Micronauts Volume 2 #1-20 (October 1984 – May 1986)
Written by Peter B. Gillis
Penciled/Breakdowns by Kelley Jones (#1-6, 8-16, 18, 20), Rod Whigham (#7), Howard Bender (#17, 19)
Inked/Finished by Bruce Patterson (#1-4, 6, 8-10), Ian Akin (#4, 7), Brian Garvey (#4, 7), Pat Redding (#5), Danny Bulandi (#11-20), Kelley Jones (#13)
Coloured by Bob Sharen (#1-14, 16, 19-20), Ken Feduniewicz (#15), Nelson Yomtov (#17), George Roussos (#18)
Spoilers (from thirty-seven to thirty-nine years ago)
I’d been buying the Micronauts for years by the time it was relaunched, but this was the first time that I bought it on a monthly basis. Most of my prior Micronauts reading depended on finding issues in quarter bins, and occasionally grabbing it off the newsstand.
When the series was relaunched in 1984, I started buying it, and there are a few things I remember clearly. I thought that Huntarr’s design was fantastic, as the changes he undergoes become a focus of the title. I remember being surprised when Arcturus Rann loses a hand, and I remember really liking the way Kelley Jones drew Marionette (my other comic book crushes at the time, Kitty Pryde and Dani Moonstar, did not look like her at all!).
I also vaguely remember being a little disenchanted with this book by the time it reached its ending, but I’m not sure why. I’m curious to see how my memories stack up with the actual comics, and I’m looking forward to seeing things through to the end of this Micronauts re-read.
Let’s track who turned up in the title:
The Micronauts
- Marionette (Princess Mari; #1-5, 7-20)
- Huntarr (#1-5, 7-20)
- Acroyear (#1-5, 7-20)
- Commander Arcturus Rann (#1-5, 7-11, 14, 17-20)
- Bug (#1-6, 8-20)
- Biotron III (#1-5, 9-14, 16-19)
- Microtron II (#1-4, 9-10, 12-13, 16-19)
- Devil (#9, 13, 17)
- Solitaire (#10-19)
- Scion (#11-14, 16, 18-20)
- Fireflyte (#17-20)
Villains
- Laios (Regent of Ecbatan; #7)
- Baron Karza (#15, 19)
- Lord Edev (#15)
Guest Stars
- The Beyonder (#16)
Supporting Characters
- Solitaire (#5-6, 8-9)
- Illyrie (#7)
- Time Traveler (#10, 20)
- Cilicia (#11, 18)
- Diarmid (#15)
- The Makers (#20)
Let’s take a look at what happened in these books, with some commentary as we go:
- The series opens unconventionally, with a small planetoid narrating. We learn that it orbits a sun, as it has for thousands of years, and that it is happy. It refers to its Makers, and we see that when the star pulses, it unfurls black wings to collect energy. On the bridge of the Endeavor II, the Micronauts prepare to depart space around Homeworld. They talk about where they should go, and they reject Bug’s suggestion that they go to his planet, Kaliklak (Mari is especially unhappy when he refers to Treefern, the sister of his dead lover). Rann suggests a planet, Fiame, that is mostly made of metal. He discovered it during his thousand year journey of exploration, and they agree it might be interesting to see. Biotron puts the ship into hyperdrive, and they silently say goodbye to Homeworld. Acroyear notices that Huntarr is more affected than the others, and we see that the ‘living weapon’ is having a hard time adjusting to what his body has become (he was engineered by Baron Karza’s scientists). Their discussion is interrupted by an alarm – there’s a problem with a system that’s on the hull. Rann claims it’s always been an issue with ships like this, despite the fact that he only ever flew one ship, for a thousand years. He feels like he’s the only one with enough experience to fix it (remember that he spent those whole thousand years in suspended animation, on a ship that couldn’t enter hyperspace, so this makes no sense). There’s a danger that the ship is speeding up, and that they’ll be lost somewhere remote if he doesn’t quickly go outside to fix it. The others argue, but in the end, Rann heads out the airlock in a Dog Soldier spacesuit. The envelope around the ship is shrinking as he crawls over to the problem. The tool he’s using slips out of his hand, and reaching for it, his fingers cross the envelope, and are liquified. He has no choice but to trigger the wrist lock on his ship, cutting off his left hand. In pain, he finishes fixing the ship, but passes out. Huntarr stretches his body to retrieve him. Later, he and Mari talk about what happened, and the strain their relationship was under. Biotron drops them back into regular space, and the team has no idea where they are. Biotron lets them know that the ship is drained of power (this is not a very good ship). Rann and Mari join the team, and they ask for a scan of the local system. The only substance in the area is a small planetoid, the same one that narrated the start of this issue. It senses them too, and sends out a gamma ray burst to scan them. The Endeavor takes a couple of days to reach the planetoid, and then the Micronauts suit up to explore it, despite the fact that it’s radioactive. The planetoid is thrilled to have a visitor, but is surprised by how vulnerable it is (I assume it means the Endeavor). The team enters a cave and finds a strange, very HR Giger-influenced, system of organic-looking structures. As they explore, they try to determine if it exists naturally or was constructed. Bug worries that the planetoid could be dangerous to them, while the planetoid tries to understand them. It worries that the star is about to pulse, and it doesn’t want to unfurl its wings in front of its guests. Microtron lets the away team know that radiation levels will rise with the star’s pulsing. Rann wants to move deeper into the planetoid. The planetoid decides, for the first time ever, to refuse the star’s gifts to protect its visitors. Acroyear discovers a different chamber, one filled with oddly shaped globes. Huntarr scans them with his hands, and determines that they are eggs, being fed by the radiation of the sector. They lose communication with Microtron as the star pulses, and the planetoid decides to accept its gifts.
- As the radiation on the living planetoid increases, beams of energy course through the chamber the Micronauts find themselves in. They find them easy to evade, but worry about how to escape safely. Arcturus wants to contact the roboids, but can’t because of all the radiation. Mari suggests he uses his mindlink, while Huntarr examines one of the eggs. Rann tries hard, and somehow manages to form a new mindlink with the new Biotron (and maybe the Endeavor?). Once he contacts Biotron, he asks for ideas on how they can leave the creature they’re in; the creature picks up on the telepathy, but thinks its one of the eggs. It starts squirting some kind of liquid all over Huntarr, and the others leave the chamber. Acroyear uses his body to block a stream of radiation so the others can get through, and everyone except for Huntarr makes it to the ship. Rann seals off the ship, and decides to try to contact the creature telepathically. Huntarr feels the creature probing his body, and feels pain as it starts to make changes to him. Rann reaches out, promising friendship, and gets the creature’s attention. It scans the ship again, and starts to speak to Rann (which we see as him speaking to himself, but with his eyes glazed over). The creature refers to itself as a child of the Makers, and assumes the Micronauts are as well. The creature says that he’s been undoing the harm that was done to Huntarr’s genetics, and speaks of journeying to the Makers, inviting the Micronauts to come with it, before breaking contact. They discuss hitching a ride with the creature to get somewhere else. Huntarr undergoes more changes. The creature starts to transform itself, preparing for its journey, and this causes some damage to the Endeavor. Microtron fires up the ship’s shields, and they watch as a propulsion unit emerges from the creature’s surface. Microtron closes the blast doors to protect them from its light. They decide it’s time to go after Huntarr, but then hear a banging on the ship. Microtron opens the blast door, and they see an orange monster outside. It turns its finger into a plasma jet and carves the letter H in the window, making them realize that it’s actually Huntarr. He now has a tentacle coming out the back of his head, and various cables and protuberances on his body. He enters the ship carrying an egg, and Mari is happy to see him. Huntarr explains that the alien lifeform is about to fly through the universe, dropping off eggs as it goes. Acroyear and Bug install the egg near the ship’s engines, so it can absorb radiation. The alien prepares to enter hyperdrive, and Acroyear mans the tractor beams, so they can ride with it. Rann contacts the alien again, asking it who the Makers are. He receives vague answers, and breaks off contact. He realizes that the alien is speeding up, and we see that it is scattering its eggs as it flies. The Micronauts realize that the alien is going to die at the end of this process, and they want to get away from it. The problem is, if they leave it, they will be adrift in hyperspace without the means to return to normal space. Rann realizes that the eggs have the ability to return to normal space, so he suggests they use the egg Huntarr brought on the ship to slow them down. Huntarr uses his body to somehow link the egg to the ship, and they succeed. Later, Rann thinks about the Makers, and whether or not they are gods. Biotron and Microtron discuss Biotron’s finding that the Micronauts have all been exposed to too much radiation and are dying.
