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Rune (comics)
Encyclopedia
Rune is a fictional vampire
-like being from Malibu Comics
' Ultraverse
imprint. He was created by Barry Windsor-Smith
and Chris Ulm, and first appeared as a back-up story in Sludge
#1 (another Malibu comic).
in the Ultraverse, until he acquired the Star Stones, magical artifacts which made him virtually immortal, but cursed him with a monstrous form and a vampiric thirst for blood. Ages ago, he found himself stranded on Earth, and has been both worshipped as a god and reviled as a demon throughout history.
In issue 1 of his ongoing series, Rune is seeking out super-powered teenagers, unaware of their government connections and robotic protection. Rune is captured and seemingly absorbed by a government computer system.
Rune is noted not for just drinking blood, but eating the entirety of his victims, such as one of the powered beings created in the 1993 first issue of the Strangers (Malibu Comics) series. His powers had led him to predict the incident so he lay in wait and planned so he can kidnap and consume one of the passengers.
Later, Rune goes on a cross-country quest to save a woman from a cult that calls her 'Pandora'. Rune's true goal is to protect the cult's plan from raising the mad god 'Argus' from the woman's murder. In issue nine, Rune fails and Argus arises. This ties directly into the 1994-1995 four-issue limited series Godwheel
. Issue 9 also features Rune's son, stuck in the same 'entity' as his sister sibling. The male half is good and the female half is evil. The son is being assisted by a mysterious man named Janus and their trip doesn't go well.
In a flip book coming out in the same month, Rune fights the Silver Surfer
.
; however exposure to a nuclear explosion
in 1952 has given him cancer
and greatly weakened his powers. Even in this state, he is capable of performing magic spells such as teleport
ing people across a continent
and creating illusions to disguise himself as human. He also possesses certain psychic
powers, such as precognition
, psychometry, and clairvoyance
. By consuming the life-force of an Ultra, he can temporarily boost his powers tremendously.
At one point in time he possessed the Infinity Gauntlet
from the Marvel Universe
.
animated series, usually focusing his attacks on Prime. Other villains included Lord Pumpkin
and Primevil.
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
-like being from Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. The company's headquarters was in Calabasas, California. Malibu imprints included Aircel Comics and Eternity Comics...
' Ultraverse
Ultraverse
The Ultraverse was the name given to a comic book imprint published by the American company Malibu Comics. The Ultraverse was a shared universe in which a variety of characters — known within the comics as "Ultras" — acquired super-human abilities.-History:...
imprint. He was created by Barry Windsor-Smith
Barry Windsor-Smith
Barry Windsor-Smith, born Barry Smith is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States....
and Chris Ulm, and first appeared as a back-up story in Sludge
Sludge (comics)
Sludge was a comic book series from Malibu Comics, set in the Ultraverse. It was created by Steve Gerber, Gary Martin and Aaron Lopresti. Sludge ran for only twelve issues, with one special: Sludge: Red X-Mas...
#1 (another Malibu comic).
Fictional character biography
Rune was a human-like alienExtraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
in the Ultraverse, until he acquired the Star Stones, magical artifacts which made him virtually immortal, but cursed him with a monstrous form and a vampiric thirst for blood. Ages ago, he found himself stranded on Earth, and has been both worshipped as a god and reviled as a demon throughout history.
In issue 1 of his ongoing series, Rune is seeking out super-powered teenagers, unaware of their government connections and robotic protection. Rune is captured and seemingly absorbed by a government computer system.
Rune is noted not for just drinking blood, but eating the entirety of his victims, such as one of the powered beings created in the 1993 first issue of the Strangers (Malibu Comics) series. His powers had led him to predict the incident so he lay in wait and planned so he can kidnap and consume one of the passengers.
Later, Rune goes on a cross-country quest to save a woman from a cult that calls her 'Pandora'. Rune's true goal is to protect the cult's plan from raising the mad god 'Argus' from the woman's murder. In issue nine, Rune fails and Argus arises. This ties directly into the 1994-1995 four-issue limited series Godwheel
Godwheel
The Godwheel is one of the main concepts of the Malibu Comics Ultraverse. While it lent its name to a 1994/1995 four-issue series, the Godwheel is actually the place of origin of quite a few Ultraverse concepts, characters and significant items that predate that series...
. Issue 9 also features Rune's son, stuck in the same 'entity' as his sister sibling. The male half is good and the female half is evil. The son is being assisted by a mysterious man named Janus and their trip doesn't go well.
In a flip book coming out in the same month, Rune fights the Silver Surfer
Silver Surfer
The Silver Surfer is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue arc that fans call "The Galactus Trilogy"....
.
Powers and abilities
Rune derives his power from the Star Stones, which he wears around his neck. These absorb the souls and life-force of his victims, and he uses them to power various feats of magic. He has vampire-like abilities, including bat-like wings allowing him to fly, great strength, speed and durability, and is nearly impossible to kill, even by decapitationDecapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
; however exposure to a nuclear explosion
Nuclear explosion
A nuclear explosion occurs as a result of the rapid release of energy from an intentionally high-speed nuclear reaction. The driving reaction may be nuclear fission, nuclear fusion or a multistage cascading combination of the two, though to date all fusion based weapons have used a fission device...
in 1952 has given him cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
and greatly weakened his powers. Even in this state, he is capable of performing magic spells such as teleport
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
ing people across a continent
Continent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
and creating illusions to disguise himself as human. He also possesses certain psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
powers, such as precognition
Precognition
In parapsychology, precognition , also called future sight, and second sight, is a type of extrasensory perception that would involve the acquisition or effect of future information that cannot be deduced from presently available and normally acquired sense-based information or laws of physics...
, psychometry, and clairvoyance
Clairvoyance
The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
. By consuming the life-force of an Ultra, he can temporarily boost his powers tremendously.
At one point in time he possessed the Infinity Gauntlet
Infinity Gems
Infinity Gems, sometimes referred to as the Soul Gems, are six immensely powerful gems featured in the fictional Marvel Universe. Whoever holds all six gems in the Infinity Gauntlet gains omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and God-like power, and has absolute dominion over the universe...
from the Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
.
In other media
Rune appears in the UltraforceUltraforce (comics)
The Ultraforce is a fictional superhero group that appears in comic books published by Malibu, and later Marvel, as well as an animated series produced by DIC. Their purpose was to protect the public and keep other Ultras from getting out of line...
animated series, usually focusing his attacks on Prime. Other villains included Lord Pumpkin
Lord Pumpkin
Lord Pumpkin is a fictional being from Malibu Comics' Ultraverse continuity. He was created and later written by Dan Danko, with additional development by Steve Gerber, Aaron Lopresti, and Gary Martin including his first published appearance, with which Danko was not involved. Lord Pumpkin first...
and Primevil.