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Forerunner (comics)
Encyclopedia
Forerunner is a fictional character
published by DC Comics
. She first appeared in Countdown #46 (August 2007), and was created by Jimmy Palmiotti
, Justin Gray and Jesus Saiz.
, as well as the history of her race, is depicted in Countdown to Adventure #1. The Forerunners' planet is the Earth of an alternate universe, ravaged by years of destructive war. The other "Nine Houses" (planet
s and dwarf planet
s) of the Solar System
declared the planet a War World in which they would battle for occupancy. Survivors of the wars - the strongest and fittest - remained on the planet and interbred, unknowingly guided to do so by the Monitors. The process produced the Forerunners, a species possessing traits of the beings from other planets such as Green Martians
and Saturnians
. When the Nine Houses decided that the Forerunners were a threat that had to be eliminated, the Monitors intervened and formed a pact with the Nine Houses: the Monitors would keep the Forerunners from moving against the Nine Houses. For their own purposes, the Monitors would appoint one Forerunner as their Instrument of Righteous Death whom they also called Harbinger
.
Viza is a member of a genetically engineered race of warriors tasked with serving the Monitors, and was assigned by a Monitor to kill anomalous beings inhabiting the Multiverse. In her first appearance, she battled Jason Todd
and Donna Troy
during their investigation of the death of Duela Dent
. After failing to eliminate the two, she was denounced by one of the Monitors and suffered a crisis of confidence. Vowing to stay on Earth until she regained the trust of the Monitors, Forerunner was later contacted by Captain Atom
(now called Monarch
) who recruited her to aid him in his plans. He accused the Monitors of deploying a Harbinger, Dark Angel
, to wipe out the Forerunner race. Monarch granted Forerunner an entire Bleed-based armada with which to wage war against the Monitors.
. Forerunner is captured, Dark Angel reveals herself; Forerunner ultimately strikes her down. Dark Angel escapes; when Monarch arrives Viza rebukes his attempts to gather new recruits. When they return to the Bleed, Monarch attacks Forerunner for questioning his authority. She attacks him, but realizes that damaging Monarch's suit would unleash a catastrophic explosion, and she relents.
Monarch informs Forerunner that the Arena
tournament is about to begin, and that he doesn't need her services any longer. He teleports her to an unknown region of space. Forerunner is rescued by a passing freight ship, which is attacked by pirates. Forerunner boards the pirate ship, kills the captain, and evicts all non-necessary crew members. The ship is attacked by a Thanagar
ian fleet. The flagship, seeking the ship's original captain, demands her surrender. In response, Forerunner challenges their leader, Golden Eagle
, to single combat. Viza invokes the law of choice, a custom on her home world, empowering the victor to take any prize they desire. After defeating Eagle and his troops, Viza takes him as her prize; he's an initially unwilling sex slave. The ship reaches the Source Wall
, which has a gaping hole at its center.
The crew encounter an Earth space shuttle with a young boy in cryogenic stasis, whom they bring aboard. Forerunner commands the crew to pass through the wall, where they see Monarch's forces battling the Monitors. Forerunner locates the Monitors' base, which leads to events seen in Countdown to Final Crisis #15: she attacks the Monitor named Solomon; Superman-Prime
arrives and brutally bests her. In #13, she attacks Solomon again while Prime fights Monarch, again to no avail. Before Solomon can finish her, Darkseid
appears, and convinces Solomon to join him on Apokolips
.
After returning to the ship, Forerunner is told that passing through the Source Wall depleted the ships energy reserves, and that they only have forty-eight hours of power and oxygen left. The ship ends up trapped in no-space, and the crew are contacted by a sentient planet, who offers them the fuel they need in return for escorting a young planet across the sector. During the trip, they are attacked, and, at the young planet's request, Forerunner places a drop of her blood onto its land, allowing it to create antibodies from her DNA. When their task is completed, it is revealed that the young planet will soon make a new Forerunner race from Viza's blood. Viza decides to stay with the planet, and become the new race's Thought Mother.
in the Multiverse
. She possesses telepathy
and the ability to become temporarily invisible, presumably from her Martian ancestry. She has also been seen throwing various types of spikes at enemies. Viza also wears gloves with sharply tipped fingers that she can use as a weapon to slash at enemies.
At this point, it is unclear if Viza Aziv's abilities are typical of her race, although evidence seems to suggest so. All members of her race have a genetic fail safe which prevents them from attacking Monitors.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. She first appeared in Countdown #46 (August 2007), and was created by Jimmy Palmiotti
Jimmy Palmiotti
James "Jimmy" Palmiotti is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film.-Early life:Palmiotti is a graduate of the High School of Art and Design in New York City.-Career:...
