Wednesday Comics: Aftermath

Here's the final installment of Jim Starlin's Metamorphosis Odyssey. The earlier posts in the series can be found here.

"Aftermath (Metamorphosis Odyssey Chapter XIV)"

Epic Illustrated #9 (December 1981) Story & Art by James Starlin

Synopsis: Vanth awakens in a forest, surprised to find that he and Aknaton are alive. Aknaton explains he wrapped them in a mystic bubble that protected them and put them in suspended animation. His astral ego guided them to this world because he sensed Vanth's destiny lay here.

Vanth asks about the others. Aknaton explains that they still live, transformed into beings of pure energy. They are now gods; the Milky Way was sacrificed so that they might live.

It's all gone, and Vanth and Aknaton are in a different galaxy:

Vanth turns angrily on Aknaton. It's all gone--everyone--and they killed them. Aknaton prefers to think of it as sparing them from the Zygoteans. Vanth notes than Aknaton didn't hang around to see his handy work.

Aknaton replies that he had the power to save himself, so he did. He saved Vanth, too, because Vanth's work was not yet finished. His talents are needed:

Vanth doesn't like that:

Aknaton thanks him. He wanted Vanth to kill him. As he dies, he charges Vanth with a task. The people of this galaxy are at a moral crossroads: The can change their worlds into a paradise or spawn a new race of Zygoteans. Vanth must lead them down the right road. If he can't, the Infinity Horn still exists, and he knows where to find it. Vanth must be this galaxy's savior--or its destroyer.

Aknaton dies and Vanth is alone.

Things to Notice:

• Vanth guns Aknaton down rather than using his sword, which would have had greater irony.
• The stage is set for Dreadstar here, but with a backstory Dreadstar never really puts to full use.

Commentary: 
So in the end, Vanth's story largely recapitulates Aknaton's. He's the last of his "people" (in this case, the entirety of the Milky Way), charged with doing something horrible if he can't set a wrong right. In a sense, his execution of Aknaton passes the burden along.

Starlin has said that Metamorphosis Odyssey was in a sense a meditation on the Vietnam War. All the characters have their own reasons for following Aknaton, the mad architect of the war (with a nose like a caricature of Richard Nixon). I think this on one hand sells the work short, while simultaneously attempting to give its fuzzy allegorical narrative an unearned resonance. It doesn't account for the role grief might play in Aknaton's actions or allow for the consideration he might have made the right choice. Also, it perhaps absolves the others of a bit of responsibility (as the story seems to, honestly) by implying they are dupes rather than the largely willing participants we see them to be.

Looking at it through the lens of Vietnam, what are we to make of the ending? Is it okay to wage a war of annihilation if it's in the name of moral correction? Who gives Vanth the right to make that sort of choice--other than Aknaton whose hands are dirty and whose judgement we must question?

Wednesday Comics: Doomsday!

Here's the next installment of  Jim Starlin's Metamorphosis Odyssey. The earlier posts in the series can be found here.

"Doomsday! (Metamorphosis Odyssey Chapter XIII)"

Epic Illustrated #9 (December 1981) Story & Art by James Starlin

Synopsis: Vanth and Aknaton are close to being overwhelmed by the onslaught of the Zygotean mercenaries. The Zygotean forces fight so fiercely because they know what is going to happen and they're trying to save their own lives.

Things look grim for our protagonists. Aknaton gets his forearm shot off. Still, they fight on, but the Zygotean mercs begin to flank them. Why don't the others blow the horn? They can't. Not until the forces are properly aligned. Soon now.

Within the skull building, the three approach the strange horn. As they take their places, Juliet asks if it's going to hurt. Za believes it probably will; change always does.

They blow into the three mouthpieces on the weird device. A force from a higher plane breaks into their lesser reality. Aknaton pulls Vanth to his side, and then, it all explodes:

The Milky Way touches the infinite and is destroyed. Only five beings survive. Three (Juliet, Za, and Whis'par) are beings of a new form, of pure energy. They linger for a moment in shock at their own birth, then they are off to begin a new world. The other two are Vanth and Aknaton.

