Oedi ((Cat) People; Reality-8116; Dreadstar ally)

OEDI

Real Name: Oedi

Identity/Class: Alternate Reality (Reality-8116) extraterrestrial genetically-engineered being ("The People" of Caldor)
extratemporal (approximately 1 million A.D.)

Occupation: Warrior;
former leader, farmer

Group Membership: Dreadstar and Company (Syzygy Darklock, Vanth Dreadstar, Skeevo Phlatus, Willow) - all of whom are close affiliations

Affiliations: Lectra (deceased),
minimal former affiliation with the Instrumentality, who created the People and who gave them limited supplies in exchange for their harvest

Enemies: The Monarchy (notably King Nellor and the First Nova Squadron, including Lt. Sandorz)

Known Relatives: Oedi (father, deceased), Lectra (mother, deceased), unidentified siblings (deceased)

Aliases:
"Kitty Cat" (from Ray Stoner-21194, at least)

Base of Operations:
formerly mobile aboard the Lightcutter II and the "Big Bundle" ships;
formerly the Village, Caldor, unrevealed star system, Empirical Galaxy, Reality-8116

First Appearance: (Seen only in shadows, unidentified) "The Price," Eclipse Graphic Album Series#5 (1981);
   (pictured) Marvel Graphic Novel#3: The Metamorphosis Odyssey Book Three: Dreadstar (1982);
    (identified) Epic Illustrated#15 (December, 1982);
   (identity/appearance from Marvel Graphic Novel confirmed) Dreadstar and Company#5: The Dreadstar and Company Files: Oedi (November, 1985)

Powers/Abilities:

Height: Unrevealed ()
Weight: Unrevealed (perhaps )
Eyes:
Hair:

Height:
Weight:
Eyes:
Hair:

History:

(Dreadstar and Company#5: The Dreadstar and Company Files: Oedi) - Still a child at the time, Oedi, had been watching his father, also named Oedi, and his father's friends at work.

(Marvel Graphic Novel#3: The Metamorphosis Odyssey Book Three: Dreadstar) - The People (including both Oedis) found Vanth and decided to bring him to Delilah, as he was one of her kind.

(Marvel Graphic Novel#3: The Metamorphosis Odyssey Book Three: Dreadstar (fb)) - Oedi and his friends carried Vanth into Delilah's place, and she figured he would be dead by morning from the radium laser.

(Marvel Graphic Novel#3: The Metamorphosis Odyssey Book Three: Dreadstar) <Thirty years later> - An alien spacecraft, the Lightcutter II, arrived on Caldor and landed in Mist Valley, carrying the cyborg mystic Syzygy Darklock.

("The Price" (fb) - BTS / Marvel Graphic Novel#3: The Metamorphosis Odyssey Book Three: Dreadstar (fb) - BTS / Dreadstar and Company#5: The Dreadstar and Company Files: Oedi) - The now-adult younger Oedi and Minde' observed the ship's arrival -- initially thinking it to be a falling meteor -- and followed his lights to Mist Valley. They noted how for three days the pilot had just sat there, as if he were waiting for someone.

(Marvel Graphic Novel#3: The Metamorphosis Odyssey Book Three: Dreadstar (fb) - BTS) - Oedi and Minde' considered that the alien visitor looked somewhat human, although his scent was "wrong" (presumably his mystic and/or cyborg nature) and when he moved they heard a slight metallic sound. They decided to show him to Vanth to see what he thought.

(Marvel Graphic Novel#3: The Metamorphosis Odyssey Book Three: Dreadstar) - Oedi showed amd discussed the vistor with Vanth, and he resolved to visit him and find out what he was up to. Oedi told him to be careful, noting that if anything happened to him, Delilah would skin them alive.

(Marvel Graphic Novel#3: The Metamorphosis Odyssey Book Three: Dreadstar) - After meeting the visitor, Vanth told Oedi and Minde' that his name was Syzygy Darklock and that he was no threat to the People as long as he was left alone.

