Iron Angel (Earth-8116; Dreadstar ally)

IRON ANGEL

Real Name: Claudia Zirco

Identity/Class: Extradimensional ("Earth-8116") extraterrestrial cyborg (body);
her long disembodied spirit eventually evolved into a magical energy being

Occupation: Conscience, advisor, power source;
former adventurer, mercenary;
original occupation unrevealed

Group Membership: Dreadstar & Company;
formerly the Special Forces Unit

Affiliations: Cookie, Daina, Debardinis, Vanth Dreadstar, Izak, James, Oedi, Ondru, Skeevo Phlatus, Rok, the Toth, Tuetun, Willow;
formerly Syzygy Darklock, Fixx, the Gryxptznorsyw/Army Ants, the Instrumentality, Junior, the Kagami, Omni, (begrudgingly) Lord Palafox, Ultra-Violet

Enemies: Bettina, the Gryxptznorsyw/Army Ants, the Grunts, Gund, Gunderson, the Instrumentality, Junior/Many-Dark, the Kagami, Lord High Papal, Lord Lastlaugh, Lord Mozam, Nash, Dr. North, Lord Palafox and his forces, Paxton, Supergrunt, Thorn, the Zon; dark gods of another galaxy, giant tentacled monster by Palafox's prison, insectoids aboard the derelict vessel, the sentience within the sword formerly held by Many-Dark;
formerly Debardinis, Rok and his forces, the Toth, Tuetun (while he was brainwashed)

Known Relatives: Ren (last name presumably Zirco, husband, deceased), Kalla Dreadstar (daughter)

Aliases: "Pretty Angel" (from Junior)

Base of Operations: Mobile throughout "Reality-8116";
    formerly an extradimensional realm accessed the spiral arm of an unidentified galaxy;
    formerly mobile throughout an unidentified galaxy;
    formerly mobile throughout the Empirical galaxy;
    formerly the Island, an asteroid orbiting Altarix and the headquarters of the Empirical galaxy's Special Forces Unit;
    formerly an unidentified planet in the Empirical galaxy;

First Appearance: Dreadstar I#32 (September, 1987)

Powers/Abilities: Iron Angel had four bionic limbs, a metal skeleton, hydraulically enhanced muscles, and silicon-reinforced skin. This granted her Class 10 strength, plus superhuman speed, durability, and endurance. Her mechanical parts didn't place anywhere near the demands on her circulatory system that her original limbs would have. As she was loaded with cybernetics, she had an affinity for computers, enabling her to readily access and read files, even encrypted ones.
Her legs contained compartments that can eject shuriken (throwing star)-like weapons. She was highly skilled in many forms of combat, including the use of various weapons, such as daggers, whips, throwing stars, blaster guns, etc.

While her spirit was bonded with Junior/Many-Dark's, she was able to manipulate his massive power to some extent. She was also able to transfer her spirit into another living form.

Height: Who knows?
Weight: Who knows?
Eyes: Brown (I'm not so good with colors)
Hair: Brown

History:
(Dreadstar I#55/2 (fb) - BTS) - The Lord Papal, leader of the Church of the Instrumentality, ordered Lord Mozam to produce soldiers in mass quantities to be a match for rebels like Vance Dreadstar. Mozam's agent Dr. North showed him a prototype cyborg model from project: Iron Angel, explaining that they could make an army powerful enough to challenge even the Lord Papal. The power-hungry Mozam approved this cyborg project and then sought out a loyal volunteer...someone more loyal to him than to the Church. Mozam further requested that, out of those medically compatible subjects, they seek out a woman, as women were used to giving their bodies over for other uses (child bearing, men's pleasures, etc.). North identified the perfect subject in Claudia Zirco but noted one complicating factor, that she was married. Mozam prepared to resolve this problem.

(Dreadstar I#56/2) - Claudia told her husband, Ren, that she was sure that their latest effort had made her pregnant. As they headed off to work for the day, Ren mentioned reports of anti-Instrumentality rebels giving the Church problems, but Claudia told him she just wanted to have her life, her husband, and a couple of kids, and not worry about things she couldn't control. As she told Ren about a birthday party their friend Daina was throwing for James, a group of "rebels" (actually men by Church agents to pose as rebels) approached Ren, asking him to help blow up the chemical plant he worked at. When he refused, they stabbed him and rushed off, yelling "Church supporters die! All die!" The "rebels" then rushed off to the Church agents, asking for their payoff, but were killed instead. The agents then rushed to Claudia and the fallen Ren. Finding Ren still alive, one of the agents gave him something for pain...poison; he died soon after.
Lord Mozam had Claudia brought to his offices, and he told her of the rebels who had killed her husband. As expected, Claudia asked to volunteer to join the fight against the rebels, and when Mozam told her she was no soldier, she told him she'd do anything to stop the rebels. Having no one else to live for, Claudia agreed to turn herself over to the Church.

