Lar Gand (Prime Earth)

Years ago, the amnesiac Lar Gand crash-landed on Earth near Smallville, Kansas and was found by a young Clark Kent. On his travels Lar Gand had visited Krypton and met Jor-El, and so possessed Kryptonian star charts and vaguely remembered Superman's father. Because of this, along with their similar powers, Clark assumed that Lar Gand was his brother. As he could not remember his real name, Clark named him "Mon-El" because he had come to Earth on a Monday. For the next week Lar Gand lived with the Kents as Clark's brother, which Superman remembers to this day as one of the best weeks of his life as he finally had a friend who he wasn't constantly afraid of hurting. However, Lar Gand was fatally poisoned and regained his memories. Clark was forced to send him into the Phantom Zone to save his life.

At first the Zone was merely a purgatory where Lar Gand and all other prisoners existed as intangible ghosts. However, eventually a being known as Aethyr found the Zone and was horrified, believing their suffering to be unacceptable. Aethy created regions of the Zone filled with solid matter and made the Zoners corporeal again; however the violent criminals quickly returned to their old ways once they were able to hurt each other. Aethyr was disgusted and punished the Zoners by turning the Zone into a brutal penal colony, appointing the notorious Xa-Du, aka the Phantom King, as warden. Lar Gand was able to lead a revolt of prisoners to overthrow Xa-Du, imprisoning him on board his ship the Val-Kon, then stole his identity and equipment.

Lar Gand used Xa-Du's technology to monitor Earth 0 and Superman. When three Zoners who Aethyr had painfully fused together as a punishment managed to escape and rampaged through Earth, Lar Gand knew Superman would come into the Zone to find out what had happened. He dispatched some of his men to meet Superman and bring him the Val-Kon. They were attacked by monsters but Lar Gand rescued them and informed Superman what had happened. They flew together in the Val-Kon towards Aethyr's base Aethyropolis, where he had been gathering the worst criminals in the Zone. Along the way Superman had to fight other monsters created by Aethyr, draining the solar energy stored in "battery bracelets" he had brought with him to maintain his powers in the Zone. When they passed through a region of the Zone that made them temporarily incorporeal, Xa-Du escaped and ran to Aethyr.^[1]

As the Val-Kon got closer to Aethyropolis the crew become more agitated and prone to infighting, exacerbated by Superman's presence; but Lar Gand was able to maintain control and even console some of his men. When they finally reached Aethyropolis, a new warship commanded by Xa-Du sailed out and began firing on them. Superman realised that Xa-Du was trying to bait him into using up his remaining solar energy blocking the bombardment and so gave one of the battery bracelets to Lar to hold in reserve. He then flew directly at Val-Kon's ship and smashed it in half.

Superman destroyed Val-Kon's ship, but completely drained his powers in the process. Xa-Du tried to kill Superman as he was vulnerable, but Lar Gand used the spare battery bracelet to fly in at super-speed and punch Xa-Du out, then returned the battery back to Superman. Aethyr appeared and threw into the "Eye of the Zone" as punishment for his failure. Despite having almost no powers left and Lar Gand telling him to run, Superman tried to bluff Aethyr and told him to surrender. Aethyr didn't fall for it and threw Superman into the Eye as well.^[2] Lar Gand's crew turned on him and joined Aethyr, who told Lar Gand that the Zone would be "repurposed".^[3]

Lar Gand fought off the attacking Zoners, and was forced to kill them with a rock. Meanwhile the Zone broke down as Aethyr created more solid matter within it, planning to turn it into a dimension of endless torment. Lar Gand accepted his death but was rescued by Superman, who had returned from the Well of Time at the centre of the zone. Superman told him that the Zone would get more volatile as more mass was added to it, and that Aethyr would need the energy of a star to create the land he was building. To his horror, Lar Gand suddenly realised that Aethyr was draining Earth's star for the energy and told Superman that he needed to leave the Zone and stop the energy drain at the other end. He told Superman that Aethyr was able to teleport using a metallic sphere and he needed to get it. Superman refused to leave the Zoners behind but Lar Gand asked him to return him to the Val-Kon and said he would save who he could while Superman faced Aethyr.

