ADMIRAL
QUINAZADMIRAL
QUINAZ
Real Name: Quinaz (presumed surname; first name
unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Alternate
Reality (Reality-8116) extraterrestrial
(unidentified but grossly human race);
lived and died approximately 1
million A.D.
Occupation: Chief of Operations of the
Instrumentality's military
Group Membership:
Instrumentality;
Affiliations: Formerly the High Lord Papal;
Enemies: Dreadstar and Company (Syzygy
Darklock, Vanth
Dreadstar, Oedi, Skeevo Phlatus, Willow/Willow
327), High
Lord Papal,
Monarchy
(notably King
Gregzor)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly Instrumentality Central (aka the War-Room),
presumably on Altarix,
Empirical
Galaxy, Reality-8116
First Appearance: Dreadstar I#3 (March, 1983)
Powers/Abilities: Quinaz had no superhuman abilities.
He was the Chief of Operations of the military of the massive Instrumentality Empire, and so he commanded numerous space destroyers as well as crafts able to enter and navigate cities.
He carried and was experienced with
some form of hand blaster.
History:
(Dreadstar I#3) - From Instrumentality Central, the High Lord Papal advised Admiral Quinaz that Vanth Dreadstar, Syzygy Darklock and the rest of their band of rebels were somewhere among the stars, plotting the downfall of the holy Church of the Instrumentality. He considered them to be the greatest threat that the Church had ever faced and that they had already looted one of their treasury satellites to fund their revolution. The Papal continued, noting that their next objective must surely be to obtain one of their interstellar teleportation drives and to give it to the Monarchy, against whom they had fought a 200-year war. He further explained that without the tele-drive, the Monarchy would fall before the Church's power within a few weeks time but that the rebels didn't want that to happen as it would mean a mass inquisition of all the unfaithful throughout the Monarchy Empire in which billions would die.
Quinaz advised the Papal that they already had an all
points alert out on the rebels and asked if that was not enough, but the
Papal angrily informed him that it was not enough. He wanted every church
destroyer that was equipped with a tele-drive on continuous combat alert
and in constant communication with Central. All ships were to report
anything the least bit unusual immediately, as it was only a matter of
time before the rebels made their move, but that they would be ready and
destroy them this time.
(Dreadstar I#3 - BTS) - Dreadstar and Darklock, the most well-known and recognized members of the rebel band, traveled to and made their presence known in Chichano, the capital city of the Instrumentality upper class planet Chichero, leading the Instrumentality to focus on assaulting them as a distraction for Willow, Skeevo and Oedi to steal a Tele-Drive. As planned, patrolmen soon detected them and reported their presence to Central.
(Dreadstar I#3) - When the
report came in to Central, Quinaz ordered Destroyers Bravo, Alpha and Hero
to Chichero immediately, and then to send out attack units and stand by
for further instructions. The Papal suspiciously wondered what they were
doing in Chichano, and Quinaz suggested that they may have needed
supplies. The Papal concluded that it was moot, as he had them now and
that that was all that really mattered.
(Dreadstar I#3 - BTS) - As Dreadstar and Darklock fought off progressively increasing numbers of assailants, Willow, Skeevo and Oedi invaded another Instrumentality destroyer, incapacitated their crew and successfully stole their tele-drive.
After Willow reported their success, Darklock flew
Dreadstar to escape, executing low-altitude high-speed maneuvers that
theInstrumentality crafts could not match, while the destroyers could not
achieve a low enough altitude to spot the rebels.
(Dreadstar I#3) - Receiving these reports, the
Papal was furious at having been duped, and he refused to allow them to
escape him this time. Admiral Quinaz directly ordered the three destroyers
to climb to "altitude level 9" and then fire their nuclear torpedoes at
the city of Chichano.
(Dreadstar I#3 - BTS) - Picking up the Papal's
order, Dreadstar informed Darklock. Unable to escape the city in time,
they fled to the sewers deepest sub-level 7, and Syzygy cast a mystic
spell to protect them from the impact while Vanth's Sword
of Icy Fire would absorb the radiation. 
(Dreadstar I#3) - Admiral Quinaz reported the
successful destruction of Chichano, and the Papal ordered him to have all
ships return to their regular patrol sectors and find out what destroyer
had its tele-drive. In addition, he ordered a statement to be issued to
the media, informing them of "the rebels' latest cowardly act of sabotage,
the detonation of a nuclear device in the heavily populated city of
Chichano. He further ordered that tomorrow they would issue another
statement saying how the holy church had apprehended and executed the
perpetrators of the foul crime. Smiling, the Papal headed to his chambers.
