SCANIA race

Classification: Extradimensional/Alternate Reality (Reality-791) extraterrestrial humanoids

Location/Base of Operations: Windhölme
   (formerly) Jaeger IV

Known Members: Gunnar and Marie Hölm (deceased), Kip Hölm
Estimated population: Several thousand
   (previously) 8 million

Affiliations: Star-Lord (Peter Jason Quill), Ship

Enemies: Kraken, Slavers (including Lord Dirac and the men who [secretly] ran the slavery ring and profited from their slaving raids, merchant Kyras Shakati and Prince Gareth of Sparta)

First Appearance: Marvel Preview#11 (Summer/June, 1977)

Powers/Abilities: The Scania are a race of humanoid aliens whose external appearance is identical to that of Caucasian Humans from Earth. The only known physical difference between a normal Scania and a normal Terran Human is that the Scania have much longer potential life spans than Terrans. Although the maximum age which has ever been attained by a Scania has not been revealed, it is known that Kip Hölm resembled a Terran in his late thirties or early forties (measured in Earth years) at a time when he was almost ninety (Imperial/Sparta) years old. It is presumed that an average Scania would possess the same physical abilities as those of a Terran human of his/her apparent age.

   Some of the Scania possess high-range psychic talents. These Scania are known as "Windrunners" and they use their abilities to chart the locations of other beings (like the Kraken) and to distinguish between normal Kraken and the King Kraken. A Windrunner can also enter trances in which s/he can backtrack where someone or something had been in the recent past, including locations that were light-years away.

   Windrunners, being psi-sensitive, are able to detect what people close to them are feeling. The closer they are to those people emotionally, the more acute their sensitivity to them becomes.

   Put to its most extreme use, a Windrunner could make telepathic contact with the mind of someone who was on a planet that was "hundreds of parsecs" distant.

Type: Humanoid
Eyes: Two
Fingers: Four (plus opposable thumb)
Toes: Five
Skin color: Pink
Hair: Blond (whitish-blond, yellow-blond, golden-yellow blond) but a small minority have light brown hair and some older Scania had grey hair
Average height: 6' (estimated)

Type of government: Planetary council
Level of technology: Superior to Earth in some respects, inferior (by choice) in others

Traits: The Scania are a "sea-faring race" whose culture seemingly revolves around hunting the Kraken. All (or most) of the Scania presumably are trained in how to operate sailing vessels, either alone or as part of a crew.

   The Scania are believed to be a people who would put up a fight against anyone who threatened them. The reputation is known on other worlds, including Pryd'ri.

   The Scania value doing things by hand, without excessive use of technology. However, this attitude does not prevent them from using advanced technology (like the defenses that protected Windhölme) if it's the only means available to accomplish what needed to be done.

   For some reason, all Scania, regardless of gender or age, dress in almost-identical clothing which appears to be very utilitarian. It may be that Scania culture places such a high value on working that they see no point in wearing anything other than work clothes. Alternatively, it could be that the Scania just have a limited imagination, at least when it comes to clothing, or maybe their society emphasizes conformity and they choose to wear clothing that symbolizes that belief. For more information about Scania clothing, click here.

    Some of the Scania invoked/exclaimed "Gods!", presumably indicating they are polytheistic.

History:
(Marvel Preview#11 (fb) - BTS) - Originally, the Scania lived on Jaeger IV, a planet which may (or may not) have been their homeworld. Eventually, under circumstances which have not yet been revealed, the Scania were forced to leave Jaeger IV as refugees.

(Marvel Preview#11 (fb) - BTS) <300 years ago> - The Scania refugees charted and settled Windhölme, a frontier world located "just inside the Rim" and "about a thousand parsecs out from Imperial Center." The Scania had no interest in Imperial politics and just wanted to be left alone, and the Empire seemingly had no interest in them.

(Marvel Preview#11 (fb) - BTS) - At some point after they had settled on Windhölme, the Scania set up certain (unspecified) defenses around the planet.

(Marvel Preview#11 (fb) - BTS) - Over time, a balance was established between the sea-faring Scania and the Kraken, an intelligent native species which ruled Windhölme's oceans. The Scania would hunt the Kraken, the Kraken would hunt the Scania, and both sides would come out about even. Allegedly, both sides enjoyed the hunting.

