History
The S'raphh were a race of winged humanoids who outwardly resembled pale-skinned humans except for the large yellow-feathered wings that extended from their upper backs.
Millennia ago, the S'raphh lived on the surface of Earth's Moon. They were a pure-souled and open-hearted race who lived an idyllic existence but, despite this, as a people they were unsatisfied because they desperately wanted to know the reason why they existed.
Eventually, this existential need drove them to leave the Moon and fly to the furthest reaches of the universe in search of that truth. Sadly, when none of them ever found it, they all experienced such great despair that they felt compelled to return home and commit racial suicide. All of the half a million S'raphh accomplished this by flying down into the ocean of fire that then roared across the lunar surface.
However, the S'raphh race had possessed a "collective unconscious" that survived the deaths of their physical bodies and continued to be tormented by their failure to find a reason for being. This unconsciousness felt a desire for revenge against all of creation for denying the S'raphh's quest for meaning. Eventually, after experiencing centuries of torment, this hatred birthed a demonic being that called itself Null the Living Darkness, a monstrous entity who considered itself to be the enemy of all life and believed that only the dead belonged in a universe without purpose.[1]
Months later, on the Moon orbiting Earth-712, Null's plan to cause universal armageddon was opposed by the Defenders and a telepathic group consciousness from Earth-616 who had teamed up with the native Squadron Supreme. However, Null proved to be too powerful and was on the verge of its ultimate triumph when the psychic gestalt that had secretly entered Null's soul was able to find the buried innocence of the long-dead S'raphh, beings who had possessed such purity that could not be totally extinguished even by the racial madness that had created Null. Once the psychics released that purity within Null, it sparked a conflict of internal forces that Null found unbearable. Unable to face its own light, Null simply ceased to be.[2]Powers and Abilities
Powers
Notes
- A Note at the end of the entry for Null that was published in Fear Itself: Fellowship of Fear #1 reads "The S'raphh may have been descendants of the pseudo-angelic Bird-Men of Akah Ma'at, perhaps remnants of the Seraphim faction who evaded the Elder God Oshtur's banishing of their people to extradimensional Sephiroth." However, this theory about their origin has so far only appeared in Handbook-style issues.
- The S'raphh are an interesting race but it's unfortunate that many questions about them have never been answered:
- Although it was established that they lived on the surface of Earth's Moon, was that where they actually originated?
- Was the area of the Moon's surface where they lived somehow habitable or could they just exist in an airless environment?
- How could their wings possibly have carried them throughout the universe?
- What caused the "ocean of fire" that covered the lunar surface when the S'raphh returned home?
- When was the lunar surface covered by this fire?
- What exactly was this "collective unconscious" that survived after the S'raphh had all died?
See Also
- 2 appearance(s) of S'raphh
- 1 minor appearance(s) of S'raphh
- 1 mention(s) in handbook(s) of S'raphh
- 1 image(s) of S'raphh