 | SALAKK | BIOGRAPHY |
| Created by Marv Wolfman and Joe Staton |
PERSONAL DATA
Occupation: Green Lantern
Homeworld: Slyggia
Space Sector: 1418
Marital Status: Married
Known Relatives: Iona Vane (wife in the 58th century)
Base of Operation: Oa
Group Affiliation(s): Green Lantern Corps
Sector Partner: Unknown
Gender: Male
Height: 6'11"
Weight: 207 lbs.
Eyes: White
Hair: None
First Appearance: Green Lantern Vol. 2 #149 (February 1982): "Death by Fire and Ice!"
Creators: Marv Wolfman and Joe Staton
HISTORY
A veteran Green Lantern, Salakk of Slyggia was summoned to Oa to join the Corps against the threat of Legion. Although a loner and pessimist, Salakk was a friend of Tomar-Re of Xudar, and Abin Sur of Ungara. Salakk appeared to have a low opinion of Abin Sur's successor, Hal Jordan of Earth. Despite Jordan's near single-handed defeat of Legion, Salakk seemed unimpressed.
The proximity of Salakk's sector 1418 to that of Sinestro of Korugar's sector 1417 should be noted. Whether the two Green Lanterns shared any missions before the Legion event is unknown.
Although seeming proclaiming to enjoy solitude, Salakk appeared to enjoy the company of some of his fellow Green Lanterns, whether on Oa or as part of the Green Lantern Corps. Salakk participated in the war against Krona and Nekron. His actions in those battles have not been recorded.
Despite the Earth Green Lantern's many heroic actions, the Slyggian Green Lantern still came down hard on Jordan. His words had an especially hurtful effect on Arisia of Graxos IV, who had developed a crush on Jordan. Salakk believed that Jordan considered matters on Earth more important than his duty to the Green Lantern Corps. Shortly thereafter, Jordan was exiled from Earth for one year by the Guardians of the Universe.
- Green Lantern Vol. 2 #149
A year later, many Green Lanterns travelled to Oa to support Jordan in his petition to return home. Salakk was not one of them. His caustic attitude angered a few of his fellow Green Lanterns, including Arkkis Chummuck. When Jordan's exile was ended, Salakk did not share his fellow Green Lanterns' joy. Salakk's reaction to Jordan's later resignation is unrecorded.
Salakk served the Corps faithfully during the so-called Crisis on Infinite Earths. When Katma Tui of Korugar was assigned to train Jordan's temporary successor, John Stewart of Earth, Salakk was charged with protecting both his sector and Katma's sector 1417. The Slyggian was joined by Eddore of Tront from neighboring sector 1416. The Crisis was too much for any single Green Lantern, so instead of saving both sectors, large parts of 1417 and 1418 were destroyed. Reviewing the situation with Katma TuiSalakk found the bodies of Eddore and Zborra of Python IV, killed in the wake of the universal destruction.
After the Crisis, Salakk was sent with Green Lanterns Arisia and Ch'p of H'lven to arrest Goldface and Lurlan Dupo. The two villains had killed Green Lanterns, including Tomar-Re, in the Battle of the Moon of Qward. The trio took down Lurlan Dupo easily, but Hal Jordan had to assist in apprehending Goldface. The criminals were brought to Oa, to be imprisoned in Sciencells.
Following the departure of the Guardians and Zamarons for another plane of existence, Arisia and Katma Tui decided to join Hal Jordan and John Stewart on Earth. The Guardians had prophesied Earth would produce the next race to evolve as they in the coming millennium.
- Green Lantern Vol. 2 #200
Returning to sectors 1416 and 1417, Salakk was regarded as a hero by the races of his protected worlds. A change had come over him. One sector now seemed too vast, and to have to protect two was too desloate for even he. Although the Slyggian Green Lantern would not admit it, after working so closely with his fellow Green Lanterns, he was lonely. Salakk set out to join the group of Green Lanterns on Earth.