(Marvel Preview#11 (fb) - BTS) - Eventually, after three hundred years, the Scania population rose to eight million. They were ruled by a planetary council, known as the High Council, which met in Skalsø. For unspecified reasons, advanced technology (like aircraft) were forbidden to operate outside of a certain distance from the Starport.

(Marvel Preview#11 (fb) - BTS) - In recent years, a Scania named Gunnar Hölm, one of the most respected mariners in all the Clans, became Fleet Captain of the Western Isles and eventually a member of the High Council. Gunnar was married to a woman named Marie and together they had a son named Kip.

(Marvel Preview#11 (fb) - BTS) <sometime after the Earth year 1990 AD> - The Sea Fang, captained by Gunnar Hölm, was out hunting Kraken when, suddenly, those aboard the ship (including Gunnar's wife Marie and their teenage son Kip) could only watch as, a mile away, the biggest King Kraken that Kip had ever seen broke surface under one of the Sea Fang's skiffs, crushing the boat in its jaws and killing the three men aboard before they could even scream, and then attacked another boat. Then, although it could have attacked the Sea Fang and killed all the Scania aboard, the King Kraken chose to leave them alone.

(Marvel Preview#11 (fb)) - One month later, as the Hölm family was traveling to Skalsø so that Gunnar could take part in a High Council meeting, Windhölme was attacked by Imperial star-fighters. Among the earliest known victims were Gunnar and Marie, who were turned to cinders by a direct hit from an energy bolt, but the blast concussion hurled Kip overboard and he survived.

(Marvel Preview#11 (fb) - BTS) - In less than a day, the attackers (who were actually slavers) had wiped out most of the Scania, burning down everyone over the age of seventeen and everyone who resisted.

(Marvel Preview#11) - As the slavers completed their operation, the few thousand children who had been left alive were herded aboard the slavers' starship. During this process, an Anubian, Lord Dirac, observed the crowd and identified one male as the only potential threat among them. Once they had achieved orbit, the slavers ordered their captives to move to the slave pens before they warped, but Kip Hölm rebelled and attacked the nearest trooper. Unfortunately, the trooper had comrades close by and all three of them were wearing battle armor so Kip went down instantly beneath their steel-shod fists. Still in shock from all the devastation which they had experienced in such a short time, the other Scania were slow to react and, by the time some of them did move forward to help Kip, he was already being taken away by two troopers and it was too late.

   Kip Hölm was brought before the Slave-Master and Dirac, who confirmed that Kip was the sole potential rebel among the Scania captives. When Dirac claimed that the rest of the Scania would yield once the "wolfling's" spirit had been broken, Kip disagreed, insisting that his people would "never yield to the likes of you!" Amused by his defiance, the Slave-Master decided he would personally break the "little mammal" and make Kip his body slave so that the Scania would watch how Kip would serve his every whim. The Slave-Master then ordered Kip to be taken to his quarters, but before that could happen the lights in the corridor went out. By the time the lights came back on, seconds later, Kip was gone, having been pulled from the Slave-Master's clutches and into the starship's massive air ducts. As the girl who had rescued him identified herself as Sandy and brought him into one of the slave pens, the starship's battle stations alarm sounded, revealing that they were under attack.

   The slaver was quickly disabled by fire from an alien starship (Ship) and then boarded by Star-Lord. As far as is known, none of the Scania (except Kip) took part in the eventual battle between the slavers and the slaves who had been freed from one of the slave pens. Once all the slavers were dead (except for Dirac, who escaped), Star-Lord suggested that the freed slaves should make a new home for themselves on Windhölme because their own worlds had been reduced to dead husks by the slavers. He stated that, although Windhölme had been hurt by the slavers, it was still capable of supporting life and that it would be hard but, with the Scania survivors to teach them, they would make out. As Star-Lord announced his intention to protect them from the slavers by scattering a field of defensive satellites throughout the system, Kip protested that the only real way to protect them would be to find whoever was behind the slavers and put them out of business.

(Marvel Preview#11 - BTS) - Over the next two days, all of the former slaves and the Scania survivors were off-loaded from the damaged slaver and settled in on Windhölme's Western Isles.

