Kanjar Ro
Kanjar Ro is a male comic character who features in DC Comics.
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Biography
Kanjar Ro was an extraterrestrial inhabitant of the planet Dhor that was a world which surrounded the Antares star system. (Justice League of America v1 #3) As a child, he grew up during a time when the usurper Davran Khe had taken control of the planet. In that time, the young Kanjar Ro stole fruits and had to escape the city guards who would have executed him for the theft. (Trinity v1 #21)
He eventually arose to the position of Delon that was the equivalent of a dictator on Earth. During this time, he was challenged by the other tyrants of the worlds in the star system. These included the flower-queen Hyathis, the metallic Kromm and he reptilian Sayyar. For years, the four battled one another across both planets and space as they attempted to be the unchallenged ruler of the solar system. However, any weapon or strategy he devised was always countered by one of his opponents thus leaving them all in a stalemate. To break this deadlock, he sought a new strategy and came to witness the activities of the Justice League of Earth through his hyperspatial telescope. Thus, Kanjar Ro looked to abduct the heroes and force them into aiding him to remove his rivals. (Justice League of America v1 #3)
Kanjar Ro managed to escape from his cell on Rann and left a mirror-image in his place. He then recreated threats from Rann's past using his energi-rods mind-over-matter powers in an attempt to weaken Adam Strange, and force him to bring the Justice League of America to Rann, so Kanjar could destroy them. The day before the wedding of Adam Strange and Alanna, Kanjar unleashed a giant flying lens that once terrorized Rann, and it seemingly vaporized Alanna. Adam lost his edge and drive after her supposed death. Kanjar used the Zeta-Plus Beam to transport members of the Justice League to Rann, where they helped Adam destroy Kanjar's recreated giant ray-gun. Two more threats from Rann s past attacked, the giant Kalulla bird, and the robot Borg. Borg apparently disintegrated the League, and Adam used the Zeta-Plus Beam to return to Earth and gather the rest of the League to avenge their comrades and deal with the mastermind behind the attacks. Before the League could form a plan of action they were alerted to a freak electric storm in Long Island, and left their satellite to respond, with Adasm staying behind because Earth s surface was poisonous to him. The storm turned out to be a Cloud Creature, another revamped threat from Rann, and it defeated the League. Kanjar confronted Adam Strange and explained his schemes, but Adam responded by stealing the energi-rod he d used to recreate the Rannian menaces and zeta-beamed back to Rann. Sardath used the brain waves on file from Kanjar Ro s time as a prisoner on Rann to allow Adam control over the energi-rod. Adam correctly reasoned that Kanjar's ego demanded that he destroy the entire JlofA in one fell swoop, so the seemingly murdered Leaguers must have been in captivity on Rann. In an ice cave he found the five black spheres that Kanjar had turned the League into, and undid the transformation with the energi-rod. He found an additional black sphere, and it turned out to be Alanna. She told Adam that Kanjar kept her alive as insurance to have leverage against Adam if his plan failed. The Justice League returned to Earth and defeated the Cloud Creature. Without his energi-rod Kanjar was easy pickings, and Black Canary knocked him out with a karate chop. (Justice League of America v1 #121)
When the Peacemaker and his Paciforce demanded the planet Kylaq submit and join him, the Kylaq appointed Kanjar Ro as their minister of defense. The Justice League received a video feed from Kylaq, defeated the Paciforce and arranged peace talks between Kylaq and the Peacemaker. The Kylaq introduced them to Ro, and he was pleased to meet his old enemies as an ally they could not touch. Peace talks broke down and the JLA fended off another assault by the Paciforce, but the Justice League had to deal with the ruthless Kanjar Ro's plan to enact a coup on Kylaq. They spread video footage of him torturing captured Paciforce members, and the Kylaq rejected his place in their government leading to the Justice League sending Kanjar offworld. (JLA v1 #79)
Armed with an upgraded sceptre, Kanjar Ro monitored Earth and learned of Dr. Amanda Waller's plan to utilise Cygnus 4019 as a prison planet to deport Earth's most dangerous supervillains. The slaver intended to intercept the transport in order to use the planet's supervillains as merchandise to sell on the intergalactic black market. However, the convicts were all intercepted by a third party and Kanjar Ro was denied his prize. His schemes seemed in vain until the Justice League of America arrived to investigate Waller's secret project and rescue J'onn. They were captured by constructs of space-time energy wielded by Kanjar Ro and his new sceptre, but the presence of Hawkgirl's Nth Metal neutralised his new-found power. (Justice League of America v2 #19)