(Dreadstar I#57/2) - Claudia was mortified to see a three-armed Izak try to pound his way out of his cell, swearing to kill those who had imprisoned him and telling Claudia to get out while she still could. Lord Mozam told Claudia that Izak was a criminal who had volunteered for their program rather than face a death sentence.
    North subsequently examined Claudia, and tests showed that she was pregnant. North told Claudia, and she became ecstatic, announcing that she wouldn't be able to participate in the project because she needed to raise her child. Furious at North for telling her this, Mozam instructed North to dispose of the child.
    Claudia later visited Izak; they exchanged stories (including her intent to leave the program due to her pregnancy) and Izak was impressed with her as a sweet soul. When Claudia suddenly collapsed, Izak correctly figured that Mozam's men had done something to her to make her lose the child.
    When Claudia recovered, Mozam told her the child had been lost and that she was better off without it. Claudia was distraught, but North swiftly anesthetized her to begin her transformation.

(Dreadstar I#58/2) - A week after the procedure was completed, Claudia woke up and began screaming upon seeing that her limbs were made of metal, just as she had done every day. She demanded North give her her limbs back and when he refused she broke her restraints. Unused to how to work her new limbs, she collapsed to the ground, but when guards tried to carry her off she kicked him in the chest, inadvertently killing him by caving in his chest. Claudia was distressed to have killed a man, and she asked his name. Learning it was "Nash," she called herself a murderer, but Mozam told her that she was the Church's avenging angel.

(Dreadstar I#59/2) - Claudia completed another testing session and then announced the name of the project, Iron Angel, telling North that as a cyborg she had developed an affinity for computers, from which she had learned all kinds of interesting things. The next day, after North had announced his fear that Claudia knew they had killed her husband, Mozam oversaw that the next testing session. In seven seconds, Claudia easily crushed the soldiers she faced and then demanded they give her something tough to handle. They sent in Izak (now possessing six arms), to whom they had promised freedom if he killed her. As they struggled, Angel whispered her plan to Izak, who then through her into the viewing booth, where she slew Mozam's chief scientist, North.

(Dreadstar I#61/2) - Izak & Angel blasted their way past the Instrumentality guards and then freed the rest of the prisoners, causing mass chaos. Angel mortally wounded Mozam, but he got the better of her and prepared to execute her, but Izak rushed to her aid, tackling Mozam. The two landed in North's experimental transmat device and vanished. Believing them to have disintegrated and furious over losing the chance to kill Mozam herself, Angel blasted the transmat device, destroying it.

(Dreadstar I#49 (fb) - BTS) - To protect herself from being emotionally hurt again, Claudia adopted the harsh persona of Iron Angel.

(Dreadstar I#32 (fb) - BTS) - Iron Angel joined the revolution against the Instrumentality.

(Dreadstar I#32 (fb) - BTS) - Iron Angel joined the Empirical galaxy's Special Forces Unit, hunting down paranormal war criminals in the aftermath of the Instrumentality's defeat.

(Dreadstar I#32) - Following a training session where she disabled three combat-bots in two seconds, Iron Angel met Vanth Dreadstar, who had just revived from a two year coma. She knew who he was, and she explained her own origins and abilities. She later watched as Vanth challenged another agent, Fixx, in combat and was defeated. Afterwards Iron Angel helped Vanth to his feet.

(Dreadstar I#35) - Iron Angel was present at a Special Forces Unit meeting discussing Lastlaugh (Tyrass Donyan), after which Oedi sent the group members to hit the street and report back in 24 hours with any information on Lastlaugh's location.

(Dreadstar I#37) - Following Ultra-Violet's suicide, Iron Angel attended her funeral alongside Vanth, Fixx, Oedi, and Tuetun. After Fixx caught a lead on Lastlaugh, Oedi sent Vanth and Iron Angel to accompany him. Shortly after their arrival, Fixx and Angel were separated from Vanth with a partition and doused with knock-out gas. They quickly donned gas masks, but Lastlaugh's defenses blasted holes in their masks and they both rapidly succumbed to the gas. Lastlaugh further used a nuclear weapon attached to the partition to prevent Vanth from breaking them out. Vanth ultimately slew Lastlaugh and then released them.
Later, Angel joined Vanth, Fixx, and Oedi and investigating a break-in at Computer Central, where they incapacitated the security officers they encountered, allowing Willow to transfer her mind into Computer Central to try to make the government to better serve the people.

(Dreadstar I#38) - Iron Angel watched as Willow commanded a series of robots carted away her body to a cryogenic chamber. Oedi then took Iron Angel to supervise the arrests of the former ruling elite.

(Dreadstar I#39) - Iron Angel attended the asteroid-based funeral of Syzygy Darklock, who had perished seemingly destroying the Twelve Gods of the Instrumentality

(Dreadstar I#40) - Iron Angel was present with the entire Special Forces Unit as Willow announced that their bureau was being closed down, and that she was offering retraining so that all paranormals could integrate into mainstream society. Skeevo was arrested for embezzlement. That night Iron Angel went out with Vanth, Fixx, Oedi, and Tuetun. She wasn't sure what she was going to do with herself, but when Vanth told the group he was going to bust Skeevo out of the slammer, steal a ship, and split this galaxy, Angel and the others all eagerly asked to join him, and he accepted. Soon enough, they had done just what they planned, and Willow terminated security measures that would have destroyed the ship before it could escape orbit. They were all eager to go someplace where there would be more trouble than they could handle.

(Dreadstar I#41 (fb)) - Angel and the others stopped at a planet of ant people.

(Dreadstar I#41 (fb)) - Angel and the others stopped at a planet of frog-like people.