Superman tried to convince Aethyr to stop, but the insane cosmic being refused to listen. Kal-El resorted to punching Aethyr and then attempting to fly off with the sphere, but Aethyr caught him and began to crush him to death. Lar-Gand fired on Aethyr with the Val-Kon's cannons, causing him to drop Superman. In his rage, Aethyr continued to grow to an immense size until he was large enough to exert his own gravitational pull. The land he had created was pulled towards him by his own mass and he was seemingly crushed to death; however, the mass continued to build up in the Zone despite Aethyr's death. The Val-Kon picked Superman up and Lar Gand activated the sphere creating a rift to Earth. He told Superman that Earth and the zone were mere hours from destruction and Superman flew through the rift.^[4]

Kal-El found the device which Aethyr was using to drain the Sun, but destroying it would cause a backlash of energy within the Phantom Zone and destroy it. Rather than sacrifice the prisoners, Superman decided to evacuate them to a planet with a red sun; however, Mon-El could not leave the Zone or he would die due to his poisoning. Kal-El called Mon-El and told him his plan, advising him to find a remote corner of the Zone and try to ride out the devastation. Mon-El told Kal to do what he needed to do and not worry about him.^[5]

Unfortunately, the other Zoners overheard their call and charged en-masse for the rift left by Aethyr's device. They burst through and emerged inside Earth' sun just as Superman destroyed the device. Mon-El fashioned a device from Aethyr's sphere which would allow him to exist as both solid and phantom simultaneously. The resulting "phase circuitry" allowed him to survive in the physical universe for as long as it retained power, and he followed the escaping prisoners through the rift.

He found the prisoners attacking Superman inside the sun and pulled Kal put before they could kill him. He fled with Superman to the Fortress of Solitude, but the Zoners followed them there. While the rest of the Super-Family held them off, Mon-El carried Superman to a lead mine in India, where he could rest and heal while hidden from the Zoners' x-ray vision. He also tried to retrieve Superman's stash of Gold Kryptonite to use against the Zoners, but discovered that one of them had already taken it.

When Superman woke up two days later, he lead the Super-Family and the reconstituted Justice League Unlimited in corralling the Zoners, who were still inexperienced with their powers, into Metropolis. Firestorm created Kryptonite gauntlets for the JLU and the non-Kryptonian heroes quickly overpower the Zoners. They were imprisoned in the Fortress, which Doctor Light had saturated in red solar radiation.

Although they had arrested and contained all the Zoners who were at large, the Super-Family quickly realised that some were unaccounted for, including the most dangerous prisoners. Batman called and told them that they had just started receiving distress calls from around the galaxy: dozens of alien worlds were under attack by the Phantom Zoners.^[6] The Super-Family and JLU spread out into the galaxy to stop them. Superman suggested that Mon-El return to the Zone before his phase circuitry failed but Mon-El refused, even when the circuitry momentarily glitched out during a fight with Jax-Ur. Superman once again asked Mon-El to let him send him back to the Zone and Mon-El angrily refused, believing this was his chance to finally become the hero he was meant to be before he was poisoned.^[7]

The phase circuitry eventually became almost entirely burned out and Superman said he needed to return to the Phantom Zone before he died. Mon-El was angry that this once again meant returning to a punishment he didn't deserve and an existence without a purpose, but Superman swore he would never stop looking for a cure and said he didn't want his brother to die. Mon-El resignedly accepted his fate, they hugged and Superman sent him back into the Phantom Zone. The Zone had settled down from Aethyr's meddling, leaving the inmates as intangible phantoms once more, although they could interact with the matter still in the Zone with great concentration. The rest of the Super-Family were eventually able to trick the remaining Phantom Zoners back into the Zone by having the Martian Manhunter pose as Xa-Du.

