D'rahn
The D'rahn are an alien species that feature in Wildstorm Comics.
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History
Wildstorm
The D'rahn were centuries old species that were native to a world that they called the Hive. (Backlash v1 #30) They were noted for being an ancient warrior race that were once feared throughout the galaxy. When mankind was learning to walk upright, it was claimed that the D'rahn race were exploring the stars with their starships being older then humanity. (Gen 13 v1 #21) At some point, their species had discovered the planet Earth and preyed upon humans since the beginning of time. (Backlash v1 #28) Some even claimed that they were the most powerful species to ever walk that world. (Backlash v1 #29) It was said the Kherubim Lord S'lyton, who became the ruler of fabled Atlantis, arrived with others of his kind to aid humanity in warding off the D'rahn. (Backlash v1 #28) As a result, the D'rahn believed that the Kherubim had betrayed them and also saw the Kherans as corrupting the thinking of humans. (Backlash v1 #30) During the battle of Atlantis, a wounded D'rahn warrior was encountered by the Kherubim Knight Ferrian who simply put the alien out of its misery though legends spoke of him as being the only being who killed one of their kind. (Backlash v1 #32)
Once Lord S'lyton had established his order of wizards, he launched one final offensive against the D'rahn in the hope of ending their threat forever. Rumors spoke that his plan partly failed when his Knight Ferrion fled the battle with this causing the downfall of Atlantis which fell before the fury of the alien invaders. In desperation, Lord S'lyton stalled the enemy for his wizards to utilize a magical spell using the Scroll of Displacement which would trap anything within its confine in time. (Backlash v1 #28) According to legends, ages ago, they were on the verge of conquering the entire galaxy when they suddenly vanished. (Gen 13 v1 #21) Some of their kind survived on their starships where they drifted in space in stasis. These members of this species were aware of their defeat and claimed that their loss was the result of trickery employed against them. (Gen 13 v1 #21) With the imprisonment of Lord Typhon, it was claimed that there was no one powerful enough to oppose the Kherubim and ultimately the D'rahn armada as well as their homeworld known as the Hive was destroyed with an aeon passing since that time. (Backlash v1 #30)
Afterwards, the D'rahn were considered extinct and part of the past that the Kherubim would rather forget. (Backlash v1 #31) The wizard Haroth eventually decided to free the D'rahn in order to attain ultimate power and raced towards their prison in order to break the spell cast on the only survivors of their race. This was with the intention of them evolving him into a more powerful being. (Backlash v1 #28) They were freed from their imprisonment whereupon Lord Typhon discovered that the Hive was destroyed. As such, he recognised that they were in a weakened state and thus enlightened Haroth to serve as their guide in this world whereupon they intended to conquer the planet once more. (Backlash v1 #30) After departing, the D'rahn struck two government installations with the second being an intelligence center in Southern Maryland as they embarked on a campaign on getting revenge against the Kherubim. (Backlash v1 #32)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. It was known that the D'rahn once preyed on the inhabitants of Khundia who were fed upon as cattle. (Electric Warriors v1 #3)
Overview
In appearance, this species were humanoid in form but generally far larger and had grey skin with red eyes that had no visible iris or pupil. The top of their heads had three bony ridges and had only rudimentary ears that were only large openings on the sides of their heads with similar such openings present on their cheeks. Their hands had large claws whilst female D'rahn had extendable bone claws that emerged from above the wrist. (Backlash v1 #30) They were noted for being highly powerful to the point that a trio of super powered beings barely managed to defeat one warrior. A D'rahn was capable of surviving in the vacuum of space unaided and without being harmed by such conditions. (Gen 13 v1 #21) Alpha class D'rahn were highly powerful with super strength and flight powers allowing them to go into orbit without any visible harm but lacked the power of going into space. Normal warriors were extremely strong and some had the ability to project energy blasts from their eyes. (Backlash v1 #30) Accounts of D'rahn capabilities made it seem that each warrior was as strong as Mr. Majestic. (Backlash v1 #31)
D'rahn were seemingly drew sustenance from living beings such as humans and tended to feast on such species. (Backlash v1 #30) One trait unique among their kind was a natural power to induce evolutionary changes in their chosen subjects. This allowed them to take an inferior species and evolving them to their next evolutionary stage. (Backlash v1 #28) This power was known as Enlightenment which only female members of this species was capable of bestowing on other races. However, only D'rahn determined those who were worthy of being afforded such a gift which they did not give to untrustworthy species. (Backlash v1 #30) This power allowed female D'rahn to change the genetic makeup of their targets or destroy it in the process. (Backlash v1 #32)