(Dreadstar I#41 (fb) - BTS) - Geared for adventure, Angel and the others were frustrated to find nothing but peace as Willow had brought everything under control.

(Dreadstar I#41 (fb)) - The crew departed for a the nearest galaxy, three light years away, but when they were halfway there, the ship's shunt drive blew up.

(Dreadstar I#41 (fb) - BTS) - After months of traveling at sub-light speed, they were still 1.15 light years away from the nearest galaxy.

(Dreadstar I#41) - Iron Angel became progressively more irate with Skeevo as he continued asking "Are we there yet?" in increasing frequency, and also when he painted "Skeevo" on the back of the ship. Skeevo challenged Angel to lose another game of cards to him, and she knocked a card out his hand with a hurled knife, telling him they'd play with her deck. She told Skeevo she'd lost her eye in a poker game and that she'd taken our her opponent's eye when he laughed at her. She caught Skeevo cheating and tackled him, and in the struggle he pulled off her eyepatch, learning that she still had both of her eyes. Admitting to wearing it mostly for effect, she put it back on (accidentally placing it over her left eye, instead of over right where it had been). When the ship fell under the assault of a reality-warping energy sphere, Vanth tried to fight it off, but the unleashed energy created a vortex that pulled the ship into it. They emerged within an unidentified galaxy and found Vanth holding a newly arrived infant.

(Dreadstar I#42) - Iron Angel figured the baby to be evil and wanted to kill it. Skeevo named the baby Skeevo junior, and everyone else called him Junior. Dreadstar and company were assaulted by Gund (a giant sentient turtle) and things looked grim for our heroes until something (Junior) fixed their ship's warp engines and they were able to escape...and I can't find the damn issue...

(Dreadstar I#43 (fb) - BTS) - Dreadstar asked if she could live with having an infant on board or would they have to drop her off somewhere, and she agreed to stay.

(Dreadstar I#43) - Dreadstar and company stopped on the shopping planet Amoxicylin to restock their supplies. While checking out some weaponry, Angel saw Vanth fighting someone and rushed out and snared Vanth's opponent by the neck with her whip. She was most surprised to find the opponent to be Izak, and she punched him away when he called her Claudia. Seeking to avoid reminders of her past life, Angel fled from Izak. Dreadstar, Oedi, and their gigantic ally Tuetun followed Iron Angel in fleeing Izak, and they joined up with Skeevo and escaped in their ship, which had been garishly redecorated. Skeeva asked Angel who Claudia was, and she told him to cram it.
Izak vowed to find her wherever she ran.

(Dreadstar I#44) - Skeevo yanked Junior away from Angel when she let him play with her dagger, and she reiterated her opinion that the kid would be the death of all of them. Soon after, they came upon a derelict ship and investigated to see if they could use it to gain more living space; Angel wondered if Junior was bigger than he was the day before but dismissed the thought. Vanth then revealed that Willow's consciousness had duplicated itself and beamed aboard their ship.
When Skeevo disappeared, Vanth sent Angel and Tueton to find him, and they found Junior levitating in the air, surrounded by giant insects that seemed to be worshipping him. With Skeevo, they snatched Junior and fled the insects and tossed Junior around as the insects tried to take him back. When Cheron, the last member of the ship's crew and a cannibalistic zombie, attacked Vanth, Junior spoke his first words (and glowed in the process), telling Cheron he was dead, and Cheron accepted this and perished. A number of spirits (presumably the colonists he had eaten) tore free from Cheron's corpse and began devastating the ship, and Dreadstar and company boarded their ship and fled, narrowly escaping ad the derelict blew up. Angel pointed out to everyone that Junior was definitely older and was now walking and talking.

(Dreadstar I#45) - Skeevo and Oedi held Angel back as she dove at Junior, and he told everyone he had no idea who he was. Disbelieving him, Angel threw her dagger at him, but it shattered on his chest and fell to the ground. Later, she became irate to find Junior at her side, staring at her, and he told her he was just admiring her beauty; she told him to admire it from a distance. The group answered a distress call and landed on a nearby planet. They were pursued by a group of robots, which Tueten incapacitated by sneezing dust at, but Tuetun's celebratory jumping cracked a whole in the ground and they all fell into a pit. They each saved each other by forming a human chain, with Junior growing to the size of a six year old to reach Angel in time. As Tuetun slowly scaled the pit, pulling everyone after him a powerful tentacle grabbed Angel. Unable to break it's grip, Junior let go with Angel and they fell towards the tentacled creature before Junior drove it back with a burst of energy and then flew Angel to the surface. They continued down a corridor and found Lord Palafox at the end of it.

(Dreadstar I#46) - Palafox eased Angel's concerns about Junior, calling him a Zenorb and explaining how Zenorbs imprint on those present at its birth, etc., but Angel was still skeptical. Junior later asked why Palafox had said that because he wasn't a Zenorb and there was no such thing, but Palafox reminded Junior that he was young and didn't know everything.
Junior continued his obsession with Angel, watching her walk from behind and later grabbing her butt; she mistakenly assumed Skeevo had grabbed her, and she punched him out. Palafox shared a story of how he had been a great force for good before being overthrown and exiled by his ruthless son, Rok. Both Angel and Oedi distrusted Palafox, but they were outvoted by the others, and so they agreed to help him reclaim his throne.

