elysa-tenctonese-ap3-calvesupelysa-tenctonese-ap3-face ELYSA

Real Name: Elysa

Identity/Class: Alternate Reality (presumably Reality-90724) extraterrestrial (Tenctonese)

Occupation: Unrevealed

Group Membership: Crew of the Tenctonese ship that arrived on the Earth of Ape City (see comments)

Affiliations: Heston

Enemies: Danada and the Tenctonese following him, General Ollo and his ape army; human army originally led by Simon the Slaughterer
    at least formerly Simon the Slaughterer

Known Relatives: Caan (brother), Danada (brother, deceased), Pascha (sister...

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    formerly the Earth of Ape City (see comments)

First Appearance: Ape Nation#2 (April, 1991)

Powers/Abilities: As one of the Tenctonese, Elysa is likely slightly stronger and smarter than human and with a lifespan of around 140 years.

    As Tenctonese have two hearts, Elysa survived being stabbed in one. The second heart is typically located toward the lower portion of the ribcage.

    Tenctonese become intoxicated by sour milk, and sea water is highly corrosive to their bodies.

    See comments

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'8")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 130 lbs.)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: None
Other Distinguishing Features: Red-brown spots on her head and running down the middle of her back

 

elysa-tenctonese-ap2-fullelysa-tenctonese-ap2-stabbedHistory:
(Ape Nation#1 (fb) - BTS / Ape Nation#2 (fb) - BTS) - Elysa was on the Tenctonese ship commanded by Caan that used a black hole to travel across time and space (and likely across realities) to arrive on the future Earth where Apes took over the planet (see comments).

    There, Caan's brother, Danada, led a revolt that overwhelmed and imprisoned Caan and his followers (including Elysa and Pascha) so that they could instead serve as conquerors of this planet.

    Danada joined forces with the ape General Ollo and the human Simon the Slaughterer, who led an army of their combined forces to conquer Earth.

(Ape Nation#1 - BTS / Ape Nation#2 - BTS) - After the ape Heston led a group of other apes -- including Bart, Packer, Roto and Winnepeg of the Lightfeet Tribe-- to investigate the alien ship, they were attacked by a combined army, with Roto and Bart escaping but the others being captured. Heston was imprisoned next to Caan, who explained the circumstances of their arrival and of his relationship to Danada.

(Ape Nation#2) - Having escaped captivity, Elysa freed Caan, who in turn freed Heston, but she was stabbed in the back and seemingly slain by Simon. Caan and Heston knocked out Simon, and Caan wanted to do more, but then a number of Tenctonese began approaching, and they were forced to flee.

(Ape Nation#2 - BTS) - Guided by his wolf, Lobo, Simon caught up to Caan after he had inadvertently separated from Heston and run afoul of Roto (who attacked him and had no awareness of his alliance with Heston). Simon told Caan to give up or he would do to him what he had done to his sister.

(Ape Nation#3 - BTS) - After some fighting, Caan, Roto and Simon joined forces, appreciating that the combined army was their common enemy.

(Ape Nation#3 (fb) - BTS) - Surviving the wound as the wound had only punctured one of her hearts, Elysa somehow hid out in a private room aboard the Tenctonese Ship.

(Ape Nation#3) - After sneaking into the Tenctonese ship, Heston happened upon Elysa's room while hiding from patrolling Tenctonese. Surprised to see Heston, Elysa explained her survival and asked where was Caan, and he revealed his own ignorance, noting that he had figured that Caan would have come there to stop Danada.

    Upon learning that Heston had lost track of Caan on a farm that smelled of sour goats' milk (with our milk being intoxicating to the Tenctonese(, Elysa realized that Caan had gotten drunk, and she incorrectly assumed that he was sleeping off a hangover somewhere warm and cozy.

    Changing into combat gear, grabbing her firearm and giving Heston a knife, Elysa assured Heston that they indeed had to stop Danada, that Caan was not the only member of their family with guts and that Danada was not the only member of their family who knew how to get crazy. The two joined forces to stop Danada.elysa-tenctonese-ap3-back

(Ape Nation#4) - Having fought their way past guards, Elysa and Heston entered Danada's chambers, and Elysa climbed atop his bed and aimed her weapon at him. When Danada awakened, they demanded to know how to stop the army, but he told them there was no way to stop them.

    Danada claimed that he had been forced against his will by General Ollo to participate in the combined army, but Ollo then entered the room and shot Danada in the head. However, when Ollo turned his attention toward Elysa and Heston, the still-living Danada grabbed his leg, and as Ollo turned and shot him repeatedly, Elysa and Heston fled the chamber.elysa-tenctonese-ap3-fullish-gun

    After Elysa led Heston to escape via the trash chutes, she followed Heston's guidance, and she told the Tenctonese by the ship that General Ollo had murdered Danada, turning the against the apes, while Heston told the apes that the Tenctonese had killed Ollo, turning them against the Tenctonese.

(Ape Nation#4 - BTS) - Meanwhile, as Caan, Roto and Simon were joined by ape forces recruited by Bart and then by a group of Lightfeet as they battled the combined army.

    Attacked by Tenctonese as he left the ship, General Ollo slew them and then, having lost taste for the union, departed on horseback.

(Ape Nation#4) - With the apes and Tenctonese by the ship having wiped each other out and/or fled or fallen, Heston and Elysa found some wine and sour milk, and Heston suggested that they find a quiet place in the woods and get drunk.

(Planet of the Apes#13) - After Elysa had assured Heston that Caan could take care of himself, she complimented the beauty of his planet, and they toasted to home.

(Planet of the Apes#13 (fb) - BTS) - Elysa and Heston drank heavily of their intoxicants.

(Planet of the Apes#13) - While climbing high into a tree to get them something to eat, Heston was reminded by Elysa's comment, "Get down from there, you nut," of his mate, Keysha, who had died. When he shared this with Elysa, she noted that she understood, as Caan had lost his mate, and they compassionately embraced. They then headed back for the camp to see if Caan had arrived.

(Ape Nation#4) - When Caan, Roto and Simon arrived at the ship, Elysa told Caan that Danada was dead before embracing him, and Caan guided them to release the imprisoned Tenctonese and retake their ship; Simon wisely parted ways to avoid further conflict.elysa-tenctonese-ap4-full-gun

    Within the ship, they found that Winnipeg had sent his spirit into Packer to save his life, and that both men's spirits now lived on in Packer.

    Before the Tenctonese departed, Elysa embraced Heston, and they both admitted that they would always consider the other a good friend. She gave Heston a pouch of wine, telling him to save some for when he got home and to think of her and Caan when he drank it.

    The Tenctonese ship, with Elysa, Caan and apparently all remaining Tenctonese aboard, soon departed Earth.

(Ape Nation#4 - BTS) - After returning to his home, Heston drank a glass of wine and toasted to Elysa, Caan and both of their peoples.

 
 

Comments: Created by Charles Marshall and M.C. Wyman, as part of Adventure Comics, a division of Malibu Publishing Group.

    Courtesy of Loki, who provided me with background on the basis of Ape Planet and recommended Elysa for this profile to represent that series (and ultimately the Alien Nation series, for which I ultimately used it):

    It's a crossover between Planet of the Apes and Alien Nation, the former based on the movies, the latter based on a movie which spawned a one season TV show that aired a few years prior to the comic coming out. Malibu had a number of Planet of the Apes miniseries. Malibu had other Alien Nation series, but those were all set on the modern day Earth, and Ape Nation is set on the future Earth of Planet of the Apes.

    The premise of Alien Nation is that an extraterrestrial ship lands in the Mojave Desert. On board are around 300,000 Tenctonese aliens, who also get dubbed Newcomers by humanity. They can't leave as they were slaves who commandeered the ship transporting them and so barely managed to fly it to a nearby habitable planet; it's damaged and they don't understand the tech. So after some deliberation the U.S. government ultimately allows them to settle in and around Los Angeles. An allegory for any new immigrant group who arrived en masse in the USA, some make good and some turn to crime. The movie is a buddy cop story - one LAPD detective who witnessed his old partner dying at the hands of a Newcomer criminal, and his new partner, the first Newcomer to be appointed to the rank of detective. The series is a direct continuation, new actors but same characters, and so likely the same reality. The series was cancelled after one season, but initially continued in original novels, one by Peter David. Then fan support led to the series getting revived in a short run of TV movies, two of which were based on two of those aforementioned novels - since they altered some significant details, and the movies are in the TV series reality, that means at least two of the novels have to be a different reality from the movies/TV series. 

    DC did a comic adaptation of the original movie prior to Malibu landing the rights to do ongoing comics. Most of the comics could in theory be the same reality as the movie/TV series, though that might be tricky for the last issue published, Alien Nation Television Special: The Lost Episode, as it was based on a script planned for the second season of the TV show; ironically, some of the same plot was then used in one of the TV movies. That might not definitively rule out them sharing a reality, depending on the specifics, but it might. 

    For safety and ease, I'd suggest three realities - 

1) movie/TV series/TV movies
2) novels 
3) comics
    but you could fold the comics, barring that last special, into the same reality as the TV series. 

    Details about the Newcomers that the comics should explain but might not - they certainly didn't in the Ape Nation mini. Spoiled milk is like alcohol for them, and gets them drunk. Salt water is conversely like battery acid, and burns them. When they arrived they were assigned human names to help them integrate - however, having to come up with 300,000 names in short order led to the officials getting bored and punchy, and so they took advantage of the fact the Newcomers wouldn't notice anything dodgy about the name choices, so you get Newcomers with names such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Harvey Wallbanger, etc. The Newcomer detective is Sam Francisco, at least until he learns of the pun in his name, at which point he changes his first name to George.