They drift through space and time in a bubble of energy. They land on a planet named Caldor, 500,000 light-years from the Dark Sector--what was (a million years ago) the Milky Way.

Things to Notice:

• Aknaton suggested before that he would die with the Milky Way. That does not appear to have happened.
• Vanth's future is known to us thanks to the follow-up series Dreadstar, but we don't know what becomes of the transformed Za, Juliet, or Whis'par.

Commentary: 
After all the chapters of build-up, Aknaton's grand plan goes off so easily, it almost seems a bit disappointing. Of course, Starlin's tale was perhaps never one about blowing up the galaxy but about how one decides and then convinces others to blow up the galaxy.

Wednesday Comics: Dreamsend

Here's the next installment of  Jim Starlin's Metamorphosis Odyssey. The earlier posts in the series can be found here.

"Dreamsend (Metamorphosis Odyssey Chapter XII)"

Epic Illustrated #8 (October 1981) Story & Art by James Starlin

Synopsis: The light cutter arrives at Dreamsend and finds Zygoteans already there. Aknaton and crew fight their way toward the temple built by the ancient (now disappeared) Kalloombrians. There the Infinity Horn is hidden inside.

A stairway opens in the floor at Aknaton's command, spiraling into black infinity. It's actually a multi-dimensional corridor leading to a plane where the Horn will work and also the conduit by which its power will be transmitted back.

On the other end of that corridor is...

With the Zygoteans on their heels, they make their way into the skull. Before them they find:

Juliet says she can't go through with it. She's only 15 and she doesn't want to die. She, Whis'par, and Za will survive to be the future of a new mankind. Vanth and Aknaton will not be a part of this new world. They will hold off the Zygoteans until the Horn is blown.

Aknaton asks Vanth why he didn't come in to see the Horn. Vanth says he realizes he didn't belong there--and neither did Aknaton. They are yesterday's mistakes; the other 3 are hope. Vanth summons his sword. The Zygoteans approach. Aknaton asks Vanth to stay close...

Things to Notice:

• Vanth is still not completely convinced Aknaton's solution to the Zygotean menace was the only one.
• Kalloombrians?

Commentary: 
If there is a silver lining to Aknaton's plan (other than the obvious extinction of the Zygoteans) its that intelligent life in the Milky Way will live on through the three horn blowers. What that exactly means isn't clear.

Vanth believes (or at least hopes) they violence and killing won't be part of their new world. He doesn't have see the Horn they've come so far to find. Aknaton doesn't really express these same hopes; His revenge against the Zygoteans apparently just ends in his death, joining his extinct people at last,

Wednesday Comics: Nightfire

Here's the next installment of  Jim Starlin's Metamorphosis Odyssey. The earlier posts in the series can be found here.

"Nightfire (Metamorphosis Odyssey Chapter XI)"

Epic Illustrated #7 (August 1981) Story & Art by James Starlin

Synopsis: Zygotean cruisers swoop down on our protagonists, so they make for the shelter of Vanth's ship. Aknaton wants to resort to magic, but Vanth suggests it's his magic power that they followed to begin with. Better to use Vanth's ship that's small, fast--and loaded with weapons.

They could easily slip past the slower cruisers, except those ships must have been transported there by a swifter dreadnought.

First, they need to deal with the cruisers. Vanth turns the ship and comes up behind his former pursuers.

Now for the dreadnought. Even the Osirosians were ultimately unable to stand up to their power.

Vanth asserts they didn't study their enemies' ships closely enough. The dreadnought has dispatched all its cruisers to catch them. Its hangars are open and its shields are down. Vanth flies inside the dreadnought, firing.

The dreadnought is destroyed thanks to its unshielded power pods. Vanth's light cutter's shields hold. Cunning did what Osirosian power could not. Aknaton wonders if they had had warriors like Vanth, if they would have had to resort to the plan they embarked on.

They're off. To a planet called Dreamsend.

Things to Notice:

• We get some Star Wars-esque space battles.

Commentary: 
This chapter injects some action after the exposition of the last one. It also serves to highlight just how Vanth will be able to defend the others.

Aknaton's tale last chapter did its job. Vanth now seems to come around to Aknaton's way of thinking about the Zygotean menace.