(Dreadstar I#47 (fb)) - Angel accompanied the others as they traveled to Kagam to recruit Palafox's old allies, the Kagami, a race who had enslaved the Piskayne, a race of cat people. This didn't sit well with Oedi and things escalated until Oedi challenged Anso, one of the rulers of the Kagami to a battle to the death, with the fate of the potential alliance at stake.

(Dreadstar I#47) - Angel cheered Oedi on as he fought Anso. Anso was killed when his own "axe on a rope" struck him in the back, but the Kagami allied with Palafox nonetheless.

(Dreadstar I#48) - Angel offered to reason with Cookie, a Piskayne woman who had declared herself Oedi's slave and kept offering her body up to him, and she flicked a baseball into Skeevo's face when he offered to take Cookie. Angel tried to explain to Cookie that she shouldn't behave like a sex object, but Cookie didn't seem to see her point, and Angel eventually gave up. The group next liberated the queen of the Gryxptznorsyw/Army Ants from the Grunts, during which time Vanth and Angel teamed up to flatten the Supergrunt. With the queen freed, the rest of the ants donned their armor and then devoured any Grunts they could find.

(Dreadstar I#49) - Angel and the rest of the group met with Debardinis, ruler of the Toth master shipbuilders, and they also encountered Rok's emissary Paxton, whose bodyguard was Izak. Angel was less than pleased to see Izak and refused to speak to him; as she walked away, Junior grew/matured further, assuring her he would protect her. Angel went back to her quarters and took a shower, trying to put the horrors of her past behind her. She was unaware that Junior had unlocked her door and was spying on her, and he darted into Angel's quarters when Izak approached. Finding Izak in her quarters, she hurled a throwing star, which he caught, after which he expressed concern over how hardened and unpleasant she had become. As he pushed, here, she admitted that she was Iron Angel because she couldn't be hurt that way, and she broke down and cried; still watching, Junior vowed to kill Izak for making Angel cry. The discussion was interrupted by a child's scream, and Debardinis found his son, Lexi, dead, while her daughter, Allegra, identified Paxton as the killer. With Izak off with Angel, Debardinis killed Paxton (but it actually had been Palafox that had slain Lexi).

(Dreadstar I#50 (fb) - BTS) - Angel and the rest of the group joined Palafox's forces in warring against Rok for two months.

(Dreadstar I#50) - Angel was startled to see the fully matured Junior, and she found him very attractive. He pulled her close and kissed her; she resisted a little at first, but soon was returning the kiss passionately...until Tuetun walked by and saw them, at which point she ran off.
Meanwhile, Oedi and the others had suspected that Cookie was an agent of Rok, and they fed her false information in order to set Rok's troops up, and Palafox's forces slaughtered them. Angel joined her allies in confronting Rok's forces, including Izak, on the surface of a planet (Atwool?). She fought enthusiastically, taking out many foes with her laser blaster. They fought their way into Rok's palace, and Palafox defeated Rok, knocking him to his seeming death.

(Dreadstar I#51) - Angel stood beside the others as Palafox was re-crowned as Emperor of the Ten Star Systems. Palafox became irate when Dreadstar and his band didn't kneel before him, and he got even angrier when Angel thought he was joking. Dreadstar stood up to Palafox, who apologized, blaming the stress of the battle. Later, Angel thought things over outside the city, and she was surprised by Junior's approach. She told him the kiss was a mistake and that she didn't know what he was and that she was afraid of him. He kissed her, but she pushed away and slapped him. As she ran off, Junior wept, which did something ominous to him (perhaps he lost control of his dark side). Returning to the castle, Angel asked Vanth if they could leave that minute, but Vanth told them they had to wait until the next day, after everything was squared away with Palafox. Angel feared that tomorrow might be too late.
The next day, Angel and the others watched as Palafox executed prisoner after prisoner who had opposed him, regardless of whether they repented or not. Ultimately Dreadstar spoke up, telling Palafox to set the remaining prisoners, including Cookie, free. Accusing Dreadstar of raising his hand against him, Palafox ordered his execution.

(Dreadstar I#52) - Her initial suspicions about Palafox confirmed, Angel refused to stand with Dreadstar against them, and she quit and started walking off. She snubbed the prisoner Izak's attempt at communication, but Junior grabbed her arm, telling her if she said she loved him he would give her anything she wanted. She told him she never loved him and never would, at which point he allied with Palafox who then ordered her death. Angel was rounded back up with Dreadstar's group, and all of the soldiers sided with Palafox against them. Dreadstar's group joined up with Izak & Cookie and fought their way out of the room, though Tuetun fell through the floor into the castle's dungeon. When Dreadstar said they shouldn't abandon Tuetun, Angel said they should abandon Dreadstar for his poor judgment in backing Palafox. Skeevo blamed her, however, for not saying she loved Junior, and she told him Junior had suckered him, leading Skeevo to punch her. She threatened to kill Skeevo, but Izak held her back, and then Dreadstar led the group's escape from the castle. Izak and the others climbed on Izak's back and he sped up their descent down the palace wall. As they approached the ground, Dreadstar dove at the troops, absorbing their blaster fire until he was completely charged with power, after which he slaughtered all troops present. With Vanth mentally unstable from being super-charged, the group hid out from reinforcements inside a damaged building, but a Kagami soldier (Gunderson) was soon pounding at their door.