Superman and Supergirl convinced the authorities in the Bottled City of Kandor to allow for the possibility of humane parole from the Phantom Zone, so if an inmate was able to demonstrate honest penitence for their crimes, they would be freed from the Zone and resettled in Kandor. The Science Council appointed Mon-El as the "Warden" of the Zone, giving him a purpose to his existence and the responsibility to decide if an inmate had earned parole.^[8]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Daxamite Physiology: In a solar system with a "yellow" sun, the average Daxamite possesses powers similar to those of a Kryptonian:
- Solar Energy Absorption: Under optimal conditions, this is the main source of their super powers as they are contingent upon exposure to solar radiation from a yellow sun star system. Their biological make up includes a number of organs which lack analogues in humans and whose functions are unknown. It is believed that between one or more of these and their bio-cellular matrix, "yellow" solar energy is stored for later use. This allows for the use of these powers to fade when yellow solar radiation is not available instead of immediate failure.
- Heat Vision: Daxamites can, as a conscious act, fire beams of intense heat at a target by looking at it. Typically, the power is seen as two beams of red light emanating from the eyes. These beams can be made invisible, allowing the power to be undetectable. The maximum temperature of their heat vision is said to be around that of a nuclear detonation. They can also consciously determine the area affected, down to the microscopic level.
- Super-Hearing: Daxamite hearing is sensitive enough to hear any sound at any volume or pitch. With skill, practice, and concentration, they can block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source or frequency. As such, they can identify a person by their heartbeat, or pick out a single voice in an entire city.
- Enhanced Vision: Daxamite vision processes the entire electromagnetic spectrum as well as allowing vast control over selective perception and focus.
  This umbrella ability includes the following:
  - Electromagnetic Spectrum Vision: Daxamite can see well into most of the electromagnetic spectrum. They can see and identify radio and television signals as well as all other broadcast or transmitted frequencies. Using this ability, they can avoid detection by radar or satellite monitoring methods. This also allows them to see the aura generated by living thing.
  - Telescopic Vision: This is the ability to see something at a great distance, without violating the laws of physics. Though limited, the exact extent of the ability is undetermined. In function, it is similar to the zoom lens on a camera.
  - X-Ray Vision: This is the ability to see through any volume of matter except lead. Daxamites can see things behind a solid, opaque object as if it were not there. They can focus this ability to "peel back" layers of an object, allowing hidden image or inner workings to be observed. The exact type of energy perceived—such as x-rays, cosmic rays, or some other energy invisible to normal humans—is unclear. This ability perceives an ambient energy source though, it does not involve the eye projecting a concentrated, possibly toxic, beam to be reflected back from objects.
  - Microscopic Vision: This is the ability to see extremely small objects and images down to the atomic level.
  - Infrared Vision: Daxamites can see with better acuity in darkness, and to a degree in total darkness.
- Flight: Daxamites are able to manipulate graviton particles, in an unknown and apparently unconscious manner, to defy the forces of gravity. Under one Earth gravity, they are capable of speeds of multi-Mach speeds in Earth's atmosphere. Their control of their flight is very precise and they can perform aerobatic feats such as hovering, flying backwards and even lifting great weights while flying.
- Invulnerability: The bodies of Daxamites are nigh-invulnerable to extreme energy forces. In addition, their immune systems protects them from toxins and diseases. The most common explanations for this rely on the presences of a super-dense molecular structure, a supercharged bio-electric aura which acts as an invisible force field, or a combination of the two. A byproduct of the aura is that items close to the skin share their invulnerability. Using clothing as an example, loose fitting fabric would tend to shred or burn in adverse conditions, but skin tight outfits would not.
- Superhuman Stamina: Daxamites have the ability to maintain continuous strenuous physical action for an indefinite period of time. In theory they have unlimited stamina as their enhanced nourishment is produced from the yellow solar energy their cells process, which also provides the majority of the power for their superhuman abilities. However, their base physical structures do need to process food stuffs and they have a psychological need to eat and drink just as Earth humans do. They also require sleep on occasion so that they can dream. They can also hold their breath for an indefinite period of time.
- Superhuman Strength: A Daxamite develops enhanced physical strength after absorbing a sufficient amount of yellow solar radiation. This radiation interacts with the greater than human density, resilience and biological efficiency of their musculature to trigger superhuman levels. While the exact magnitude of their strength is unknown, it is generally accepted that it is sufficient to lift 100,000 tons or more. The specific range is unknown as a their strength, like their other powers, may fluctuate over time. Their strength is also more an act of conscious will on energy fields than actual physical strength. It is this act of conscious will that enables them to perform physical feats that are beyond the mere application force, such as moving a mountain top without said rock crumbling under its own mass. At full power, their normal strength levels are well into the multi-megaton range.
- Superhuman Speed: Daxamites are able to move at incredible speeds by sheer force of will. They can match most other speedsters in super-fast movements, reactions, and processes. They can use this power to disarm opponents without heightened reflexes, catch bullets or shrapnel or cross vast distances in seconds.
  This also confers:
  - Superhuman Agility
  - Superhuman Reflexes
- Super-Breath: Daxamites are able to create hurricane force winds by exhaling air from their lungs. They can chill the air as it leaves their lungs to freeze targets in a variation sometimes called "freeze" or "arctic breath". They can also reverse the process and pull large volumes of air or vapor into their lungs.
- Longevity: Daxamites can live longer than regular humans, remaining at their prime as long as they was under the exposure of the "yellow" sun.