- Bug plays some kind of three layer holographic game with a holographic projection of Nightcrawler that turns into a hologram of Wolverine when Bug wins. Biotron and Rann talk about how wherever in space they are, the worlds are not connected spheres like Homeworld. They discuss how different things are in this infinite space, and look for a world to explore. An alarm sounds, and they rush to the medical bay, where they discover that Mari has trashed the place. She went there to check on a method of restoring Arcturus’s hand, and discovered a mini-Body Banks, which she has trashed out of anger. Sensing that Mari is tired, Arcturus takes her to her room to sleep, and then confronts Biotron, asking why there is a Body Banks onboard, stocked with organs and limbs. Biotron explains that this is standard on all ships, and Biotron tries to turn the conversation to be about illness in general. Rann doesn’t want to hear from him, and commands him to not talk about it, before putting him down for not being more like the original Biotron (who, we should remember, developed a sense of consciousness over a thousand years of mind-meld with Rann, so maybe he’s just rushing things?). The Endeavor flies towards a star cluster. In the engine room, Acroyear and Huntarr check on the alien egg that is now powering their ship. The two men talk about the changes that Huntarr has had forced on him, and how he now sees himself as an expression of the alien planetoid’s sense of art. Microtron talks to Rann about the world they’ve found, which he doesn’t think is a safe place to explore. Rann insists on going anyway, and gathers the Micronauts. Mari wakes up and doesn’t notice that there are bloodstains on her pillow. The team takes a shuttle to the planet, where they discover that everything is coated with a mirror-like substance. Even the creatures that live there are mirrored, and they see another creature coating itself with mercury. Bug examines a plant and tries to burn a mirrored leaf, which reflects the energy back towards him as a laser beam. They notice a number of large creatures approaching them. Back on the ship, Microtron and Biotron talk about how the destroyed Body Banks will not be any help in curing the team of their radiation sickness, and Biotron believes they have only days left to live. It appears that these roboids do not have the free will of the first Biotron and Microtron, and can’t disobey Rann’s command to not talk about health. A half dozen creatures approach the Micronauts and they decide it’s best to return to their shuttle. The creatures start to eat the metal off the hull, and when the Micronauts fire up their engines to leave, the creatures crawl into the exhaust, crippling the shuttle. They crash, but Rann has an idea. The roboids worry that they’re not in contact with the team, but can’t do anything without orders. Rann turns on the searchlights, and burn the creatures. He explains that the atmosphere of the planet turns light into lasers, which Huntarr thinks can be used to charge the Endeavor. Rann points out that the ship would be disintegrated. He calls Biotron, and learns that they have only about fifteen minutes before the sun rises and its light kills them. He calls for Biotron to come and get them quickly. The ground under their shuttle moves, as they realize they are sitting on a giant solar panel that is tilting towards the sun. The shuttle starts sliding and is grabbed by a massive tentacle, which pulls it into the planet. The Endeavor is caught in the rising sunlight, and we see it start to burn.
- The team, all of whom are still in the shuttle, decide they should figure out what has happened. They open their blast shields, and Bug tests the light streaming through the window to make sure it’s not laser light. They open the shuttle and find themselves inside a massive facility in the planet. They change out of their spacesuits (I guess Acroyear had his armor stowed onboard, although I’m still not sure why he would have worn the flimsier Dog Soldier suit) and they start to explore. They are shocked by how big and well-maintained the facility is, and look for a way to contact the Endeavor. On their ship, Biotron and Microtron find themselves pummeled by the laser light, while searching for the Micronauts. They put down behind a large mountain range, and start scanning under the planet’s surface for their teammates. The problem is, the range is made of clear crystal, so as the sun rises, the mountains start to funnel all that light. Biotron orders Microtron to start tunneling into the planet, but the Endeavor still takes a lot of laser light. We see parts of Biotron start to melt, and see that some symbols are transmitted by the light into the roboids’ nervous systems. They lie on the floor, half turned into slag; the lights go out on the ship, then turn back on. Mari finds something like a control panel in one of the alien rooms, but when she touches a plate of dull metal, it activates and she collapses. When Arcturus looks at it, the same thing happens to him. Rann finds himself back on Homeworld, attending a fancy cotillion with a young woman whose name he doesn’t remember. He spots Mari enter the party with someone else, and immediately she is all he can think about. He maneuvers his dancing partner through the crowd so he can be close to her and the ‘fop’ she’s dancing with. The others see this scene playing out in a stylized way on the metal plate, as they try to figure out what’s happened to them. A bunch of robots enter the room and attack them, so Huntarr, Bug, and Acroyear start to fight back. Huntarr’s new body grows tusks that transmit a type of electromagnetic waves that repel the robots, who flee. On the screen, and in their minds, we see that Arcturus and Mari are now dancing with one another. They speak to each other rather cryptically, about light and their dance. In reality, Huntarr hears an energy discharge take place before the others see it, and they are caught in a kind of vortex. They make their way out of it, and then it vanishes. The walls start to close in on them. Other characters in the drama in Rann’s mind start to interact with him, talking about him having fallen for Mari. Acroyear tries to hold the walls apart, but instead has Bug use his rocket lance to blast at the walls, revealing some circuitry. Rann and Mari introduce themselves in the simulation they’re in, and that makes Mari realize that something strange has happened. This causes them to wake up, and they find themselves approached by two dachshund-like pink aliens with elongated heads. These new beings are surprised to meet aliens, and then they see that the other Micronauts have destroyed part of their armory. The lead alien explains that his hostile world is perfect for them to use to test shielding and plating for their vessels, and use this underground facility to test weapons. Apparently Rann and Mari subverted one of their weapons to create the dance we just saw. Rann talks more to the aliens, who claim that they and this strange star system were created by the Makers. We see the same symbols burned into Biotron and Microtron on an amulet around the alien’s neck. The others join them, and the aliens marvel at how different everyone is, and wonder if they came from beyond the Spiral Path. Before Rann goes to look for a way to contact his ship, Mari asks for one more dance.