(Dreadstar I#53) - Angel punched through the door, her hand tearing into the Gunderson's chest and killing him instantly, after which Izak held up Gunderson as they walked, making it look like they were all his prisoner. Eventually another soldier, Gunderson, realized the deception, but then Vanth revived and began slaughtering the troops again. The others took possession of a tank, but when Angel grabbed Vanth to get him to come with him, he was so caught up in battle-fury that he tore her arms off. Oedi drove the tank over Vanth, and Izak scooped Angel and her arms and brought them into the tank. After being rolled over by the tank, Dreadstar regained his senses and climbed into the tank. He sat down next to the armless Angel and asked her what happened to her.

(Dreadstar I#54) - Angel tried to jump out of the tank to get away from Vanth, but Izak held onto her. Vanth tried to explain how he had lost it, but she questioned whether next time he went crazy he would rip everyone's heads off. They eventually returned to their ship and Skeevo offered to repair her arms, but she said she'd rather die than let him touch her. Oedi told her that Skeevo was the only one who could help, and she sought solace with Izak, telling him to call her Claudia, but only when no one else was around. The others prepared to rescue Tuetun, but as they returned to the castle they saw Junior fighting a monstrous, tentacled, god/demon-creature for possession of a dark sword of power, not unlike the one Dreadstar and wielded in the past. Vanth tried to claim the sword, but Junior tore it from him and drove off the god-demon. Vanth was thrown back into the ship, and they fled the planet.

(Dreadstar I#55) - Izak & Cookie convinced Skeevo to repair Angel's arms. Afterwards she thanked him for saving her sanity and her ass.
Cookie convinced the others to seek out Ondru, a powerful sorcerer from her native world, Piskay, so that they might oppose Junior's mystic power.
Brainwashed by one of the Kagami, Tuetun used his low-level psychic tracking power to follow them. Pretending to still be their friends, Tuetun convinced them to drop their shields so he could board, and he blasted their ship, apparently blowing it to pieces.

(Dreadstar I#56) - With Willow having infiltrated the Kagami ship and altering their monitors to make it appear that the ship had been blown to pieces, the ship nonetheless crashed on Piskay. The ship was a wreck, but everyone survived. Oedi obtained a land vehicle that they rebuilt from pieces of their ship.
Meanwhile, Junior lamented the apparent death of Angel, the first woman he had ever loved, but then the sentience within his new sword disciplined him for thinking of another.

(Dreadstar I#57) - Angel went off on a rant about their vehicle's repeated breakdowns as they made their way into a frozen region to locate Ondru and how she had tried to warn them this would happen, but everyone else told her to shut up. When Cookie noted that no one had seen Ondru in ages, Angel replied that he was probably frozen stiff in a snowbank somewhere. She finally admitted that she just hated uncertainty but that she'd try to calm down.
Meanwhile, the Kagami scientist discovered Willow's manipulations and he and Tuetun traveled to Piskay to check for survivors. Tuetun soon located and attacked them, and Dreadstar and Izak fought him (with Tuetun eventually falling through a large glacial drop) while they sent the others away. Dreadstar and Izak then located Ondru.

(Dreadstar I#58) - Angel was appalled by the raw meat Ondru served them, but she threatened to kill him upon hearing him say that the meat might be from one of the Piskayne who had frozen to death while seeking him out; Vanth held her back while Ondru explained he had only been joking. When Skeevo said he could bring Tuetun back to their side in five minutes, Angel remarked about how well he had kept Junior on their side, but Izak made her apologize.
She and the others felt powerful winds as Ondru helped Dreadstar focus the mystic energies within him to generate another sword of power (as he had possessed before his battle with the Lord Papal).
Junior remained unable to fully bond with the sentient female spirit within his sword of power due to his persistent feelings for Angel.

(Dreadstar I#59) - Sensing Dreadstar's energies, Junior realized that Angel might still be alive, but the sword again disciplined him. Ultimately he bonded with the sword's sentience.
    Meanwhile, Angel and the others (joined by Ondru) caught up with the Kagami scientist who had brainwashed Tuetun then they used the ship to meet with Debardinis.
    Izak suspected that Junior had sparked emotions in Angel, but she refused to admit this.
    Dreadstar's sword disrupted the spell over Allegra, and she recalled that it was actually Palafox who had killed Debardinis' son, Lexi. With this knowledge, Debardinis allied the Toth with Dreadstar against Palafox.
    Angel and the others were shocked to see a manifestation of Junior appearing from light years away, revealing himself to be the living incarnation of the Twelve Gods of the Instrumentality and claiming the galaxy to be under his control.

