NANO-SWARM

nano-swarm-largathfive-ff2-components2

largathfive-prisonplanet-ff1-nano-swarm1

Classification: Extraterrestrial non-sentient micro-robotic technology/race 

Location/Base of Operations: L'ar Gath Five, unidentified star system and galaxy

Known Members: None identified

Affiliations: L'ar Gath Five guards, staff, owner(s), etc.

Enemies: Rebecca "Rikki" Barnes, Future Foundation (Bentley-23, Dragon Man, Korr, Leech, Artie Maddicks, Mik, Onome, Alex & Julie Power, Tong, Torg, Vil, Wu), Lyja the Lazerfist, Kl'rath, Maker (one of the multiversal duplicates of Reed Richards-1610), Phyllis the Kronan, Al'ti Vidua

First Appearance: Future Foundation#2 (November, 2019)

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nano-swarm-largarthfive-groupbattle2nano-swarm-largarthfive-dinoPowers/Abilities: The Nano-Swarm is apparently composed of five million miniature adaptable robots (see comments).

     These micro-robots can fly through an atmosphere at great speed (apparently sub-sonic, as Julie Power outdistanced them by a few minutes by reach super-sonic speed).

    These micro-robots can take combine with each other as desired, and they can assume virtually any form they want, even multiple composite forms simultaneously, and they all share one single processing unit that facilitates coordinated efforts.

Traits: Sharing a single processing unit, the components and collectives of the nano-swarm have only one objective: Bringing escaped prisoners back to the prison, dead or alive.

    Despite being robotic, the giant composites tended to roar/growl when confronting targets.

Type: Microscopic robots
Eyes: Possibly an optic unit (green) on anterior/front aspect; composite forms may have zero to multiple optic units of (presumably) various colors)
Fingers: None; composite forms many have zero to multiple fingers
Toes: None; composite forms many have zero to multiple toes
Skin color: None; they typically have a gray/metallic appearance
Average height: Presumably measurable in nanometers (see comments)

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History:
(Future Foundation#2 (fb) - BTS) - Unidentified parties designed the Nano-Swarm to serve as a defense mechanism to re-capture or slay anyone who had escaped the L'ar Gath prison.nano-swarm-largarthfive-tentacled

(Future Foundation#1 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking to recover the fragments of Owen Reece, the Molecule Man, whose atoms had been scattered throughout the Multiverse, the Future Foundation -- Bentley-23, Dragon Man, Korr, Leech, Artie Maddicks, Mik, Onome, Alex & Julie Power, Tong, Torg, Vil & Wu -- and guest lecturer Yondu Udonta (actually the Skrull Lyja) traveled to L'ar Gath Five, within which they had identified an otherworldly energy signature.

(Future Foundation#1-2 - BTS) - The otherworldly energy signature source proved to be Rikki Barnes, whom Julie Power liberated, while the others unwittingly freed the Maker (a counterpart of Earth-1610's Reed Richards), whom they mistakenly believed to be Reed Richards-616 along with his allies Kl'rath, Phyllis the Kronan, and Al'ti Vidua.

(Future Foundation#2) - Via a temporary power dampener incapacitating the prison, the rest of the group -- including those whom they had freed -- returned to the Future Foundation's ship, while Rikki and an injured Julie escaped the prison with aid from Vil & Wu.

    The prison's power subsequently came back online, and Julie Power's group were pursued by the nano-swarm -- To escape the, Julie -- despite her broken ribs -- flew herself and (at least) Rikki Barnes faster than the speed of sound and reached the Future Foundation's ship.

(Future Foundation#3) - As the Nano-Swarm approached, the Moloid Turg warned the others aboard the ship that they had about 20 seconds before the security "nanobots" seized their ship. "We are needing to go!"

(Future Foundation#3 - BTS) - With the Maker's true identity exposed and a confrontation brewing, the two opposing forces on the ship agreed to table their conflict in order to survive and escape that world.

(Future Foundation#3) - A giant, tentacled nano-swarm composite creature entered the ship, but Phyllis unleashed magma blasts from her hands to destroy it.

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nano-swarm-largarthfive-groupbattle1(Future Foundation#3 - BTS) - Alex Power sent "Yondu" to the cockpit to get the ship off the ground, Rikki to take Julie to the infirmary, and Onome and Tong to gather the other younger kids -- Artie, Bentley-23, Korr, Leech, Mik, Turg, and presumably Vil & Wu -- and take them to their cabins for safety.

     The Maker quietly instructed Kl'rath to sneak into the cockpit when Power wasn't looking and then to slay "Yondu" once they were clear.

(Future Foundation#3) - Alex, Al'ti, Dragon Man, Maker, and Phyllis departed the ship to fight off the Nano-Swarm, and Alex advised the others that they just needed to provide enough cover so that the ship could take off.

     Al'ti was excited to battle the nano-swarm, noting that stabbing robots was much more challenging than stabbing fleshy creatures, and that each tiny bot must be murdered separately: "This is the infinite murder of which I have dreamed."

     Phyllis agreed, noting that they would pile high the corpses of these robots.

