KIO

Real Name: Unrevealed, possibly Kio (which may or may not be the short form of some name)

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (unidentified race) advanced technology-user

Occupation: Pirate, smuggler, and/or sentient being trafficker

Group Membership: Formerly led a small crew (green-skinned eye patch-wearer, insectoid, helmet/robot-headed)

Affiliations: Gholar, Mercurio and the Gramosians allied with him;
    803 was formerly forced to serve Kio and his crew

Enemies: 803, Cora and her family (children and wife), Venom (Flash Thompson), were-fish;
    presumably the Agents of the Cosmos, humanity, the Klyntar

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: 

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    apparently died in space;
    formerly his ship;
    formerly at least briefly active on an unrevealed planet

First Appearance: Venom: Space Knight#1 (January, 2016)

Powers/Abilities: Kio was an experienced pirate and commander of a small crew.

    Although substantial in size, he did not do much to demonstrate any physical prowess.

    He could function in the cold and vacuum of space for at least a short time period.

    He was long-lived, surviving at least centuries.

    He did have knowledge of some other races, such as humanity and the Klyntar, as well as the Agents of the Cosmos.

    In addition to possessing a starship, he wielded "The Scream," a sonic weapon able to briefly incapacitate one of the Klyntar. He likely had other forms of weaponry as well.

    Kio apparently had no compunctions with selling sentient beings to other beings for a profit nor with using a small child as a shield from a carnivorous beast.

History:

(Venom: Space Knight#1 (fb) - BTS) - The robot designed 803 was bound into the servitude of the pirate Kio for centuries. Although, 803 hated its situation, its programming did not allow it to self-destruct.

took Gholar's drive to Morrellian Offworld Industries, where he linked it to a computer and learned that Gholar had sold the YT-19 to a pirate named Kio and that Kio's ship was scheduled to depart the planet in 5 minutes.

    As Kio's ship took off, Venom latched onto it in the process of escaping pursuing thugs, and as the ship reached space, Venom entered via an airlock door.

    Encountering 803, Venom convinced it to take him to where the YT-19 was stored, hinting that he might fulfill 803's request to end its existence.

    Meeting Cora and her children and learning that the YT-19 came from their blood, Venom resolved to rescue them.

Comments: Created by Robbie Thompson and Ariel Olivetti.

    Kio does not match up with any known extraterrestrial race of which I am aware.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Kio should be distinguished from:

• KIOTO (    ) - during World War II, held American prisoners of war on a Japanese-occupied South Pacific Island, which American forces bombed after Captain America (Steve Rogers) and Bucky (James Barnes) rescued the prisoners - "The Mad Jap"--All-Winners Comics#10
• other "Kio" characters, groups, items, events, races, or places...

Creator(s): Unrevealed Users: 803, Venom (Flash Thompson);      formerly Kio and his crew Passengers: Cora and her children (unwilling prisoners)     Kio's ship could blast off from a planetary surface, achieve escape velocity, fly in space, and travel interstellar distances in a relatively short time period, presumably indicating it could achieve faster-than-light travel, access hyperspace or other forms of space warps.      The ship had a number of airlock portals as well as at least one larger (presumably cargo) door opening directly to the exterior from the command center.      It had at least one prison-type chamber, Sector 15, in which Cora and her children were imprisoned.      It had a large, waldo-like arm that could be used to grasp and move objects or beings from the ship's exterior to the interior (and presumably vice-versa). (Venom: Space Knight#1 (fb) - BTS) - The robot 803 was bound into serving Kio for centuries, an undetermined portion of which was aboard this ship. (Venom: Space Knight#1) - Kio and/or his crew brought Cora and her children aboard their ship and imprisoned them in Sector 15 and then departed, presumably to rendezvous with Mercurio.       Grabbing the ship's exterior as it took off, Venom accessed an airlock, allied with 803 and freed Cora and her children.       Venom then confronted Kio and his crew, which culminated in Venom's host, Flash Thompson, opening the cargo(?) door and pulling everyone aboard into space.       While Venom recovered Cora and her children as well as 803 and returned to the ship, Kio (and presumably his crew) were devoured by were-fish.       Venom kept the ship, transporting Cora and her children to the planet Uuex to be reunited with Cora's wife, after which Venom and 803 flew the ship into space where they encountered a much larger ship. --Venom: Space Knight#1 Note: This ship appears in subsequent issues of Venom: Space Knight. I'll add information as I review those issues, and I may split this off into its own profile.

They apparently were all space pirates working under Kio, at least on the mission that involved the purchase of Cora and her three children. --Venom: Space Knight#1 Note: They were not seen after Venom made short work of them.      Like Kio, they were apparently pulled out of the ship when Flash opened the door into space, and they were likely also consumed by the were-fish.      However, it is possible that some or all of them escaped/survived.

green-skinned eye patch-wearer .      When Kio ordered evasive maneuvers that would take them into the broken sea, this guy warned that the were-fish would tear them apart. Kio informed him that they had an intruder aboard and that they could use his corpse to distract the were-fish.      After Venom entered the room and took down the two other crewmen, this guy took aim at Venom but was punched out as well.     It looked like the mandibular portion of his beak was smashed to the right by Venom's punch.      He (or she) was presumably pulled into space and devoured by the were-fish. --Venom: Space Knight#1 Note: This alien does not match up with any known extraterrestrial race of which I am aware.      He had a beak-like mouth, and his green skin and other features made him seem more like a chelonian (turtle, terrapin, tortoise) than a bird.      He had pointed ears with earrings, and an eye patch covering his left eye. He had some sort of glowing disc on the left back side of his head, perhaps some sort of cybernetic implant.      He had four fingers and a thumb, and he wielded a small pistol-like weapon.      See also the image in the crew sub-profile above. .

insectoid .      When Venom entered the commander center area, the insectoid was the second to be punched down by him.      He (or she) was presumably pulled into space and devoured by the were-fish. --Venom: Space Knight#1 Note: This alien does not match up with any known extraterrestrial race of which I am aware.      He (or she) looks pretty roach-like, with antennae and hooked appendages.      See also the image in the crew sub-profile above.      Compare to the list of insectoid extraterrestrials in the clarifications for the Cockroach Conspiracy profile. .

orange-skinned helmeted or robot-headed      When Venom entered the commander center area, this guy was the first to be punched down by him.      He (or she) was presumably pulled into space and devoured by the were-fish. --Venom: Space Knight#1 Note: This alien does not match up with any known extraterrestrial race of which I am aware.      He (or she) is presumably wearing some sort of helmet, perhaps indicating that he could not breathe the air the others used, or perhaps it was a ritual, like the Mandalorian.      OR, perhaps it was not a helmet at all, but he had a robotic head.      He had short, stocky arms with blunt projections running up the back part of the arms.      He looked to have four digits at the end of his arms, but not much of a hand structure, and it is not clear that he had an opposing thumb      See also the image in the crew sub-profile above.

Kio used a sonic weapon that he called "the Scream," which briefly incapacitated the Venom klyntar.      Although Flash was unharmed, he was dropped to the ground on his partially amputated legs and was left weaponless.      Kio mockingly told Flash the name of his weapon and asked if he liked it. --Venom: Space Knight#1

Appearances:
Venom: Space Knight#1 (January, 2016) - Robbie Thompson (writer), Ariel Olivetti (artist), Kathleen Wisneski (assistant editor), Jake Thomas (editor)

First posted: 02/26/2024
Last updated: 02/26/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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