(Dreadstar I#60) - Dreadstar and company joined Toth's fleet in flying to confront Junior, or Many-Dark, as he was now called. As they approached, Junior realized Angel was on one of the ships but decided there wasn't anything else he could do but destroy; however, Dreadstar reached him first and deflected his aim with his own sword. Angel wanted to aid Dreadstar, to be present when "that gold-skinned bastard bought it," and she arrived just as Many-Dark was beginning to overpower Vanth. Many-Dark animated a corpse to hold her and then turned on Vanth again, but she broke free and started firing her blaster at him. Unaffected, Many-Dark slapped her down and held her at swordpoint, but she told him that she had loved him and that she still did. When Many-Dark proved unable to kill her, the sword's sentience tried to force him, but he fought back with all his might. Unable to otherwise stop the blade, Many-Dark sheathed it in his own chest, and the energy disruption summoned the tentacled gods of that galaxy who had owned the sword before. The gods reclaimed the sword and then took Many-Dark as well, his physical form regressing to nothingness as his spirit was pulled up into the vortex. Terrified of what awaited him on the other side, Many-Dark asked Angel if she had been lying, if he had truly touched her. Speechless, she shed a tear, and Many-Dark took that to me she did love him; he used his power to extend the energy snare that was holding him to pull her spirit from her body to join him. Angel's spirit yelled at Many-Dark, telling him she had been lying, but he kept her nonetheless. As Vanth threatened to hunt him down to reclaim Angel, Many-Dark used the last of his power to reincarnate Vanth's old foe, the Lord Papal.

(Dreadstar I#61 - body only) - Izak tried to rush into the conflict between Dreadstar and the Papal to recover Angel's body, but Oedi held him back, convincing him that the energies the two were releasing would slay him instantly. Aboard their new Toth-granted ship, Izak fired a blast that stunned the Papal but left Angel's body unharmed. The Papal soon caused the ship to fall, but Oedi brought it to a relatively safe landing.
Ultimately, Willow transferred her mind into Angel's body, hurled a dagger into the Papal's chest, but the Papal ripped it out and swatted her down, telling her she'd die first. Willow/Angel dodged a series of blasts but was eventually driven a ledge and caught herself partway down. She scaled the wall and helped Dreadstar drive off the Papal (distracting him sufficiently that Vanth could cut off his right hand with his sword), who escaped atop a passing ship. She rushed up and kissed a startled Vanth before explaining that she was Willow.

(Dreadstar I#62 - body only) - Izak and the rest of the crew took some time to relax, though he had a difficult time adjusting to Willow possessing Iron Angel's body, and he was even more distressed when he realized she intended to romance Dreadstar. Not long after, Dreadstar and company departed that world.

(Dreadstar I#63 - body only) - Dreadstar and company ran into a space probe, and despite Izak's objections over delaying reaching the far spiral arm of the galaxy (where they might reach Angel's spirit), they followed the trail back to the probe's origination. They traveled to the planet Urth where they were quite popular as alien visitors until the violent arrival of representatives of the United Franchise of Worlds, who bombed a major city and then told the Urthians they would join the Franchise or be destroyed.

(Dreadstar I#64 - body only) - As the Franchise continued to goad the Urthians into joining them by blowing up another city, Dreadstar led the rest of the crew to attack them. Willow/Angel battled Benjamyn (a Spock look-a-like). Things continued to escalate until representatives of the next generation of the Franchise showed up and destroyed their predecessors. This group peacefully offered the Urthians to join them, and Dreadstar and Company departed.

(The Gift - body only) - While Izak and the rest of the crew took a break on an unidentified planet, Oedi unwittingly touched a crystal, which was apparently one of the many souls of the boy Zak, sent to this dimension by the multidimensional being, Dys. Oedi was transformed into a savage, samurai-like warrior, which then attacked Dreadstar, but Dreadstar bluffed the spirit into fleeing Oedi's form when he nearly slew it.

(Dreadstar II#3 (fb)) - Their ship limited to sub-light speed, Dreadstar & Company continued their progression towards the realm of the Dark Gods. Izak was shocked when Willow, in Iron Angel's body, revealed that she was pregnant with Vanth's child.
They eventually got to a world where they could repair their ship and continue their quest. Izak expressed his displeasure with Vanth using Angel's body while she was trapped with Junior and the Dark Gods, and he told Vanth that he would have to make things right, though his ultimatum was cutoff by Willow's timely arrival. The tension between Vanth and Izak continued to increase but as they approached their goal, Willow/Angel began having contractions. As they continued, they found an escape pod and brought it aboard their ship, after which its panic-stricken resident, Bettina, jumped out, and kicked Vanth and Izak in the noogies, but Izak was unharmed due to his armor plating. Izak calmed her down and she revealed her story about being slaughtered by a race of insectoids. These beings then arrived and attacked Dreadstar's ship, and Willow/Angel went into full labor. Unable to fight off the insectoids, Dreadstar directed Oedi to pilot their ship on a collision course with the nearby star, at which point Many-Dark manifested himself through said star.
Angel's spirit was with him, though not seen.

(Dreadstar II#4 (fb)) - Iron Angel chose Vanth to be her champion, and she imbued him with power of a star to confront Many-Dark. Angel's spirit-self begged Vanth to save her.

(Dreadstar II#4 (fb)) - Dreadstar and Willow/Angel's child was born, but she wasn't breathing, and Oedi began CPR.

(Dreadstar II#6 (fb) - BTS) - The infant was stillborn, but Iron Angel sent her spirit into the infant's body.

(Dreadstar II#4 (fb)) - As the baby took her first breath and cried, Many-Dark apparently sensed Iron Angel within the infant. While Many-Dark was distracted by this realization, the empowered Dreadstar skewered him with his sword, ending his threat, though Many-Dark screamed that it wasn't over yet!