Along the way he was joined by Ch'p. The Green Lantern of H'lven told Salakk of the loss of his past on his homeworld. Ch'p realized his past on H'lven only existed with the Green Lantern Corps. Salakk would not tell Ch'p of his reasons for joining the Green Lanterns on Earth, but Ch'p knew how the Slyggian felt. Working together, the pair became close friends, even giving each other nicknames: "picklehead" and "furball".
The two Green Lanterns joined with the Green Lanterns on Earth, who had in turn been joined by Kilowog of Bolovax Vik, which had been destroyed in the Crisis. Arisia had redesigned the Green Lanterns uniforms, showcasing their differences so the people of Earth could better tell them apart. She soon set to work on the two new arrivals. Although Salakk had known Kilowog for years, he and Ch'p felt there was something they didn't trust about the Bolovax Green Lantern.
Together, as the Green Lantern Corps of Earth, they would first battle a team of super-villains led by Doctor Polaris and Sonar, two old foes of Hal Jordan. They would soon discover the villains were assisted by Doctor Ub'x, an old foe of Ch'p, who later became a friend of the Green Lanterns.
Salakk was an active member of Earth's super hero community. He and the Corps worked alongside Superman to defeat a menace in outer space. The alien Green Lanterns did not consider themselves exclusively bound to the United States as Jordan and Stewart did. This caused some friction during the short-lived Presidential ban on super-hero activities. The Green Lantern Corps of Earth was for all of Earth, regardless of politics. Soon, Salakk would learn he was not only a hero of Earth in the present, but he would be a hero in the future as well. During a visit to reformed Dr. Ub'x's evolutionary research station in Africa, Salakk was abducted by the Solar Council of the 58th Century.
In the year 5711, the Solar Council was threatened by the B'rks, a race of sentient "monks", descendants of the result of Dr. Ub'x experiments in the 20th Century. The future Earth lacked the might of ages past. As they had done several times before, the Solar Council took a champion from history: Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern of Earth.
Brought to the 58th Century, Jordan would be fed a fictitious identity, that of Pol Manning, an asteroid explorer. Although the Council had done this many times before, they were surprised when their time transporter took Salakk of Slyggia. They had not realized Jordan was off Earth when they activated the transporter.
Matters were complicated by Iona Vane. As part of Pol Manning's "history" he was given a romantic interest, a part Iona had agreed to play. Unfortunately, Iona grew into the role, falling in love with Green Lantern. During a visit to the year 5708, Jordan erased the memory of his visits to spare Iona from heartbreak. Unknown to Jordan, this action had detrimental effects on her sanity.
The Slyggian had many differences from that of Hal Jordan, the least of which was his extra set of arms. The memories of Salakk and Iona Vane had to be rewritten to accommodate these obvious changes.
Back in the 20th Century, Ch'p and Dr. Ub'x tracked Salakk to the 58th Century. There they met the B'rkrs, who were fighting with the Solar Council for a recognized homeland. They were forced to fight the confused Slyggian, restoring his rightful memory. Enraged, Salakk lashed out at Iona Vane. She was shocked by this change in "Pol Manning", once again she was slipping into madness. Salakk realized Vane was as much a victim as he had been.
Arisia and Hal Jordan were called to the future to mediate the war between the Council and the B'rkrs. Ch'p was so caught up in finding monks like himself that he joined the B'rkrs, against his fellow Green Lanterns. Hurt by Ch'p's betrayal, Salakk demanded Ch'p be removed from the Corps. Returning to the 20th Century, Arisia and Hal decided Ch'p should keep his power ring. The grateful but sad Green Lantern returned to his homeworld to reclaim his life.
Salakk had decided to remain in the future with Iona Vane, eventually marrying her. One night, he was puzzled by the apparent lack of Green Lanterns in the 58th Century. Salakk travelled to Oa to find it a wasteland. Asking the Oan sands, he learned the Green Lantern Corps had been destroyed in the late 20th Century, a result of the execution of Sinestro. After five years in the future, Salakk returned to the past to warn the Corps.
He arrived too late to warn the Green Lantern Corps of their impending doom. The execution of Sinestro led to the collapse of the Main Power Battery, and the disintegration of virtually all the power rings in the universe. The powerless Green Lanterns would be returned to their homeworlds. Salakk requested to be sent to H'lven to look up an old friend.