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nano-swarm-largarthfive-wingedcockpitsmashintoer    As "Yondu" struggled to activate the ship, a Nano-Swarm composite flying creature smashed into the "windshield," and "Yondu" acquiesced to Kl'rath's instruction to get out of the way so that he could fly the ship.nano-swarm-largarthfive-valexpower

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     Fighting the Nano-Swarm composites, the Maker warned Alex Power that if he had to send another body across dimensions to get back here because he had died defending "these worthless children," he was going to be quite put out.

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nano-swarm-largarthfive-maker&power

    As the ship took off, Dragon Man advised that anyone who could not fly should go aboard.

    Phyllis announced her plan to fling molten rock from the skies and soon after leapt onto the ship's entrance/exit ramp.

    When the Maker planned to accompany Phyllis, Alex insisted the Maker stay with him, promising to use a gravity boost to get him aboard.

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nano-swarm-largarthfive-valti    Al'ti advised Power and the Maker that the escape would go more quickly if they all aided her in destroying their foes instead of bickering like hatchlings: ""If you were all Warbirds, the Empress would have executed you for incompetence!"
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    With Julie Power under the ship's automated treatment, Rikki sealed the door so that only she could open it and then met Phyllis on the ramp.

     After Phyllis explained that they would provide cover for the others who would join them as the ship approached the atmosphere, Rikki convinced Phyllis to make a wager on who would take down more of the composite creatures.







nano-swarm-largarthfive-giant-armnano-swarm-largarthfive-giant-arm-des    As Alex, Maker, and Al'ti finally took off toward the ship, the Nano-Swarm congealed into a gigantic forearm and hand that reached for them.

    While Phyllis was too far from the ground to generate any more magma and Rikki's pistol blasts proved to be ineffective at that distance, Onome arrived with her immense self-created gun, R'Kill, and she fired a blast that destroyed (or at least incapacitated) the nano-swarm composite.

    The Future Foundation ship soon after exited L'ar Gath's atmosphere.


Comments: Jeremy Whitley, Will Robson & Paco Diaz.

    Nanotechnology specifically refers to processes which occur on the scale of nanometers. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter (a meter being about 3" longer than a yard for those of you who just can't/won't figure out the metric system), or a millionth of a millimeter (a millimeter being the approximate thickness of a dime). For some perspective, the diameter of a ribosome (the protein synthesizing structures within our cells) is about 20 nm, while a helium atom is about .06 nm.
    Given that the nano-swarm components were shown to be visible in comparison to macroscopic structures, it may be that they are just tiny but not small on the scale of nanometers.
    Or, it may be that it was just artistic license showing the individual components.
    Or, it may be that even the components shown were composites of millions or billions or more of the individual nano-swarm components.

    If they were on the scale of nanometers, even composites of them would have been really small. Assuming that they were -- on a nanotech scale -- relatively large, like 20 nm, then 5 million of them lined up would be 100 million nanometers or 100 millimeters or 10 centimeters (which would be about 3.9").
    So, presumably they were significantly larger than 20 nm or there were WAY more than 5 million of them.

    Used in a mathematically accurate sense, nano is one billionth, and all your calculations are correct. Used in the more generic sense, nano literally just means "very small, minute" (from the Greek, nanos, meaning dwarf). And I suspect that's how it is being used here.
    Nanotech sounds cool, and is just magically able to do anything. It's what "exposure to radiation" was in the 50s and 60s. I doubt the writer or artist was actually thinking in terms of accurate scientific nomenclature, especially as we seem to be able to clearly see the individual bots.
--Loki

    The Nano-Swarm could be part of a resurgence/re-formation of the Turgentine Technenium (see comments here).

   I originally had these guys as a sub-profile under the prison planet L'ar Gath Five, but there were so many images, I just expanded it into a full profile. L'ar Gath Five should be finished soon...

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Nano-Swarm should be distinguished from:

images: (without ads)
Future Foundation#2, pg. 16, panel 1-2 (nano-swarm flying in);
    #3, pg. 12, panel 1 (tentacled nano-creature assaulting ship);
       pg. 15-16 (nanoswarm composites vs. Future Foundation & Maker's allies);
       pg. 17, panel 4 (composite creature attacking ship cockpit);
       pg. 18, panel 2 (Alex vs. composites)
          panel 2 (composite dino-creature);
          panel 3 (Alex & Maker);
          panel 4 (Al'ti Vidua vs. composites);
       pg. 19, panel 4 (smaller composites vs. Future Foundation & Maker's allies);
       pg. 20, panel 3 (giant arm);
       pg. 21, panel 3 (Onome's weapon destroying giant composite arm)

Appearances:
Future Foundation#2 (November, 2019) - Jeremy Whitley (writer), Will Robson & Paco Diaz (pencilers/inkers), Daniele Orlandini (inking assistance), Sarah Brunstad (editor)
Future Foundation#3 (December, 2019) - Jeremy Whitley (writer), Will Robson & Paco Diaz (artists), Sarah Brunstad (editor)

First posted: 04/04/2024
Last updated: 04/04/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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