Volthoom
Voltoom is a comic supervillain that features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Pre-Crisis
Volthoom was the name of a poonghie (Buddhist monk) on Earth-3 that had crafted a mystical Power Ring. This ring was given to a human being who used it to become the super-criminal known as Power Ring. In time, Power Ring joined other supervillains of his world where they became the Crime Syndicate of America. (Justice League of America v1 #29)
On their own Earth, the Crime Syndicate grew bored of their absolute evil rule over their world and thus sought new planets to conquer. They learnt of Earth-1 and intended to challenge the Justice League of America in order to defeat them. During the battle, the Justice League managed to gain the upper hand until the Crime Syndicate initiated their failsafe. This involved calling the magic word 'Volthoom' that transported all the participants in the battle to Earth-3. Once there, the Earth-1 heroes were defeated, immobilized and taken as prisoners. With their victory, the Crime Syndicate then turned their sights to Earth-2 in order to defeat the Justice Society of America. However, the Justice League of Earth-1 managed to send a warning to the heroes of Earth-2 namely the secret weapon of the Syndicate that was the magic word 'Volthoom'. (Justice League of America v1 #29)
In an effort to resurrect Alexander Luthor Junior, the Syndicate came to the main Earth to get the assistance of Doctor Impossible where they came into conflict with Justice League. During the fight, Power Ring called forth the power of Volthoom against Jade but she used her own power of the Starheart to take its power leaving the Syndicate member temporarily powerless. (Justice League of America v2 #50)
Post-Zero Hour
After the Zero Hour, a new version of Earth-3 and its inhabitants were created with these residing in the anti-matter universe. On this Earth, Volthoom was a Tibetan being that resided within a cursed ring. A human criminal found the ring where the caretaker warned of the cursed artifact but the crook refused to listen and took it. Its power turned him into the super-criminal known as Power Ring but he regretted his actions as he would feel Volthoom crawling around intrusively in his mind. However, its usage made him a supervillain allowing him to join the ranks of the Crime Syndicate. Following Alexander Luthor's escape to the positive-matter Earth, the Syndicate conveyed a meeting where Volthoom commented that theoretically another Earth universe would have the exact duplicates of their own universe. When the Justice League arrived on Earth-3, they targeted the Syndicate's fortress at the Panopticon where Kyle Rayner created large hand constructs to encase it. Volthoom within the power ring informed the supervillains of him being aware of a plasma prison of unknown origin that trapped them on the Moon. (JLA: Earth-2 v1 #1)
The New 52
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of history was created with a different series of events. Volthoom was a male human inhabitant of Earth-15 in the Multiverse where he lived in the year 3079 A.D. with him along with his mother being scientists where they discovered the Emotional Spectrum in their reality. However, their world faced destruction from the destroyer pulsar with mother and child having invented a means of escape in the travel lantern that was an experimental device designed for infinite exploration. His mother had her son use the lantern to escape and survive in the hopes that he could find a means of saving their world. Volthoom thus became displaced across timelines and the Multiverse with him looking for a means of rescuing his Earth. To achieve that, he became an acolyte of the Emotional Spectrum where he spread its secrets around various realities in the hopes that this would bring about the rise of a scientific civilization that could find a solution to the destroyer pulsar. Among the realities he visited included; Earth-17 where it was used to resurrect plant life, Earth-47 where it was used to make beautiful music and Earth-3 where the wizard Mordru fused a piece of his soul to create a Power Ring from it but Volthoom had a dispute whereupon he departed that world. This eventually culminated in him arriving on Earth-0 on the planet Maltus ten billion years ago where he taught the Maltusians the secrets of the Emotional Spectrum. He became impressed with their society and had hoped that they could help him in his goal. Eventually, the Maltusians divorced themselves of their emotions which they placed in the Great Heart with this act creating the first Power Ring which Volthoom wore with him becoming the First Lantern. With this power, the cosmos of Earth-0 was forever changed as Volthoom used the ring to bring order and security in the universe. The Great Heart was implanted in his chest to give him a direct tie to the Emotional Spectrum with Volthoom helping the Maltusians perfect the technology in exchange for taking the Power Ring with him back to his Earth to save it from destruction. These experiments began to impact on Volthoom and his sanity with him becoming more unstable as a result. Around this time, he had forged a friendship with one of the Guardians of the Universe named Rami who lied to him as his kin had decided that the First Lantern was a threat when he tried to kill them. They destroyed his travel lantern thus stranding him in Earth-0 and created the first seven Green Lantern Power Rings whose wielders helped defeat the First Lantern. Rami then crafted a prison for him known as the Chamber of Shadows where he was contained for billions of years where he felt nothing but hatred for the Guardians of the Universe and sought revenge against them. (Green Lanterns v1 #18)
Cruz joined Cyborg and Mister Miracle to break into Belle Reve in order to free the two captured Crime Syndicate members for information on the Anti-Monitor. Whilst trying to free Superwoman, Volthoom took over Jessica Cruz as the entity within the ring decided to act on his plans of re-uniting the Crime Syndicate. (Justice League v2 #47)
Despite his seeming destruction, he was actually left within the Dead Zone and remained as a captive of Nekron where he recounted his life story. He begged the Lord of Death to finally end his immortal life as he did not wish to continue living anymore but Nekron could not to do due to Volthoom's ties to the Emotional Spectrum. This tie to that source meant he was drawn back to the mortal world once more and for a time he did nothing as he sought to die. It was then he noticed the Guardian Rami fleeing from the Dominators as he sought to keep his creation the Phantom Ring from them. Upon seeing this, Volthoom decided to engage in plans to kill the surviving Guardians of the Universe as he blamed them for his fate due to their act of betrayal against him long ago. (Green Lanterns v1 #18)
The weakened Volthoom appeared on Earth again where he approached Frank Laminski who had sought to become a Green Lantern but was never chosen by a Power Ring. The First Lantern offered him a ring that he could wield which was the Phantom Ring. (Green Lanterns v1 #9) He accompanied Laminski to the home of Simon Baz where the Guardian Rami kept the Phantom Ring and helped defeat the Oan to allow Frank to become the Phantom Lantern after putting on the Power Ring. Afterwards, they departed the scene with the captive Guardian of the Universe as part of the next stage of Volthoom's plan. (Green Lanterns v1 #10)
Overview
Personality and attributes
He came to lament his endless life and desired to die. (Green Lanterns v1 #18)
Powers and abilities
He had been reduced to being a scavenger that fed on the emotional energy from other beings. (Green Lanterns v1 #10) It was said that he was permanently and profoundly connected to the Emotional Spectrum. In this form, he had an incredible life span as he had lived for over 10 billion years. In fact, it was said that as long as there was the light of the Emotional Spectrum then Volthoom could never die. (Green Lanterns v1 #18)
Volthoom claimed that he had the power over life and death. He had the ability of ripping the soul from beings such as a Guardian of the Universe and trapping them in an energy sphere whereupon he could take possession of the body. (Green Lanterns v1 #14)
Notes
- Volthoom was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky where he made his first appearance in Justice League of America v1 #29 (August 1964).
Appearances
- Justice League of America v1:
- JLA: Earth-2:
- Green Lantern:
