The Faceless Hunters are a race of alien supervillains in the
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
universe that first appeared in '' Strange Adventures'' #124 (January 1961). They were created by
Gardner Fox
Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...
and
Mike Sekowsky
Michael Sekowsky (; November 19, 1923 – March 30, 1989) was an American comics artist known as the penciler for DC Comics' ''Justice League of America'' during most of the 1960s, and as the regular writer and artist on ''Wonder Woman'' during th ...
. The Faceless Hunters hail from Klaramar (the word Klar-a-mar breaks down into "clear of imperfection": Klar is the
German language
German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...
term for "clear", and "mar" can mean either blemish or imperfection).
Publication history
The Faceless Hunters made three appearances in DC Comics flagship science fiction anthology title, all written by Gardner Fox - ''Strange Adventures'', in issues #124 (January 1961) with artists Mike Sekowsky and
Murphy Anderson
Murphy C. Anderson Jr. (July 9, 1926 – October 22, 2015) was an American comics artist, known as one of the premier inkers of his era, who worked for companies such as DC Comics for over fifty years, starting in the Golden Age of Comic Books in ...
, #142 (July 1962) with art by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson, and #153 (June 1963), with art by
Gil Kane
Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character.
Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...
DC Comics Presents
''DC Comics Presents'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 which ran for 97 issues and four ''Annual''s. It featured team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters in the DC Universe. A recurring bac ...
'' #77-78 (January - February 1985), written by
Marv Wolfman
Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's '' The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's ''The New Te ...
Young Justice
Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes.
The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...
'' #50 (December 2002), in ''
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
'' (vol. 5) #12 (July 2006) and #15-16 (December 2006 - January 2007), written by
Geoff Johns
Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and Superman, has drawn critical acclaim.
He serv ...
The Faceless Hunters first come to public attention in 1961 after one of them, Klee Pan, is intercepted trying to steal major world sculptures such as the
Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: ''Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe'', or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakot ...
heads and the
Easter Island
Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its ne ...
statues.
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
Highway Patrolmen Bob Colby and Jim Boone are assigned to Mount Rushmore, and confront Klee Pan, who explains that he comes from Klaramar - a world revolving within an atom on the planet Saturn and he is looking for a stone face left on Earth millennia ago which can help prevent Saturn exploding. He reveals that an evil Faceless Hunter, Chun Yull, has planted an 'ultimate energy time-bomb' and threatened to detonate it unless he is made supreme ruler, but died giving no clues as to where the face, which can defuse the bomb, was hidden. Boone deduces that the face is on
The Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
, and Klee Pan takes Colby and Boone there and then to Saturn - after cutting the face from the Moon's surface. When the face is destroyed by a trap set by Chun Yull, the patrolmen help reconstruct it (using an
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
book Boone happens to have had in the patrol car), disarm the bomb and save the planet. The Faceless Hunters replace the face on the Moon in gratitude, and Klee Pan gives both men telepathic abilities."The Face Hunter From Saturn" in ''Strange Adventures'' #124 (January 1961).
Having in fact teleported himself to Saturn instead of dying, Chun Yull later revives and vows revenge on the patrolmen who had thwarted him, and on Earth. He captures Colby and Boone and builds a new bomb, then teleports them all to Klaramar, where Klee Pan once again foils Chun Yull and returns Colby and Boone to Earth. A year later, Chun Yull telepathically commands Colby and Boone to build a machine which increases his size and transports him to Earth again, which he threatens to destroy unless he is made 'Earth Citizen Number One'. After the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
comply, he reveals that he lied - Faceless Hunters are unable to destroy a planet unless they are citizens of it. Meanwhile, Colby and Boone manage to beam themselves to Klaramar and Klee Pan saves Earth and again captures Chun Yull.
DC Comics Presents
After this defeat, Chun Yull is imprisoned within inescapable 'Spheres of Light', from which he is almost instantly freed by The Enchantress because she needed his space traveling powers; he then travels the stars for over 20 years looking for a sorcerer she wishes to team up with to rule the Universe. Together with Yggardis the Living Planet, Atom Master, Kraklow the Mystic,
Vandal Savage
Vandar Adg of the Blood Tribe, more widely known as Vandal Savage, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is said to be a Cro-Magnon warrior who gained immortality and advanced healing abilities after encount ...
, Mister Poseidon and Ultivac, Chun Yull and The Enchantress form part of a criminal organization known as The Forgotten Villains. Superman joins a disparate group of minor heroes from the 20th century and the future banded together as 'The Forgotten Heroes' and defeats Chun Yull in the future, returning him to captivity. He later briefly reappears during the ''
Crisis on Infinite Earths
"Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to Mar ...
