Starbreaker

Origin of the Luciphage

Starbreaker is an ancient being known on Thanagar as Luciphage, or “light-eater”. Earlier, he was known for evading capture by the Green Lantern Corps. Older than all of creation, he is the subject of legends on countless worlds describing the end of the universe. In eons past, he has laid waste to entire galactic clusters. This galaxy-renown cosmic vampire has demonstrated the ability to consume energy from seemingly any source. However, to that end, his preference was to engineer astronomical chaos to provide the greatest release of energy possible. Generally, Starbreaker achieved this by dispatching his Mechanix, robotic armies, to upset a planet and absorb the resulting energy. With a thought, he often created duplicates of himself to oversee that his schemes were moving forward. The final stage of his destructive plans often ended with the entire planet crashing into its system’s sun. In addition, the Cosmic Vampire had discovered that the greatest potential for energy resided in the minds and emotions of sentient beings. He found that this life force was more volatile, and burned brighter in times of conflict and death. As a result, Starbreaker continued to target populated planets. He has come into conflict with the Justice League on three occasions.

Personal Data

• Height: 6′ 5″
• Weight: 210 lbs.
• Eyes: Red
• Hair: Black
• Skin: Red
• Citizenship: Unknown
• Marital Status: Single
• Occupation: Cosmic Vampire

Justice League versus Starbreaker

In his first encounter with the Justice League, Starbreaker had overrun the planet Rann with his army of giant mechanical ants. While using the teleporter to beam onto the League Satellite Headquarters in orbit over Earth, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Flash (Barry Allen) and Hawkman are caught in a Zeta Beam intended for Adam Strange. Hearing Hal’s distress call, Superman travels 25 trillion miles of space to find the Leaguers fighting a losing battle on Rann against the Cosmic Vampire’s Mechanix. Superman’s arrival turns the tide, and the four Leaguers defeat the giant bugs. Green Lantern’s ring detects two more Mechanix groups in the holy city of Abdukara, and the new city state called New Narzam. Observing the Leaguers splitting up into teams of two, Starbreaker uses his duplication power to create two copies of himself to ensure the success of his Mechanix in both cities. Both copies are outsmarted by the Green Lantern/Flash team at New Narzam, and the Superman/Hawkman team at Abdukara. The Starbreaker doubles are captured and taken to Adam Strange, who had just arrived on Rann via a second Zeta Beam. However, the original Starbreaker teleports his copies away, and absorbs their essences into himself.

Watching the effects of the Zeta Beam wear off on the Leaguers, transporting them back to Earth, Starbreaker would find a new planet to feed on. Seeking revenge, Starbreaker arrived on Earth and soundly defeated the Justice League. He would leave the Leaguers alive but demoralized in order to feed off their negative emotions. With the help of Sargon the Sorcerer, the Justice League eventually defeated the Cosmic Vampire. Having a special interest in Starbreaker because of his galaxy-spanning crimes, the Guardians of the Universe incarcerated him; banishing him to a shadow dimension. His corporeal husk was sealed into a stasis pod, and shot out into space to drift for all eternity.

Post-Crisis Appearance

Almerac

Many years later, a wandering freighter pulled in the capsule and proceeded towards Almeracian space. During Brainiac‘s invasion of Almerac, the captain of the space freighter opened the stasis pod carrying Starbreaker’s carcass. As Warworld was laying waste to the Almeracians‘ home planet, raw energy surged through the air, reviving the Cosmic Vampire. The people of Almerac barely had an opportunity to recover from Brainiac’s assault before armies of Mechanix began leveling their cities, and capturing the Royal Castle. Starbreaker personally executed all governors loyal to Maxima, the Empress of Almerac. The Captain of Maxima’s personal guard managed to escape in an imperial craft, and rocketed to Earth to warn the Empress. When Maxima returned to her homeworld, she would find Starbreaker sitting in her throne. Meanwhile, the Justice League back on Earth had examined the Captain’s log records aboard the Almeracian spacecraft wreckage.