(Dreadstar I#3 - BTS) - The two survived, although
Syzygy was completely incapacitated, and Vanth had to carry him out of the
nuclear wasteland. By night, Dreadstar reached his ship, presumably the
Light Cutter III (or II), escaped Chichero, and he and Darklock rejoined
their allies aboard the "Big
Bundle." They had their main computer scanning and analyzing the
tele-drive, and Vanth ordered that when that was complete, the robot crew
would begin work on a prototype. Willow reported that with their raw
materials, they could create 20 units, and Vanth ordered that the first
one be tied into the Big Bundle's power train.
(Dreadstar I#4) - As Dreadstar and his group headed
to Jewelworld to deliver the tele-drives to the Monarchy on it's home
planet, Jewelworld, the Papal explained to Admiral Quinaz that he was not
attempting to stop the rebel band (although he did not know Dreadstar and
Darklock were aboard) because he had an hour before signaled the
commencement of Plan Hammer to the captains of all of his destroyers. When
Quinaz replied that he had never heard of Plan Hammer, the Papal told him
that it was "ultra secret - need to know, and that he had personally
briefed all destroyer captains personally and exclusively.
When Quinaz requested that he, as the Chief of Operations, now know about Plan Hammer, the Papal explained that it was a gathering all of the Instrumentality's destroyers at a predesignated rendezvous point; once there, they would maintain complete radio silence and await a call from the Papal that would signal their armada to teleport across the galaxy to Jewelworld and destroy it.
At Quinaz's request, the Papal stated that it would
take about 5 hours for the Instrumentality to assemble. Quinaz advised the
Papal that if the Monarchy had the drive, he feared that they would have
time to install it and be ready for them in five hours. However, the Papal
then noted that they would not be able to do so if they suffered an
unexpected disaster, and when Quinaz asked what kind of disaster, the
Papal contacted his Hand
of Darkness agent and instructed him to swiftly assassinate the
Monarchy's King Gregzor.
At the Papal palace on Altarix, Quinaz reported to the
Lord Papal that the assassination attempt had failed (as the cat-man Oedi
had detected the disguised assassin and thwarted him). He further added
that the king had been saved by Vanth Dreadstar and his crew, and that
they had somehow escaped the atomic inferno the Papal had made of
Chichano.
Holding a laser blaster behind his back as he stood
behind the Papal, Quinaz stated that fifteen million people had died for
nothing, and he then asked the Papal if he knew that his (Quinaz's)
daughter had lived in Chicano. Cursing the Papal as a "mad dog bastard,"
Quinaz fired his blaster at the Papal, who was surrounded by the energy of
the burst.
However, the Papal, protected from this assault by the vast power granted to him by the Twelve Gods of the Instrumentality, extended his hand out from glowing energy and grabbed Quinaz's hand. Quinaz futilely yelled, "No!" and then remained silent in terror as the Papal stared him in the eyes before slaying him with energy projected from his hands.
Standing over Quinaz' corpses, the Papal cursed
Dreadstar and his interference.
Comments: Created by Jim Starlin.
Dreadstar / Reality-8116 primer
I'm working my way through the Dreadstar series, but it will be a while...many of the profiles linked from this one are only just begun...
While Syzygy Darklock stated that he and Vanth should not take blame for the Papal/Instrumentality's actions (bombing Chichano), as one reader pointed out, they clearly drew the Instrumentality's attention there, and Syzygy, in particular, was fully aware of the fanatical nature of the Church and the Papal, and he should have expected such a response.
I was a little late in reading
Dreadstar, but one of my childhood friends had picked up this issue of
Dreadstar and Company, which came out a little later than the original
issues and was printed on regular newsprint paper at half the price of
the original series. This story was my introduction to Dreadstar, and
the scene at the end between Quinaz and the Papal was a powerful
introduction to the madness and power of the Lord High Papal.
This profile was
completed 10/10/2025, but its publication was delayed as it was intended
for the Appendix 25th anniversary 's celebratory event.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Admiral Quinaz should be distinguished from:
First posted: 09/10/2026
Last updated: 04/16/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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