MASTER of the SUN

Real Name: possibly Ragnar

Identity/Class: Uncertain (see comments)

Occupation: Undefined, apparently a former scientist

Affiliations: possibly the leader of the Stars of the Universe; Ship, Starlord; possibly Jason of Sparta

Enemies: Ariguans

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Master of the Solar System; "God"

Base of Operations: currently unknown; formerly the planet R'Ralmis

First Appearance: Marvel Preview#4 (January, 1976)

Abilities: Undefined. He can apparently open warps in space, rearrange matter, and grant powers to others. The full extent of his abilities is undefined, as are his limitations

History: The origins of the being known as the Master of the Sun are unknown. He considers (or considered) himself the Master of Earth's Solar System (see comments).

(MarvPrev15(fb)) - After the destruction of the sentient star that would become "Ship," the Master of the Sun brought her energy form to his realm.

(MarvPrev4) <January 26, 1990> - The Master of the Sun sent the image of Star-Lord to the Space Station Eve, telling them that in 14 days, one of the crew would assume the destiny of the Star-Lord.

(MarvPrev4) <February 9, 1990> - The Master of the Sun brought Peter Quill to his realm, and outfitted him with the costume and Element Gun to become Star-Lord. The Master of the Sun then sent him to gain his vengeance on the aliens who had killed his mother. He soon encountered an Ariguan ship and slew everyone aboard, after which he immediately returned to the Master of the Sun's realm. Quill was unsure whether he had actually ever left the realm, but the Master told him that he had experienced his vengeance and was now free of his past life--"free to form a new life...Then come, Star-Lord. Leave your madness behind and walk with me."

(Marvel Spotlight II#6(fb)) - The Master of the Sun introduces Star-Lord to a sentient energy being that had once been a star. The energy being reformed itself to become his ally, "Ship."

(MarvSpot#6) - The Master of the Sun apparently planned to have built a legion of Star-Lords, patroling and protecting the galaxy, with Quill having been just the first.
However, the Master of the Sun was confronted by a group of alien lizard-men who demanded punishment for his crimes. Star-Lord rushed in and wisked him to safety inside Ship. However, the Master of the Sun instructed them to return him so he could face his punishment. They did so and he returned to his apparent true form to accept his fate, as the renegade alien lizard-man scientist, Ragnar (see comments).

Comments: Created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan.

In a flashback in Starlord#1, Ship mentioned "the death of the Master of the Sun" while reviewing the events of Marvel Spotlight II#6. He could well have been executed for his crimes after that issue. She also could have been speaking figuratively, referring to the death of that identity or persona. Or she could have mis-remembered events as her memory was pretty spotty at that point.

Who is the Master of the Sun?:

• The Master of the Sun was originally described as the master of Earth's sun, and thus Master of the whole solar system. This might make him a masculine form of Apalla, or perhaps, even better, he could be the Grand Nebular, described by Apalla as the leader of all of the stars. While he considers Earth's sun to be his domain, there is nothing definitive that he originates from said star. In fact, he used as a base a planet well outside the Earth's solar system, in an unknown sector of space. His plan of forming a legion of Star-Lords to patrol the galaxy would seem to make his scope much larger than Earth's solar system.
  This would also make sense as to why he would seem so much older and wiser than Ship. Like Ship, perhaps his physical form was destroyed, but he may have been able to live on in a state of pure energy.
  Besides Apalla and Ship, another sentient star/nebula would be the being formerly known as Cloud, from the Defenders.
• Marvel Spotlight II#6 threw a wrench into all of that! It revealed him to be some renegade alien lizard-man scientist, Ragnar, who had neglected his duties and those he was responsible in favor of attempting to create a legion of Star-Lords. These lizard-men aliens were not named and appeared to be different from the Ariguans. However, I think that can be chalked up to artistic license. In a flashback in the same issue, the aliens whom Star-Lord confronted and took vengeance after first taking the identity looked exactly the same as the lizard men of which he was supposed to be a member. The Ariguans are definitely the ones that slew his mother (under direction of Gareth and Shakati), and in Star-Lords origin in Marvel Preview#4, they were the ones on which he took vengeance. In addition, the flashback in Starlord#1 (which reviewed Marvel Spotlight II#6), the aliens who confronted the Master of the Sun were definitely one of the Ariguans. So, by the Dorkas Farkas principal, if the events of Marvel Spotlight II#6 are definitely true, than the Master of the Sun was/is one of the Ariguans. The story hinted that he chose Star-Lord to overcome his anger and vengeance-seeking (instigated by the other Ariguans murder of his mother), and to bring him to peace and use him to oppose the war mongering of the other members of his race.
  I MUCH prefer the first explanation, but it's hard to argue with a published story. It just doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of his image and history.
• Are the first two origins 100% mutually exclusive? No. Numerous stars have taken human form, including Apalla, Cloud, those forced into human form and replaced by the Creators, and even Ship. There's no reason why the Master of the Sun couldn't have taken the form of an Ariguan at some point. Or, perhaps, like the Creators, he could have once been an Ariguan and have usurped the form of a star. You can even use our old friend time-travel to warp his chronology however you like. Or make up your own explanation.
• Alternatively, The Master of the Sun could be some cosmic being, who took multiple forms (some of which were quite similar to the Master of the Sun's), and enjoyed using others as pawns (and feeding said pawns plenty of misinformation), such as Merlyn. He was seen narrating a tale of the Special Executive back in Dr. Who Magazine#51, and so has some history of acting around the rest of the Universe.
• Or some other guy. Maybe Dave.

The dates involved in Star-Lord's origin may or may not be topical. See the comments for Star-Lord for my two cents worth on that.

Ship and Sinjin (Star-Lord/Peter Quill's successor) visited a planet called R'Ralmis and mentioned that the Master of the Sun once lived there. The architecture is similar, and so this is likely the same place that Starlord visited in Marvel Preview#4, but this is uncertain.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connections to:

• any other Masters of anything, including "Master of your Domain."

R'Ralmis

The former home of the Master of the Sun, this planet served as the source of the earth, air, fire, and water discharged from the Element Gun. After the Master of the Sun was killed, it was apparently colonized by the Ariguans.
Actually, the Master of the Sun's base may have been a satellite city orbiting R'Ralmis.

Starlord, Sinjin Quarrel, inadvertently caused a volcanic eruption on R'Ralmis by drawing off an immense amount of earth and ice to form an asteroid large enough to make it through the atmosphere and impact the surface of Bovric. Quarrel quelled the eruption and was thereafter wary of the consequences of the use of his weapon.

--Marvel Preview#4 ( 15(fb), 4, 15(fb), Starlord#1(fb), Starlord#2

Last updated: 09/08/02

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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