Ro later took on the disguise of Despero and tricked Morgaine le Fay into accepting him as part of her trinity that included Enigma. (Trinity v1 #21)
Afterwards, he was ignored when he demanded vengeance against Morgaine, and was taken to Krona's polar base. There, he radioed for the heroes to save him from the destruction Krona had prepared for Earth. As the Green Lanterns took custody of Despero's massive alien armada, Kanjar Ro copied Krona's files to later sell them to the highest bidder. He sneaked away from the fleet and made for the prison planet of Takron-Galtos. (Trinity v1 #24)
Kanjar Ro was incarcerated on Oa in a Sciencell, set free during a mass breakout. Unwilling to be killed by the rioting prisoners, Kanjar Ro bargained with Kyle Rayner, offering to help quell the riot in exchange for leniency on his sentence. (Green Lantern Corps v2 #38) The pact saved his life as the Guardians ordered the Alpha Lanterns to use lethal force on all the escaped prisoners. Kyle was able to convince the Guardians to spare Kanjar Ro a death sentence by testifying to his assistance during the riot. (Green Lantern Corps v2 #39)
Overview
Personality and attributes
From his youth, he learnt to make his ambitions larger as he found that stealing small meant he went to jail whilst if he stole something larger he could grow more powerful. (Trinity v1 #21)
Powers and abilities
He was known to make use of a wide variety of equipment to aid him. These included the Aranna Ray that was a beam able to teach another language instantly that was set directly into the mind of another. (Justice League of America v1 #3)
Ro came to augment his sceptre with energy he stole from the Elementals of Qwaylar which drew force from the fabric of space-time. (Justice League of America v2 #19)
One weapon in his possession was the Gamma Metal Gong that was able to achieve a wide variety of feats such as freezing people in time across an entire world. (Justice League of America v1 #3)
He utilised hyperspatial telescopes that allowed him to observe activities on distant worlds. (Justice League of America v1 #3)
Kanjar Ro had a cosmic vessel available to him that allowed him to travel through space to distant planets. The ship operated through the use of cosmic currents that flowed throughout the universe. (Justice League of America v1 #3)
Notes
- Kanjar Ro was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky where he made his first appearance in Justice League of America v1 #3 (February, 1961).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In Justice League, Kanjar Ro had a minor appearance in the animated television series set in the DC Animated Universe where he was shown in the episode "In Blackest Night" and was voiced by actor René Auberjonois. Kanjar-Ro testified at John Stewart's trial on Ajuris 5. Ro told the court about Ajuris 4's destruction and the court decided to sentence John Stewart to death for destroying the planet. Fortunately, the Justice League learned of this and went to investigate Ajuris 4's destruction more closely, noting that its moon should've lost its orbit. When Superman and J'onn J'onzz discovered a holographic projection system on the moon, making it seem like Ajuris 4 was destroyed, Kanjar-Ro attacked them in his starship, intending to maintain his secret. However, he was stopped by Hawkgirl and was brought back to the court room, where the League revealed the deception, just before Stewart and the Flash were about to be gassed to death. John Stewart briefly interrogated Ro to find out why he framed him of Ajuris 4's destruction. Ro confessed that that he was paid by the Manhunters to frame John so they could draw the Guardians of the Universe away from Oa to invade.
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Kanjar Ro appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Marc Worden. He captured Gribbles to use them as fuel. When Batman and Blue Beetle arrive to stop him, he uses a sonic wave-emitting Gamma Gong to separate the latter from his scarab and bond with it until Jaime uses the gong himself to defeat him. In subsequent appearances, Ro fights Batman, among other heroes, alongside space pirates and an army of robots before he is eventually eaten by an alien creature while attempting to destroy the planet Rann.
- In Justice League Action, Kanjar Ro appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Khary Payton.
Films
- In Green Lantern: First Flight, Kanjar Ro appeared in the animated film where he was voiced by actor Kurtwood Smith. This version possesses squid-like facial features and an insectoid body with wings that allow him to fly. He joins forces with Sinestro to obtain the "yellow element" and have the Weaponers of Qward convert it into a Power Ring for the latter. After doing so, Sinestro kills Ro and frames Hal Jordan for it before briefly resurrecting Ro to learn where Qward is. Ro's corpse is subsequently incinerated in a battle between Kilowog and Jordan against Sinestro's accomplice Boodikka.
Appearances
- Justice League of America v1: (1961)
- Trinity v1:
- Justice League of America v2:
- R.E.B.E.LS. v1:
External Links
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