(Dreadstar II#4 (fb) - BTS / Dreadstar II#5 (fb) - BTS) - ) - There was a flash of light and a burst of lost time, and the crew members were apparently separated and either slain or sent to different locations.

(Dreadstar II#6 (fb) - BTS) - A portion of the power within Vanth's sword combined with a portion of Vanth's power (both fractured in the explosion), as well as Iron Angel's power, hid within the infant (who was named Kalla), nurturing her.

(Dreadstar II#4 (fb) - BTS) - Willow, still in Angel's body, arrived on the frigid third world in the Zeta Basf system, where she lived along with Cookie.

(Dreadstar II#4) - Willow and Angel were confronted by Zon troops, including Shandor'kan who had been ordered to kill them by his commander (Thorn). As Shandor'kan and his men confronted the women, the now adult Kalla (who had stowed away on their ship) attacked and, with the women's aid, defeated them. As Kalla introduced herself, Willow rushed out and embraced her.

(Dreadstar II#5) - Willow identified herself, and she and Kalla shared their fates after the separation. As the Papal had Tuetun track Kalla's location, Kalla questioned Shandor'kan and learned he had been given his necklace by Bettina, the empress of Tokail, who was allied with the Zon via Lt. Thorn. Influenced by Kalla's subliminal ability to make others help her, Shandor'kan helped the women slaughter his crew and then used his ship to fly them to Thorn; Kalla refused her mother's request that they take some time to relax as mother and daughter, though she did shed a tear afterwards.

(Dreadstar II#5 - BTS) - Willow told Kalla that her sword could be used to absorb energy blasts.

(Dreadstar II#5) - With the women cloaked as his guards, Shandor'kan brought them to Thorn and Bettina, calmly announcing his own betrayal. Kalla, Willow, and Cookie fought the guards, and Kalla confronted Thorn, but then Vanth Dreadstar himself, the long-time emperor of Tokail whose mind and spirit had long been fragmented, sensed the sword. Feeling his heart and soul coming together at last, he reached for the sword. He was cloaked, and Kalla tried to drive him away by slashing his hands, but when he continued to advance on her, she stabbed the sword through his chest. As he collapsed, Kalla was shocked as Willow announced him to be her father.

(Dreadstar II#6 (fb) - BTS) - Distressed, Kalla collapsed and was imprisoned, as were Cookie and Willow.

(Dreadstar II#6) - Using the strength of Angel's cyborg body, Willow broke through the wall into Kalla's cell, and the three of them broke out of the prison.
    The spirit of Iron Angel then appeared to Skeevo, explaining the truth about Kalla and telling him Kalla had to die. Skeevo picked up Dreadstar's sword and hurled it to Kalla as she stood before Thorn's firing squad. Kalla caught the sword, which absorbed the blasts the squad and the Lord Papal fired at her. As the energies threatened to overwhelm Kalla, she understood at last what she needed to do, and she stabbed the sword through her chest. The power of the sword and that of Vanth himself, having received the final needed burst of energy to empower them, reached their full potency and emerged from Kalla as a god-like being.
    The energy being noted that Kalla was now something new and that she could go wherever and do whatever she wished, but Willow urged the entity not to take Kalla away from her, noting that the being had done everything for love, for Vanth, and for life. The being commented that mortals were a pathetic little species and there was another bright flash of light.
    When the light faded, Kalla stood (holding the sword) alongside Vanth (who wielded a conventional sword), and Willow, with Thorn and his army ally laying dead at their feet from a massive sword fight. Vanth had regained her find, and Willow explained how the power had compelled everyone around her to act as her guardians.

Comments: Created by Jim Starlin.

So anyway, the bottom line resolution is that Iron Angel is now apparently in some way part of the sentience within Vanth/Kalla's sword.

Iron Angel's not in Dreadstar#33-34, or 36

    Dreadstar was a licensed character/title created by Jim Starlin starting way back with the Metamorphosis Odyssey in Epic Illustrated#1 in the Spring of 1980. The Metamorphosis Odyssey started around the modern era and affected Earth, but then swiftly destroyed the entire Milky Way galaxy and then moved on like a million years in the future. Dreadstar eventually got his own series under the Epic imprint, but Starlin later took the whole shebang over to First Comics. And in 1994, it was published under the imprint of Bravura, a creator-owned division of Malibu comics.
    Still that earlier Marvel connection allows me to place this reality in the fringes of the Marvel Megaverse.
    Peter David took over the writing around issue#31 or so, but Starlin remained the owner. At any rate, from start to finish, it is the best series I've ever read, period! I'd love to see it continued, by Starlin, David, or both!
    Iron Angel never appeared in a Marvel comic, however.

Iron Angel remained a background character of limited development until Peter David took over the series. Interestingly, his origin of Iron Angel is 100% true to what Starlin started, merely fleshing out the details.

I thought there would be more quality pictures of Angel, but couldn't find too many. Let me know if you know of any better.