(Conjecture) - During this period, Star-Lord may have gone ahead with his plan to scatter a field of defensive satellites throughout the system.

(Marvel Preview#11) - Kip and Sandy stayed with Star-Lord and Ship to use Kip's Windrunner psychic talent to find the slavers' base. The foursome's quest for justice led to the deaths of the leader of the slavery ring, the criminal merchant Kyras Shakati, and of his patron, the secretly-treasonous Prince Gareth, and the exposure and smashing of their conspiracy to overthrow the ruler of the Spartan Empire, Emperor Jason.

(Starlord, the Special Edition#1 (fb) - BTS) - Kip Hölm was adopted by Emperor Jason as his son and heir, and by his actions over the course of the following decades he proved himself to be a worthy potential successor. Kip eventually married Sandy and they had three children together.

(Starlord, the Special Edition#1) <about 70 years after the slavers attack on Windhölme> - On Jubilee Night, the last night of the year-long celebration of the hundred year anniversary of his coronation, Emperor Jason informed Kip and Sandy that he had decided to abdicate and he told Kip that the empire was his and that he'd earned it.

 

Comments: Created by Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin.

   The alien race covered by this profile exists in an alternate timeline designated Reality-791. While it is known that Reality-791's "Spartan" race has otherdimensional counterparts (known as the Spartax) in Reality-616, so far there has been no indication as to whether or not there are any Scania in the 616 universe. Of course, depending on how the histories of the two realities may have diverged, it's possible that the Scania race never even existed in Reality-616. Or maybe they do exist but never left the planet Jaeger IV. Or maybe they did relocate from Jaeger IV to Windhölme but the Star-Lord of Reality-616 wasn't there to prevent slavers from wiping them out. Or maybe there are no counterparts to the slavers from Reality-791 and the Scania of Reality-616 are still living peacefully on their version of Windhölme. Only time (and writers who care about continuity) will tell.

About why "aliens" look alike (and why some are identical to Caucasian human beings from Earth)

   The story in Marvel Preview#11 features appearances by members of a number of alien species but the only four races which are specifically named are the Scania, the Anubians, the Kraken and the Ariguans. Out of those four, a large number of Scania were depicted but only a single member of each of those other three races appeared.

   Additionally, with the exception of Ship, the Slave Master and the King Kraken, ALL of the sentient beings in this story were two-armed bipeds. Further, six of the eight main characters are identical in appearance to Caucasian humans from Earth. Aside from the Earth-born Star-Lord, the other five are from four different planets: Kip Hölm from Windhölme, Sandy from Pryd'ri, Kyras Shakati from Cinnibar, and Emperor Jason and Prince Gareth from Sparta.

   This astonishing similarity in the basic appearances of these beings from different worlds really cries out for some explanation, but the story doesn't provide one. This deficiency forces we readers to speculate as to how they could be so alike. Logically, this situation can be explained in one of two ways: Either seemingly-identical life forms evolved separately on four different planets or some (or all) of those life forms did not actually evolve on those worlds. The first possibility leads to theories like Creationism or Intelligent Design (which I find unpalatable), but second theory is very plausible and there is even some circumstantial evidence supporting it.

   First, Kip Hölm and Sandy were able to marry and have children together, something which is normally only possible when both parents are members of the same species (or are from two closely-related species).
    Human-alien breedings are VERY common in comics, and I think we just have to accept that. See the extensive notations I added in Gareth's profile. I really don't think such breedings are indicative of any common history. But, if you want to look for common history, look no further than the previously established Xorri explanation.
--Snood

   Second, the people on all four worlds were definitely aware of life on other planets and either had starships that were capable of interstellar travel or had access to such starships. After all, even the reclusive Scania had their own starport. More importantly, the Scania were definitely NOT native to Windhölme, having migrated there from Jaeger IV centuries earlier. So, if such a colonization definitely happened (at least) once, then why couldn't it have happened multiple times?