According to the Kherubim, the D'rahn were considered the embodiments of power and wrath who were considered a vengeful race that would cleanse worlds of those that would oppose them. (Backlash v1 #31) During their height, they were claimed to had been the most ferocious and merciless sentient beings. They were capable of being impressed with acts of bravery even if they considered it foolish. Despite this being the case, the D'rahn were fatalistic beings and killed all their opponents but "honored" these foes with quick deaths. (Gen 13 v1 #21) They did hold concepts such as honor as some enemies they denied a fast and honorable death. (Backlash v1 #30) D'rahn were noted for being untrustworthy to the point that they could not be trusted as an ally as they would consume all their enemies. (Backlash v1 #28) In fact, they viewed humanity as being weak and worth nothing more then being sustenance for their kind whilst others found the thought of touching mankind being a nauseating concept. (Backlash v1 #30) Their power was such that the Archmage Azrum claimed that they were a foe unlike any other encountered by modern Earth. (Backlash v1 #30) Ultmately, they were seen as a barbaric race that was more than a match for a Kherubim or a Human Super-Powered Being. (Backlash v1 #32)
They took great pride in the hive society with a typical strategy being first the establihment of a base whereupon they would seek allies and finally deciding to assault their enemies. (Backlash v1 #31) Dominant leaders of a group of D'rahn were called a great Alpha with these leaders could either being male or females. The ultimate ruler of the species was noted to be held by a queen. Should the royal mother be dead, some females tried to move themselves into that position. (Backlash v1 #30) Lower ranking warriors were considered footsoldiers and referred to as drones. (Backlash v1 #32) One of the beings that their kind placed some reverance to was the Eternal Soul of M'nyerva and used that name when making a vow. (Gen 13 v1 #21)
They made use of crygenic stasis as a means of sleeping for thousands of years at a time. As such, their vessels were known to hold stasis chambers where they slept across long periods of time. The usage of cryo-triggers used as part of the stasis were capable of freezing the body of a D'rahn whereupon a super-powered beings was able to shatter the alien. (Gen 13 v1 #21) They were also vulnerable to a special airborne bio-chemical weapon known as Codon Enzyme that targeted higher lifeforms and caused a complete celullar breakdown. (Gen 13 v1 #23) They also had a vulnerability towards magic but some claimed that the species held no true weakness. (Backlash v1 #30)
The D'rahn spoke in their own unique language. (Backlash v1 #30) In addition, they made use of written inscriptions decorating their walls which was similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs. (Gen 13 v1 #21) They were also able to recognise stars in the skies even after centuries of change in planetary alignments which allowed them to recognise the star of their own homeworld. (Backlash v1 #30)
Members
- Lord Typhon : a powerful male D'rahn who was a foe of Lord S'lyton and was imprisoned in Atlantis when the Scroll of Displacement was cast but was freed by Haroth in the modern age. (Backlash v1 #29)
- Pildra : female D'rahn who was the sister of the ancient queen but was imprisoned in Atlantis by Lord Sl'yton's mages magic but was freed when Haroth released them whereupon she tried to get Lord Typhon to take her as his new mate. (Backlash v1 #30)
- Zenthrue : male D'rahn brother to Syth who was magically imprisoned alongside Lord Typhon but was freed when Haroth released them. (Backlash v1 #30)
- Syth : male D'rahn brother to Zenthrue who was magically imprisoned alongside Lord Typhon but was freed when Haroth released them. (Backlash v1 #30)
- Lord Chryon : a high ranking male D'rahn leader in the alternate future timeline who led the invasion forces against Earth from his flagship. (Gen 13 v1 #23)
- Lady K'ythra : female D'rahn who served under Lord Chryon in the alternate future timeline where she warned her superior that her spies indicated that humanity had a doomsday weapon at their diposal. (Gen 13 v1 #23)
Notes
- They were created by Sean Ruffner and Brett Booth and first appeared in Backlash v1 #28 (January, 1997).
- Kobeh in Gen 13 v1 #21 suggested that as D'rahn hieroglyphs were similar to those on Earth then perhaps they were native to another world within the Sol system.
- Beyond their appearances in Backlash and Gen 13, the D'rahn storyline was never concluded or expanded upon.
- The D'rahn name tends to be spelt in different ways in some of the comic issues with it ranging from D'rahn, D'Rahn and Drahn.
Alternate versions
- In Gen 13 v1 #23, an encounter with the Collectors led to Gen 13 members Caitlain Fairchild, Grunge and Roxy were unaware that they became displaced in time by thirty years in the future. The conflict was noted for being particularly brutal and many horrors were seen during the war with the D'rahn. By this point, the human population had been decimated to the point that New York was the only stronghold left on Earth which the D'rahn were carefully planning on besieging. As such, they were on the verge of conquering Earth and nearly wiping out the last remnants of mankind. (Gen 13 v1 #23) Evolutionaries scouts were dispatched to overwhelm the defenders whereupon the D'rahn motherships proceeded within invading the surface.
Appearances
- Backlash v1 #28-31:
- Gen 13 v1 #21-24:
- Electric Warriors v1:
External Links
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