Wednesday Comics: Requiem

Here's the next installment of  Jim Starlin's Metamorphosis Odyssey. The earlier posts in the series can be found here.

"Requiem (Metamorphosis Odyssey Chapter X)"

Epic Illustrated #7 (August 1981) Story & Art by James Starlin

Synopsis: Aknaton shows the others the history of the Zygoteans. Their world was once a veritable Utopia, but it fell into the hands of venal and incompetent rulers. First, they despoiled the planet.

Unfortunately, few of the people seemed to notice. They were consumed by their distractions and amusements and complicit in the despoiling of their world:

The people eventually realized what had happened. The gap between have and havenot was large, but the cries for social justice went unanswered. Instead, it was determined some would escape their dying world. Thanks to the influence of the military and religion, the many were inspired to toil to launch a few into the stars.

Zygotea died, but the Zygoteans lived on. They repeated the same process on every world they came to. The more monstrous they became, the more they came to resent those that reminded them of their origins. The Osirosans, the progenitors of all humanoid races, were the greatest reminder of how far they had fallen and so had to die. But the Osirosans conceived of the Infinity Horn--and a way to end the Zygotean menace.

The others are silent as Aknaton finishes his tale. Elsewhere, though, their enemies mark them all for termination:

Things to Notice:

• The Zygoteans originally look just like humans.

Commentary: 
We see the Zygoteans at last and...they look just like us, at least at first. Starlin is obviously offering a critique on and perhaps a warning to our own society. Interestingly,the Zygoteans wind up with long noses and bald heads, looking like a slightly more monstrous version of the Osirosans--or at least Aknaton. Maybe this is because they're bookends: the Osirosans started humanoid life and the Zygoteans were going to be the end of it.

Or perhaps, they are two sides of the same coin, given Aknaton's intentions.

Wednesday Comics: Absolution

Here's the next installment of  Jim Starlin's Metamorphosis Odyssey. The earlier posts in the series can be found here.

"Absolution (Metamorphosis Odyssey Chapter IX)"

Epic Illustrated #6 (June 1981) Story & Art by James Starlin

Synopsis: Using the talisman which holds the secret to the Infinity Horn's location, Aknaton performs a ritual, casts a spell. He reaches out into the void to find something greater than himself. And his call is answered by a being the awestruck Aknaton calls "Ra."

By whatever name, Aknaton begs the entity's help. The entity replies that the need of his worshipers is the whole reason for his existence: what does Aknaton need? Well, Aknaton needs advice--about what he's planning to do.

The entity is aware of the Osirosian plan to destroy the Milky Way. Does Aknaton want to know if it will be successful? Or does he want aid, perhaps?

Neither are Aknaton's desire. He is fully confident in the success of the plan (though the entity points out that in giving the sword to the Byfrexian, Aknaton may have created a variable beyond his control) and he needs no aid. He wants to know if what he is doing is right.

The entity shows him the horrors of the future where he doesn't act. After these visions he asks: "Is the question, do you have the right to play god? Or is it, do you have the duty to play god?"

Aknaton awakens alone, unsure if he actually communed with a god, or did part of him merely conjure the experience for reassurance? No matter:

Aknaton returns to the others. Vanth confronts him about his plans. Aknaton suggests he wouldn't question the plan if he saw the face of Zygoteism--and the future it will bring.

Things to Notice:

• "God" is a pretty standard Starlin cosmic entity.
• Finding the location of the Infinity Horn (the stated reason for this episode seems almost an after-thought.

Commentary: 
The purpose of this chapter seems to be to show the Aknaton's internal conflict regarding what he must do. Starlin chooses to dramatize this in his signature cosmic style, though he toys with the literal reality of the situation and the "god" in a way that is not far off from the sort of thing that might have been seen in a Verigo comic a decade later.

It all comes off as a bit of a cheat, perhaps. Does Aknaton earn his "absolution?" There aren't really any pros and cons to weigh--only pros are presented. The horrors of the Zygoteans are worse, we're told again and again. No additional evidence is really presented here to convince the reader Aknaton is right, though perhaps it makes him a bit more sympathetic by showing he's conflicted.

