''The Saga of Crystar, Crystal Warrior'' was an 11-issue fantasy-based comic book published by American company
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
in 1983. It was associated with a toy line from
Remco
Remco Industries, Inc. was a toy company in the United States founded in the 1940s. It was best known for toys marketed and sold in the late 1950s and early 1960s, like the 'Johnny Reb Cannon', 'Mighty Matilda Atomic Aircraft Carrier', 'Remco Voi ...
, consisting of seven figures, some vehicles and accessories.
Production
The toys were first sold in late 1982; the Marvel Comics series was first published in the spring of 1983. Since the toys were released first, many assumed the comic had been a licensed adaptation of the toyline, but Crystar and all of the characters in the toy line and comic book were created and owned by Marvel Comics, which had created the concept with the express intent of selling the license to a toy company.
Despite the Crystar franchise's obscurity, the title character had a profile featured in the Marvel Comics 1980s Handbook, as well as the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z hardcover series. The character also appeared in the variant cover of ''Marvel Zombies 4 #3'', which featured a number of 1980s Marvel Comics characters in a parody of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. Crystar and related characters were also the subjects of a parody in the episode "Ban on the Fun" of ''
Robot Chicken
''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, ...
'', wherein it was suggested that Crystar and his people were made out of
crystal meth
Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamphe ...
.
The comic book series was set parallel to the
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...
and featured guest appearances by
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...
,
Nightcrawler and
Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight is a fictional team of Canadian superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters premiered in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #120 (April 1979), and were created to serve as part of the X-Men member Wo ...
.
The cover of issue #8 of ''The Saga of Crystar'', drawn by
Michael Golden, featured a skull logo that was used, without Golden's or Marvel's permission, in the
Glenn Danzig
Glenn Allen Anzalone (born June 23, 1955), better known by his stage name Glenn Danzig, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, film director, and record producer. He is the founder of the rock bands Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. He owns t ...
-fronted bands,
Samhain
Samhain ( , , , ; gv, Sauin ) is a Gaelic festival on 1 NovemberÓ hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year ...
and
Danzig.
Storyline
Years ago, The Demon Lord sent his
demon
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...
armies to conquer the world of Crystalium. The King of Crystalium led the fight against the Demon Lord in the Chaos War, but he was killed during the war. The forces of Order then sent the wizard Ogeode and the Prisma-Crystal to drive away The Demon Lord's minions and the forces of Chaos. In his defeat, the Demon Lord made the "Prophecy of Chaos", that he would one day send another of his servants to divide the planet against itself and bring ruin to all.
After the end of the Chaos War, the
wizards Ogeode and Zardeth visited two princes, the brothers Crystar and Moltar, who had to decide whether their people would ally with Chaos or Order. Crystar chose Order and its champion Ogeode. As Moltar considered Chaos, their uncle Feldspar tried to convince him that Chaos was evil. Moltar, feeling that his uncle had always favored Crystar, became enraged and fought Crystar, injuring Feldspar in the process. Leaving them for dead, Moltar led his followers to the Fountain of Fire to find the wizard Zardeth and ally with Chaos.
Ogeode saves Crystar's life by merging him with the great Prisma-Crystal, rendering the prince's body into crystalline form. Similarly, at the Fountain of Fire, Zardeth magically transforms Moltar and his followers with the power of
lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...
. Moltar and his
Magma
Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...
Men then attempt to conquer the city of Galax. Crystar and his warriors, feeling that flesh and blood would prove ineffective against the transformed armies of Moltar, selected an elite group to be transformed into crystal form like Crystar: Koth, Stalax, and Kalibar.
Main characters
Order
* Crystar - One of the twin princes of Crystalium. Crystar is the leader of the Crystal Warriors for Order.
* Ambara - Former
valet
A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "vale ...
to Lavour. During the conflict between the princes, Ambara and Crystar develop a romantic relationship.
* Warbow - Crystal Warrior. Warbow shot Zardeth in the left eye with an arrow. Losing the eye, but otherwise unfazed by the injury, Zardeth shot out Warbow's left eye in return leaving Warbow mortally wounded. Ogeode used the Prisma-Crystal on Warbow as he did on Crystar to save his life. Warbow secretly has romantic feelings for Ambara.
* Koth - Crystal Warrior with a
ribald
Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to indecency. Blue comedy is also referred to as "bawdiness" or being "bawdy".
Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at ...
sense of humor.
* Stalax - Youngest of the Crystal Warriors.
* Kalibar - Crystal Warrior.
* Ogeode - Wizard champion of Order. An old man with a bald head and white beard. Father of Ika, whom he willingly sacrificed to become a crystal being in an experiment to learn the secrets of the crystal warrior
physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
(so that he might learn how to heal one of Crystar's injured followers). Frequently, Ogeode claims to be of diminished mystical ability and of little use to the Crystal warriors thanks to the strain of turning the tide during the great war, yet manages to perform mystical feats during times of crisis.