- The Micronauts watch as their new friends retrieve the badly-damaged Endeavor from where the roboids had stashed it. The alien explains that they parked behind the beacon range, which the Makers designed to focus the sunlight. Once the ship is brought to them, the Micronauts rush to check on Biotron and Microtron. They find them half melted, but still functional (again, the human part of the roboids is ignored). Huntarr’s cables scan Biotron, who starts moving. Biotron tries to warn them, but at the same time, wires come out of his arm and start to choke Mari. While the heroes try to figure out how to free her, Rann shoots Biotron in the back and tells the others to take Mari for medical help. Rann, alone, questions his leadership, and then feels pain and dizziness. The others stand over Mari, who is in a bed. They’ve wrapped the burns on her neck, and Bug has brought some supplies from their ship. He eats a candy bar and drops the wrapper, which one of the aliens picks up. It has a picture of Homeworld on it, and the aliens respond with wonder. They invite the Micronauts to their capital planet (they refer to themselves as the Confluence), and they more or less agree. The aliens again speak of the Spiral Path. Soon, they take the Endeavor into the hold of a larger ship. Arcturus refuses to travel with the others, insisting on staying on the bridge of the Endeavor, which angers Mari. As they travel, he puts on a headband that allows him to explore some of Biotron’s memory banks of Homeworld’s history from the time he was away. The narration says that the tape he plays is nearly a century old, but it’s of Mari and Argon as children, so it wouldn’t even be twenty years old. We see that young Mari once showed off to Argon that she knew who Dallan and Sepsis were, and that she was a fan of Arcturus Rann, their son, claiming she wants to marry someone like him one day. Rann has a vision of his parents asking him to join them, suggesting that his time is done. Acroyear, wearing a weird purple and white bodysuit with an exterior loincloth, wakes him up and suggests that it’s dangerous to sleep while watching memory tapes. Acroyear tries to give Rann some perspective, suggesting he’s going through a mid-life crisis. They look at the Confluence’s ‘Central City’, and join the rest of the team. They see something shocking, which their alien friend explains. It seems that the Micronauts are celebrities on this world, and that aliens are mimicking their bodies. They are approached by an alien that has duplicated Mari’s body. The team is taken to a banquet, but are unable to eat the food since it is incompatible with their bodies. Bug feels bad when he sees Arcturus and Mari sit close to each other. Bug slips out while Rann thinks about studying this race. A Rann duplicate brings synthesized food that they should be able to eat, but Acroyear does not like its taste. Huntarr asks about the Spiral Path, and the main alien shows them that, similar to our Milky Way, series of galaxies shaped like the DNA double helix is visible in the night sky. The alien explains that it was made by the Makers. The alien is surprised they don’t know the Makers, and explains how Homeworld was obviously made by them. He explains that life was formed on their planet when the Makers tossed an egg into their primordial ocean, which gave birth to their race (it’s not lost on Huntarr that this sounds like the egg in their ship). Mari notices that Bug is missing. He’s outside on a balcony, where he’s taken off his helmet and his shirt, and thinks about the fact that unlike his friends, he still has a home that he misses. He thinks about leaving, and then is joined by an alien who has crafted herself a body based on Mari’s, but with Bug’s eyes and colouring. They talk, and he admits that he’s thinking of leaving. She asks to go with him, telling him she has her own ship, and wants to learn more about the Spiral Path. When Bug starts to say no, she acts hurt, and he agrees to go with her, claiming that he doesn’t think the Micronauts will miss him.
- Bug has left the Micronauts, and is traveling with the alien woman on her ship. We learn that her name is Solitaire, and that she’s been working to develop food that Bug can eat, although it still doesn’t taste great. Bug is happy with her (they’re very affectionate), but starts to wonder about his friends. He imagines that the aliens drug them so they can serve them as a sacrifice to some kind of Lovecraftian elder god. Solitaire brings Bug out of his daydreaming, and they talk about how she views him as a hero. He tries to downplay his own importance, but she builds up his ego. Later, he wonders again about the other Micronauts, and daydreams that the Confluence is at war with a pirate race that left Kaliklak long ago. In his thoughts, the Micronauts use the knowledge they gained from Bug to lead the Confluence in response to a large-scale attack, but as the team is surrounded, they wish Bug was with them. He realizes that his fantasies are silly. Solitaire comes to him, and seems to be glowing. They kiss. Days later, Bug presses a button on the ship’s control panel that sets off an alarm. Solitaire is annoyed that Bug pulled her out of the shower, and stays angry. Bug thinks again about his friends. In this fantasy, a humanoid servant draws the Micronauts into a secret meeting, and then reveals himself to be Baron Karza. Bug realizes that if he’s imagining things like this, it means he needs to return to his friends. Solitaire, whom he’s referred to as a shape-changer, agrees to turn around and go find the other Micronauts. I suspect this whole issue was being used to stall things for a month.
- Acroyear is feeling separate from his teammates, as he thinks about his lost people. He appears to be on a ship, and retreats to a room decorated with what I assume are Spartakian items (not sure how they would be on the Endeavor II, if that’s where they are). He imagines that he sees Cilicia, his estranged wife and the expectant mother of his child. Her image talks to him, saying that she’s waiting for him, and accuses him of being afraid to return to the Microverse. Acroyear tells this figment of his imagination a story about honor. Before the events of the first Micronauts series, Acroyear, as crown prince, was in charge of a fleet sent to protect a world called Ectaban from the Black Fleet, a powerful group of mercenaries that were attacking the four-sphered planet. Acroyear called for a maneuver called ‘The Demon’, and led the attack. The battle was fierce, and it looked like the Acroyears might not survive, when the second half of their fleet, led by Lady Illyrie, flew through the planet’s atmosphere, turning it into burning plasma which they dragged into the Black Fleet ships, burning them up. Acroyear and Illyrie landed at the planet’s main spaceport. They were surprised to find that there was no crowd waiting. Laios, the regent of Ecbatan met them and took them through the city in an open car. Acroyear had questions about who would have hired the Black Fleet, and Laios started to explain that he was facing a rebellion when two flying vehicles attacked them, firing spears. Laios jumped in front of one spear that went right through him and into Illyria, piercing her armor. Security forces rushed them to the Body Banks, where Laios had his damaged organs swapped out, although Illyria refused such treatment as against her culture. Acroyear was still suspicious, but Illyria reminded that she had a life debt now, so they left it alone. During dinner, Laios explained that the rebellion was being run by his son. After dinner, the Acroyears were shown to their single quarters, which they pointed out was inappropriate. While a second room was arranged for Illyria, Acroyear reminded her that he was promised to Cilicia. When she went to her room, Illyria discovered Polibos, the leader of the rebellion waiting to speak to her. He talked about how Laios was actually his son. He explained that the child planned his mother’s death and had his brain grafted into his grandfather’s, taking over the planet. Illyria was skeptical, and explained that she had a blood-debt. She tied up the man and went to see Acroyear. Later, she summoned Laios to her bed chamber, and got him to sit on her bed and talk for a while. Then she revealed that she’d hidden a bio-scan unit under the covers, and now knew the truth about him. Laios admitted the truth, and Illyria explained that she would honor her blood debt, but would not sleep with him, which is what he wanted. He pulled out a gun, but she still refused to have sex with him. He shot her, and that’s when Acroyear and some of his other warriors came out of hiding and shot Laios dead. As Illyria died, she asked for a kiss. Acroyear explains to the image of Cilicia that this is how he learned of the price of honor, and she explains that the price of love is, as well. This felt like another delaying issue, especially as Kelley Jones took a break and Rod Whigham drew this.
- Solitaire finds that Bug has fallen ill while they fly back to the Confluence of Stars. She puts him in bed, and when she takes his armor off, finds that he has lesions on his chest. She commands her ship to fly back at full speed. She arrives in a rush in Central City, barely allowing her ship time to cool from entering the atmosphere. One of the aliens we’ve seen before (no one seems to have names on this planet) accompanies Solitaire and the unconscious Bug. She’s surprised to find two ‘minions of the Death Watch’ there – two big guys in armor. They take Bug into a room where Mari, Arcturus, and Acroyear all lie in beds, sick as well. We see that they have lesions on their faces, and that the two humans have their hair falling out. Huntarr explains that they have radiation poisoning, and that they waited too long to try to treat it. Huntarr is very upset, and undergoing some serious survivor’s guilt, since he was exposed to the same radiation as his friends. On the Endeavor, which is in a drydock somewhere, the egg that Huntarr brought back from the alien planetoid starts to crack. What emerges is a pale imitation of an HR Giger monster (really, a take on the xenomorph in Alien). It scurries into the darkness. Huntarr talks to himself, narrating a recap of this series so far, and feeling sorry for his friends. One of the aliens explains that they provide their dying with illusions that make it easier on them, and at first Huntarr resists this, but Mari convinces him to join them. The creature from the egg confronts two of the pink aliens, and they see something in it that causes them to bow to it. In a dreamscape, the Micronauts, along with Cilicia and Bug’s dead lover Jasmine (who is now blonde?) gather for a fancy dance. Huntarr becomes human again, and is joined by an image of his sister. At this point, Solitaire pulls him out of the illusion, because she can sense that something is coming towards them. She opens the door and the creature from the egg enters the room. Huntarr starts to fight it, assuming it’s there for his friends. One of the Death Watch guys refers to the creature as a ‘prime being’, but Solitaire starts to glow and then they do her bidding. A spike comes out of the creature’s head and pierces Huntarr’s chest. His body starts spilling out all over the place, filling the room. The creature sneaks away while Solitaire and the others flee. Huntarr pours some kind of liquid out of his mass, which cocoons the Micronauts. The narration talks about what the planetoid-creature did to his body, and how he is a work of art that sees other beings that way, and we watch as he reconstructs Mari’s body. Soon, the four Micronauts stand together, dressed as they were for their dance. Rann (who is now beardless) notices that his hand has been cured. Mari’s legs don’t quite work properly, and she collapses. Huntarr returns to his new normal appearance. Acroyear thanks him for saving their lives, but Huntarr wonders if the creature he fought deserves the credit.