, Justin Gray and Jesus Saiz.
Fictional character biography
Viza Aziv's origin storyOrigin story
In comic book terminology, an origin story is an account or back-story revealing how a character or team gained their superpowers and/or the circumstances under which they became superheroes or supervillains....
, as well as the history of her race, is depicted in Countdown to Adventure #1. The Forerunners' planet is the Earth of an alternate universe, ravaged by years of destructive war. The other "Nine Houses" (planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
s and dwarf planet
Dwarf planet
A dwarf planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union , is a celestial body orbiting the Sun that is massive enough to be spherical as a result of its own gravity but has not cleared its neighboring region of planetesimals and is not a satellite...
s) of the Solar System
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
declared the planet a War World in which they would battle for occupancy. Survivors of the wars - the strongest and fittest - remained on the planet and interbred, unknowingly guided to do so by the Monitors. The process produced the Forerunners, a species possessing traits of the beings from other planets such as Green Martians
Martian Manhunter
The Martian Manhunter is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in publications published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #225...
and Saturnians
Jemm
Jemm is a fictional alien that has appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics. The character exists in DC's main shared universe, known as the DC Universe...
. When the Nine Houses decided that the Forerunners were a threat that had to be eliminated, the Monitors intervened and formed a pact with the Nine Houses: the Monitors would keep the Forerunners from moving against the Nine Houses. For their own purposes, the Monitors would appoint one Forerunner as their Instrument of Righteous Death whom they also called Harbinger
Harbinger (DC Comics)
Harbinger is a fictional character, a DC Comics superheroine created in the early 1980s.-Fictional character biography:She and her associate, the Monitor, made several short teasing appearances in various DC comic books up until 1985, when the Crisis on Infinite Earths began...
.
Viza is a member of a genetically engineered race of warriors tasked with serving the Monitors, and was assigned by a Monitor to kill anomalous beings inhabiting the Multiverse. In her first appearance, she battled Jason Todd
Jason Todd
Jason Peter Todd is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Jason first appeared in Batman #357 and became the second Robin, sidekick to the superhero Batman, when the previous Robin went on to star in The New Teen Titans under the moniker of Nightwing.Though...
and Donna Troy
Donna Troy
Donna Troy is a comic book superheroine published by DC Comics. She first appeared in The Brave and the Bold vol. 1 #60 , and was created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani...
during their investigation of the death of Duela Dent
Duela Dent
Duela Dent is a fictional character in the DC Universe. She is a former member of both the Teen Titans and Titans East. Introduced under the alias of Joker's Daughter, she has also used the aliases "Catgirl", "Scarecrone", "Riddler's Daughter", "Penguin's Daughter", "Card Queen", and...
. After failing to eliminate the two, she was denounced by one of the Monitors and suffered a crisis of confidence. Vowing to stay on Earth until she regained the trust of the Monitors, Forerunner was later contacted by Captain Atom
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...
(now called Monarch
Monarch (comics)
Monarch is the name of three fictional DC Comics supervillains. The first Monarch is Hank Hall, formerly Hawk, who later renames himself Extant for the Zero Hour crossover. The second Monarch is Nathaniel Adam, a U.S. Army Captain. The third Monarch is Captain Atom, a former superhero...
) who recruited her to aid him in his plans. He accused the Monitors of deploying a Harbinger, Dark Angel
Dark Angel (DC Comics)
Dark Angel is a fictional DC Comics villain who battled Wonder Woman. She is a wandering spirit who inhabited the body of Baroness Paula Von Gunther during World War II...
, to wipe out the Forerunner race. Monarch granted Forerunner an entire Bleed-based armada with which to wage war against the Monitors.
Countdown to Final Crisis
Monarch discloses that Viza Aziv was chosen as the Monitors' warrior because they feared something in her: she was an unexpected outcome of the breeding program which created the Forerunners. Viza is sent by Monarch to recruit the JLAxis of Earth-10 and the Conjurers of Earth-33. The Conjurers were forewarned of Viza's arrival by Dark Angel, who disguised herself as an OracleBarbara Gordon
Barbara Gordon is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and in related media, created by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino...
. Forerunner is captured, Dark Angel reveals herself; Forerunner ultimately strikes her down. Dark Angel escapes; when Monarch arrives Viza rebukes his attempts to gather new recruits. When they return to the Bleed, Monarch attacks Forerunner for questioning his authority. She attacks him, but realizes that damaging Monarch's suit would unleash a catastrophic explosion, and she relents.
