build a machine which increases his size and transports him to Earth again, which he threatens to destroy unless he is made 'Earth Citizen Number One'. After the United Nations comply, he reveals that he lied - Faceless Hunters are unable to destroy a planet unless they are citizens of it. Meanwhile Colby and Boone manage to beam themselves to Klaramar and Klee Pan saves Earth and again captures Chan Yull.^[4]

DC Comics Presents

After this defeat, Chun Yull is imprisoned within inescapable 'Spheres of Light', from which he is almost instantly freed by The Enchantress because she needed his space traveling powers; he then travels the stars for over 20 years looking for a sorcerer she wishes to team up with to rule the Universe. Together with Yggardis the Living Planet,^[5] Atom Master, Kraklow the Mystic, Vandal Savage, Mister Poseidon and Ultivac, Chun Yull and The Enchantress form part of a criminal organization known as The Forgotten Villains.^[6] Superman joins a disparate group of minor heroes from the 20th century and the future banded together as 'The Forgotten Heroes'^[7] and defeats Chun Yull in the future, returning him to captivity.^[8] However, he briefly reappears during the Crisis on Infinite Earths as a member of Lex Luthor and Brainiac's army of villains.

After the Crisis, nothing is known of Chun Yull or the other Faceless Hunters until he and the Forgotten Villains battle the Forgotten Heroes again; this time 1.93 million years in the past. He is returned to captivity back in the 20th century in Rip Hunter's Time Machine, after being abandoned with the rest of the Forgotten Villains by Kraklow and defeated by Animal Man.^[9] Eighteen months later he is fighting Young Justice on the island nation of Zandia.^[10]

Revenge of the Green Lanterns

Just over three years later, three Faceless Hunters working as bounty hunters, including Chun Yull, are hunting Green Lanterns.^[11] They take control of the minds of a number of the Global Guardians to capture Green Lantern Hal Jordan; but are mistakenly attacked by a team of Rocket Reds assuming Green Lantern is with them - thwarting their plans to wipe his memory.^[12]

New Krypton

The Faceless Hunters later appeared in Superman: World of New Krypton #9 (November 2009), under the command of Jemm, Son of Saturn who appears to be the de facto ruler of all three known Saturnian races, including the albino "Koolars", and the yellow skinned "Faceless Hunters".^[13]

Powers and abilities

The Klaramarians are normally of sub-atomic size, although they can control this, and are often much taller than humans, with a corresponding increase in strength. They also have access to extremely advanced alien technology. Both Chun Yull and Klee Pan possess great strength and the ability to absorb the material or energetic properties of anything they touch and project those properties explosively.

Most Klaramarians also appear to be telepaths. Klee Pan demonstrated the ability to grant a limited gift of telepathy to deserving humans.^[2]

In other media

Television

• A Faceless Hunter appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by John DiMaggio. The Faceless Hunter is a violent outcast of his otherwise-peaceful people. When Starro comes to invade his planet, the faceless citizens find themselves immune to the Starro parasites. Faceless Hunter strikes a deal with Starro to destroy his own planet in exchange to work as his herald. He then travels to several planets, preparing them for Starro's destruction, eventually ending up in Earth. He takes down all the superheroes, and prepares to drain the energy for Starro, but is foiled by Batman, Booster Gold, Captain Marvel, Firestorm, and B'wana Beast. The Hunter then kidnaps B'wana Beast, and uses his power to combine all the Starro parasites and form a giant beast capable of destroying Earth. Batman then infiltrates his ship, and defeats Faceless Hunter, but is unable to save B'wana Beast.

References

External links

• DCU Guide: Faceless Hunter
• 'Vanishing Point': Forgotten Villains
• 'Vanishing Point': Forgotten Heroes