Having encountered Starbreaker before, Superman suspected that the Shatterer of Worlds was behind this attack after viewing a message intended for Maxima from the Almeracian Captain. A team of Superman, Guy Gardner, Bloodwynd, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Fire and Ice went to Almerac. Upon their arrival, they would find Maxima unconscious in Starbreaker’s clutches. The Cosmic Vampire made quick work of the Leaguers, sucking them dry of their energy. He carried them off to the Forbidden Jungles, and began blasting incredible amounts of energy into a major fault line in Almerac’s crust. Not wanting to be defeated a second time, he tossed Superman into Almerac’s molten core. The rest of the Leaguers were put into captivity. Eventually, Bloodwynd was able to buy some time by impersonating a blue skinned Guardian. With Starbreaker distracted, Blue Beetle succeeded in rewiring Booster Gold’s power suit to a planetary shield generator. When the Cosmic Vampire’s eyebeams reached Booster Gold, the force field generator acted as an energy siphon. Once again, the Living Battery was completely drained of his power, leaving only his costume behind.

Planet Heist

Although having physically dissipated, the Luciphage still lingered on in an immaterial state. Wandering the cosmos in his depleted form, he was chanced upon by Sh’ri Valkyr, a death cultist masquerading as a flight commander on the planet Thanagar. She and her sect resuscitated their hallowed Light-Eater by feeding him victims who were considered nuisances to their worldly politics so he might regain his strength. Valkyr, wishing to enact the ultimate prophecy for the death of the universe, sought out a means to find a way of enabling her dark master to ascend his ultimate state of being and bring about the end of all that is. To that end, she wished to peruse the latest in Rann’s teleportation technology, The Zeta Beam, to achieve such a diabolical goal.

As misfortune would have it, Sardath; head scientist and de facto leading power of the Rannian civilization, had recently perfected his intergalactic transporter tech with a couple of new Z-Point energy innovations, dubbing it the Omega Beam; an apparatus which converts matter into energy on a cosmological scale and transports it from one end of totality to another before & after re-materializing it. Seeing this as the ultimate means of enacting her cult’s prophecy of Armageddon, she would propose to her malevolent deity that by using the Omega Beam to convert the entire universe into energy for Starbreaker feed upon, Valkyr moving to procure the apocalyptic device for her master. The plan would run into a stonewall as it was believed Rann had been destroyed in a star going nova, but this did not deter Starbreaker’s cult. The irate divinity growing more and more impatient whilst barely sustaining himself upon meager starlight until his worshipers can deliver on their promises.

After the bounty hunters dispatched were delt with and the Omega Men along with Adam Strange evade L.E.G.I.O.N., it is eventually brought to the wearied gods attention by Sh’ri that the cultists where closing in on the location of Rann. Having surmised that it didn’t get blown up in the supernova that was said to’ve destroyed said planet when televised across the space ways. Having become dissatisfied with their progress thus far, and the paltry specimens he’s been allowed to feed upon. The Unforgiving God threatens to feed upon his acolyte lest she finds the means of his ultimate ascendency, because irregardless whether she’s around to help him or not; reality would still die by his hand. Their transport having finally caught up with Strange & Co. Starbreaker began feeding on the Alpha Centauri’s star system to reinvigorate himself.

Now poised to consume all of reality, Luciphage was set to live up to his ultimate potential as the death of all there is. Strange backed by the Rannian rocket fleet and newly armed Omegan’s battle it out with the Thanagarian death cultists but are nearly set to be overrun just when reinforcements are transported in; courtesy of Vril Dox and a contingent of his interplanetary defense forces backed by remnants of the Darkstars. Whom move to intercept Starbreaker by siphoning his energies through the MASER Field Emitters via directory by Brainiac II. But their systems overload causing the last remaining space crusaders to parish, the backwash of their energy release reinvigorating the Luciphage. Things being touch & go with Sh’ri having infiltrated Rann only to meet her demise and the planet nearly being devouered by the cosmic predator. Sardeth had preprogrammed the Omega Beam to port the planet, its suns & all inhabitants occupying it out of the dead reality.