(Dreadstar and Company#5: The Dreadstar and Company Files: Oedi) - At some point, Syzygy also met and spoke with the younger Oedi, telling him of the Monarchy and Instrumentality war and noting that Vanth was destined to force an end to the war.

(Marvel Graphic Novel#3: The Metamorphosis Odyssey Book Three: Dreadstar (fb) - BTS) <A few(?) years later> - The Monarchy's intelligence forces received decades-old information about the Instrumentality's "cat warriors," and they resolved that they should destroy them before they were put into action as well as to terminate any scientists they found on the site.

Four months later, while Vanth was visiting Syzygy, the Monarchy's First Nova Squadron assaulted the village with orders to terminate all cat people and scientists they encountered.

First Nova Squadron slaughtered all of the cat people...

(Epic Illustrated#15 (fb) - BTS) - ...excepting the younger Oedi, who survived.
.

oedi-younger-6116-ei15-workcrew7-costume (Epic Illustrated#15/4: Dreadstar (fb)) <A week before the main story> - Aboard the Lightcutter II, Syzygy, Vanth and Oedi encountered the twisted shell of a Monarchy space fortress, which had once been the realm's mightiest weapon, and Syzygy concluded that the Instrumentality had finally gained the hand in the war between the two empires. Vanth and Syzygy resolved to institute "Plan M," the first step of which involved their acquiring a massive cargo ship. Syzygy noted that they could steal one from the Instrumentality Mining Company on Tortorelzor. When Oedi asked about this Plan M, Syzygy instructed him that it was unspeakably dangerous and the less he knew about it, the better, especially if captured. Nonetheless, Oedi joined Vanth in traveling to Tortorelzor to acquire the ship.

(Epic Illustrated#15/4: Dreadstar (fb) - BTS) - Their heads covered with full masks, Oedi and Vanth infiltrated Work Crew #7.

(Epic Illustrated#15/4: Dreadstar) - Via the secret maps, Oedi and Vanth evaluated the mining operations' equipment, after which they slipped away on Sub-Level #9, heading down a tunnel that would lead them to a ladder to the hangar deck. Glimpsing a woman resembling his deceased wife, Delilah, they were confronted by a quintet of Deacons of Deltor (the local security). The pair made short work of the Deacons, but a stray shot from one of their batons hit a support beam and caused a massive cave-in.

oedi-younger-6116-ei15-unmasked Both Oedi and Vanth avoided injury, but they found the previously-observed woman to be trapped under a massive boulder. Vanth's instructed Oedi to get clear in case his efforts caused another cave-in, but Oedi refused, insisting that they had come in together and would leave together...and he further noted that Vanth was really the one of power and significance: "You're the big wheel in this cosmic power play. Without you, there's no show. So I'm staying to help any way I can."

Oedi's unmasking surprised the woman with his feline features. She exclaimed, "He's a cat!" But Vanth corrected her, "No, you're wrong. Oedi is a man, the last of his race, and a friend."

Vanth subsequently lifted the boulder long enough for Oedi to get the woman to safety, after which Vanth cast the boulder aside and then dove out through the exit after them.

Figuring someone would be along to help the woman, Vanth and Oedi left her behind. They subsequently encountered and incapacitated a trio of deacons, unaware that the woman had followed them?

They subsequently departed in Ship #Delta457 (or something like the delta symbol, with a small break in the center of the bottom/horizontal portion of the triangle), which they renamed "Big Bundle," Vanth and Oedi allowed Syzygy to dock the Lightcutter II within the cargo ship, and they began making steps for the next step in Plan M.

('Breed III#6 (fb) - BTS) - Ten years prior to the main story (see comments), Oedi "got stuck" in the interdimensional nexus-realm Elsewhere, and his blasters lost their charge during their transport there. Oedi encountered Raymond Stoner of Earth-21194's modern time period, who -mistaking the cat-man for one of the 'Breed (hybrid human-demons, of which Stoner was one but whom he opposed) -- chased Oedi halfway across Elsewhere, trying to kill him.