Wednesday Comics:Sunrise on Lartoprez

Here's the next installment of  Jim Starlin's Metamorphosis Odyssey. The earlier posts in the series can be found here.

"Sunrise on Lartoprez (Metamorphosis Odyssey Chapter VIII)"

Epic Illustrated #5 (April 1981) Story & Art by James Starlin

Synopsis: Aknaton has brought his group together. Now, he's got to unlock the secrets of the amulet so they can locate the Infinity Horn. Unfortunately, that sort of secret can't be discovered "on a plane of existence such as this one" or in the company of others, so Aknaton leaves them for an appropriate place.

With him gone, Whis'par, Za and Juilette are able scrutinize the newcomer. They are not much impressed with Vanth and his beard. Za starts to check under Vanth's hood to see if the little man is hiding special powers there.

Vanth storms off to keep watch on a nearby ridge. Za, rubbing his head, opines that "Master chose well." Juliette asks Za why he calls Aknaton "Master." Za replies that Aknaton saved him from death. Save him from himself.

"What did he save you for?" Juliette asks. Za isn't sure. "Maybe a better death," he replies, finally.

Whis'par finds Vanth. She apologizes for their testing him earlier thanks him for not hurting Za. She says they were nervous, but she recognizes Vanth must be as well. He agrees. He doens't know why he's here.

Whis'par knows--and she thinks Vanth does too, really. His eyes have death in them. Aknaton needed someone who could understand the Zygoteans. Vanth realizes she's right:

He wonders what he's gotten himself into. "Death," Whis'par says. "On a scale undreamed of." She can't believe he doesn't know, that he hasn't guessed. Vanth begins to get angry at her obscureness. She realizes her people have had a long time to become inurred to the horror of "Aknaton's madness." She surmises Vanth just can't accept the truth.

Vanth still isn't buying it. Everybody's talking about death and destruction, but nobody is saying when or where or who. Whis'par reminds him there has also been talk of suicide.

The Orsirosians couldn't defeat the Zygoteans. They looked into the future and saw the galaxy enslaved by their foes. They devised the Infinity Horn, the ultimate doomsday weapon:

Things to Notice:

• "Pulsar sucker" is another space insult.
• Starlin has the Infinity Horn here and later the Infinity Gauntlet when he returns to work at Marvel.

Commentary: 
After all the hinting and circumspection, Aknaton's plan is finally revealed: He's going to destroy the galaxy to get rid of the Zygoteans. Whis'par describes it in negative terms, though she is clearly going along with it. It's unclear at this point how much Juliette and Za know, and we don't get to see Vanth's reaction to the revelation this chapter.

Wednesday Comics: Delloran Revisited

Here's the next installment of  Jim Starlin's Metamorphosis Odyssey. The earlier posts in the series can be found here.

"Delloran Revisited (Metamorphosis Odyssey Chapter VII)"

Epic Illustrated #4 (Winter 1980) Story & Art by James Starlin

Synopsis: Aknaton and Vanth arrive on Delloran, a once thriving world devastated by the Zygoteans. Vanth doesn't understand why they're here instead of taking the fight to the Zygotean menace. He also hasn't heard Aknaton's plan for how they're going to defeat them.

Aknaton tells him that the Osirosians created a device called he Horn of Infinity. "When the device is activated, the threat of the Zygoteans will end." Aknaton doesn't know where the Horn is. To protect it, he gave it to an immortal, artificial being to hide, and that being will only reveal its location when a certain verse is recited to him by an Osirosian. The artificial man was ordered to await an Osirosian on Delloran.

Aknaton's mystic senses quickly located him amid the blasted ruins:

Aknaton tells Joenis he has come for the key. Joenis replies that he still has it. He has protected it for 100,000 years from pirates, demons, thieves, magicians, and Zygoteans. Many have died seeking the treasure. Through all that, Joenis has realized something:

"You know it's secret, then?" Aknaton asks.

Joenis says he does and he admits he thought about destroying the key at times. His programming was too strong, and too, after the destruction of Delloran, he came to see that Aknaton's plan was right. He gives the Osirosian the key, glad to be rid of it.