   Third, there's the fact that the term "human" was twice used to describe beings who are identical to Caucasian humans from Earth: once when the slaver sensor officer reported that the man seen floating in space read "as Imperial/human" and again when Kip described himself as being "human" and "just like her" when talking with Sandy. Of course, since it is generally accepted that all dialogue in this story was spoken in an alien language which was then translated into English for the benefit of we readers, the actual word would not have been "human" but something else (like "glarb" perhaps). Still, the fact that such a word exists does imply that it might be generally recognized that all of the Human-type races who exist in that region of the galaxy share a common origin. If so, then that could mean that other races from the classic Star-Lord stories which were also identical to Caucasian Humans in appearance (like the Haalmhad and the original and current inhabitants of the planet Redstone) could actually be part of a single glarb race which had spread itself across the stars. On the other hand, maybe writers Chris Claremont and Doug Moench mistakenly used the word "Human" when "Humanoid" would have better conveyed what they meant to say about exactly HOW similar the various races were actually supposed to be.

   To summarize, can any conclusion be reached about what connection there may be between the Scania and the other "human" races depicted in Marvel Preview #11? In my opinion, although there is no indisputable evidence supporting it, the theory that the human-type races from the planets of Pryd'ri, Sparta and Windhölme may all be descended from a single common ancestor species is both possible and plausible. If so, then the Scania "race" would be simply a sub-group (i.e., a tribe or a people) who are part of an as-yet-unspecified species but are not a separate species in and of themselves. However, while I consider this explanation to be the one which best fits the facts of the situation, until such time as it is made canon by some future story or official text, this "Common Origin" theory can never be more than mere speculation.

   Of course, this theory doesn't explain exactly how an alien glarb from the planet Sparta could successfully mate with a female human from Earth to create a viable offspring...but that's a whole other can of worms that I'm not going to address at this time.

About alien languages

   In Marvel Preview#11, the dialogue of all of the characters (except for Rruothk'ar) was written in English, as was the only example of alien writing seen in the story (the readout on Shakati's computer screen which confirmed that the sky-palace's destruct sequence had been engaged). Although it's generally accepted that these words, both spoken and written, were actually in an alien language which had been translated into English for the benefit of the readers, there are no footnotes establishing this as fact and thus it can be nothing more than an assumption on our part. In an effort to be thorough, here is a list of three possible reasons why all the characters appeared to be speaking the same language:

   1. All of the characters actually were speaking the same alien language. It's not unreasonable to presume that an interstellar civilization might have established some "universal language" in order to facilitate communication between the various alien species which were part of said civilization. For example, Interlac is the official language of the interstellar political entity known as the United Planets which exists in the future of a certain Different Cosmos. In this case, since the empire which sprawls across the better part of the galaxy is ruled from the planet Sparta, I would assume that "Spartan" is the language which is commonly used throughout the empire. It may be that "Spartan" is the official (or Imperial) language which all subject worlds are required to teach to their people or it may be a lingua franca, a language systematically used to make communication possible between persons not sharing a native language. If so, then the fact that Rruothk'ar words were depicted in different (non-English) characters is simply because he was speaking his native language (Ariguan) at that time.

   2. All of the characters were actually speaking in their own native languages but they were using some sort of device which enables the instantaneous translation of any language into something comprehensible by any listener. Examples from other fictional continuities include; a telepathic field generated by a TARDIS (Doctor Who), babel fish (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), translator microbes (Farscape) and the Universal Translator (Star Trek). As for the Marvel Universe, Avengers #125 featured an enormous machine called a "Universal Language Equalizer" which Thanos used to enable his multi-racial horde of alien lackeys to understand each other as they manned his space fleet. However, this particular story makes no mention of any translation effect which might have explained things. As to why Rruothk'ar was the only sentient whose words were NOT translated, I can only speculate that whatever caused the this hypothetical translation effect just doesn't work on Ariguans.
   It's worth noting that this very story establishes that "part of the legacy of being Starlord [was] mastery of languages." Unfortunately, since only Star-Lord had that ability, it can't be used to explain how the other aliens could communicate.

   3. All of the characters were actually speaking English. This concept has appeared in fiction before but only in continuities in which humanity has gone to the stars and established itself as a major power in the galaxy. For example, in Star Trek, English (or Anglish) was spoken widely throughout the United Federation of Planets. However, since the humans in the Marvel Universe have not yet left their home solar system, the chances that alien species would speak any Terran language would seem to be astronomically slim. The only plausible exception would be if the identical to Caucasian humanoids who appeared in this story actually had some connection to Earth and its peoples but no evidence of such a link has yet been presented.

   Having reviewed these three possible explanations, it seems to me that the idea that all of these aliens were speaking a common alien language that was an interstellar lingua franca is the most plausible, and it would be nice if some future story would make that canon. Or maybe we readers will have to settle for suspending our disbelief over the whole situation.

About the clothing worn by the Scania

   All Scania dress in almost-identical clothing that consists of sleeveless shirts, shorts, belts, boots, and arm-wrappings. These articles of clothing were plain in design, with no ornamentation, and were mostly some shade of brown (from pale brown to an orange-ish-brown) in color. The Hölm family was perhaps atypical in that they (and their crew on the Sea Fang) wore clothes that were a dark brownish red (maroon) in color. It's possible that their clothing was that color as an indication of Gunnar's status as a member of the High Council but this is only speculation.

   Although both male and female Scania wore clothing over the same areas of their bodies, the clothes that they wore were slightly different, with all males wearing short trousers with sleeveless shirts (or tunics) that extended below the belt while all females wore sleeveless one-piece mini-dresses. Judging from the size of the neck holes and the lack of buttons or lashings on the shirts/dresses, it appears these were garments that were pulled on over the head. Also, aside from the color range noted above, there were some other minor differences. Some female Scania wore dresses that extended down to just below the knee and which had a slit on the left side (up to the hip) to allow for greater freedom of movement. Also, some shirts had short sleeves instead of being sleeveless.

   The articles of clothing listed below were worn by both male and female Scania, and all were almost always light brown (tan) in color.

1. Boots. All Scania wore boots that were pale brown in color and extended halfway up the lower leg. During Kraken hunts, some Scania wore thigh-high boots that reached nearly to the bottom edge of their shorts and were maroon in color. Kip wore boots whose tops folded over to form very wide cuffs (like Cavalier-style [or pirate] boots) which could mean that they were actually knee-high boots.
2. Belts. All Scania wore some form of belt around their waists. These belts could be wide or narrow and could have buckles or other fasteners at the front. Alternatively, some Scania used what looked like long strips of leather or simple cloth sashes as belts.
3. Arm-wrappings. All Scania wore some type of wrappings around their forearms, starting just above their wrists and extending halfway to their elbows. While these "wristbands" (for lack of a better word) could be made out of a single wide piece of material, most looked like they were long narrow strips that had been wound around the arm a half dozen times or more.

   And that's probably more than you ever wanted to know about Scania clothing styles. In all honesty, I only included this section because there is just so little information available on the Scania that is almost seemed wrong to devote a full profile to them so I padded it a bit.

Profile by Donald Campbell.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Scania have no known connections to

Jaeger IV has no known connections to

Windhölme has no known connections to


Jaeger IV

   Jaeger IV is where the Scania lived before their race moved to Windhölme. It is presumably the fourth planet out from a star known as Jaeger. Aside from these facts, there are only three things that can be inferred about Jaeger IV.

   First, given that the Scania are a sea-faring race who could (presumably) survive there without special environmental equipment, Jaeger IV almost certainly had an environment that was quite Earth-like with a large percentage of its surface being covered in water.

   Second, although it was not explicitly stated, Jaeger IV was probably somewhat closer to "Imperial Center" than Windhölme.

   Third, since the Scania who charted and settled Windhölme were refugees, they probably left Jaeger IV because they were fleeing from something which threatened them. What that threat might have been was not specified but three possibilities are listed here:

   1. Prejudice and persecution: It's possible that the Scania are actually a cultural sub-group of a species (as opposed to being a distinct species) and that when they lived on Jaeger IV they were a minority population who suffered persecution at the hands of the rest of their species (those who were not Scania).

   2. Environmental collapse: The ecosystem on Jaeger IV may have failed, causing the planet to become uninhabitable. The failure may have been due to natural causes (like a meteor impact that caused a "nuclear winter" or solar flares that damaged the atmosphere) or the Scania may have been responsible. Perhaps the Scania once had a highly technological culture and it was their use of that technology which damaged their planet's environment. If so, then that could explain why the Scania, once they had traveled to their new home, might have chosen to relinquish that technology so as to avoid repeating their past mistakes.