('Breed III#6 (fb) - BTS) - Vanth employed Darklon the Mystic to help in retrieving Oedi from Elsewhere, and the two arrived in Elsewhere together.

('Breed III#6 (fb)) - Upon reuniting with Vanth (see comments), Oedi powered up his blasters off of Vanth's Sword of Icy Fire.

('Breed III#5 (fb) - BTS) - Wyrd recruited Vanth, Oedi, and Darklon (along with D'jinn the Gargoyle, Kid Cosmos, and the Wayfarer) to assist Raymond Stoner in Elsewhere against an assault by a demon race.

('Breed III#5) - As Raymond Stoner prepared to face the demon forces, Wyrd introduced him to the "Elsewhere Alliance."

('Breed III#6) - Stoner vaguely remembered Oedi, and he explained the reasons for the past assault and apologized after Oedi refreshed his memory. Oedi advised Stoner he would have been a lot more sorry if his blasters had still had their charges back then

Desiring to maintain his demon father's undivided attention, Stoner sent Oedi to drop a bomb amidst the demon warriors; although believing that prematurely drawing the demons' attentions was a bad idea, Oedi went along with Stoner's instruction, as it was his war.

The bomb's explosion led the demons after Oedi, and he used his blasters to cut them down and lead them away from the main group, reporting that he would return once he'd eliminated his attackers, although reinforcements were already pouring in.

When Kid Kosmos captured a pair of mystic demons and wondered if Stoner would want them for questioning, Oedi wondered if he was kidding before killing both demons with his blasters.

After Oedi returned to Stoner and Vanth, Vanth decided that Oedi could watch Stoner's back and went in for deeper mayhem. When Stoner tried to stop him, Oedi assured Stoner that Vanth knew what he was doing and that he would not be overwhelmed as Stoner feared. Vanth confirmed this by generating a devastating power blast with the sword that made Stoner wonder if the sword was nuclear-powered; Oedi noted it to be like magic and that Vanth gotten a lot more deadly with the sword since they ran together.

Stoner then led Oedi into the heart of the fight, and eventually the vast numbers slain -- mostly by Darklon and the Wayfarer -- resulted in the appearance of the massive demon leader, with the warrior demons retreating. When Stoner instructed the others to depart while he confronted his father, Vanth countered that he and Oedi didn't run away from fights, and Oedi replied, "I don't?" After Darklon noted that he sensed that Stoner was right in that the battle was for him alone, Vanth accepted this, and he and Oedi departed through Darklon's mystic portal.

Comments: Created by Jim Starlin.

Dreadstar / Reality-8116 primer

'Breed appearance chronology/rambling...

On my initial review, the 'Breed interaction seemed to occur in the earlier days of Dreadstar's stories, when he wore the dark cloak and used the sword (before the Lord High Papal shattered the sword and Vanth absorbed its energies into himself).

I feel like that was in the mid-teens of the Dreadstar series (at the time I first wrote this note, I'm only up to Syzygy's "The Price" in terms of profiling the whole Dreadstar saga), and it did not seem likely at all that 10 years passed between Oedi joining Dreadstar's team (and I wouldn't have thought it would have happened before they met, as Oedi was previously just one of many cat people on Caldor?, how/why would he have accessed Elsewhere (other than, why not?)) and Dreadstar's absorbing the sword and ditching his original hooded form.

Then again, there's an interesting time dynamic in the 'Breed crossover, as when Dreadstar met up with Oedi, it was a million years after the destruction of Reality-8116's Milky Way galaxy. Dreadstar likely moved forward in real time (with the exception of jumps forward in time, like when Vanth was comatose for a decade or so between issues) rather than something like "Marvel Time," where 4-6 years of real time equates to a year of Marvel Time to explain why the adult characters don't age.

Breed referenced real time, although he spanned at least two decades in the first issue of the original series (being born around 1950 and then serving in the Vietnam war by the end of the issue), and then by the end of the second series, it had caught up to real time in the 1990s. There were over 16 years between publication of the 'Breed II and III series, make it more complex, and I'm not sure his father, Alexander, was 15 years older in Breed III, making him around 75, although it's possible...