Monarch informs Forerunner that the Arena
Countdown: Arena
Countdown: Arena is a four-issue American comic book mini-series published by DC Comics. Written by Keith Champagne with art by Scott McDaniel, that ran for four weeks in December 2007....
tournament is about to begin, and that he doesn't need her services any longer. He teleports her to an unknown region of space. Forerunner is rescued by a passing freight ship, which is attacked by pirates. Forerunner boards the pirate ship, kills the captain, and evicts all non-necessary crew members. The ship is attacked by a Thanagar
Thanagar
Thanagar is a fictional planet in the . Thanagar is the original home of the humanoid Thanagarian race, noted for the discovery of gravity-defying Nth metal...
ian fleet. The flagship, seeking the ship's original captain, demands her surrender. In response, Forerunner challenges their leader, Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle (comics)
Golden Eagle is the name of two fictional characters published by DC Comics. The first Golden Eagle was introduced in Justice League of America #116 , and was created by Cary Bates and Dick Dillin. He joined Titans West in Teen Titans Golden Eagle is the name of two fictional characters...
, to single combat. Viza invokes the law of choice, a custom on her home world, empowering the victor to take any prize they desire. After defeating Eagle and his troops, Viza takes him as her prize; he's an initially unwilling sex slave. The ship reaches the Source Wall
Source Wall
The Source Wall is a fictional structure in the . The wall lies on the edge of the known universe, in the Promethean Galaxy. Beyond the wall lies what is known as the Source, a cosmic essence or being that is the "source" of all that exists. The wall is theoretically passable. However, all those...
, which has a gaping hole at its center.
The crew encounter an Earth space shuttle with a young boy in cryogenic stasis, whom they bring aboard. Forerunner commands the crew to pass through the wall, where they see Monarch's forces battling the Monitors. Forerunner locates the Monitors' base, which leads to events seen in Countdown to Final Crisis #15: she attacks the Monitor named Solomon; Superman-Prime
Superboy-Prime
Superboy-Prime, also known as Superman-Prime, or simply Prime, is a DC Comics superhero turned supervillain, and one of several alternate Supermen. The character first appeared in DC Comics Presents #87 , and was created by Elliot S...
arrives and brutally bests her. In #13, she attacks Solomon again while Prime fights Monarch, again to no avail. Before Solomon can finish her, Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
appears, and convinces Solomon to join him on Apokolips
Apokolips
In the DC Comics fictional shared Universe, Apokolips is the planet ruled by Darkseid, established in Jack Kirby's Fourth World series. It is also integral to many DC Comics stories. The planet is considered the opposite of New Genesis....
.
After returning to the ship, Forerunner is told that passing through the Source Wall depleted the ships energy reserves, and that they only have forty-eight hours of power and oxygen left. The ship ends up trapped in no-space, and the crew are contacted by a sentient planet, who offers them the fuel they need in return for escorting a young planet across the sector. During the trip, they are attacked, and, at the young planet's request, Forerunner places a drop of her blood onto its land, allowing it to create antibodies from her DNA. When their task is completed, it is revealed that the young planet will soon make a new Forerunner race from Viza's blood. Viza decides to stay with the planet, and become the new race's Thought Mother.
Powers and abilities
Viza Aziv possesses considerable superhuman strength and resistance to injury. She was able to resist gunfire from an automatic rifle and is tough enough that Donna Troy was injured simply by punching her. Forerunner can move at speeds well in excess to that of a normal human being. Her rate of acceleration and maximum velocity has yet to be determined but she was fast enough that a normal human could not follow her movement. However, it seems, while generally faster than a normal human, this feats of considerable superhuman speed are only temporal boosts. Because of the general life-style of her species she has excessive weapon and hand-to-hand combat training. She has defeated numerous SupermenSuperman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
in the Multiverse
Multiverse (DC Comics)
The DC Multiverse is a fictional continuity construct that exists in stories published by comic book company DC Comics. The DC Multiverse consists of numerous worlds, most of them outside DC's main continuity, allowing writers the creative freedom to explore alternative versions of characters and...
. She possesses telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
and the ability to become temporarily invisible, presumably from her Martian ancestry. She has also been seen throwing various types of spikes at enemies. Viza also wears gloves with sharply tipped fingers that she can use as a weapon to slash at enemies.
At this point, it is unclear if Viza Aziv's abilities are typical of her race, although evidence seems to suggest so. All members of her race have a genetic fail safe which prevents them from attacking Monitors.