Phaelosians are an evolutionary offshoot of Kryptonians descended from a fringe science colony who were exiled from Krypton thousands of years ago.
History
The beliefs of the original Phaelosians are not well known but among other things they prayed to the great scientists of Krypton's past and spoke a language known as Falkiri.[1]
The early Phaelosians were shunned by Kryptonian society; whenever a Kryptonian House joined the Phaelosians, their name, sigil and House fable were stricken from historical records.[2] The Phaelosians left Krypton after their leader Thalkis Sal-Re was assassinated.[3] From then on they were lost to Kryptonian history and forgotten.[4] The Phaelosians eventually settled a planet of their own, New Phaelosia, where they lived in harmony with nature until they were attacked and conquered by Warworld during the reign of Mongul MDCCXCI.[5] Many of them were killed and the survivors were enslaved for generations. They were badly mistreated; suffering abuse, malnutrition and disease.[1]
The Phaelosians largely assimilated to the culture of Warworld, particularly “wearing iron”, i.e. chains.[6][7] However they secretly revered the House of El and in particular Superman, the sworn enemy of the Mongul dynasty, and believed that one day he would free them. Many secretly wore the S shield as a symbol of hope.[4] A mysterious man named Byla told the children stories about the adventures of the House of El, both in the future and the past.
One of these children was a girl named Thao-La, who was particularly devout in her belief in Superman. She would openly wear an approximation of his costume and play with a small lump of iron roughly shaped like him.[8] She kept her faith even as her parents and brother were taken from her and killed.[4]
Eventually a mysterious scavenger came to Mongul MDCCXCII and told him what the Phaelosians were doing. Mongul tortured Thao-La's friends in front of her and ordered her to go to Earth and kill Superman's loved ones, although in reality her true mission was lure him back to Warworld, as Mongul knew the Man of Steel would be compelled to rescue the slaves, especially those he viewed as fellow Kryptonians.[1] Thao-La wavered in her mission and eventually rejected Mongul, but her friends were killed and she was left critically wounded. Despite warnings that it was a trap, Superman and The Authority travelled to Warworld to free the Phaelosians.[9] When they arrived, they found to their horror that Mongul had already killed hundreds of them and used their bodies to mark a path to the arena where Mongul and his Champions were waiting.[10]
The Warzoons managed to defeat the Authority, and Superman was de-powered by Warworld's subterranean red sun generators.[11] Mongul had Superman thrown into the holding pens of the arena with the Phaelosian gladiators. Superman promised the Phaelosians they would escape together before passing out. That night, Midnighter attempted to break Superman out but he refused, saying that he needed to stay to help the Phaelosians, and that by fighting in the arena he could speak to and inspire the population of Warworld to rebel against Mongul.[7]
The Phaelosians had been culturally brainwashed to revere Mongul but Superman's kindness and nobility caused them to begin to doubt He Who Held All The Chains. A veteran gladiator named Kryl-Ux led Superman to a hidden area in Warworld's catacombs called the Necropolis, where Superman was able to absorb cosmic energy from a myserious mineral in the rock called Genesis to partially restore his powers.[12] Meanwhile, Mongul sent soldiers to the cells to slaughter the Phaelosians.[13] Superman and Midnighter, who had become the leader of a resistance against Mongul, rushed back to the cells to rescue the slaves.[3] The Phaelosians escaped and joined the rebellion.[14]
On Earth, John Henry Irons was searching for a way to heal Thao-La and theorised that small doses of Genesis energy may restore her, but it only seemed to make her worse. His niece Natasha had followed Superman to Warworld and learned more about Genesis there. She contacted him and told him that the Genesis needed to be refined for Thao-La to be able to absorb it safely.[15] Together they found a way to filter the mutative radiation from Genesis, leaving only the restorative energy which began to charge Thao-la's cells like sunlight. Natasha realised that she could filter Genesis through one of the Star Forges and the resulting "white" solar radiation could grant powers to all the Phaelosians on Warworld.[16]
Natasha developed the necessary device with help from Orphan, one of Mongul's champions who had defected to Superman; and Leonath, an enslaved blacksmith and former engineer. Mongul's forces launched a full scale assault on the rebels, and so Natasha, Orphan and Leonath infiltrated a Star Forge while the majority of their forces held off the Warzoons. Leonath sacrificed himself to take the device into the Forge, granting superpowers to all the Phaelosians on the planet and allowing them to fight off Mongul's forces. Meanwhile, Kryl-Ux revealed that he was the mastermind behind all the events leading to the Authority coming to Warworld and killed Mongul with his newfound super-strength. With Mongul's death, the Phaelosians were freed.[17]
