AMA raceAMA race
Classification: Semi-humanoid extraterrestrial
race
Location/Base of Operations: Ama Collective space, notably Ama Prime
Known Members: Empress,
Ruqtar Koil, others
Affiliations: Organpirates
(informal);
briefly Silver Surfer
Enemies: Brekk race
(Tol-Wes,
others), Galactus, Silver Surfer, unidentified alien
First Appearance: Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#1
(January, 2008)
Powers/Abilities: The bipedal
Ama have green skin with eight to nine fingers that suggest plumage or
tendrils. While taller than a human, they display no greater strength
or dexterity than a human. The Ama are technologically advanced with
faster-than-light space travel and localized anti-gravity travel. Of
note is that
their absolute ruler has greater strength and agility (including
limited flight) than the rest of the Ama population; the cause of this
is unrevealed (genetic manipulation may be a factor). The imperial
guard and the Empress have specialized protective armor.
Traits: Their social system divides their
population into key roles, notably explorocrat (an esteemed role),
scholar, datahorder, communocrat,
imperial guard and military, plus a physically powerful absolute ruler.
These
roles are garbed distinctively, even flamboyantly with accessories,
for identification with little variation; colored gloves add to the
spectacle. This demonstrates how the Ama place emphasis on facade while
duplicitously hiding a hidden agenda (at least in the senior ranks) to
maintain Ama superiority in the space-spanning Collective. Alliances
can be formed
with unsavory individuals for long-term political goals, as well as
barbaric treatment of aliens to continue Ama dominance. They regularly
televise the actions of their ruler in carefully staged appearance of
transparency and to alleviate boredom in their self-styled utopia.
An atheist society, the Ama promote
the philosophy of Binarc (the twin goals of self-improvement and
seeking others who wish the same). Other alien species are assimilated
on the home planet as long as they fully adopt the Ama way of life.
Type: Humanoid
Eyes: Two
Fingers: Eight or nine
Toes: Two
Skin color: Green
Average height: 7'4"
(by approximation)
History:
(Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#1 (fb) - BTS) - The Ama
rose to prominence on what became Ama Prime as they went out exploring
nearby space, settling on new worlds, making first contact, fostering
collaboration and coexistence. However, the science-focused Ama
retained racial dominance of this federation, dubbing it the Ama
Collective ruled by an Ama Empress (or presumably Emperor). Ama
developed core roles with each with distinctive uniforms, such as the
sleek explorocrats focused on science and space, scholars with
characteristic rings surrounding their heads that reflected the Ama
philosophy of Binarc (the twin goals of self-improvement and seeking
others who pursue the same), plus datahorders (information gatherers),
golden-armored imperial guard and various military branches. In time,
non-Ama served in government advisory roles, such as chamberlain.
Despite their seemingly benevolent ways and utopian homeworld, the Ama
kept an advanced war machines primed to settle disputes with other
planets in the Ama Collective.
(Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#2 & 3 (fb)) -
Unifying under the Apex religion and its silver-skinned savior, the
Brekk survived a history of religious fervor that drove genocide and
mass-slaughters,
and finally made their way into space. They were very quickly
greeted by Ama spaceships and absorbed into the Ama Collective.
(Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#3 (fb) - BTS) - Races that preserved their cultural values and religion were demeaned by the Ama and given less assistance, such as the industrial-based Brekk led by Tol-Wes. The Brekk and their Apex religion, particularly its blood-soaked history of forced conversions, soon became an embarrassment to the Ama, who saw the Brekk as children. The Ama devised a plot to start a war as justification to wipe the Brekk out. The Ama Empress secretly had her agent, Ruqtar Koil, use insidious Organpirates to track down the wandering Silver Surfer to use him as a figurehead and kick-start a new crusade by the Brekk and trigger war. Meanwhile, the Ama held captive a transdimensional infant alien that could manifest different forms, forcing it to take on demonic forms to prey on the Brekk's superstitions.
(Silver
Surfer: In Thy Name#1) - As the Organpirates harassed the Silver
Surfer in Ama space, explorocrat Ruqtar Koil warped in with his
spacecraft and "rescued" him. Koil invited the Surfer to Ama Prime;
intrigued, the Surfer accepted and was introduced the idyllic life and
Binarc philosophy. He met the charismatic Empress before exploring the
planet. Koil then asked him to the planet Brekknis to meet the
religious Brekk and was confronted by the infant alien manifesting
itself as a huge, destructive, black demonic form representing Brekk
holy war victims, calling on the Brekk's superstitions.
(Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#2) - The Silver Surfer
shifted to the astral plane and calmed the alien, inspiring further awe
in the Brekk, who saw him as the returned savior. Koil sent a secret
message to the Empress that the Surfer had unwittingly taken his role.
When the Empress later arrived to give thanks, a secretly paid assassin
attacked the Empress but died as part of the Ama plot. Later, the
Empress tried to impress on the Surfer that the Brekk were
as children clinging to a god and tried to force their will on others,
but the Surfer dismissed this, asserting that the Ama were doing
similar. Soon after, Koil had the resurrected assassin harpoon
and
crucify the Surfer for the Brekk to find.
(Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#3)
- Freed by the Brekk, the Silver Surfer communed with the alien infant
and discovered the Ama plot for war with the Brekk. With a plan to
force cooperation between the two species, the Surfer flew into the Ama
Prime throne room and confronted the Empress and Koil, who dismissed
his concerns, only to have Tol-Wes in armor crash in. But then
"Galactus" suddenly loomed (actually the infant alien assisting the
Surfer).
(Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#4) - With the Ama and
Brekk on the precipice of war, the Silver Surfer announced his ruse
that "Galactus" would feed on whichever world attacked first in order
to force the warring sides to seek peace. Panicked, the Ama and Brekk
quickly negotiated with each other. However, the Empress and Tol-Wes
instead led their forces in a secret, mutually agreed first strike
against each other, both eager for war. Shocked and disgusted, the
Surfer left the warring races behind after releasing the
transdimensional infant.
Comments: Created by Simon Spurrier & Tan Eng Huat.
Given their resources, the Ama Collective would likely have prevailed in the ensuing war, but the Brekk's religious fervor leading their war would make them difficult to defeat.
Images in the flashback art (although I love Huat's art, it is unfortunately lost in too much detail in this instance) suggest the Brekk encountered Ama representatives in a bloody meeting prior to the Brekk entering space.
Simon Spurrier and especially Tan Eng Huat put
wonderful effort in designing the distinctive costumes of the Ama (and
Brekk). However, I do feel that sharpness provided by an inker would
have made for clearer art. Huat's art in this case might be better
showcased in a larger format.
Thanks to James Cope for pointing out a recurring typo.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Ama race has no known connections to:
Half
a universe away from Earth, the Ama Collective began with the planet
Ama Prime and
spread like an empire under the more munificent name of "Ama
Collective," despite having a ruler titled "Empress" (and presumably
"Emperor" at other times). The Collective comprised about a hundred
planets
and a dozen races
ruled by the Ama. Many races
coexisted living on other worlds (e.g. the Empress' Chamberlain was of
a different race). The grounds for coexistence was that no difference
is insurmountable to reasonable minds. However, despite the utopian
facade shown on Ama Prime, the Ama had a dark undercurrent of seeking
war to dominate "inferior" species to be absorbed into the Collective.
--Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#1 (2-4
The Ama Empress was clad to
impress with regular daily televised appearances for the population.
She was athlete-level fit with regular combat training that resembled
dance. Explorocrat Ruqtar Koil was her close collaborator, serving to
impose her will and enforce Ama dominance in the Ama Collective.
She
had Koil use Organpirates notify them of the Silver Surfer's eventual
wandering appearance so that he could inflame the religious fervor of
the Brekk, an industrial race with a blood-soaked history of religion
that the Empress felt embarrassed the Collective. However, the Silver
Surfer challenged her view that the Brekk sought to impose their
religion on others, asserting that the Ama were doing the same with
their rule. Eventually the Surfer discovered his sacrificial role and
stormed the royal chamber, coincidentally at the same time as the Brekk
leader Tol-Wes attacked in his husk armor; however, the Empress' combat
training
easily countered the attack. The Surfer organized a ruse to have a
sympathetic shapeshifting alien appear as Galactus to force the two
races to seek
peace, but instead the Empress and Tol-Wes secretly agreed to a mutual
first strike against each other, both eager for war. Clad in golden
armor, the Empress led her troops in the first wave. Shocked and
disgusted, the Surfer left the warring races behind.
--Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#1 (2-4
The Organpirates were
nefarious space-roving hunters, kidnapping and dissecting various
species for body parts to sell. They secretly formed an alliance with
the Ama Empress via her agent Ruqtar Koil, who notified them when they
stumbled across the Silver Surfer, whom the Empress intended to use as
part of a plot against the religiously driven Brekk race.
One of the Organpirates was also hired
to act as an assassin, pretending to attack the Empress to gain the
Surfer's defense before committing suicide to escape interrogation. But
the assassin was resurrected by the Organpirates' assets and soon
after helped capture the Surfer for crucifixion before the Brekk.
Later, the same assassin used fractal defense armor (that proved
useless) against the Surfer and was slain.
--Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#1 (2-4
A transdimensional alien infant was captured by the
Ama. It had the ability to manifest different forms and was used by the
seemingly utopian Ama to inflame the superstitious Brekk, including a
giant black demonic form that represented Brekk slain in past religious genocides.
The visiting Silver Surfer was able to commune with the alien on the
astral plane and calm it. The Ama secretly took the alien away and used
it to capture the Surfer to crucify him before the Brekk to encourage
a crusade, which the atheistic Ama wanted in
order to eliminate the Brekk because of their religion. Freed, the
Surfer again communed with the alien on the astral plane and discovered
the Ama's true motives. Sympathetic, the alien agreed to help the
Surfer by manifesting itself as Galactus to force the two aggressive
sides to seek peace. Instead, the Ama and Brekk hierarchy agreed on a
mutual first strike. Disgusted, the Silver Surfer left, freeing the
alien infant, which soon reunited with its much larger parent.
--Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#1 (2-4
images: (without ads)
Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#3,
p18, pan4 (main image, Koil & Empress)
Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#4, p7, pan3 (seated representatives)
Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#1, p10, pan4 (Binarc symbol)
Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#1, p10, pan2 (Ama technocrat)
Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#1, p9, pan4 (Ama scholars)
Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#2, p8, pan5 (Ama guard)
Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#1, p7, pan3 (Ama Collective overview)
Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#1, p10, pan5 (Chamberlain (alien))
Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#2, p8, pan6 (Empress, main)
Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#2, p9, pan4 (Empress, headshot)
Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#4, p21, pan4 (Empress, armored)
Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#1, p4, pan3 (Organpirates, inside spaceship)
Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#1, p5, pan5 (Organpirates, spaceship outer
hull)
Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#2, p22, pan4 (Organpirates, assassin)
Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#4, p19, pan6 (infant psychic alien)
Appearances:
Silver Surfer: In Thy Name#1-4 (January-April, 2008) - Simon Spurrier
(writer), Tan Eng Huat (art), Aubrey Sitterson (editor)
First Posted: 03/24/2021
Last updated: 07/09/2022
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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