- On Homeworld, the reborn Devil has been exploring the wreckage left in the wake of Baron Karza’s extermination of all life. This Devil doesn’t have full access to his memories from his last life, but his instincts lead him to an intact lab where he discovers a working teleporter. As he’s about to use it, the malevolent being he’s been sensing appears (it looks a lot like Computrex, the living computer the Micronauts fought twice on Earth). As Devil tries to teleport away from it, the thing touches the signal, distorting it. In Central City, Rann wakes up screaming, having dreamt about Devil. One of the aliens comes to him, and shows him that Biotron and Microtron have been rebuilt and improved upon. Biotron apologizes to Arcturus for having failed him, but Rann takes the blame on himself and recaps the last bunch of issues. Rann is taken to join the others (the roboids disappear). Bug introduces them all to Solitaire, who has changed shape, choosing to represent herself as Sepsis, who was Rann’s mother. The pink alien explains that Solitaire is a shape-shifter and a highly respected artist. Rann starts to ask her about her people, and she realizes that they’ve been told nothing. Her race is called the Children of the Dreaming Star, and when Acroyear asks what the Dreaming Star is, she decides to take them to it. They board a vessel that makes frequent pilgrimages to the star, which lies close to the system’s sun. They talk a bit about the Makers again, and then land on the station of the star. There, they learn how the Children commune with the star, which is psychoactive and responds to the wishes of the Children. We learn that many of the race’s artists end their days orbiting the star, and this is also where they keep their criminals and madmen. Solitaire shows them how to use the star’s matrix through a computer station, but cautions them that if they commune with it they might never want to stop. Rann collapses, feeling Devil’s pain, and insists on communing with the star immediately. He works the console like he’s used it before, and his mind connects with the star. He senses Devil, and commands the Children to bring him a teleporter. Rann uses the star to bring Devil’s teleporting energy to them, but he’s not materializing normally. Rann turns to Biotron (who wasn’t shown on a single page that had group shots of the team going to the station) and asks him to store Devil’s matrix. Once Devil is inside Biotron, Rann stops glowing and becomes normal again. He explains that Devil’s signal was too distorted to form his body properly; Biotron broadcasts a garbled warning from Devil about a madness that is destroying the Enigma Force and the Worldmind. Acroyear is confused, as the Spartakian Worldmind is dead, but Rann suggests that the other planets of the Microverse have worldminds as well. He wants to return to the Microverse immediately to fix Devil at the source of his transmission. Solitaire offers the help of the Children, but her companion disagrees until she starts glowing. After that, he offers a fleet to accompany them. Solitaire leaves to prepare. While Bug talks to Acroyear about how lucky he is to have found her, Acroyear seems suspicious. Later, Rann thinks about the dreaming star, and considers that he could spend the rest of his long life with it. Mari joins him, pulling him away. Later, the Micronauts are on the bridge of the repaired Endeavor II, leading a fleet towards the Microverse. We get the sense that another entity is included in Devil’s matrix, a malevolent one.
- The Micronauts lead the fleet of the Children of the Dreaming Star from their planet, which we learn is called Sphere. The Endeavor has been overhauled considerably, and our heroes are looking forward to getting under way. Once they’ve entered warp, bug reveals that he’s snuck Solitaire onboard the ship (she’s changed bodies again, this time creating a more unique, and fishstockinged, look for herself). Rann jokes about what happens to stowaways, but they all agree to welcome her to the team. Biotron points out that they are losing Devil’s signal (how is a teleport signal still broadcasting anyway?), and they find themselves on course for a large energy field. Solitaire suggests they go around it, and we can tell Rann suspects that it was a field like that (which resembles one of the Makers’ glyphs) that may have brought them there. The fleet maneuvers around the field. It suddenly feels like their ship has hit something. Their ship has come out of hyperlight, and we can tell that the whole fleet is stopped in a line. Somewhere in the Endeavor, something starts moving around. Rann figures out, with some help from Microtron, that they’ve reached the Spacewall around the Microverse (that seems really quick to me). They don’t know how they can get through the Spacewall though, especially since Rann can’t seem to contact it like he could before. Instead, he thinks the fleet might hold the answers he needs. Soon, the Micronauts are walking on the Spacewall. Rann has had a petard made and installed on the wall, with the idea of using it to channel all of the power in the fleet through his mind and into the Spacewall. Mari refuses to let Arcturus do this alone, and soon they are in the device (which fortunately was made with two seats). The fleet starts beaming its energy into the petard. We see that a humanoid figure is in the Endeavor’s engine room. The other Micronauts watch as the energy starts to shift and cause ripples in the Spacewall. Rann screams, and a massive image of the Time Traveler appears before the fleet. It tells them that they cannot enter the Microverse. Rann starts speaking like Thor (“Thou art wrong!”) and orders the fleet to start firing on Time Traveler. The manifestation of the Enigma Force fights back, destroying the fleet’s vessels. Bug notices that their ship is not getting touched. Huntarr finds the remains of the petard flying through space, and brings it onboard. Things quiet down outside. Acroyear and Huntarr open up the wreck, and find Mari unable to move her legs. They dig Rann out, and he’s visibly aged again, with white hair and wrinkly skin. He claims they failed.
- The Micronauts gather and express surprise over Arcturus’s rapid aging. He feels like he’s failed, and Acroyear kind of takes charge, convincing both he and Mari that they need to rest. The leader of the Children (who still hasn’t been named) calls on a viewscreen, and Acroyear agrees to meet with him. Once they are together, the leader tells him that the surviving ships from the Confluence are going home. Rann asks to go with them. He explains that he can’t fight against the Enigma Force, which he views as like a god, and wants to spend the rest of his time communing with the Dreaming Star. Mari is upset by this, but the others accept his decision. Later, the three male Micronauts watch as the Confluence ships depart. They decide that they should continue to try to get through the Spacewall to help Devil, and Acroyear wants to learn why the Enigma Force seems so malevolent. Bug consoles Mari, and makes her feel less alone. Later, Biotron notices that there are a number of ships on the other side of the Spacewall; they discover that Acroyear’s people are in the area. On the lead Acroyear ship, Cilicia learns that there’s a ship close by, and they prepare for a possible attack (despite having the Spacewall between them). She’s unhappy when she receives a call from Acroyear, and has her ships fire on him, although the Spacewall prevents their blasts from being a danger. Acroyear and Cilicia speak, and he learns of a structure on the Spacewall. Both parties travel to it; it’s a massive structure built on the Micronauts’ side of the wall. They land, leaving Mari on the ship, and begin to explore it. Huntarr detects an atmosphere, but no oxygen. Bug finds the corpse of a large and strange alien (this scene reminds me of Alien). Huntarr uses his cables to interface with the alien, and its face appears in his chest. It tells the story of how its race found the Spacewall, and spent ten thousand years using this Breachpoint to try to get through the Spacewall. Huntarr believes they can turn the station back on and use it as it was intended. They are able to see the Acroyear ships on the other side of the wall (the station appears to exist on both sides of the wall). Acroyear fires a beam of energy past the Acroyear fleet, and then asks to speak to Cilicia alone over the giant alien viewscreen. He tells her that he wanted to show her how powerful the station is, and wants to know if she loves him. She does, and he shows that he’s been carrying a crystal flower in his armor, which he now destroys. They seem to come to some sort of understanding, but then the station starts to fall apart. Huntarr believes that the Enigma Force has come to destroy Breachpoint. Acroyear sends the others back to the Endeavor and then rushes back into the control room. He climbs onto the communication equipment and uses his royal override to demand that the Acroyear fleet retreat. This is apparently an abuse of power, but it makes him pleased to have done it. He rushes back to the edge of the station, and has to jump to reach the Endeavor, which is pulling back. Once he reaches the bridge of the ship, he realizes that there’s someone new there. A silver-skinned winged man introduces himself as Scion, and declares that he’s the new captain of the Endeavor and leader of the Micronauts.
