Saturnyne

Opal Luna Saturnyne is the name of a fictional comic book character created by Dave Thorpe and Alan Davis for their Captain Britain stories. She is the Omniversal Majestrix of Otherworld, and a servant of Roma, charged with the safety of the Omniverse.

Her first appearance was in Marvel Superheroes, #381 playing a major part in Alan Moore and Alan Davis' Jaspers' Warp storyline. She later had a recurring role in the pages of Excalibur.

Fictional character biography

Saturnyne originally hails from Earth 9, one in a myriad of alternative universes. She is a highly intelligent and ambitious woman and ends up on Otherworld as the Omniversal Majestrix. In this role she is part of the Dimensional Development Court, overseeing the Captain Britain Corps and charged with the safekeeping and maintenance of order and reality of the entire Omniverse. Saturnyne reports to Merlyn, the Omniversal Guardian. Saturnyne feels no moral or ethical conflict in sacrificing anybody, even an entire universe, if it means the preservation of the Omniverse.

Whenever she decides to take a more personal interest in a matter, she calls upon the Avant Guard. The Avant Guard appear to be normal men, dressed in business suits and carrying an umbrella, but these umbrellas are in fact highly advanced weapons, capable of various abilities like interdimensional travel, destructive blasts and rays capable of devolving opponents. She is assisted by Dimples, an overweight man who loves Saturnyne deeply. Saturnyne herself cares little for Dimples and sees him only as a useful servant.

Saturnyne first came into contact with Brian Braddock, also known as Captain Britain, a warrior from Earth-616 on Earth 238, also known as the Crooked World. This Earth is deemed to be a threat to the Omniverse and Saturnyne convinces Captain Britain to help evolve the backwards planet, hoping to eliminate its threat. They are opposed by the Status Crew, a group charged with maintaining the status quo. Saturnyne and Captain Britain manage to evolve the world, but are surprised when a bigger threat take its place: an alternate reality Mad Jim Jaspers uses his powers to create the Jaspers' Warp, causing widespread insanity and the collapse of reality. Captain Britain and Saturnyne want to stop him, but are stopped by the Fury, a killer machine. Saturnyne flees with her Avant Guard, leaving a heartbroken Dimples, Captain Britain and his sidekick Jackdaw behind. All three are killed by the Fury, shortly thereafter.^[1]

The Dimensional Development Court arrest Saturnyne and replace her with a man called Mandragon, who destroys the Earth 238 universe to prevent the Jaspers Warp from spreading. Merlyn resurrects Captain Britain (but not Jackdaw), and the Fury manages to escape under his own power. Captain Britain and the interdimensional mercenaries known as the Special Executive help Saturnyne escape from the Court to Earth-616. On Earth-616, Mad Jim Jaspers, an even more powerful version than the one on Earth 238, comes into power and threatens the world. The Fury also makes its way to Earth-616 and battles Jaspers. During the conflict, Merlyn dies (though later he would reveal that he had just faked his death). In the end the Fury kills Jaspers and is killed shortly afterwards by Captain Britain and Captain UK from Earth 238, with help from Saturnyne and the Special Executive. Saturnyne manages to obtain cell samples of Jaspers and threatens to unleash a clone on Mandragon's world if he does not return her former position to her. Merlyn's daughter Roma succeeds her father, and Saturnyne becomes an agent of Roma.

Despite having cooperated with Captain Britain at various times, she comes into conflict with Captain Britain when she sends the bounty-hunters known as the Technet after Phoenix. The Technet fail to capture her and Phoenix joins Captain Britain, Shadowcat, Meggan and Nightcrawler to form Excalibur.^[2] Saturnyne later meets Phoenix in person, but does not capture her.^[3] Saturnyne rescinds her warrant against Phoenix but indefinitely extendeds the Technet's exile on Earth. She also delivers a message from Roma asking the other Captain Britains to free Excalibur's Captain Britain.^[4] Later events reveal that Saturnyne was acting under Roma's orders when she originally sent the Technet against Phoenix, and that the Technet was meant to fail, resulting in the formation of Excalibur.

Saturnyne remains Roma's servant and Omniversal Majestrix for the following years until the villain Mastermind destroys the Captain Britain Corps and imprisons Roma. Captain Britain manages to defeat Mastermind, and Roma names Captain Britain, now more powerful than ever before, the new ruler of Otherworld. Saturnyne returns as Omniversal Majestrix, but has a bitter relationship with Brian, whom she deems unworthy of his new position.

Saturnyne is summoned by Roma when the being Abraxas tries to destroy creation. While Roma is killed, Saturnyne uses her powers to protect Franklin Richards and Valeria.

Saturnyne appears in a House of M tie-in story in Uncanny X-Men #462-465, which includes many classic Marvel UK characters. In the following Excalibur series, Captain Britain returns to Earth-616 and joins the group, apparently giving up his duties and powers as ruler of Otherworld.

During the Spider-Verse storyline, Saturnyne and Lady Roma express their concerns about the Incursions that are destroying many dimensions as Spider-UK arrives to express his concern about all the spiders across the multiverse being hunted and killed. Saturnyne rebuffs him, but Roma sympathizes with him and gives him a talisman that allows him to travel through the web of life in order to save all the remaining spiders.^[5]

Ultimately, Saturnyne is forced to confront the growing threat of the Incursions when the destruction of the various universes leads to the deaths of many members of the Captain Britain Corps. Saturnyne captures a Map Maker and attempts to use it to determine the cause of the Incursions. This instead brings forth an army of Map Maker robots which slaughter the Captain Britain Corps, Roma, and ultimately Saturnyne. Her last act is to place the secrets of the Starlight Citadel into the 616 Captain Britain's brain so that he can warn the Illuminati.^[6]

Powers and abilities

Opal Luna Saturnyne has no known superhuman powers, but has an athletic build and is a cunning strategist. She sometimes employs otherworldly devices, such as pshyecom crystals which carry holographic messages. She also has access to space and dimension warp technologies.

Other versions

Saturnyne has counterparts on many worlds. The most important among these are:

• Courtney Ross: A banker on Earth-616. She was the ex-girlfriend of Captain Britain and was killed by Sat-Yr-9.
• Sat-Yr-9 (Opul Lun Sat-Yr-Nin): Despot of Earth 839, deposed by Captain UK and fled to Earth-616. She killed Courtney Ross and took her place. She later became the White Queen of the Hellfire Club.
• Sat'neen: A princess and sorceress from Earth 148, lover of Kylun, killed by Necrom.
• Queen Mother: Queen of England in Earth-1193, a world filled with magic and mystical creatures, who coexist with humans.

References

External links

• UXM entry on Saturnyne