Stranding Starbreaker in a universe devoid of energy. Before being killed however, Valkyr, having tampered with the warp jump coordinates, managed to teleport the Rann to Polaris, home system to the planet Thanagar. Thus beginning the Rann-Thanagar War.

Justice League of America

Starbreaker, having been initially trapped in a decedent realm with no viable stars or life to feed upon. Would seek release from his prison via making contact with the Earthborn supercriminal Carl Sands, A.K.A. the Shadow Thief. First recounting within his lair about how he first challenged to Justice League wherein his obsession with devouring Earth first began. After which, seeking a return to power and a chance for revenge, he deploys Sands after giving him a power boost to make him infinitely more dangerous than ever before. The former nearly succeeding in destroying two super teams before threatening to bring a shadow moon duplicate down upon the planet. The destruction of which being enough to feed the matured Sun-Eater well enough to approach his penultimate endgame on destroying the Justice League of America.

Although his initial gambit had failed, Starbreaker’s pawn managed to rework his plan through alternate means. Using him to find another source of energy through which he would act as his tether from the shattered dimension into the primary DC Universe. After procuring the power source through which to revive his master, Starbreaker feeds off of Doctor Light as a fuel source to reenergize after spending so much time away from viable sustenance after easily dispatching Firestorm . After which the Luciphage orders his reinfeld to locate the actual object of his prize for the Star Killer. That being the mysterious leader of the Shadow Cabinet; a cosmically empowered Dharma, who’d been using his newfound abilities to seamlessly blend together two universes until Starbreaker critically injured him trying to steal his energies. The League working in conjunction with some of Dharma’s associates battled him only to find that many of their best hits weren’t making a dent in the enemy, when Zatanna opted to throw off the illusion he’d put on to confuse their senses. Both sides got a good view of the true nature of what they faced.

Starbreaker had acquired more power than typical suns could supply and became an energize titan as a consequence. Going onto say that his current state of being is what a mature Sun Eater looks like, going so far as to spite them for fearing their larval forms when they’ve never seen nor properly faced their imago state. Even still his enemies persisted, with their resident spellcaster knocking him flat on his butt only to find her spellcraft merely knocked the wind out of him and brought the cavern they were fighting in down atop his head. All whom were present knew full well that none of which would be near enough to put Starbreaker down for good and beat a hasty retreat before he dug himself out. The second he resumes his attack, the League; with help from Hardware and Dr. Light’s quick thinking, manage to siphon away the excess energies he’d absorbed from her and Dharma. Weakening him considerably, before Paladin, an alternate universe Batman, shoots him in the head using a railgun. Starbreaker’s form dissolves but the JLA knew that it is only a temporary setback. At some unknown time & date, Starbreaker would inevitably return.

Powers

Starbreaker’s primary ability is the power to absorb energy in all its forms (though he prefers the kinetic energy of a planet crashing into its sun) as well as draw power from negative emotions. He can draw these energies from the space around him or specifically from other people (which can work to depower super humans). There seems to be no upper limit to the amount of energy he can absorb since he has devoured whole galaxies and has walked around with the power of thousands of suns. The energy Starbreaker gains can be used in various ways. He can grant himself strength and durability greater than Superman’s, and also seems to possess speed to match. He can fly, make energy duplicates of himself, alter his size (growing at least large enough to where he can hold a planet in his hands) and manipulate energy for multiple uses including destructive blasts (ranging in destructiveness beyond that of an exploding star) and force fields, and he seems to able to control what types of energy he releases (using red sun radiation to depower Superman). Starbreaker also seems to possess telekinesis which he can use to push planets into nearby stars. Starbreaker has been shown to impart his energy into others to improve their abilities. Powers he has that seem to be innate and independent of his energy level include true immortality (he has survived even when his energy is depleted) and super senses, especially those related to sensing energy. Starbreaker also seems to have mental defenses seeing as he was able to prevent Martian Manhunter from accessing his mind. Starbreaker’s only weakness is that large amounts of positive emotion can weaken him and he can also deplete his own reserves with too much energy output. The guardian’s data banks mentioned that if left unchecked, he may become the most dangerous entity in the universe.