* Ika - Half-enchantress daughter of Ogeode. Ika was compelled by her father to undergo a transformation to turn her body into crystal so that he could learn the secrets of the Crystal Warrior physiology.
Chaos
* Zardeth - Wizard leader of Chaos. Lost his left eye in an altercation with Warbow.
* Magma Men - A race of lava-skinned warriors.
** Moltar - One of the twin princes of Crystalium. Leader of the Magma Men for the side of Chaos.
** Lavour -
Betrothed
An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...
to Crystar before the princes went to war. After she thought Crystar was dead, Lavour allied herself with Moltar for the opportunity to become queen of Crystalium.
** Magma Men Soldiers - The rank and file of Moltar's army.
Other characters
* Feldspar - The appointed
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
of Crystalium since the death of his brother, the King of Crystalium. Uncle of Prince Crystar and Prince Moltar, Feldspar has taken authority over the planet until the princes have settled their conflict. He arranged for both Ogeode and Zardeth to alter his body into a partly crystalline and partly molten form to symbolize
neutrality in their dispute.
Action figures
In 1982 Remco produced the Crystar action figure line based on the concept for the comic book series, later selling the line to ALN in Europe as the figures did not sell well in the USA. Crystar and the forces of order were designed to appear to be made of crystal, and Moltar and the forces of Chaos, lava. Seven individually carded figures, four mini playsets (each with an exclusive figure), two dragons (each with an exclusive figure), two catapults and one castle were produced. A variant figure came with the first production run Crystal Dragon, with articulated legs/knees versus the fixed position figure. Crystal Castle first production run had alternate colored weapons/accessories with the early production featuring a blue weapon rack, Yellow ladder, Yellow and Green winch; and later production in all grey.
Marvel released an early run comic book before the main series showcasing the upcoming Action figures for Crystar, Moltar, Feldspar, Zardeth (2 versions were produced) Ogeode (2 versions were produced), Magma Man, Crystars 5 "Captains" the Crystal Dragon rider "Heyatt" in articulated first production and later "Stalax" in fixed position, as well as Kalibar (purple trim), Koth (green trim), and Warbow, as well as the Magma dragon and (no name)Magma rider.
Vehicles and creatures
* Crystal Dragon
* Lava Dragon
* Crystal Shatterpult
* Lava Shatterpult
* Crystal Castle
Mini playsets
* Crystal warrior catapult set
* Crystal Warrior Battle Set
* The Magic of Crystal
* The Spell of the Evil Wizard
REMCO later on re-used the Shatterpult in their "Lost world of Warlord" action figure line and renamed it Warpult.
Legacy
During the ''
Secret Wars
''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written ...
'' storyline, some characters from ''The Saga of Crystar'' appear in the miniseries ''
Weirdworld
''Weirdworld'' was a fantasy series created by Doug Moench and Mike Ploog for American company Marvel Comics, set in a dimension of magic. A comic book series titled ''Weirdworld'' debuted in 2015 as a tie-in to the ''Secret Wars'' storyline, foll ...
'' as inhabitants of the
Battleworld
Battleworld is a fictional patchwork planet appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Publication history
The first Battleworld debuted in the ''Secret Wars'' crossover where it was created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck.
The s ...
floating island
A floating island is a mass of floating aquatic plants, mud, and peat ranging in thickness from several centimeters to a few meters. Floating islands are a common natural phenomenon that are found in many parts of the world. They exist less co ...
domain of the same name where it is composed of fragments of many alternate reality magical realms including Crystalium. Moltar and his Magma Men are in allegiance with
Witch Queen le Fay as they pursue
Arkon
Arkon is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the warlord and ruler of the extra-dimensional world of Polemachus. The concept of the character is that he is a hero from the sword-and-sorcery ge ...
(who is searching for his kingdom of Polemachus). While in Apelantis, Warbow compels Arkon to assist him in a mission to save his captured prince (later discovered to be Crystar). It is discovered that Crystar has been "shattered." Warbow (seemingly having gone insane) is just happy to have found his lost friend even though Crystar is nothing more than a bag of crystals. Crystar was later resurrected where he helped Arkon, Warbow, Skull the Slayer, the Swamp Queen (a variation of
Jennifer Kale
Jennifer Kale is a fictional character, a sorceress appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Gerber and Rich Buckler in 1972, she was originally a supporting character in Man-Thing comic books. Since her cr ...
), the
Man-Thing
The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in ''S ...
s, an army of Elves, an army of Eyemazons, and an army of Man-Wolves in their fight against Witch Queen le Fay and her army of Molten Men and Ogres. Neither side was victorious by the time
God Emperor Doom was defeated and Weirdworld manifested in the
Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is an urban legend focused on a loosely defined region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under mysterio ...
on the main Marvel Earth.
[''Weirdworld'' #5]
References
External links
The Grand Comics Database ProjectCover Art of Marvel's Saga of Crystar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saga of Crystar
1980s toys
Fantasy comics
Marvel Comics titles
Action figures