The Saga of Crystar
Encyclopedia
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
comic book with an associated toy line from Remco
Remco
Remco Industries, Inc. was a toy company founded in the 1940s that was best known for toys marketed and sold in the late 1950s and 1960s, like the Johnny Reb Cannon and Mighty Matilda Atomic Aircraft Carrier. The slogan was "Every Boy Wants a Remco Toy...And So Do Girls!" Remco was founded by two...
, consisting of seven figures, some vehicles and accessories. Marvel marketed the concept to various toy companies in the early 1980s and it was picked up by Remco.
The toys hit the shelves in late 1982; the Marvel Comics series was first published in the spring of 1983. Since the toys were released first, many assumed the comic had been a licensed adaptation of the toyline, but Crystar and all of the characters in the toy line and comic book were created and owned by Marvel Comics, which had created the concept with the express intent of licensing it out to a toy company.
The comic book series was set parallel to 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...
and featured guest appearances by Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
, Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler (comics)
Nightcrawler is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Universe. He has been associated with both the X-Men and Excalibur, originally appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, he debuted in Giant-Size X-Men #1...
and Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight is a fictional superhero team published by Marvel Comics, noteworthy for being one of the few Canadian superhero teams. Created by John Byrne, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 ....
.
The cover of issue #8 of The Saga of Crystar, drawn by Michael Golden, features a skull logo that was later used by the bands Samhain
Samhain (band)
Samhain was an American rock band formed by singer Glenn Danzig in 1983, immediately following his departure from the Misfits. Samhain played in more of a deathrock and heavy metal-infused style of horror punk than Danzig's previous band. By 1987 Samhain's membership evolved into a new band,...
and Danzig
Danzig (band)
Danzig is an American heavy metal band, formed in 1987 in Lodi, New Jersey. The band serves as a musical outlet for the singer/songwriter Glenn Danzig. Danzig can be seen as the third stage in Glenn Danzig's musical career, preceded by the horror punk bands The Misfits and Samhain...
.
The Crystar franchise is mostly an obscurity, however the title character had a profile featured in the Marvel Comics 1980s Handbook, as well as the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z hardcover series. The character also appeared in the variant cover of Marvel Zombies 4 #1, which featured a number of 1980s Marvel Comics characters in a parody of Michael Jackson's Thriller video. Crystar and related characters were also subject to a parody in the episode "Ban on Fun" of Robot Chicken, wherein it was suggested that Crystar and his people were made out of crystal meth.
Storyline
Years ago, The Demon Lord sent his demonDemon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
armies to conquer the world of Crystalium. The King of Crystalium led the fight against the Demon Lord in the Chaos War, but was killed. The forces of Order then sent the wizard Ogeode and the "Prisma-crystal" to drive away The Demon Lord's minions and the forces of Chaos. In his defeat, the Demon Lord made the "Prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
of Chaos", that a time would come when he would send another of his servants to divide the planet against itself and bring ruin to all.
After the end of the Chaos War, the wizards Ogeode and Zardeth visited two prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
s, the brothers Crystar and Moltar, who had to decide whether their people would ally with Chaos or Order. Crystar chose Order and its champion
Champion
A champion is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition.There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, and even further divisions at one or more of these levels, as in soccer. Their champions...
, Ogeode. As Moltar considered Chaos, their uncle Feldspar
Feldspar
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals which make up as much as 60% of the Earth's crust....
tried to convince him that Chaos was evil. Moltar, feeling that his uncle had always favored Crystar, became enraged and fought Crystar, injuring Feldspar in the process. Leaving them for dead, Moltar led his followers to the Fountain of Fire to find the wizard Zardeth, and ally with Chaos.
Ogeode saves Crystar's life by merging him with the "great Prisma Crystal", which renders the prince's body into crystalline form. Similarly, at the Fountain of Fire, Zardeth magic
Magic (fantasy)
Magic in fiction is the endowing of fictional characters or objects with magical powers.Such magic often serves as a plot device, the source of magical artifacts and their quests...
ally transforms Moltar and his followers with the power of lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
. Moltar and his magma
Magma
Magma is a mixture of molten rock, volatiles and solids that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and is expected to exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and dissolved gas and sometimes also gas bubbles. Magma often collects in...
men then attempt to conquer the city of Galax. Crystar and his warriors, feeling that flesh and blood would prove ineffective against the transformed armies of Moltar, selected an elite to also be transformed into crystal form: Koth, Stalax, and Kalibar.
Order
- Crystar - One of the twin princes of Crystalium. Leader of the Crystal Warriors for Order.
- Ambara - Former valetValetValet and varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer.- Word origins :In the Middle Ages, the valet de chambre to a ruler was a prestigious appointment for young men...
to Lavour. During the conflict between the princes, Ambara and Crystar develop a romantic relationship. - Warbow - Crystal Warrior. Warbow shot Zardeth in the left eye with an arrow. Losing the eye, but otherwise unfazed by the injury, Zardeth shot out Warbow's left eye in return, leaving Warbow mortally wounded. Ogeode used the prisma-crystal on Warbow as he did on Crystar to save his life. Warbow secretly has romantic feelings for Ambara.
- Koth - Crystal Warrior with a ribald sense of humor.
- Stalax - Youngest of the Crystal Warriors.
- Kalibar - Crystal Warrior.
- Ogeode - Wizard champion of Order. An old man with a bald head and white beard. Father of Ika, whom he willingly sacrificed to become a crystal being in an experiment to learn the secrets of the crystal warrior physiologyPhysiologyPhysiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
(so that he might learn how to heal one of Crystar's injured followers). Frequently, Ogeode claims to be of diminished mystical ability and of little use to the Crystal warriors, yet manages to perform mystical feats during times of crisisCrisisA crisis is any event that is, or expected to lead to, an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community or whole society...
. - Ika - Half-enchantress daughter of Ogeode. Ika was compelled by her father to undergo a transformation to turn her body into crystal so that he may learn the secrets of the Crystal Warrior physiology.
Chaos
- Moltar - One of the twin princes of Crystalium. Leader of the Magma Men for Chaos.
- Zardeth - Wizard leader of Chaos. Lost his left eye in an altercation with Warbow.
- Lavour - Betrothed to Crystar before the princes went to warWarWar is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
. After she thought Crystar was dead, Lavour allied herself with Moltar for the opportunity to become queen of Crystalium. - Magma Men - The rank and file of Moltar's army.
Feldspar
- Feldspar - The appointed regentRegentA regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
of Crystalium since the death of his brother, the King of Crystalium. Uncle of Prince Crystar and Prince Moltar, Feldspar has taken authority over the planet until the princes have settled their conflict. He arranged for both Ogeode and Zardeth to alter his body into a partly crystalline and partly molten form to symbolize neutralityNeutrality (philosophy)Neutrality is the absence of declared bias. In an argument, a neutral person will not choose a side.A Neutral country maintains political neutrality, a related but distinct concept.-What neutrality is not:...
in their dispute.
Action Figures
In 1982 Remco produced the Crystar action figure line based on the concept for the comic book series. Crystar and the forces of order were designed to appear to be made of crystal, and Moltar and the forces of Chaos, lava. Eight figures, five mini playsets, two dragonDragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s and one castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
were produced.
Vehicles, Creatures, etc.
- Crystal DragonDragonA dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
- Lava Dragon
- Crystal Shatterpult
- Lava Shatterpult
- Crystal Castle