SADLY, no Iron Angel or anyone else from that reality in 13 years. :(

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No KNOWN connections to

images: (without ads)
Dreadstar I#32, p16, panel 4 (fighting robots)
    #41, p16, panel 6 (eyepatch)
    #43, p13, panel 3 (full body, w/ whip)
    #56/2, p2, panel 1 (pre-transformation)
    #60, p24, panel 1 (spirit claimed by Many Dark)
Dreadstar II#5, panel 9 (aged Iron Angel (body inhabited by Willow); face close-up)
    #6, p14, panel 1 (aged Iron Angel (body inhabited by Willow); full body) - she seemed to spend a lot of time walking around naked with a sheet draped around her.
        p19, panel 1 (Angel merged with Vanth's power and the sword)

Appearances:
Dreadstar I#32 (September, 1987) - by Jim Starlin (writer, layouts), Sam Grainger (finished art), Rick Oliver (editor)
Dreadstar I#35 (March, 1988) - by Jim Starlin (writer), Luke McDonnell (penciler), Val Mayerik (inker), Rick Oliver (editor)
Dreadstar I#37 (July, 1988) - by Jim Starlin (writer), Luke McDonnell (penciler), Val Mayerik (inker), Rick Oliver (editor)
Dreadstar I#38 (September, 1988) - by Jim Starlin (writer), Luke McDonnell (penciler), Val Mayerik (inker), Rick Oliver (editor)
Dreadstar I#39 (November, 1988) - by Jim Starlin (writer), Angel Medina (penciler), Sam Grainger (inker), Rick Oliver (editor)
Dreadstar I#40 (January, 1989) - by Jim Starlin (writer), Luke McDonnell (penciler), Val Mayerik (inker), Rick Oliver (editor)
Dreadstar I#41 (March, 1989) - by Peter David (writer), Angel Medina (penciler), Sam Grainger (inker), Larry Doyle (editor)
Dreadstar I#43 (June, 1989) - by Peter David (writer), Angel Medina (penciler), Sam Grainger & Bob Dvorak (inkers), Larry Doyle (editor)
Dreadstar I#44 (July, 1989) - by Peter David (writer), Angel Medina (penciler), Bob Dvorak (inker), Larry Doyle (editor)
Dreadstar I#45-49 (August-December, 1989) - by Peter David (writer), Angel Medina (penciler), Bob Dvorak (inker), Laurel Fitch (editor)
Dreadstar I#49 (December, 1989) - by Peter David (writer), Angel Medina (penciler), Bob Dvorak (inker), Laurel Fitch (editor)
Dreadstar I#50 (January, 1990) - by Peter David (writer), Angel Medina (penciler), Bob Dvorak & Tom Baxa (inkers), Laurel Fitch (editor)
Dreadstar I#51-52 (February-March, 1990) - by Peter David (writer), Chuck Wojtkiewicz (penciler), Eric Vincent (inkers), Laurel Fitch (editor)
Dreadstar I#53-55 (April-June, 1990) - by Peter David (writer), Angel Medina (penciler), Bob Dvorak (inker), Bob Garcia (editor)
    Dreadstar I#55/2 - by Peter David (writer), John Calimee (penciler), Bob Dvorak (inker), Bob Garcia (editor)
Dreadstar I#56 (July, 1990) - by Peter David (writer), Angel Medina (penciler), Tim Tyler (inker), Bob Garcia (editor)
    Dreadstar I#56/2 - by Peter David (writer), John Calimee (penciler), Bob Dvorak (inker), Bob Garcia (editor)
Dreadstar I#57 (August, 1990) - by Peter David (writer), John Calimee (penciler), Bob Dvorak (inker), Bob Garcia (editor)
    Dreadstar I#57/2 - by Peter David (writer), John Calimee (penciler), Bob Dvorak (inker), Bob Garcia (editor)
Dreadstar I#58 (September, 1990) - by Peter David (writer), John Calimee (penciler), Paul Mounts (inker), Bob Garcia (editor)
    Dreadstar I#58/2 - by Peter David (writer), Steve Epting (artist), Bob Garcia (editor)
Dreadstar I#59 (October, 1990) - by Peter David (writer), Steve Epting (artist), Bob Garcia (editor)
    Dreadstar I#59/2 - by Peter David (writer), John Calimee (penciler), Jim Nelson (inker), Bob Garcia (editor)
Dreadstar I#60 (November, 1990) - by Peter David (writer), Angel Medina (penciler), Tim Tyler (inker), Bob Garcia (editor)
Dreadstar I#61 (December, 1990) - by Peter David (writer), Angel Medina (penciler), Bill Anderson & Tim Tyler (inker), Bob Garcia (editor)
The Gift (1990) - by Peter David (writer), Scot Eaton (penciler), Randy Clark (inker), Byron Erickson (editor)
Dreadstar I#62 (January, 1991) - by Peter David (writer), John Calimee (penciler), Jeff Albrecht (inker), Byron Erickson (editor)
Dreadstar I#63-64 (February-March, 1991) - by Peter David (writer), Angel Medina (penciler), Bill Anderson (inker), Byron Erickson (editor)
Dreadstar II#1-2 (April-May, 1994) - by Peter David (writer), Ernie Colon (artist), Kara Lamb (editor)
Dreadstar II#3 (July, 1994) - by Peter David (writer), Ernie Colon (artist), Kara Lamb (editor)
Dreadstar II#4-5 (September-October, 1994) - by Peter David (writer), Ernie Colon (artist), Kara Lamb (editor)
Dreadstar II#6 (January, 1995) - by Peter David (writer), Ernie Colon (artist), Kara Lamb (editor)

Last updated: 06/11/08

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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