Aknaton turns to go. Vanth asks Joenis if he wants to go with them, but he declines. When the two visitors have gone, Joenis puts a gun to his head.

Vanth hears the gun fire. Aknaton tells him he saw the pistol in Joenis' bag.

Aknaton tells Vanth he prays that the Byfrexian will be half as worthy as Joenis.

Things to Notice:

• Again we get hints at the terribleness, but necessity of Aknaton's plan.

Commentary: 
Vanth continues to interact with Aknaton very differently than the rest of the characters. To Vanth, he's just another guy, not an object for awe, fear, or reverence.

"Joenis" is probably meant to suggest Jonas, a variant of Jonah. Jonah (Yonah) is the Biblical prophet famous for getting swallowed by a fish/whale. The name means "dove" in Hebrew. Joenis Soule is a "dove," a "peaceful soul" who kills himself rather than go along with what he knows is coming, what Aknaton is planning.

Odyssey Delayed

No new chapter of Starlin's Metamorphosis Odyssey today on account of illness. Catch up on the old entries and I'll see you next week.

Wednesday Comics: The Meeting

Here's the next installment of  Jim Starlin's Metamorphosis Odyssey. The earlier posts in the series can be found here.

"The Meeting (Metamorphosis Odyssey Chapter VI)"

Epic Illustrated #3 (Fall 1980) Story & Art by James Starlin

Synopsis: A shot from somewhere takes out two of the Zygotean thugs surrounding him, but Aknaton doesn't have time to think about that. He uses his power against his attackers, but he's not a warrior.

Luckily, a guy shows up who is:

The man exhibits super-strength and Aknaton realizes this must be Vanth. But then where is the sword?

Two of the mercenaries catch up with Aknaton. Vanth again comes to the rescue, but Zygotean reinforcements arrive and surround them both. Vanth drops his gun then raises his hands. He looks as if he might surrender. But suddenly he has a sword in it:

Vanth absorbs the blasts from the Zygotean weapons with the sword, then uses its power to destroy them. Aknaton is impressed. The sword was more powerful than even he expected in Vanth's hands. Even more powerful than he planned:

He asks where Vanth had it hidden. Vanth responds that he didn't hide it. It's a part of him, he can bring out when he needs it. Vanth is about to turn the blade on its creator who he still thinks may be in league with the Zygoteans.

Aknaton assures him he is not. He tells them he has a plan to destroy them, but he needs the help of a warrior to do it. Alone, the the Zygoteans would when, but together they can show the "zyg devils the true face of death."

Things to Notice:

• When he's not destroying planets, Aknaton isn't all that tough.
• "My forte is mass destruction," Aknaton says.

Commentary: 
"Vanth" is the name of a female chthonic figure in Estruscan mythology, who has been associated with the Furies in the past. It's unclear if there is any connection to Starlin's character, but it would be tempting to connect this Vanth to deities of vengeance.

Vanth is very different from the others Aknaton has recruited. Not only is he tough enough to save Aknaton more than once, but he's irreverent and slangy in his speech. In other words, Vanth is a rather standard American hero. It remains to be seen how he will change the dynamic of Aknaton's rather plaint group.

Wednesday Comics: Vanth

Here's the next installment of  Jim Starlin's Metamorphosis Odyssey. The earlier posts in the series can be found here.

"Vanth (Metamorphosis Odyssey Chapter V)"

Epic Illustrated #3 (Fall 1980) Story & Art by James Starlin

Synopsis: On the icy world of Byfrexia (also known as Vega) a masked man spins around to find Aknaton behind him. He mistakes Aknaton for a Zygotean and fires, but the wizard blocks the blast with a shield and returns fire. When the man is at his mercy, Aknaton is finally able to convince the man he's friendly.

Aknaton explains he's been hanging out around the nearby Zygotean base hoping to come across a certain resistance fighter:

The man knows who Aknaton seeks: Vanth, the Cold Man. He refuses to take the Orisirosian to the Cold Man because he doesn't trust the offworlder. Regretfully (or so he says), Aknaton blasts him and takes control of the man's mind. He commands him to lead the way.