- There’s a standoff on the bridge as Acroyear questions Scion’s claims to leadership. He reminds them that they were in a rush, so they move away from the explosion that takes out Breachpoint, and then turn back to Scion. He demands that the team is obedient to him, but won’t explain why. Acroyear pulls his energy sword out, and they start to fight. Acroyear does not like that Scion keeps calling him ‘brother’, and as he starts to get the upper hand, he is suddenly pulled away by Huntarr, who can no longer control his body. Scion reveals that he hatched from the egg Huntarr brought onto the ship, and is the reason that Huntarr was able to save the other Micronauts from their radiation sickness. Solitaire demands that he release Huntarr, and he recognizes her for who she is. They acknowledge that they can’t stop each other, and then Bug tries to attack and gets fried. Scion tells the team that he’s not their enemy, and that he can get them through the Spacewall. They agree and get to work, thinking private thoughts as they fly through hyperspace. Huntarr, however, has a reaction to the idea of being forced into servitude, and starts lashing out. Scion shuts him down quickly, and promises to help the Micronauts if they help him save everything in turn. They approach a part of the Spacewall where the Spiral Path bends, and Scion thinks that will make it easier for them to pierce it. Acroyear still doesn’t trust him, but the team agrees to go along with his instructions. Biotron explains to the others that they’re going to fly right at the wall, and they agree to go ahead with the plan. Scion is outside the ship, and climbs into the thruster exhaust. He absorbs a ton of energy and then walks to the front of the ship, burning footprints into it as he goes. As the ship approaches the wall, Scion blasts his energy outwards. The ship shudders, knocking Mari out of her chair. They can hear Scion screaming throughout the ship, and realize that they are stuck inside the Spacewall. Microtron volunteers to go out onto the hull to get Scion, but he gets knocked off. Huntarr has to pull him back from the energy of the wall. He explains that the Spacewall is generating pain in a neuro-field, and that’s keeping them from being able to reach Scion. Mari figures she can do it, because now that she’s half paralyzed, she doesn’t feel pain. The idea is for Huntarr to use his tendrils to animate her (but like, if it doesn’t hurt him to do that, he could probably go outside too, right?). She walks out onto the hull and approaches Scion, who is frozen in pain. When she touches him, there’s a release of energy, and the ship is pushed through the Spacewall into the Microverse. Later, Both Mari and Scion sit in special chairs to recover. Mari asks Scion who he is, and he replies that he’s her brother. Acroyear asks Solitaire to explain things, but she says she can’t. She further adds that she thinks Scion’s goal is to save all life in the Microverse, but that it will destroy her. The narration points out that her tears are silver.
- Issue thirteen opens with an image of Devil, writhing in pain. The narrative talks about ‘the scream’, which is everything. Biotron can tell something is wrong with the Devil matrix in his system, and talks to Microtron about how to fix things, but other than recapping the plot so far, he has no ideas. Acroyear, Solitaire, and Huntarr come to where Biotron has hooked himself into the ship’s systems, and Huntarr offers to interface with him and see what he can learn. He confirms that Biotron’s systems are fine, but when he enters into the matrix, he experiences intense pain. Solitaire helps him calm down, and he calls her mother, which is a little odd. Bug and Mari join them (she’s now in a floating wheelchair device), and they notice that Scion didn’t respond to Biotron’s call. They head to the bridge where he explains there was nothing he could do, and tells them to accept his decisions. Mari uses a slur for the developmentally handicapped that wouldn’t get published today, and Scion tells her that pain is out there. He tells them they are headed to the planet Fiame, which is where the Micronauts planned on starting their voyages back in issue one. Bug challenges Scion’s assertion that there is no defense against pain, so Scion touches him and leaves him in agony. Solitaire tries to help him, and it’s clear that there is growing animosity between her and Scion, whom she calls her brother. The team lands on the planet, which is a kind of paradise. Bug and Solitaire sit together, and she refuses to explain her connection to Scion. Acroyear and Mari talk about how they should look after themselves. Scion tells them that he’s found something worth investigating as he flew around, which Huntarr is distrustful of. They take their hover car, and approach a massive ship that is not made of metal. Huntarr tries to probe it, and can tell it’s not really technological. Things start falling off the ship, and other smaller ships fill the sky. Scion wants to make contact, and has Microtron think of the glyphs that were burned into his circuitry on the laser planet. A large panel opens on the ship and they enter. The ship is very strange (again, I can see the influence of the Aliens movies). It appears to be something of a zoo, with corals containing worm and spider creatures. Acroyear touches an outcropping from the wall, and his handprint eats away at the material. All of the worms and spiders rush into some holes, there’s a light, and then they’ve transformed into bipedal creatures that come at the Micronauts. Our heroes start to fight back, and soon these creatures are replaced by larger ones that are stronger. Bug gives Mari a kiss after saving her from some. They keep fighting through the ship, and Huntarr notices that there’s no metal on the ship. Scion spies a pillar with a worm wrapped around it that he thinks is the main control. They pry the worm off it carefully, and see on the top of the pillar three symbols – the Zodiac Keys from the first Micronauts run. Scion explains they are glyphs from the alphabet of the Makers, similar to the glyphs Solitaire wears on her necklace. Huntarr presses her necklace against the pillar and the attackers stop. A voice explains that they were only trying to protect themselves from the metal that the Micronauts brought onboard. The voice claims they are Wanderers, led by the Wayfinders, who brought them to this world after their home was destroyed. Huntarr recognizes this as the origin story of Homeworld as well, and Scion helps him understand that the Makers were responsible for this story playing out on many worlds. Scion lifts up the Zodiac Keys and tells the Micronauts they are ready to go meet their enemy.
- Scion explains to the Micronauts that the Zodiac Keys will help them save the Microverse. The team feels badly for fighting the worm/spider creatures, whose ships are now accompanying them. Scion explains that the Keys are part of the alphabet of The Makers, and they used them to change the Microverse and bring races there. He further explains that they are up against pain. Scion says he can’t really explain this, but has them detour to the planet Aegis to show them what they’re up against (the alien ships don’t come with them). Aegis is surrounded by a ring of broken ships that the Micronauts team recognize from various familiar worlds. They know of this planet, but are shocked to see that it’s completely choked by a massive number of alien refugees who have come there to subsist off the fungus that grows there. Bug is shocked to see Insectivorids among the crowds, and insists they land. They are greeted by some of Bug’s people, who are not actually from Kaliklak. They explain that the world they’d colonized was hit by waves of pain that first only affected the most sensitive, but soon led to mass destruction. The Micronauts take in what’s happened to their universe since they defeated Baron Karza. Back at the Dreaming Star, Arcturus Rann talks to one of the Children about how he wishes to know more about the Makers. He sees a vision of a massive, very Kirby-esque character in rainbow-hued armor. On Aegis, Bug slips away from his friends, who sit around a campfire, to stare at the ocean and think for a while. He’s been the only Micronaut to always feel like he has a home to return to, but now he’s worried that might not be the case. Scion comes to speak to him, telling him they can still fight against what’s happening. Bug doesn’t know how they can start to fight the Enigma Force if it’s gone mad, and as Scion reassures him, he puts his hand on his shoulder and we see some energy transfer. Mari talks to the others about pain. Solitaire goes to get Bug, and they hear her scream. They rush to her, and she shows that Bug is wrapped in a cocoon and is starting to change, something that should not be happening to a male Insectivorid. Acroyear can’t help him, as there’s a forcefield around him. Scion says that nothing can be done, but Solitaire disagrees. She feels that her shape changing should be able to help her, and she takes on a variety of odd shapes as she works her way towards Bug. Bug claims that it’s not Solitiare coming towards him, but she claims that only people who have ‘shared his flesh’ could come that close. Mari thinks she needs to help too, and flies her wheelchair into the field. It’s destroyed, but Mari resolves to crawl to him, admitting that she loves Bug. Solitaire encourages her, and claims that there’s nothing wrong with her legs. Mari can’t make it, but Solitaire reaches out to Mari, and also touches Bug, which makes the cocoon and forcefield disappear. Bug is fine, and confused, claiming he just had a strange dream. Mari apologizes for failing him, and he asks how she could ever fail him. Mari reveals that she’s not really ‘his princess’.
