VEGA-SUPERIOR

Real Name: Vega Superior

Identity/Class: Terrestrial unique life form

Occupation: Predator

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Worshipped by the natives of his island

Enemies: Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner)

Known Relatives: Krakoa (father), Vega-Men (spawn)

Aliases: Son of Krakoa, "Junior"

Base of Operations: Formerly the South Pacific

First Appearance: Excalibur I#31 (November, 1990)

Powers/Abilities: Vega-Superior was presumably an amalgamation of plant and animal matter, like his father. He shared all of his father's memories. He could animate and control plant-life, using vines to constrict around others, and via such vines he could drain the life force of his victims. He could spawn off beings based on memories of other beings he had encountered, though they apparently took some time to gestate within egg-like spores. He could also form replicas of others out of plant and animal material, though these beings could not long survive being separated from him (see comments). His creations could approximate the powers of others, such as using lava blasts to simulate Cyclops' optic blasts, or by melting into the ground and generating another creation from another site in order to simulate teleporting.

    Despite not having visible legs, he could propel himself along the ground with decent speed. He could not, however, swim.

History:
(Excalibur I#31 (fb) - BTS) - As Krakoa was cast off into space by the X-Men, it released spores that fell back down to Earth. One of the spores developed into a living being on a nearby island; the rest of the spores allegedly drowned. The natives worshipped the "Son of Krakoa," regularly casting one of their number down into the pit in which he dwelled, and the creature absorbed his victims' life forces, building his strength and intending to one day avenge his sire.

(Excalibur I#31 (fb) - BTS) - The Son of Krakoa eventually spawned a number of spores.

(Excalibur I#31) - Trapped in a tropical storm in the South Pacific, Nightcrawler teleported out of his plane and onto the island below him. He saw several giant graven heads and later came across a native tribe preparing to sacrifice a woman. He saved her, but also fell into the pit into which they were casting her. The Son of Krakoa levitated a rock to catch them both and brought them to him at the bottom of the pit. After explaining his origins, the creature revealed his intent to re-create the world in his image; as the forebearer of a new race, he proclaimed himself Vega-Superior. Nightcrawler mocked him, but Vega snared him with vine-like tentacles and began to drain his life force. Nightcrawler broke off a piece of a stalagmite, cut his way free, and attempted to escape.

    Vega responded by hatching his spores, releasing the Vega-Men, but Nightcrawler easily destroyed them and teleported out of the pit. Vega then animated some plant material into the form of a winged humanoid (presumably patterned after the Angel (Warren Worthington)) and continued his assault on Nightcrawler. When Nightcrawler destroyed this creature, too, Vega himself came to the surface and attacked him. Nightcrawler fled into the ocean, telling Vega that he would warn the rest of the planet about him. Forgetting that his fellow spores had all drowned, Vega went after Nightcrawler, and he soon sank beneath the waves, as well.

    Down goes Vega!

Comments: Created by Scott Lobdell, Dave Ross, and Al Milgrom.

Why Vega-Superior? I don't get it.

    "I'll say this for you--what you lack in authenticity, you make up for with really stupid names."
--Nightcrawler

    An island female (who had been intended to be Vega's next meal), stood by his side and yelled support or taunts to him. She didn't speak English, though, and she didn't really affect the battle too much, so I didn't cover her in history. She did encourage Vega not to let Nightcrawler escape, and her prompting may have caused him to forget that he couldn't swim.

    Vega's animated humanoid was rendered inert after being thrown up into a tree, leading Nightcrawler to reason that he couldn't control his creations after their contact with the ground was severed (like Antaeus). However, just minutes before, Vega's creation had wings and was flying through the sky, so I don't think Nightcrawler's assessment was too accurate. Maybe he could only control them for a certain amount of time or something.

My understanding was that Krakoa is a colony lifeform so that it counts as one organism, and it can defend itself by creating extensions of its own plant matter that look like large humanoid spawn. Giant Size X-Men had only one encounter with this type of spawn, which they assumed was Krakoa itself. The Deadly Genesis team encounters the other spawns on the island which the all new X-men were lucky enough not to find (since they found... birds). So while this single defense the X-men find at the center of the island is real, and is really controlled by Krakoa, it only has animal level intelligence, and Xavier made it seem like it was speaking intelligently. When Krakoa is being launched into the sky, it releases spores, and one becomes the son of Krakoa which develops higher intelligence.
--Tim Turner

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connection to:

• Vega of Earth-Femizonia - former queen of United Sisterhood of Femizonia, sister of Lyra--Savage Tales I#1/2
• VEGA, RAFAEL - Wolfpack--Wolfpack
• VEGA, ROBIN - mutant, Empire State University, research assistant to Dr. Lanning. transform into metal, wf, blond--Spider-Man#82
• VEGAN race (Colossus) - extraterrestrial, Milky Way Galaxy, Vega IV, empire of planets throughout Vega system, thirty foot tall humanoids—Tales to Astonish I#58
• VEGANS (Gaar) - fought Speed Carter--Speed Carter #5/
• Superior (Jonathon Gallagher) - Bridge leader, brother and enemy of Comet Man, engineered his near demise and the mutation of Ben Beckley, killed by Ben Beckley--Comet Man#1
• MOTHER SUPERIOR - see SIN.
      artificially aged to adulthood by Red Skull, aging reversed by the same process that restored Captain America's youth
      --Captain America I#287,(named+costumed) 290 (298(fb), 287,288,290,293-299, 301->sin)
• Mother Superior of the Convent of Living Fire of Earth-691 ( ) - one of the few to return from the ritual, guided Nikki through it to destroy the Topographical Man--Marvel Presents#7
• other "Vega" or "Superior" characters

images: (not counting ads)
Excalibur I#31, p11, panel 1 (body)
        p12, panel 3 (Vega-Men)
        p15, panel 3 (flying creation)
        p18, panel 2 (face + native woman)
        p19, panel 1 (body)

Appearances:
Excalibur I#31 (November, 1990) - Scott Lobdell (writer), Dave Ross (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Terry Kavanagh (editor)

Last updated: 07/11/05

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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