History
The Arcturans were a humanoid race who evolved on Arcturus IV, the fourth planet from the sun in the Arcturian System in the Milky Way galaxy. Arcturans who were not "mutants" were indistinguishable in appearance from pale-skinned Humans from Earth.[2]
At some point, the humanoid race known as the Fortisquians established a small colony on the planet. Some of these Fortisquians eventually came to be Genelords of Arcturus, members of the organization that oversaw the reproduction of the Arcturan race and used their science to improve the species.[3]
Over ten thousand years ago, a starship called the Comet travelled from Arcturus IV to Earth but crashed there, leaving only three survivors.[4] The crew were genetic specialists who had been sent by their unknown creators to save the Savage Land by repairing environmental systems that had been damaged by the Great Cataclysm.[3]
While the three on Earth were completing their mission, the leaders on Arcturus IV decided to outlaw all natural reproduction in favor of creating new people only in the Incuflask factories. However, many Arcturans violently opposed this idea and what began with terrorist bombings of the factories soon led to a full-scale nuclear war that killed most of the population. The human survivors went mad and deserted the cities to live in tiny tribal enclaves as barbarians. The super-race that had been created by the geneticists also survived but exposure to the bomb radiation mutated their bodies into many different freakish forms.[5]
After completing their mission on Earth, the three scientists found a teleportation warp in the Savage Land that took them back to Arcturus IV. Discovering their world in ruins, they searched for and found another warp that returned them to Earth.[3] The trio eventually came to think of themselves as the Caretakers of the human race.[4]
At some point, a different type of Arcturan race came into being,, one that was humanoid but could not be mistaken for humans from Earth. They had dark pink skin and pointed ears, and their faces lacked noses. Unlike the other inhabitants of their planet, these Arcturans began to develop technology that, at its height, was comparable to that of the humans of Earth.[6]
Several years ago, Arcturus IV was targeted by the Axi-Tun, a race who believe themselves to be superior to all other life forms. While being led by a ruler who believed that all inferior life forms should be exterminated, the Axi-Tun sent out a fleet of purification vessels to secretly commit genocide against such races. One of these vessels, commanded by Captain Ramrog, directed a giant asteroid at Arcturus IV. The impact ignited the planet's atmosphere and subsequent bio-readings confirmed that the planet was "clean" after having been purged of all its inferior life forms.[6]
Biology[]
Reavers[]
Reavers were a bloodthirsty and war-like faction of Arcturians. Although they outwardly resembled humans, their lifespans could extend hundreds of years. They were fantatically devoted to destroying all "mutant" Arcturans on their world.
Mutants[]
Arcturian "Mutants" were actually members of a genetically-engineered super-race that had been created in the Incuflask factories. They were extremely intelligent and had extended life-spans but lacked any instinct for self-preservation. Although they survived the nuclear war, the bomb radiation mutated their physical forms into many different freakish forms. In the late 20th century, it was believed that the freaks were the norm on their planet and the non-mutants were the exceptions.
Alternate Realities[]
Earth 691[]
In this timeline, the Arcturans came from the planet Arcturus IV that was (allegedly) kept in perpetual daylight by its twin suns. It was believed this lack of darkness caused the people to go mad and, once they had invented atomic weapons, they nearly destroyed themselves.[7] Following the war, only two factions remained - the Reavers and the Mutants. The mutants were peaceful but disfigured, something for which the Reavers would hate and hunt them. The Reavers wiped out the last of the mutants in the early 21st century.[8]
In this timeline's 31st century, two of the best-known Arcturans are Starhawk and Aleta, members of the Guardians of the Galaxy.Powers and Abilities
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Abilities
Habitat
Habitat
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Miscellaneous
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Notes
- Arcturans had a quarter-page profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #1. They were also listed, four months later, in the profile for "Humanoid Aliens" that appeared in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #5.
- Although the Official Handbooks state that "Arcturans" is the name of this species, in most stories the term "Arcturians" is used instead.
- Stakar Ogord (Starhawk) was initially revealed to be an Arcturian mutant with a genetically-engineered mind but he was later retconned into being a half-human non-Arcturian who was mistaken for and raised as a non-mutant Arcturian.
- When they first appeared. the Caretakers were stated to be members of the Arcturan race but were later retconned into being members of the Fortisquian race. It has never been revealed if the Arcturans knew that the Fortisquians living on their world were actually not members of their race.
- Since the future inhabited by the Guardians of the Galaxy was originally intended to be a possible future of the mainstream reality, the past of the Arcturians from that 31st century should have included the history revealed in Fear #23. However, the history presented in Guardians of the Galaxy #7 differed somewhat from what had been established. No attempts to explain or reconcile these disparate histories have yet been made.
See Also
- 82 appearance(s) of Arcturans
- 3 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Arcturans
- 5 minor appearance(s) of Arcturans
- 1 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Arcturans
- 1 image(s) of Arcturans
- 16 representative(s) of Arcturans
Links and References
- Arcturans at the Marvel Appendix