- The Statement of Ownership for 1985 reports an average press run of 328 000, with average newsstand returns of 170 000.
- I remember when issue fifteen came out, I was surprised to see Baron Karza on the cover, and assumed it meant that he was behind whatever has happened to the Enigma Force. That was not the case. This issue opens with Mari sitting in a new floating chair, explaining to Bug, Acroyear, Huntarr, and Solitaire why she said she’s not the princess they thought she was, and why she thinks she understands the paralysis in her legs. She starts her story back when she was a child on Homeworld, and strangely, she says this happened more than a hundred years prior. This is the second time in this run that Gillis has hinted that Mari has lived for over a hundred years, yet still appears to be in her early twenties at the oldest. I find this odd. Anyway, she talks about how at this time her parents were still ruling Homeworld, and how Baron Karza’s plans were mostly secretive, although he had a lot of influence. At a social event, young Mari (who was maybe in her late teens) had a creepy run-in with Karza, and then ran into Lord Edev, who wanted to spend time with her. To get away from him, she went to speak to the ambassador of the Acroyears, who introduced her to Diarmid, a blue-skinned dancer from the planet Iawai. Diarmid was taken with Mari, who asked her to become the court dancer for that season. Diarmid danced with joy, catching the attention of Eved. Over the next months, Mari and Diarmid became good friends. One time, when Eved came to call on her, Mari sent Diarmid to distract him, and he kind of hit on her. We see that Diarmid was taken with him, and he liked her. He went to see Karza to hatch a scheme to help him win the dancer’s heart, and Karza agreed to help. Later, at a formal dinner, Eved rebuked a server who tried to correct Diarmid’s use of the wrong utensil, catching him an admonishment from the king, who banished him from the court. Diarmid fell ill that night (Eved had poured something into her drink). Karza suggested that Eved make his next move within the next four days while the poison worked its way through Diarmid’s system. Eved got his father to host a big showy gala in the icy region of Homeworld. The king thanked Eved and permitted him back in the court, and Mari thanked him for caring for Diarmid. This gave Eved a change of heart, and he tried to call off the plan he made with Karza, who refused. Mari and Diarmid were skating on the ice when someone came to deliver a gift from Baron Karza to Mari. He gave her an illusioner, which allows its wearer to change their appearance. Diarmid showed Mari how it worked, and it gave Mari an idea. Eved put on a jacket filled with hidden electronics, as the time for his plan approached. As part of the evening’s entertainment, Diarmid skated for the court. While she was on the ice, Eved gave an order, and suddenly a massive ice-hydra broke through the ice and attacked. This poisonous beast, we learned, was made by Karza in his Body Banks. Eved yelled about going to save Diarmid, but Diarmid reveals herself as being in the crowd. Mari had switched places with her, and was now in the clutches of the ice-hydra. Diarmid admitted that she loved Eved and didn’t want him to risk himself. Eved jumped onto the beast anyway, and stabbed it. He held Mari, who was unconscious. Karza came and said that she had to be taken to the Body Banks immediately to be saved. Later, Mari recovered. Karza and Eved discussed that because she didn’t have the poison in her system that Diarmid did, he had to replace her limbs with more resistant ones, and Eved realized that he took them from Diarmid. Karza had Eved arrested, pointing out that his jacket contained all the proof that was needed of his crimes. He also declared that the lord be executed immediately in the Body Banks. Mari went to see Diarmid, who now didn’t have any legs, and the dancer apologized for wanting to keep Eved to herself. In the present, Mari explains that this is why she always hated the Body Banks more than the rest of them, and she thinks that it’s this shame that has caused her to be paralyzed now.
- We’ve reached the point in 1985 where a Secret Wars II tie-in was required. Still on Aegis, Scion joins a few Insectivorid youth around a campfire. He learns that the fungus that was feeding the planet is starting to fail, and he tells them the story of how the Micronauts have found him and returned to deal with the threat the Microverse is facing. He then tells them that the Micronauts have stalled and aren’t doing anything, and because of that, everyone is going to die in pain. The rest of the Micronauts are gathered around Mari, trying to make her feel better about the story she’s just shared with them. They convince her to move forward, but their discussion is cut short by an alarm. The Micronauts pile into a smaller flying vehicle and go see what’s happening. A massive spacecraft that was parked in the middle of the refugee camp is starting to take off, burning the tents around it. There’s a sole pilot on board, trying to escape the planet. Bug, Acroyear, and Huntarr rip their way into the ship and try to get the pilot to shut things down. Bug leaps forward and hits him, but the force causes the pilot to fire the engines, burning everyone around them. The ship shuts down on its own, and while Bug chokes on his guilt, they look out and see Scion standing with someone on the blasted ground. They approach the stranger, who looks human, and learn that he is “from Beyond.” He tells them that he shut down the ship’s drive, and that he’s there to help. Scion claims his call for help is what drew the Beyonder to them. He asks Huntarr for insight, and Huntarr refers to all the destroyed homes. The Beyonder restores them all, and Scion speaks of the mycelium under the ground; the Beyonder restores that too. Scion takes the chance to make a dig at Acroyear’s mistrust of him, but soon the Beyonder is surrounded by happy aliens. He senses that Acroyear doesn’t trust him, so he continues to do good deeds, restoring Mari’s legs, and turning Huntarr back into his human form, while still able to tap into his abilities. Scion leads the Beyonder off to right more wrongs, and Bug and Acroyear have a disagreement about the Beyonder. Acroyear doesn’t trust him and his power, but Bug is so thankful that he fixed his mistakes. Bug claims he doesn’t trust Scion, but has a good feeling about the Beyonder, and leaves his friends. Acroyear asks Biotron to keep track of Scion. Bug, off on his own, thinks about why he is on the different side of this issue from his friends, and decides he needs to go get more information about the Beyonder. He returns to the Endeavor where he finds the Beyonder and Scion talking. The Beyonder agrees to do what Scion has asked of him, and with a wave of his hand, destroys three planets elsewhere in the Microverse. Bug calls the others to him, and then learns that Scion had planned for him to hear them. Huntarr (who is back in his usual look) and Acroyear attack Scion, and the Beyonder freezes them all. Scion explains what he’s been up to. He tells them how the Microverse is dying – that Karza’s wiping out of all life on Homeworld drew that planet’s Worldmind mad, and because of where Homeworld is on the Spiral Path, the Worldmind’s madness infected the entire Enigma Force, which has caused this wave of madness to spread through the Microverse, threatening all life in it. Scion believes there are only hours left, but by destroying those three planets, they’ve created a bit of a firebreak to slow things down. The Beyonder frees them all as Solitaire and Marionette arrive. They all confer, and Bug decides that Scion needs to be stopped. He jumps at him, but Scion tosses him. Huntarr connects all of the Micronauts, and together they fire energy at Scion. Acroyear, charged up with Huntarr’s energy, punches Scion in the chest and appears to break him apart. Acroyear tells the Beyonder to leave, saying the Micronauts will go heal their world on their own. After he leaves, Acroyear tells the Micronauts to get ready to launch; they’re going to Homeworld. Later, the Beyonder stands over Scion’s remains (the text box says this is somewhere else, but it looks like the same place to me). Scion stands in a new form that we don’t see very well – he’s blue now with bands of yellow on his limbs. We learn that Scion planned all of this, and he thanks him. The Beyonder sends him somewhere.
