Pulsar Stargrave

Last updated
Pulsar Stargrave
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Superboy #223 (Jan 1977)
Created by Jim Shooter and Mike Grell
In-story information
SpeciesColuan
Place of origin Colu
Notable aliases Brainiac, Brainiac 4
Abilitiesstellar energy manipulation

Pulsar Stargrave is a fictional supervillain featured in DC Comics as a foe of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Supervillain variant of the villain character type possessing "supernatural or superhuman powers"

A supervillain is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero.

DC Comics U.S. comic book publisher

DC Comics, Inc. is an American comic book publisher. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. since 1967. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, and produces material featuring numerous culturally iconic heroic characters including: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Shazam, Martian Manhunter, Nightwing, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Cyborg and Supergirl.

Legion of Super-Heroes fictional characters

The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Comics Universe, and first appears in Adventure Comics #247.

Contents

Pre-Crisis origin and character biography

A native of the planet Colu, Stargrave originally claimed to be the father of Brainiac 5. In appearance, Stargrave looks like an ordinary Coluan (green-skinned and humanlike) with no hair.

Colu

Colu is a fictional planet in DC Comics whose primary inhabitants are called the Coluans. The planet has also been referred to as Bryak, Yod, and in current continuity, Yod-Colu.

Brainiac 5

Brainiac 5 is a fictional character who exists in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. He is a long-standing member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Brainiac 5 is from the planet Colu.

According to Pulsar's own account, he was a scientist whose ship's life support failed during an expedition. he put himself into suspended animation hoping for rescue. He was found by alien explorers, but believed dead, so his body was sent into a nearby star just as it went supernova, merging with his body and giving him the ability to harness and control stellar energy. Later, Pulsar Stargrave was revealed to be the original Brainiac, who had fled from Superman into the future. [1]

Supernova Star exploding at the end of its stellar lifespan

A supernova is a transient astronomical event that occurs during the last stellar evolutionary stages of the life of a massive star, whose dramatic and catastrophic destruction is marked by one final, titanic explosion. This causes the sudden appearance of a "new" bright star, before slowly fading from sight over several weeks or months or years.

Brainiac (character) recurring antagonist of DC Comics

Brainiac is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, usually as an adversary of Superman, his second deadliest archenemy after Lex Luthor, and a frequent enemy of the Justice League.

Superman Fictional superhero

Superman is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and first appeared in Action Comics #1, published on April 18, 1938.

Stargrave is an extremely powerful figure, on par with other Legion opponents such as Mordru and the Time Trapper. In his quest for galactic conquest, he manipulated Brainiac 5 in a complicated scheme to frame Ultra Boy for murder and to cause Brainiac 5 to go insane as a result. [2] However, following the time twisting events of Legion of The Super-Heroes V4 #5, in which the villain Glorith replaced the Time Trapper as the Legion's main time travel villain, his role in the framing of Ultra Boy and Brainiac 5 was replaced by Glorith.

Mordru is a fictional supervillain appearing in books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jim Shooter and artist Curt Swan, Mordru first appeared in Adventure Comics #369.

The Time Trapper is a fictional character, a supervillain in stories published by DC Comics. The Time Trapper's main enemies are the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Ultra Boy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in DC Comics. He is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. Ultra Boy gained his powers when the vehicle he was flying through outer space was swallowed by an ultra-energy beast, exposing him to radiation while inside. His real name is derived from the biblical figure Jonah who also survived being swallowed by a "large fish".

His last pre-Crisis appearance was in the DC Special one shot edition of Legion of Substitute Heroes in 1985. The special gave yet another origin to Stargrave, positioning him as an unnamed cosmic horror-type creature who had impersonated a member of the Colu species/Brainiac. While attempting to enslave the homeworld of Matter Eater Lad, the Legion of the Substitute-Heroes and Matter Eater Lad defeated the villain, with Matter Eater Lad biting off Stargave's nose in the course of the battle.

The Legion of Substitute Heroes is a group of fictional characters in the future of the DC Comics universe. The "Subs", as they are often called, are a group of rejected applicants to the Legion of Super-Heroes who band together, hoping to prove to the Legion that their powers are not as useless as the Legionnaires claim. They first appeared in Adventure Comics #306 and were created by Edmond Hamilton and John Forte. They were depicted as reasonably effective superheroes until Keith Giffen, during his tenure as Legion writer, began depicting the team as something of a joke. The Subs regain some respect when founding member Polar Boy joins the main Legion and a new Legion of Substitute Heroes is formed.

Post-Crisis

Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths , Pulsar Stargrave was reinvented as Mr Starr. The new version of the character was a villain of the 20th century L.E.G.I.O.N., rather than the 30th century team.

<i>Crisis on Infinite Earths</i> limited series

Crisis on Infinite Earths is an American comic book published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to March 1986. As the main piece of a crossover event, some plot elements were featured in tie-in issues of other publications. Since its initial publication, the series has been reprinted in various formats and editions.

L.E.G.I.O.N. group of fictional characters

L.E.G.I.O.N. is a science fiction comic book created by Keith Giffen, Bill Mantlo and Todd McFarlane and published by DC Comics. The principal subject of the comic book is a team of fictional extraterrestrial superheroes. The characters first appeared in Invasion! #1. The original series chronicled the formation and activity of an interplanetary police force whose mission was to act as a peace-keeping force in their galaxy.

After Vril Dox II liberated Colu from the Computer Tyrants, the Tyrants uploaded their consciousness to an orbital satellite, and created an android called Mr Starr, who looked identical to the pre-Crisis Stargrave. Mr Starr attempted to conquer Talok VIII by posing as a hero. As Talok VIII's planetary champion, Lyrissa Mallor, was absent, working with L.E.G.I.O.N., the inhabitants welcomed this new hero.

Starr then sought revenge on Dox's team by accelerating the age of Mallor's daughter and sending her out to assassinate the L.E.G.I.O.N. She killed her mother before she was caught and deprogrammed. The L.E.G.I.O.N. then tracked her back to Talok VIII, where Starr was believed to have been destroyed.

In a possible future featured in the L.E.G.I.O.N. '91 annual, Vril Dox and Lady Quark had traveled back in time to Talok VIII, where Mr. Starr had actually survived his encounter with L.E.G.I.O.N. He took control of both Vril Dox and Lady Quark, and soon very nearly took over the entire galaxy.

Post-Infinite Crisis

Following the Infinite Crisis limited series, much of the Legion's original history (which was rebooted following Zero Hour: Crisis in Time ) has been restored. Pulsar Stargrave has been returned to continuity. His status as the future incarnation of the original Brainiac remains an open question, one even Brainiac 5 has yet to resolve. [3] Pulsar Stargrave has returned to DC as a creation (a sentient Solaris Class Macroprocessor created when imploding a neutron star) of Lryl Dox aka Brainiac 3 in R.E.B.E.L.S. issue 18, July 2010.

The New 52

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Pulsar Stargrave is reintroduced in a back-up story in Threshold #2 featuring Larfleeze. [4] In 2013, it was announced that he would continue to be a main character in Larfleeze's self-titled ongoing series. [5]

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References

  1. ↑ Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #226 (April 1977)
  2. ↑ Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #239
  3. ↑ Adventure Comics (vol. 2) #9 (Late May 2010)
  4. ↑ Threshold #2
  5. ↑ Rogers, Vaneta. "Giffen & Co-Writer(?) Share New Larfleeze Ongoing Secrets". Newsarama. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
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