The Durlan
72 years ago - The Durlan is born on his mysterious home planet.
32 years ago - The 40-year-old Durlan is the first of his kind to leave his planet. He is captured by the computer tyrants of Colu. Brainiac takes ownership of him, and begins experimenting on him.
25 years ago - The 47-year-old Durlan manages to escape from Brainiac by stowing himself on the body of Vril Dox, Brainiac's clone, as he is sent to the Starlog. He stays with Vril, helping to teach him and direct his development.
19 years ago - The 53-year-old Durlan escapes the Starlog with Vril Dox, helping him form the Omega Men
17 years ago - The 53-year-old Durlan & the Omega Men liberate the Gordanian planet of Slagg with the help of the slave dancer Felicity who becomes their newest member.
11 years ago - The 61-year-old Durlan and the Omega Men defeat Calculators of Colu.
7 years ago - The 65-year-old Durlan & the Omega Men assist Dick Grayson as he ventures into the Vega system to free a kidnapped Koriand'r from her sister Komand'r. Assisting General Ph'yzzon's Tamaranian rebellion, they free Tamaran from the rule of the Gordanians, and capitalize on that victory to finally overthrow the Gordanian regime. Returning Kalista to her throne, Vril is given a full pardon. The Omega Men are officially disbanded, their enemy defeated. The Durlan & Ferrin Colos return to Citadel space, retiring in Hardcore station with Ti'julk Mr'asz.
2 years ago - The 70-year-old Durlan, Ferrin Colos & Ti'julk Mr'asz are attacked by the forces of Lady Styx. The Durlan & Colos are killed.
The Durlan is kind of an interesting inclusion, because while he's definitely counted as a Member of our Omega Men (or of L.E.G.I.O.N. in regular continuity) he really is far more of a supporting character for series lead Vril Dox. He's a fascinating inclusion and really adds to the weirdness and utility of the team, though, so even though his personal story and timeline might be a little bare bones, he's still a cool character to exist in our timeline.
The Durlan's StoryThe Durlans, plural, appeared for the first time in Action Comics #167 in 1960, with the introduction of Reep Daggle, Chameleon Boy, in the Legion of Superheroes. His people, the Durlans, were shapeshifters, and it was understood that they were viewed with suspicion by the Galaxy at large, and that Reep was joining the Legion to set a positive example of his species. (later, we discovered that Legion financier RJ Brande was secretly ALSO a Durlan, and was in fact Reep's father)
The Legion is, of course, set in the 30th century, so in the modern timeline Durlans remain mysterious and hidden. After they join the coalition of alien species attacking Earth in 1989's crossover book Invasion! we finally meet THE Durlan in the pages of the spacefaring series L.E.G.I.O.N. He's a single Durlan who acts as a mentor to main character Vril Dox. The Durlan is a core part of telling Vril's story properly, playing a sort of Abbé Faria to Dox's Edmond Dantès. It's a pretty simple but effective role, made all the more interesting by the very neat role his species plays in DC's cosmic landscape. |
|