- Kelley Jones took issue seventeen off, and Howard Bender filled in. As the Micronauts journey towards Homeworld, Solitaire lies on her bed in her boots. Bug comes to chat with her and they make out. Bug is glowing. On the bridge, Mari is happy to be able to walk again. She and the others talk about everything that’s happened, and whether or not Scion manipulated them. The Endeavor returns to normal space, and all of the original Micronauts start to glow briefly. Bug wonders why Solitaire isn’t glowing, but then it subsides and they are all more interested in looking at Homeworld. They can see that their world has been badly damaged, and appears to be venting flame and smoke into space, but Biotron can find no evidence of this on his scanners. As they fly into the atmosphere and can see widespread fires, Biotron insists that they are not on the scanners; Acroyear assumes that it’s a spiritual issue caused by the Worldmind’s insanity. The team lands and makes their way into the building Devil teleported away from. They find the teleporter, which is twisted up. They set about fixing the teleportation tube. Mari finds a book, her childhood favourite, and is touched to find a rose pressed into it. Mari asks Huntarr to go to the surface with her while the others work. The narrative splits into two for a few pages. Huntarr and Mari look around and while the destruction bothers Mari, she is happy to be home and to watch the sunset. They talk about how they’ve healed since leaving Homeworld, and Huntarr explains that they feel more connected with Homeworld now because they gave it up and left. With the teleporter fixed, Biotron hooks himself up with the tube and starts to transmit Devil’s matrix back into the device. They realize that a face other than Devil’s is forming in the transmitter, and Biotron tries to disconnect, but they aren’t able to. A very large Devil, covered in painful-looking lesions, forms and smashes out of the transmitter tube. He grabs Biotron in his fist and starts screaming. Mari and Huntarr return as the Micronauts try to free Biotron. Devil tosses it at them, and none of the team are able to restrain him. Devil speaks, but it’s the Worldmind that is talking. Huntarr blasts Devil with eyebeams, and they realize that Devil is trying to keep them away from the teleporter (which has miraculously been put back together between panels). Acroyear realizes that Devil is possessed by the Pain, and worries that it’s going to use the teleporter to spread itself throughout the Microverse. He orders the others to destroy the machine, but Devil somehow opens a chasm beneath the Micronauts, sending them falling towards the world’s core. They manage to make their way to a ledge, and see Devil standing over the teleporter. He rants about how he will use the worldcore like Karza did, to power the teleportation device. Above them, the Worldmind creates a massive fist of rock to smash the Endeavor. Huntarr finds his arm forming into a type of gun, and he explains that if he fires it, it will drain all his energy and end its target. Bug suggests they shoot the teleporter, but Biotron believes the Worldmind will just build a new one. Huntarr does not want to kill Devil, but Mari reminds him that they have to let things go sometimes, so he shoots Devil. Devil’s body immediately shrinks back to its normal size as he lays dying. Huntarr cradles his body (I’m pretty sure they’d only met as enemies in the last run, as Devil died on Earth before Mari recruited Huntarr to the team). Arcturus Rann appears in the teleporter. He explains that now that he’s there, they all have a chance to fix things. Arcturus talks about how life is change, and reminds them that Devil was only half of a lifecycle. As he says this, Fireflyte starts to fly around them, having gone through the metamorphosis faster than any previous time it was shown.
- The Micronauts stand around amidst the wreckage of Homeworld. Rann tells the others that he saw a glimpse of the Makers, and tells them they need to sacrifice once again to save the Microverse. The Pain hits Rann, until Huntarr is able to provide him with the same glow the others got from him, although this seems to upset Solitaire. Rann talks again about preparing for the end, but assures Mari that they’ll be together for it. The roboids find them, having survived the destruction of the Endeavor, and let them know that there’s a fleet of starships approaching. Acroyear realizes that only his people would be able to withstand the Pain, and surmises they’ve come to put an end to the Pain. Acroyear walks off to meet with them. On the Acroyear flagship, Cilicia prepares to destroy Homeworld, but wants to make contact with the Micronauts first. When one of the Acroyears standing with her comments that she wants to see Acroyear, she tells him it was inappropriate to say this, and he cuts himself. Solitaire asks Bug to leave with her, but he refuses to abandon his friends. This causes Solitaire pain, and she is observed by Fireflyte. Arcturus and Mari sit together and talk about how the Makers made the Microverse to be like a human, and now that it’s engulfed by evil, they have to stop it, which means they have to let go of their weaknesses. Acroyear sits and thinks until the Acroyear flagship descends and a ramp is lowered. He is taken to the Chamber of Generations, where the very pregnant Cilicia is reclining. She is turned off by the glow that Acroyear gives, and he explains that the deathcry of Homeworld’s Worldmind is what’s causing the Pain. She wants to destroy Homeworld, but Acroyear worries that its death-scream might destroy even more worlds. She is angered by how he’s speaking to her, but then she screams out in pain. On the bridge, Cilicia gives the order to prepare the fleet to destroy Homeworld. The Acroyear she gave this order to is not wearing his helmet, and looks a little familiar. In the birthing chamber, Cilicia wants Acroyear taken away before she gives birth. He refuses, and uses his sword to cut the Bands of Birth that were extending his child’s gestation period. We learn that it’s the Acroyear way to extend pregnancy so that the child is larger upon birthing, making the process more painful for both mother and child. Acroyear’s child is born. On the surface, Bug tells the others that Solitaire asked him to leave (she’s not with them), and he finally notices that she hasn’t been glowing like the rest of them. There is a large explosion, and Solitaire, who is glowing, calls the others (Fireflyte’s not around either, but I suspect it’s because they forgot to draw her, just like the roboids who are always disappearing) to leave right away. She says she doesn’t need a ship to travel, and that the Acroyears are about to bomb the place. Biotron, who wasn’t there before, disagrees that the world is exploding, and from the bridge of the Acroyear ship, we see that the different spheres that made up Homeworld have separated. The person who was on the bridge before walks through the wall and tells Acroyear that each sphere will go where it’s supposed to be. Acroyear asks who this being is, and he explains that Solitaire came on the ship, disguised herself as Cilicia, and gave the order to destroy the planet. This being adjusted the targeting so the molecular bridges between the spheres were destroyed instead. Acroyear realizes this is Scion in a new form, and he opens a portal to the others, asking Acroyear to come with him to finish things. Acroyear pauses to say goodbye to Cilicia and his unnamed child. She is ready to take Acroyear back and stay with him, but he wants her to leave with the child. He says goodbye, and after he steps through the portal, Cilicia orders the fleet away at top speed.
- Issue nineteen, which again features art by Howard Bender, opens with a private journal entry recorded by Baron Karza a few years before. In it, Karza speaks of rejecting the Enigma Force’s offer of godhood, and embracing his rule across the Microverse. In the present, the Micronauts watch as the spheres of Homeworld separate from one another, and deal with the tremors it causes in First Zone. Solitaire is asked about the fact that last issue she was changing her appearance but is back in her usual form now. She doesn’t want to explain herself, but Scion approaches, surprising the others, and demands that she explains just how she’s an abomination. Solitaire lashes out at him, blasting him over the horizon. He appears in a gigantic form and approaches. Solitaire grows to the same size and starts fighting him, hitting him with a building. They both change forms during this fight, but then Fireflyte’s song calms them down and they return to their normal size and shapes. Solitaire agrees to tell her story, about how ten million years ago, a being like the one the Micronauts discovered at the beginning of their journey spread its eggs across the Microverse. The egg that Solitaire hatched out of landed on a green planet, but when it was time for her to enter the ocean and dissolve, sparking new life, she held back, and instead spent fifty thousand years building a rocket ship to take her to other worlds. She says that when she met the Micronauts, she thought it was time to finally confront the Makers. She says something about how the Makers have chosen a path for the team like her original one, and then turns on Scion, whose plan involves killing them. Scion doesn’t get the chance to explain, but Rann says that he’s right. He has everyone follow him as he talks at length, explaining how the Makers created the Microverse to be like real life, that’s why the planets resemble DNA strands, with the hope that the Microverse would grow and evolve. He then talks about how Baron Karza was sent to Earth because of the Prometheus Pit, and how he tried to duplicate it for his own purposes. The Micronauts arrive at the Pit, and Rann talks some more. He says there’s a duplicate Pit on each sphere of Homeworld, and how the Pits released the consciousness of the Worldmind, and then after everyone on the planet was killed, the Worldmind went mad. Rann says the Pits are portals between the spheres of Homeworld, and Rann wants to use them to heal. Scion explains that all of the Micronauts (presumably not the roboids, but once again, they are barely acknowledged) have been turning into Prime Beings like him and Solitaire, and each will dissolve so that their cells can seed new life. Scion steps into the flaming Pit to show them how it works, and Solitaire jumps to try to stop him. When she is touched by the flames, she appears to be in pain and screams for help. A face rises out of the Pit yelling Karza’s name, and Rann worries that the controls for the Pit aren’t responding. Mari wants everyone to go into the Pit to rescue their friends, but Rann has a different idea. Scion claims the Pit is killing him, but before the others can do anything, Baron Karza appears and uses his sorcery to pull them all out of the Pit. He takes off his helmet, and we see that it’s Arcturus in the armor, and that he now has an inverted blue triangle on his forehead. He explains to Mari that Karza’s machines are too full of him for just anyone to use, so he had to become Karza. He claims that Karza is with him now, and he tells the Micronauts it’s time for them to give themselves to the flames. Scion steps into the Pit. Acroyear asks Huntarr to go with him. Bug asks Solitaire, but she refuses and he steps in alone. Fireflyte was mentioned a couple pages before, but I guess she’s like the roboids and doesn’t really count. Rann and Mari prepare to step in together.