Superman took Warworld and all its inhabitants, including the Phaelosians, into Earth's Solar System, while he tried to determine more permanent places for them to resettle.[18] The United Planets were able to track down all the inhabitants' homeworlds, including New Phaelosia, and plot a course from Earth to each of them. Warworld ferried all the freed slaves, including the Phaelosians, back to their homes.[19] A pair of Phaelosian twins named Osul-Ra and Otho-Ra chose to remain on Earth, where they were adopted into the House of El and became members of the Superman Family.[20]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Phaelosian Physiology: Phaelosians are an evolutionary offshoot of Kryptonians. As such they possess superpowers under the light of a "yellow" sun such as Earth's.[4]
- Solar Radiation 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.[4][8]
- Genesis Energy Absorption: Phaelosians can absorb and process energy from a mysterious material known as "Genesis" as a substitute for yellow sunlight to fuel their powers. This alternative energy source can also empower Kryptonians.[16][17]
- Energy Manipulation: Phaelosians can generate flamelike, blue-coloured energy from their bodies and manipulate it to a variety of effects. Some Phaelosians can also generate a red-coloured energy.[19][21]
- Optic Blast: Phaelosians can, as a conscious act, fire powerful energy blasts from any part of their body. They most typically do this as concentrated beams from their eyes similar to Kryptonian heat vision,[4] or alternatively as concussive blasts from their hands.[22]
- Energy Construct Creation: Some Phaelosians can use their energy to create simple constructs such as a sword or an axe.[21]
- Force Field: Some Phaelosians can use their energy to create energy shields and block powerful attacks.[21]
- Heat Vision: Phaelosians can, as a conscious act, fire beams of intense heat at a target by looking at it. They can vary the heat and area affected.[23][24]
- Superhuman Strength: Phaelosians develop 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 their strength, like their other powers, may fluctuate over time. Their strength is more an act of conscious will on energy fields than actual physical strength. In terms of strength, Phaelosians are seemingly as strong as Kryptonians and Daxamites.[8]
- Superhuman Speed: Phaelosians 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.[8]
- Invulnerability: Due to the interaction of their dense molecular structure and supercharged bio-electric aura, Phaelosian bodies are nigh-invulnerable to extreme energy forces. In addition, their immune systems protect them from toxins and diseases.[8]
- Flight: Phaelosians are able to manipulate graviton particles to defy the forces of gravity and achieve flight. This ranges from hovering to moving in any posture, in any direction.[8]
- Super-Hearing: A Phaelosian's hearing is sensitive enough to hear any sound at any volume or pitch. With skill and concentration, they can block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source or frequency.[25]
- Super-Breath: Phaelosians 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. They can also reverse the process to pull large volumes of air or vapor into their lungs.[26]
- X-Ray Vision: This is the ability to see through any volume of matter except lead. Phaelosians 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.[2]
Weaknesses
- Solar Energy Dependency: Like Kryptonians and Daxamites, Phaelosians 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.[4]
- Vulnerability to Kryptonite: Unlike Daxamites, Phaelosians are vulnerable to Kryptonite despite centuries of genetic drift from baseline Kryptonians.[27]
Miscellaneous
Representatives:
21st Century
30th Century
Notes
- Phaelosians do not follow the Kryptonian naming convention whereby a daughter's last name is her father's full name. Instead both male and female Phaelosians use the male Kryptonian name structure "personal name"-"family name", i.e. Kara-El rather than Kara Zor-El.[4][7]
See Also
- Appearances of Phaelosians
- Race Gallery: Phaelosians
- Images of Phaelosians
Links and References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Action Comics #1031
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Action Comics #1058
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Action Comics #1042
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Action Comics #1032
- ↑ Action Comics #1039
- ↑ Action Comics #1033
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Action Comics #1038
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Action Comics 2021 Annual #1
- ↑ Action Comics #1035
- ↑ Action Comics #1036
- ↑ Action Comics #1037
- ↑ Action Comics #1040
- ↑ Action Comics #1041
- ↑ Action Comics #1043
- ↑ Action Comics #1044
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Action Comics #1045
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Superman: Warworld Apocalypse #1
- ↑ Action Comics #1047
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Action Comics #1049
- ↑ Action Comics #1050
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Action Comics 2023 Annual #1
- ↑ Action Comics #1060
- ↑ Action Comics #1058
- ↑ Superman (Volume 6) #16
- ↑ Action Comics #1048
- ↑ Superman (Volume 6) #2
- ↑ Action Comics #1054