On H'lven, Ch'p had grown despondent about his life. He was about to hang himself when Salakk arrived. His friend told him of the of the end of the Green Lantern Corps, and his now increased responsibilities as one of the few remaining ring wielders. Concerned he might lose his friend again, Ch'p asked Salakk to stay on H'lven to act as an advisor or consultant. Salakk agreed, and Ch'p brought his Slyggian friend to the annual harvest and nut gathering.
Sometime after, Ch'p gave up charging his ring so he could be one with his people. The monks on H'lven soon entered their months long hibernation period. Salakk remained apart. Though he thought he could live without the Corps, he was wrong. He sat in the snow covered forest and remembered days gone by. Salaak went into the "time", a time that Slyggians have to die and be born again.
Months later, Ch'p woke up. For the first time since hibernation he touched his power ring to his battery, and knew the Green Lantern Corps had returned. Ch'p and Salakk went to Oa to ask why Jordan had not sought them out to rejoin the Corps. For now, Ch'p would assist John Stewart in policing the Mosaic Cities. He battled the creature that had been tearing up the roads connecting the Mosaic, and called on Stewart for help. Ch'p had seen something, but couldn't tell Stewart. Still dazed from his hibernation, Ch'p was accidentally killed by a yellow truck.
In the weeks after, Salakk lived with John Stewart, his mind still not what it was. During an attack on Stewart by members of the Mosaic cities wishing to return home, Salakk was able to communicate with the Green Lantern from Earth. Stewart had entered the "deeper place" where Salakk's mind had gone. The Slyggian pointed the way out for him.
Soon, forces from other worlds came to reclaim their cities. John Stewart had achieved near Guardian level powers. Those beings that wished to go home could now leave, but there were a few that wished to stay on Oa. Salakk appeared to be renewed, at least physically. If this was an aspect of Stewart's new power has yet to be determined.
The Corps and the Guardians were soon obliterated by the actions of Parallax, once the Green Lantern Hal Jordan. After the reality altering event known as Zero Hour, Jordan and new Green Lantern Kyle Rayner battled for power on Oa. The Controllers evacuated the Mosaic world before Kyle Rayner destroyed it.
At some point afterwards, Salakk was captured by an interstellar slave ring. There, he witnessed the actions Guy Gardner's clone took against G'Nort, a friend of Gardner's. Whatever happened to G'Nort badly shocked Salakk, and has yet to be revealed. Salakk and scores of other powerless Green Lanterns were freed by the real Guy Gardner and led aboard a Darkstar cruiser.
Later, Salakk joined other former Green Lanterns Ash, Brik, and Torquemada at a memorial service for Hal Jordan on the former site of Coast City.
There is a story once told regarding a group of former Green Lanterns attempting to save the crew of the crashed ore freighter Signet Dawn. Ash and fellow former Green Lanterns Brik, M'hdahna, and Salakk along with the Xudarian Tomar-Dar teamed with Kyle Rayner to battle a hive of alien xenomorphs on the dead planet, and former Green Lantern, Mogo. Since it was heavily implied Ash, Brik, and Salakk died, the tale is generally discounted. -Green Lantern vs. Aliens #2-#4
POWERS AND WEAPONS
As a Green Lantern, Salakk possesses a power ring and power battery.
CHRONOLOGY
For a definitive list of appearances of Salakk in chronological order click here
PROFILE REFERENCES
Who's Who: Update '87 #5 (December 1987)
GLCWP NOTE
Salakk (along with Kilowog) had been retconned into Emerald Dawn. Since he was one of the 3600 GLs in the Corps since before Hal Jordan joined, I placed Salakk at the war with Krona and Nekron.
It is interesting to note Salakk continued to recite the oath of Tomar-Re (Alan Scott's, originally) even though the GLC on Earth followed Hal's lead. In his early appearances, it seemed there were few GLs he respected, Tomar-Re was one of the very few.
Salakk was not involved in the Millennium event, despite an artist drawing him in one of the issues.