Regardless, I considered it is quite possible that Oedi was pulled from a different time period than Dreadstar, or that some sort of time distortion explains the time difference, or Oedi was just exaggerating the time period significantly.

Reading the interaction between Raymond and Oedi in 'Breed III#6, it seemed like Oedi had been stuck there for a full decade before Dreadstar arrived there, after which he powered up his blasters via Vanth's sword...which seemed to fit with Oedi and Vanth having been pulled from different time periods.
But then Darklon notes that Vanth had employed Darklon to recover Oedi, which meant that Vanth knew that Oedi was gone and went after him.
And then Oedi notes that Vanth had gotten a lot more deadly with his sword since they ran together...which I took as meaning that it was a later adventure for both of them.
So, the chronology seems to be that after they split up, Oedi was eventually transported to and trapped in Elsewhere, and then Vanth learned of this at some point and went after them.

Perhaps Oedi was there for ten years relative to both men, as both have enhanced lifespans
Or perhaps Oedi was in Elsewhere longer due to it being some sort of limbo dimension
Orr it just seemed like a decade and/or he lost track of time
Or perhaps he was just exaggerating...

So, I think ultimately it was that Oedi was trapped there for 10 years, while only a short period of time passed in Reality-8116; Oedi is either long-lived, or perhaps Elsewhere is a timeless limbo, and he didn't age. And, again, maybe Oedi just thought it was a decade or it just seemed like a long time and he was exaggerating.

The Price was originally published in black and white in Eclipse Graphic Album Series #5 (1981). It was reprinted, with colorized artwork, in Dreadstar Annual#1 (1983) by Epic (the licensed characters/stories division of Marvel)

I would like to see Oedi someday encounter the cat-demon Bialgesuard.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Oedi should be distinguished from:

OEDI (the elder) - father of Oedi via Lectra--Marvel Graphic Novel#3: The Metamorphosis Odyssey Book Three: Dreadstar
OEDIPUS - Greek king of Thebes, son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta, unwittingly fulfilled a prophecy that stated he would slay his father and marry his mother--(Mentioned) Avengers I#162
OEDIPUS - blinding neurotoxin developed by Nick Chernin for Declun International, then stolen by him to become Blindside--Amazing Spider-Man II Annual#1
ODIE - the dog housemate of the cat Garfield
Other "Oedi" characters, groups, items, events, races, or places...

images: (without ads)
Marvel Graphic Novel#3: The Metamorphosis Odyssey Book Three: Dreadstar, pg. 13, panel 3-5 (Vanth with the junior Oedi and Minde', with both together);
Epic Illustrated#15/4: Dreadstar, story, pg. 3, panel 2 (disguised Vanth & Oedi);
pg. 8 (2nd part, pg. 2), panel 1 (masked face);
panel 4 (unmasked)

Appearances:
"The Price," Eclipse Graphic Album Series#5 (1981) - Jim Starlin (writer/artist); I don't know who edited it; reprinted in Epic's Dreadstar Annual#1 (1983) it credited Jo Duffy (associate editor) and Archie Goodwin (editor)
Marvel Graphic Novel#3: The Metamorphosis Odyssey Book Three: Dreadstar (1982) - Jim Starlin (writer/artist), Archie Goodwin & Jo Duffy (editor)
Epic Illustrated#15/4: Dreadstar (December, 1982) - Jim Starlin (writer, artist), Stan Lee (editor/publisher), Archie Goodwin (editorial director), James Shooter (consulting editor), Jo Duffy (associate editor)
Dreadstar and Company#5: The Dreadstar and Company Files: Oedi (November, 1985) - Jim Starlin (writer/artist), Archie Goodwin (editor), Jim Shooter (consulting editor)

'Breed III#5-6 (September-October, 2011) - Jim Starlin (writer, artist), Robert Kirkman (chief consulting editor)

First posted: 09/02/2022
Last updated: 04/25/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters