moon in the Grof system
moon in the Grof system
Official Name: Unrevealed
Nature: Natural satellite (moon; see comments) of an unidentified planet in the Grof system (which was apparently a trinary/three sun system), galaxy unspecified (presumably the Shi'ar galaxy; see comments)
Natives: None identified (presumably the skeletons were of former natives)
Population: None;
former population unrevealed
Capital City: Unrevealed, if any ever
Government: None;
formerly unrevealed, if any
Languages: Unrevealed
National Defense: None;
formerly unrevealed, if any
Places of Interest: Castle
Visitors: Corsair (Christopher Summers, briefly), Mer, Vam;
the astral form of a combined Xavier/Waldo projected here for a minute or so;
First Appearance: X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1 (1990)
Features: This moon has an atmosphere/climate hospitable to humans, although it was oppressively hot.
Due to the three suns in the system, there was no night. Nonetheless, the dense forest prevented any light from reaching the ground.
There were dead plants and trees, and the skeletons of other lifeforms (only ribs and thoracic vertebrae were seen, so nothing further can be determined about the nature of these beings), but no other life (beyond Mer and Vam, who were not detected as living beings by Xavier's scan) to be seen.
Corsair also noted that there was nothing inorganic on this moon/planet (see comments); his steel sword was completely foreign to Mer and Vam.
History:
(X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1 (fb) - BTS) - Mer and Vam came from another world to dwell in a castle on this moon/planet.
(X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1 (fb) - BTS) - With nothing living on this world, Mer and Vam went into a deep sleep.
(X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1 - BTS) - When coerced into revealing where his ship was headed by Corsair of the Starjammers, 000020, commander of an omega class freighter, unwittingly said "Phalkon" (an archaic name for the Phoenix Force) without voicing the proper codes.
As a result, a quartet of map pods containing information on how to locate the Phalkon were transported to four different worlds, including the unidentified moon in the Grof system; a fifth map pod containing a homing beacon was sent to Chandilar (the Shi'ar homeworld), so that the Starjammers had to rush to get the Phalkon before then-Shi'ar ruler Deathbird.
(X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1) - Corsair was sent to the moon/planet to recover the map probe, and Mer and Vam sensed his presence and awakened, intending to feed on him.
Following slaying Mer (in the forest) and Vam (in the castle), Corsair recovered the map probe and teleported back to their Starjammer ship.
Comments: Created by Terry Kavanaugh, Dave Cockrum, and Jeff Albrecht.
The galaxy containing the Grof system is unrevealed, although the Shi'ar galaxy seems most likely. See the Aquanox profile for clarification on this.
I like the name "Nog" for this moon. And that's all I have to say about that.
I have no idea why this was a moon instead of a planet...I don't think
moons have atmospheres normally, so that meant someone had to have
created a means to generate such an atmosphere (and to make the climate
hospitable to organic lifeforms).
On that note,
while the narration text describes it as a moon, Xavier called it a
planet (although he was at the time perhaps disoriented due to merging
with the Starjammer ship's intelligence, Waldo).
Corsair later called it a planet, too...maybe it was a planet...
Corsair noted there was nothing inorganic on this world, although there was soil and a stone castle. Perhaps he meant there was nothing metal there.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The unidentified moon in the Grof system has no known connections to
Mer was apparently an unliving being as understood by humanity (and Xavier's psi-scan).
Mer was a lycanthropic mermaid-type. Her mermaid form looked like a typical mermaid from Earth (with long, brown hair), but her lupine form was much more wolf than human, but with a long mane (like her mermaid form's brown hair) and with scales instead of fur on its lower half.
Her eyes appeared to be solid red in wolf form, but she was not seen with her eyes open in mermaid form.
Sunlight was painful to both Mer and Vam.
Mer and Vam spoke telepathically, projecting their thoughts such that others around them received/understood them as well.
Corsair thought they could not hear his thoughts nor understand his speech, speculating that this was due to Xavier's psi-shields. However, Vam certainly understood that Corsair was seeking some "treasure" and knew where it was (either sensing it or having heard the location from Xavier/Waldo's astral self's instructions); within the castle, Vam could sense Corsairs fear of having to kill him.
(X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1 (fb) - BTS) - Mer and her mate, Vam, originated on a "dark home," but when it "grew suns" long ago, their people fled in pain.
Mer and Vam, at least, traveled to a moon (or planet; see comments) in the Grof system, and they apparently dwelled within a castle within a dense forest that blocked out light.
With no meat for them to consume (see comments), Mer and Vam both went into a deep sleep.
(X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1) - When Corsair arrived on their moon/planet, Mer and Vam sensed the arrival of a being of flesh, and an instinct awakened them; they eagerly sought to consume this meat.
The two confronted Corsair, but after
feeling Corsair's blade (with metal being unfamilar to them), Vam urged
Mer to retreat and regroup with him.
Vam then instructed Mer to go find "the treasure the meat spoke of" and leave him to rend this meal. Departing, Mer told Vam to be wary, and Vam said he was always wary, for her.
(X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1 (fb) - BTS) - Mer retrieved the probe, but fearing for Vam's fate alone against their intended prey, she returned.
(X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1) - As Vam confronted Corsair on a limb on an upper branch of a tree, Corsair sliced through branch with his sword.
Caught unaware, Vam fell with the branch on top of the returning Mer. The branch (with Vam's added weight) apparently snapped Mer's spine. Returning to mermaid form, she told Vam she could not leave him alone, and then she died.
Vam told Mer her hunger had ended, while his would soon be well-satisfied.
First Appearance: X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1
Note: It is unclear whether more of Mer and Vam's people came with them and subsequently perished on the Grof system moon, and/or whether some or the rest of their people went to other worlds; and, if the latter, did Vam really know that he was the last of his people (by some awareness/connection, mystical or otherwise), or did he just assume, and their are more of them elsewhere in the galaxy, universe, whatever?
Mer and Vam had forms similar to various magical beings of Earth, which were commonly thought to be legend. Corsair wondered if their people had ever visited Earth, giving rise to those legends, but obviously on Earth-616 (and most other planets in the multiverse), those beings of legend were real, with origins unrelated to these extraterrestrials.
Why was all life on the Grof system moon dead? Was it the blockage of sunlight? Or did Mer and Vam +/- their people slaughter all living beings, and possibly somehow kill all plant-life?
How does a world "grow" suns? Whether they were from a magical realm and these "suns" were something different, or whether they had something in their atmosphere that blocked out sunlight and later faded, or something else altogether is unrevealed...and likely to remain that way.
The name Mer would seem to be derived from her mermaid nature in her non-lupine form.
Vam was apparently an unliving being as understood by humanity (and Xavier's psi-scan).
Vam had a bat-hybrid form similar to that adopted by some vampires. He
slept within or atop a stone coffin (sarcophagus?). He had apparently
retreactable bat-like wing extending from his waist to his wrists, and
he could fly. His pupils appeared to be star-shaped (surrounded by a
yellow iris-like structure, in turn surrounded by a red sclera-like
structure)
Sunlight was painful to both Vam and Mer.
Vam
and Mer spoke telepathically, projecting their thoughts such that
others around them received/understood them as well.
Corsair thought they could not hear his thoughts nor understand his
speech, speculating that this was due to Xavier's psi-shields. However,
Vam certainly understood that Corsair was seeking some "treasure" and
knew where it was (either sensing it or having heard the location from
Xavier/Waldo's astral self's instructions); within the castle, Vam
could sense Corsairs fear of having to kill him.
(X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1 (fb) - BTS) - Vam and his mate, Mer, originated on a "dark home," but when it "grew suns" long ago, their people fled in pain.
Vam and Mer, at least, traveled to a moon (or planet; see comments) in the Grof system, and they apparently dwelled within a castle within a dense forest that blocked out light.
With no meat for them to consume (see comments), Vam and Mer both went into a deep sleep. 
(X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1) - When Corsair arrived on their moon/planet, Vam and Mer sensed the arrival of a being of flesh, and an instinct awakened them; they eagerly sought to consume this meat.
The two confronted Corsair, but after feeling Corsair's blade (with metal being unfamilar to them), Vam urged Mer to retreat and regroup with him.
Vam then instructed Mer to go find "the treasure the meat spoke of" and leave him to rend this meal. Departing, Mer told Vam to be wary, and Vam said he was always wary, for her.
(X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1 (fb) - BTS) - Mer retrieved the probe, but fearing for Vam's fate alone against their intended prey, she returned.
(X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1) - As Vam confronted Corsair on a limb on an upper branch of a tree, Corsair sliced through branch with his sword. Caught unaware, Vam fell with the branch on top of the returning Mer. The branch (with Vam's added weight) apparently snapped Mer's spine. Returning to mermaid form, she told Vam she could not leave him alone, and then she died.
Claiming the map probe, Vam told Mer her hunger had ended, while his would soon be well-satisfied.
(X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1 (fb) - BTS) - Vam took the map probe back to the castle and rested atop his stone coffin until Corsair made his way there.
(X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1) - As Corsair entered his room, Vam leapt from atop his coffin and dove at him. Corsair futilely tried to coax him down, and Vam considered that he was finally ready abandon his home, like Mer, but only after devouring Mer's destroyer. However, upon sensing that Corsair feared having to kill Vam by skewering him through the chest, Vam dove forward and impaled himself on Corsair's sabre. Realizing that a stab through the chest had not been fatal, and that its heart might not even be in its chest, Corsair kicked Vam back off his sabre and slashed at the screaming Vam repeatedly until Vam ceased struggling. As Vam telepathically made a gurglin sound and perished, Corsair claimed the map probe and was teleported back to the Starjammer.
First Appearance: X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1
Note: It is unclear whether more of Mer and Vam's people came with them and subsequently perished on the Grof system moon, and/or whether some or the rest of their people went to other worlds; and, if the latter, did Vam really know that he was the last of his people (by some awareness/connection, mystical or otherwise), or did he just assume, and their are more of them elsewhere in the galaxy, universe, whatever?
Mer and Vam had forms similar to various magical beings of Earth, which were commonly thought to be legend. Corsair wondered if their people had ever visited Earth, giving rise to those legends, but obviously on Earth-616 (and most other planets in the multiverse), those beings of legend were real, with origins unrelated to these extraterrestrials.
Why was all life on the Grof system moon dead? Was it the blockage of sunlight? Or did Mer and Vam +/- their people slaughter all living beings, and possibly somehow kill all plant-life?
How does a world "grow" suns? Whether they were from a magical realm and these "suns" were something different, or whether they had something in their atmosphere that blocked out sunlight and later faded, or something else altogether is unrevealed...and likely to remain that way.
The name Vam would seem to be derived from his vampiric form.
Vam reminded me a bit of Amenhotep, although Amenhotep had separate wings, rather than arm-wings, and Vam had much larger ears and teeth.
Vam referred to Corsair as "squawking feast," "flickering meat," "babbling meat," and "meal."
As Corsair slaughtered Vam, he (Corsair) thought that there was no way he and this creature could communicate and that they had nothing in common (sounds like a rationalization to me)...but he did wish he didn't have to hear it die in his head.
Vam had seemed to plan to end his own hunger/life after he took vengeance on Mer's killer, but he then abruptly leapt forward and impaled himself on Corsair's sabre and then apparently didn't fight back too hard as Corsair sliced him apart.
images: (without ads)
X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1, pg. 9, panel 1 (Corsair arrived in forrest);
panel 2 (Vam's eyes);
pg. 10, panel 9 (Vam and Mer awaken);
pg. 11, panel 1 (skeletons);
panel 3 (castle);
pg. 12, panel 7 (Vam & Mer confront Corsair);
pg. 13, panel 2 (Mer in profile);
panel 6 (Vam pursues Corsair on tree branch);
panel 8 (breaking Mer's back);
panel 9-10 (Mer mermaid form, body and face);
panel 11 (Vam face; panel 4 is slightly more
distant, but still with good detail, and less of the face obscured);
Appearances:
X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers#1 (1990) - Terry
Kavanaugh (writer), Dave Cockrum (penciler), Jeff Albrecht
(inker), Kelly Corvese (assistant editor), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Last updated: 04/30/17
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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Mer