   3. Alien attack or threat: Jaeger IV may have been attacked by a hostile alien species, forcing those Scania who survived the attack to flee for their lives. Alternately, the Scania may have felt that the influence of the "Spartan" Empire was becoming too great and, since they had no interest in imperial politics and just wanted to be left alone, the Scania chose to relocate their race to a more remote planet.

 

--Only mentioned in Marvel Preview#11


Windhölme

   A frontier world located just inside the Rim and about a thousand parsecs out from Imperial Center, Windhölme was considered to be a gentle, rustic planet whose inhabitants, the Scania, had no interest in imperial politics and only wanted to be left alone by the Spartan Empire.

   Before being settled by the Scania, who came as refugees off Jaeger IV, the dominant native lifeform on the planet was a species of intelligent aquatic non-humanoids now known as the Kraken. The names "Windhölme" and "Kraken" were almost certainly bestowed on the planet and its dominant native species, respectively, by the Scania (presumably without the consent of the Kraken).

   The best image of Windhölme that is available is the one to the left: a featureless green globe. From what can been seen, there appear to be no large landmasses, suggesting that the planet is mostly covered by oceans with the only land that is above sea level being groups of islands.

   Windhölme has (at least) one large moon, as shown in the image to the right. Given their attitude towards advanced technology, the Scania presumably have never had any sort of colony situated there.

   Very little information has been revealed about the planet itself. None of the names of its oceans have been revealed and the only three locations that were mentioned are:
   1. The Western Isles: A group of islands where the survivors from the other worlds devastated by the slavers were re-settled. Gunnar Hölme was a (or "the") Fleet Captain of the Western Isles, which may indicate that it was also the territory which he represented on the planetary council.
   2. Skalsø: A town or city and/or port where the High Council, the planetary council of Windhölme, met. The Hölm family was going there when the slavers began attacking from the air in their star-fighters.
   3. The starport: A port for interstellar craft located on the surface of the planet, it is where starships land and from where they take off. Exactly where it was located has not been revealed (but it must have been on dry land). Aircraft were permitted to fly in the vicinity of the starport but had no right to fly outside of a certain (unspecified) distance from it. The fact that it was referred to as "the" starport suggests that it was the only such facility on Windhölme.

   At the time of the slaver attack, Windhölme had certain (unspecified) "defenses" that were supposed to protect the planet and its people. Unfortunately, the slavers were a "first-rate" mercenary cadre who were able to brush past those defenses.

   Although the slavers were prevented from completing the process (used on the other worlds they had conquered) which would have turned the planet into an uninhabitable, dead husk, Windhölme was still "hurt" by whatever the slavers had managed to do. The planet remained capable of supporting life but Star-Lord was of the opinion that life would be "hard" there. This could mean that environmental conditions would be less favorable than before or he may have been referring simply to the fact that the non-Scania survivors would find it difficult to get used to their new world.

   At its peak, the Scania population numbered about 8 million but the slaver attack exterminated over 99.9% of that number, leaving only a few thousand "children" alive. They were later joined by the survivors from other worlds which had been rendered uninhabitable by the slavers. It has not been revealed how many of these survivors settled on Windhölme.

   It has also not been revealed how many Kraken were killed by the slavers. Although they were probably not specifically targeted, the Kraken would have been affected by whatever damage the slavers inflicted upon the planet's ecosphere.

 

--Marvel Preview#11


images: (without ads)
Starlord, The Special Edition#1, pages 4-5 (main image)
      page 6, panel 1 (Scania being herded aboard)
      page 7, panel 7 (Scania watching Kip)
      page 17, panel 2 (Windhölme)
      page 6, panel 2 (moon)


Appearances:
Marvel Preview#11 (Summer, 1977) - Chris Claremont (writer), John Byrne (penciler), Terry Austin (inker), John Warner (editor)
Starlord, The Special Edition#1 (February, 1982) [framing sequence] - Chris Claremont (writer), Michael Golden (penciler), Terry Austin (inker), Jim Salicrup (editor)


First Posted: 02/09/2015
Last updated: 02/09/2015

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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