- The final issues opens with a splash page that shows the five core members of the team enjoying a picnic together. From there, we get a double-page spread showing the spheres of Homeworld separating, and then we go to the Prometheus Pit room on First Zone, where Arcturus and Mari stand alone (Biotron and Microton have basically just disappeared at this point, never to be seen again). Rann is talking like he’s merged himself with Karza (although that triangle is gone from his forehead now), which Mari doesn’t like. His theory is that Karza wore his armor consistently for one thousand years, while constantly swapping out body parts, so it contains more of his essence. Each of the Micronauts that entered the Pit get a few pages. Acroyear is on a pastoral world, and when he touches the water that fills the Prometheus Pit there, his hand starts to dissolve. He forms it into a fist as his body dissolves to seed new life. Huntarr stands at the edge of an extinct volcano, and talks about how he feels reluctant to die, but also sees it as his final break from every type of prison his life and body has been, and he embraces his destiny. Bug is alone in a desolate urban environment, and hates being alone. He thinks he sees Solitaire coming towards him but realizes it’s just the silhouette of someone whose image was burned into rubble by a bomb blast. He feels terrible that he never gave anything to Solitaire, and when he blows his nose, butterflies emerge; he decides that is his gift to Solitaire (who, like the roboids, has completely disappeared). Scion stands in what looks like a desert. He talks to himself about how he always knew this was his destiny, so it’s easy for him to accept, but then, when he’s ready to dissolve, nothing happens. He starts freaking out, but then Fireflyte appears and tells him that he needed to learn to overcome his sense of certainty. As a child of the Makers, she says that he needed to learn this lesson, and then tells him that they will go together. Back at the main Pit, Rann is wearing Karza’s helmet, and then takes it off to tell Mari that his instruments can tell that the power levels created by their friends’ sacrifices match that of the wave of Pain headed towards them. He thinks that they do not need to sacrifice themselves, and at first this makes Mari happy, but then she realizes this is really Karza speaking. As the wave hits their sphere, Rann wants to use devices to try to stop it, but Mari thinks that they need to sacrifice the same way their friends did. Rann gets angry with her, and tells her that she has to decide what they are going to do. We see a large image of Time Traveler, screaming at the front of the wave. The Makers (or at least five of them) appear on the other side of the spheres, as if to stand against the Pain. Rann again tells Mari that she has to decide what to do, and she struggles, saying that it’s an easy decision for her to make, but she doesn’t want to decide for Arcturus. He smiles and tells her to let him live. She realizes that is Karza speaking, and pushes him into the Prometheus Pit. As they fall, their energy streams forth. In a double-page spread, we see the Micronauts together, but also see the worlds that they’ve seeded. The series ends by talking about how the thin line of planets that used to make up Homeworld will be full of life and beauty, thanks to the Micronauts.
Okay, this was a strange series. Peter B. Gillis is much more of a science fiction writer than he is a superhero writer. With this series, he wanted to write a complicated story about literal universe building, and the concept of how cosmic beings populate a universe of their own creation. You can’t get a lot further away from the Star Wars-inspired action mixed with Marvel universe guest star approach of Bill Mantlo’s series.
Without the threat of Baron Karza, the Micronauts needed something to fill the antagonist role, but I doubt many would have expected that they would be going up against the concept of pain itself.
The question is, was this effective? I’m sorry to say that I don’t think it really was. Early on, the adventures on strange living planetoids and laser atmosphere worlds were working, like Gillis was taking a Star Trek approach as the antidote to Mantlo’s Star Wars atmosphere, but once the team became guests of the Children of the Dreaming Star, things got a little too cerebral, without keeping me invested in the characters.
I think a big part of the problem is that we didn’t have a reason to like, or even strongly dislike, either Solitaire or Scion. They were curiosities, but they didn’t bring a lot to the team. I also did not like the way that Mari went from being the hard as steel woman that led the Resistance against Karza in Mantlo’s run to the woman whose sense of guilt caused her to lose the ability to walk.
If there was a main character in this series, at least in the first half, I’d say it’s Huntarr. His transformations were interesting, but then that storyline moved from being about his character to just being a handy plot device, as he held the ability to solve any and all problems the team encountered.
I was glad to see that Acroyear’s story came to a resolution of sorts, but I do find it very strange that when his child was born, we never got to learn its gender or name.
The treatment of the roboids Biotron and Microtron was also kind of disrespectful. In the first run, their earlier iterations were part human, had emotions and personalities, and were often essential to the story or action. In this run, these replacements were basically servant droids that didn’t even warrant an appearance in the last issue (I kind of picture them hanging out with Solitaire on First Zone as it starts to regrow and repopulate).
At the beginning of the run, I liked how Rann was feeling his age, and lost his hand, but after all of that got fixed, he kind of became less interesting than Microtron. His heel turn in the last two issues, after putting on Karza’s armor, felt forced to me, and by that point, I was not really invested in his story.
One thing that bothers me is that, while Marvel never published another Micronauts comic after this, the characters that they owned, Rann, Marionette, and Bug, did turn up again in later comics (I remember Peter David bringing them back in his Captain Marvel run, which I really want to read lately), and I think in some issues of Cable (?), and that Bug became a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy after the first Annihilation event. What I don’t remember is if any of these writers did anything to reconcile how these characters existed again, or what was done to retcon away this run.
I don’t want to sound like I’m completely down on this series. It did have some cool moments, and the concepts were interesting at the beginning. One thing that really stood out to me back in the day, and that I appreciate a lot now, is the work of Kelley Jones.
I think that this series was his first regular assignment, after he debuted as Butch Guice’s inker on the original series. Jones would later go on to be forever associated with Batman, where his approach to the cape and cowl were always immediately recognizable as his own, but you can see the beginnings of his own style here.
Jones drew these characters in an elongated way that worked really well with Acroyear’s armor, and sometimes with Bug. His approach to Huntarr was definitely unique, as he got to play with the character’s look and redesign it. Jones’s women were very sexy, and Mari never looked better than she did in this series. I did notice that sometimes he had issues with characters’ relative size to one another (when Acroyear carries Mari, she looks like a small child), but his take on these Michael Golden designs is memorable.
I know that by the time this series came out, the Micronauts toy line was defunct, and that must have freed the creators from any sense of obligation to them. That shows here, and helped them take a free approach to things. I did like this series as a kid because of how it was so different from anything else that Marvel was publishing, but it also did get kind of dull and in its own head a bit too much. Still, it’s amazing that Marvel squeezed seventy-five comics out of a pretty obscure toy. It’s also amazing how much love still exists for this series, which due to rights issues, is likely to never be properly reprinted or collected.
I’ve really enjoyed revisiting this series, and reading it in a rapid burst. Micronauts was a big artist’s book, with incredible work from Michael Golden, Pat Broderick, Butch Guice, and then Kelley Jones. I can understand why these characters have always been burned into my mind since I was very young.
For my next columns, I want to revisit another series that I scoured the fifty cent bins for, and pieced together over many years, as I pieced together my understanding of its complicated continuity, how it fit with other titles that took place in the then-present, and how that continuity got reshaped by the Crisis, leading to a less successful relaunch series.
If you’d like to see the archives of all of my retro review columns, click here.