While they walk, he gets the man to tell him Vanth's story. Not only is a Vanth a great warrior and super-strong, but he upgraded their ships to photonic drive. The incident that made a man out of Vanth was the tragic death of his parents at the claws of snowbeasts. He went crazy for a bit and people would see him out on the snows naked. When, he finally returned to civilization, he loaded himself down with weapons and started killing snowbeasts. The people who lived on the snowbeasts didn't like him hunting them to near extinction, so Vanth slipped off-world.

After the Zygotean attack, he returned with off-world weapons. He single-handedly set the Zygoteans back months. He was made commander of all the defense forces.

Suddenly, the man is shot in the head, and Aknaton finds himself surrounded by just-teleported warriors:

Aknaton starts fighting, but there are just too many. Meanwhile, a hooded figure watches the melee from a nearby ridge...

Things to Notice:

• Aknaton doesn't just assert that he's Orsirosian but "of good stock."

Commentary: 
Starlin resists the urged to make the masked unknown Aknaton encounter be the very man he seeks.

Vanth's solution to the death of his parents at the hands of a snowbeast (attempting to drive a species to extinction) must appeal to Aknaton. It's not that far from the uncompromising approach his people took to their problem with the Zygoteans and the ruthless way Aknaton "ended" their invasion of earth. Could Vanth be exactly the sort of warrior Aknation is seeking?

Wednesday Comics: Whis'par

Here's the next installment of  Jim Starlin's Metamorphosis Odyssey. The earlier posts in the series can be found here.

"Whis'par (Metamorphosis Odyssey Chapter IV)"

Epic Illustrated #2 (Summer 1980) Story & Art by James Starlin

Synopsis: In an alien forest, Whis'par's father calls to her. As the winged one most in harmony with their world, she has been chosen to fulfill their race's destiny and serve their god --who now waits at their village.

Whis'par has doubts. She knows what is to come, as do all her people. Her father reassures her, then sends her off to her destiny. Alone, he asks the great spirit to be with her and to forgive them all.

The god of these folk is Aknaton, who waits with Za and Juliet. He tells the uncertain Whis'par that they are there to: "herald the end of galactic madness and the birth of something never before seen under the stars." Each of those he has gathered plays a part:

Coupled with his Aknaton's magic, such a creation would be able to stop the Zygoteans. Whis'par wonders at the cost, and Aknaton realizes she knows his plan. He suggests that to do nothing would be worse.

Za wants to know what they're talking about. Aknaton responds:

Whis'par will join them. She has no choice, really.

Aknaton says he will take them to an out of the way planet to hide from the Zygoteans. He has to go find a man on Vega. Whis'par says she though they were to be a trio. Aknaton replies: "A trio that will need protection."

Things to Notice:

• The story shifts into color when Whis'par meets her creator.

Commentary: 
While we've seen several hints as to the lengths Aknaton will go to to end the Zygotean menace, this is the first hint we have that there may be something frightening about his plan. The reaction of Whis'par and his people certainly suggest it.

As far as executing his plan, Aknaton seems to be stacking the deck in favor of its acceptance in building his "coalition of the willing." He has two beings that almost worship him as a god and an adolescent he rescued from certain death.

Wednesday Comics: Juliet

Here's the next installment of  Jim Starlin's Metamorphosis Odyssey. The earlier posts in the series can be found here.

"Juliet (Metamorphosis Odyssey Chapter III)"

Epic Illustrated #1 (Spring 1980) Story & Art by James Starlin

Synopsis: In Kansas, a family listens to reports of an alien invasion on the radio. Russia and China have fallen. The island of Japan may have been sunk by the onslaught. In the U.S., officials debate the use of nuclear weapons against the threat. Everything else the nations of the Earth have tried has been to no avail.

Juliet walks out into yard. Her mother worries about her, most of all: she's only 15. Juliet's grandfather reminds them all of Pearl Harbor. He's confident the U.S. can win this one, too. Besides, the aliens won't want anything in Kansas.

As if to mock him, an alien vessel flies overhead and blows up the farmhouse. On Juliet survives.