'' as a member of
Lex Luthor
Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: April ...
and Brainiac's army of villains.
After the Crisis, nothing is known of Chun Yull or the other Faceless Hunters until he and the Forgotten Villains battle the Forgotten Heroes again; this time 1.93 million years in the past. He is returned to captivity back in the 20th century in Rip Hunter's Time Machine, after being abandoned with the rest of the Forgotten Villains by Kraklow and defeated by Animal Man. Eighteen months later he is fighting
Young Justice
Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes.
The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...
on the island nation of Zandia.
Revenge of the Green Lanterns
Just over three years later, three Faceless Hunters working as bounty hunters, including Chun Yull, are hunting Green Lanterns. They take control of the minds of a number of the
Global Guardians
The Global Guardians is a team of DC Comics superheroes whose members hail from countries around the world. The concept originated in the ''Super Friends'' Saturday morning cartoon, which aired after the comics stories in ''Super Friends'' #7- ...
to capture Green Lantern Hal Jordan; but are mistakenly attacked by a team of
Rocket Reds
The Rocket Red Brigade (russian: Ракетная Красная Бригада, Raketnaya Krasnaya Brigada) is a DC Comics superhero team. They first appeared in '' Green Lantern Corps'' #208 (January 1987), and were created by Steve Englehart a ...
assuming Green Lantern is with them - thwarting their plans to wipe his memory.
New Krypton
The Faceless Hunters later appeared in ''Superman: World of New Krypton'' #9 (November 2009), under the command of
Jemm, Son of Saturn
Jemm is a fictional Extraterrestrial life, alien character appearing in various comic book series published by DC Comics. He is an analogue of and occasional ally of Martian Manhunter.
Publication history
Created by Greg Potter and Gene Colan, Jem ...
who appears to be the
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
ruler of all three known Saturnian races, including the albino "Koolars", and the yellow skinned "Faceless Hunters".
Powers and abilities
The Klaramarians are normally of sub-atomic size, although they can control this, and are often much taller than humans, with a corresponding increase in strength. They also have access to extremely advanced alien technology. Both Chun Yull and Klee Pan possess great strength and the ability to absorb the material or energetic properties of anything they touch and project those properties explosively. Chun Yull displayed the unique quality of giving himself unaided flight using his abilities while battling Superman.''DC Comics Presents'' #78 (February 1985)
Most Klaramarians also appear to be telepaths. Klee Pan demonstrated the ability to grant a limited gift of telepathy to deserving humans.
Other versions
JLA/Avengers
''JLA/Avengers'' (issues #2 and 4 are titled ''Avengers/JLA'') is a comic book limited series and crossover published in prestige format by DC Comics and Marvel Comics from September 2003 to March 2004. The series was written by Kurt Busiek, w ...
Faceless Hunter is among the mind-controlled villains defending Krona's stronghold in #4.
In other media
* A Faceless Hunter appears in the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' two-part episode "The Siege of Starro!", voiced by
John DiMaggio
John William DiMaggio (; born September 4, 1968) is an American actor. His various voice roles include Bender on ''Futurama'', Jake the Dog on ''Adventure Time'', Marcus Fenix in the ''Gears of War'' series, Dr. Drakken on ''Kim Possible'', H ...
. This version is a violent outcast from a peaceful society. When Starro attacked their planet, only to find that the faceless inhabitants were immune to its parasites, the Faceless Hunter struck a deal with it to destroy his own planet in exchange for becoming its herald. Ever since, he traveled across the universe, preparing planets for Starro's destruction before eventually coming to Earth. While the Faceless Hunter defeats the heroes who Starro could not possess and prepares to drain Earth's energy for Starro, he is foiled by Batman,
Booster Gold
Booster Gold (Michael Jon Carter) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Dan Jurgens, the character first appeared in '' Booster Gold'' #1 (February 1986) and has been a member of the Justice League. ...
Firestorm
A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...
, and B'wana Beast. Undeterred, the Faceless Hunter captures B'wana Beast and uses his powers to combine the Starro parasites into one giant monster capable of destroying planets and draining energy on its own. Batman infiltrates the Faceless Hunter's ship and defeats him while B'wana Beast sacrifices himself to destroy Starro.
* A Faceless Hunter leader named Jemm appears in the ''
Supergirl
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...
'' episode "Human For a Day", portrayed by Charles Halford. This version of the species hail from Saturn.