Abilities

Aviation: Lar Gand can pilot spaceships.^[1]
Leadership: Lar Gand is able to command the respect and mediate the interpersonal conflicts of the dangerous criminals in the Phantom Zone.^[1]^[2]

Weaknesses

Solar Energy Dependency: Like Kryptonians, Daxamites rely on solar radiation from the yellow sun as a source of their powers. Their abilities will eventually weaken without replenishing their energy reserves with normal (yellow) sun radiation. When exposed to the same red solar radiation as Krypton's red sun Rao or cut off from yellow sun as the source of their strength, it causes Daxamites to lose their powers and stamina within a large amount of exposure until exposure to yellow sunlight reverses this effect.
Vulnerability to Lead: All Daxamites are highly vulnerable to lead, an element which does not exist on their planet. Even the smallest exposure to lead instantly robs superpowered Daxamites of their abilities and results in fatal, irreversible lead poisoning for all. Unlike their Kryptonian cousins where their weakness when exposed to Green Kryptonite radiation is temporary, lead poisoning in Daxamites is always fatal.
- Lead Poisoning: Lar Gand was fatally poisoned by exposure to lead during his time on Earth.^[1]^[4]
Technological Reliability: Lar Gand needed his phase circuitry device to survive outside the Phantom Zone.^[6]

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Phase Circuitry: (Formerly) Lar Gand repurposed Aethyr's sphere into a device which allowed him to exist in a quantum state of both solid and phantom at the same time. This allowed him to leave the Phantom Zone temporarily without succumbing to his poisoning.^[6] The device eventually burned out, leaving him once again trapped in the Zone.^[8]

Transportation

Val-Kon

Notes

Lar Gand was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp, first appearing in Superboy #89. However, in the Prime Earth continuity, Lar Gand first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Action Comics #1071 by Mark Waid, Clayton Henry, and Michael Shelfer.
He is a separate character to the Mon-El who is Superman's descendant and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century of the Post-Rebirth future.
There was no indication that Mon-El/Lar Gand existed in the post-Flashpoint universe prior to his first appearance. It appears he was retroactively added to the history of Prime Earth following the "unknotting" of the timeline after the events of Dark Nights: Death Metal.

Lar Gand (Prime Earth)

Contents

History