    The original movie came out October 7th, 1988.
    TV series debuted September 18th ,1989
    The novels (barring a movie novelization) started coming out in March, 1993
    The first Malibu comic was dated July, 1990

    Could Ape Nation be in the same reality as the other Alien Nation comics (and thus all the Malibu PotA comics be in the same reality as the Malibu Alien Nation comics)? I'd say it wouldn't be impossible. The original Tenctonese only numbered a few hundred thousand and geographically contained (while they could in theory travel anywhere on Earth once the U.S. authorities released them from quarantine, in practice virtually all of them stayed near L.A.), so it would be entirely feasible that they could have died out within a relatively short span of time and with the collapse of civilization causing many historical records to be lost, they could be long forgotten by the Ape Nation era. Disease, something on Earth that triggered infertility, or even just being hunted down and exterminated if enough of humanity turned against them - the Tenctonese were individually stronger than regular humans, but they were vastly outnumbered, visibly stood out from humans so they couldn't easily hide, and if the general public learned of their vulnerability to salt water they could literally be murdered by people with Super Soakers. Heck, since human civilization fell close to the time they arrived, it'd only take something like a nuclear attack on Los Angeles during that civilization collapse to probably wipe them all out. So it would be possible to make it all fit in a single timeline.

    HOWEVER, I doubt that was the intent. Ape Nation definitely IS part of the rest of the Malibu Planet of the Apes timeline, since we see characters from that in Ape Nation and a Tenctonese from Ape Nation in one issue of Malibu's ongoing PotA series, but I'd give the Malibu Apes their own designator, distinct from the main Alien Nation one. The whole "potential future" thing covers you anyway, even if Ape Nation was later somehow confirmed to be the future of Alien Nation. 

    Yes, Ape City is still a future Earth - specifically somewhere in Europe, per a two page article/advert in Malibu's Planet of the Apes#1, and "somewhere in Western Europe" per the first page of Ape City#3. That issue also gives a potted history of the Planet, tying to the fourth movie and explaining why Europe is in better shape than North America. 

    And just to make sure, because it confused me initially - the Ape City mentioned in Ape Nation is in North America, and near the East Coast to boot - we see some of the apes from there near the remains of the Statue of Liberty in Malibu's Planet of the Apes#3.  It's the other Ape City of the miniseries of that name that is in Western Europe. 

   Snood again:

    Heston was obviously named as an homage to Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter), who starred in the original Planet of the Apes movie, amongst many others.
    Caan was obviously named as an homage to actor James Caan, who starred as the human veteran police investigator, Matthew Sykes, who was partner to a Tenctonese police officer, named Sam Francisco, whom Sykes called George (played by Mandy Patinkin, whom you hopefully know as Inigo Montoya, "You killed my father...prepare to die," from The Princess Bride).

    As far as I could see, Alysa's sister, Pascha, was never mentioned again after Caan noted that his sisters, Alysa and Pascha, had been imprisoned. I would think that she had died early on and that it was never mentioned, but it's possible that she survived but was always just behind the scenes.

    I've never seen the Alien Nation movie, nor read any of the novels; I feel like I've seen parts of the TV show, but I didn't watch the series; and, I haven't read any of the comics beyond the  Ape Nation series.
    This website details the history, abilities, etc. of the Tenctonese in great detail, which I can neither confirm nor deny.

    The Planet of the Apes reality in Marvel Comics was designated as Earth-7481 in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#3's appendix to Alternate Earths, with a first appearance listed as Planet of the Apes #1 (1974). That reality is the home reality of Apeslayer (from first appeared in the UK's Planet of the Apes#23 (1975), and when I wrote that profile, I was convinced that it was not the same reality as the Planet of the Apes stories, but based on discussions with Loki, I am not so sure. I have a Planet of the Apes profile coming up, and the Planet of the Apes storylines will be further discussed therein.

   This profile was completed 01/23/2026, but its publication was delayed as it was intended to represent the Alien Nation for the Appendix 25th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Elysa should be distinguished from:


images: (without ads)
Ape Nation#2, pg. 14, panel 1 (full, if nothing better);
       pg. 15, panel 2 (knife in back, in Caan's arms);
    #3, pg. 28, panel 3 (upper back and lateral face, showing patterns on back);
       pg. 29 (calves up with weapon);
    #4, pg. 2, panel 1 (full body with weapon)
Appearances:
Ape Nation#2 (April, 1991) - Charles Marshall (writer), M.C. Wyman (penciler), Terry Pallot (inker), Mickie Villa & Dan Danko (editorial assistants), Chris Ulm (editor-in-chief)
Ape Nation#3-4 (May-June, 1991) - Charles Marshall (writer), M.C. Wyman (penciler), Terry Pallot (inker), Dan Danko (editor), Chris Ulm (editor-in-chief)
Planet of the Apes#13 (June, 1991) - Charles Marshall (writer), M.C. Wyman (penciler), Terry Pallot (inker), Dan Danko (editor), Chris Ulm (editor-in-chief)

First posted: 09/21/2026
Last updated: 01/31/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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