The craft lands and two Zygotean mercenaries emerge. They were scouting for locations to land the fuel fleet. The see Juliet and move to kill her. Suddenly, one of the mercenaries is disintegrated.

The other mercenary is quick and wounds Aknaton, but it doesn't do him much good. He's disintegrated by the Osirosan's next blast.

Aknaton builds a pyramid around them with his power to fly them off Earth. He explains to Juliet who they are. She feels bad about leaving her people. Aknaton explains that they are all going to die anyway. Her death would mean nothing here, but she has gifts that can help him stop the spread of Zygoteism.

He assures her that Earth is dead, but there are different kinds of death: Slow death under Zygotean enslavement--or a quick death that takes foe as well as friend. A death brought about by the simultaneous detonation of all the Earth's nuclear weapons:

Things to Notice:

• "Pulsar-sucking obstructionist!" is a alien insult.

Commentary: 
Starlin's opening with Juliet's grand-father and parents conversing contrasts the pessimism of the seventies with the post-World War II optimism. The story comes down on the side of pessimism. The dialogue doesn't allow Juliet to say much in her own story, though.

Aknaton's confrontation with the Zygotean mercenary serves to show him as vulnerable--and fallible. This is important because the first chapter portrayed him in a very mythic way and in the second he's in the role a god. His mortal fallibility gives us a different lens through which to see his declarations about what needs to be done.

Aknaton's destruction of Earth (and the rationale he gives Juliet) shows just what sort of conditions he's willing to count as victory and foreshadows events to come.

Wednesday Comics: Za!

Here's the next installment of  Jim Starlin's Metamorphosis Odyssey. The earlier posts in the series can be found here.

"Za! Metamorphosis Odyssey Chapter II"

Epic Illustrated #1 (Spring 1980) Story & Art by James Starlin

Synopsis: Za is a bestial Tyjorian on an inhospitable world around Alpha Centauri. He's not like his fellows, and as his knowledge and self-awareness grows, he's becoming less like them all the time.

Tyjorians are the only life on their planet and so are cannibals. Only their rapid rate of reproduction keeps them from killing off their species. Their brutal lifestyle never forced them to develop civilization or even empathy.

Za was born different. The meat of his own kind sickened him, so he had to subsist on his world's strange blue crystals. After his mother died, Za never joined a band. He lived alone, making him a target for groups of other Tyjorians:

He had the strength of 10 Tyjorian males thanks to his diet of blue crystals. None could harm him, but he was still alone.

One day, he met a female and that changed. He felt an emotion unlike the fleeting mating instincts of his species. He brought her meat and protected her. Then one day he couldn't. She was killed while he was away. Feeling a sadness his kind was never made to feel, he climbed high into the mountains intending to end his life. Instead, he met someon--and found it's purpose.

Aknaton apologized, for he was the cause of Za's pain. He had bestowed knowledge and given the ability to understand speech. Aknaton needs a monster with a mind and a soul. There is a darkness spreading across the stars, and it cannot be defeated, only destroyed.

So the two jump on the back of a giant, insect-like creature and head out to their next destination: Earth.

Things to Notice:

• Za looks a bit like a later Starlin creation, Skeeve.

Commentary: 
The hints dropped in Chapter I about Aknaton's activities when he was away from Aknaton begin to pay off. The next few chapters will follow the same pattern of character introduction

The improbability of Tyjoria's ecology just serves to accentuate its a symbolic nature. Tyjoria is the hostile universe in microcosm; it's literally dog eat dog. Za isn't just an everyman, he's all humankind, self-aware and adrift in a savage world, wondering why he suffers and why the world is the way it is. Only love makes it bearable for him, but then he loses that, too. Just when he's about to end it all, God shows up.

Za is a bit like Job, but at least the god Za encounters apologizes (somewhat perfunctorily) for the sufferinghe has caused and gives a reason for it. Still, Aknaton doesn't explain a lot; Za is forced to take things on faith. Given the world he was living in, it's really no wonder Za grabs hold to what Aknaton offers, however vague it may be.

When he does, we see the emergence of another sort of narrative, though one influenced by Biblical ones: the fantasy quest.