FOLLOWERS OF THE LIGHT
Membership: Basque, Charn, Sherna, Dr. Tambura, guards
Purpose: To defeat the Followers of the Dark and defend humanity
Affiliations: Richard Carson, Genji Odashu, Ilongo Savage, (Shogun Warrior pilots)
Enemies: Maur-Konn, Followers of the Dark, Samurai Destroyer, Dr. Demonicus, the Hand of Five, Rokk-Korr
Base of Operations: Sanctuary of Light, near Mount Fujimoto, Japan
First Appearance: Shogun Warriors#1 (February, 1979)
History:
(Shogun Warriors#1 (fb)) – Eons ago, the ancestors of Maur-Konn arrived on Earth and enslaved it for their own nefarious purposes. Using Earth as a base, the scales tipped in their favor as they grew in power, spreading their evil ways across the galaxy and starting the Great Chaos War. Members of the Lumina race bound together to combat the Followers of the Dark. When the war was over, a select handful formed the Followers of the Light and swore to defend Earth against the threat posed by evil.
In the present day, the latest incarnation of the Followers saw Maur-Konn rise to power again. Putting their plan in motion, they transported the three most suitable humans – Richard Carson, Ilongo Savage and Genji Odashu – to their Sanctuary. Quickly explaining what was happening to the three confused people, Dr. Tambura gave them a crash course in piloting the giant robot Raydeen before sending them out to stop the monster Rokk-Korr.
(Shogun Warriors#1) – When the fight turned sour and the Warriors were forced to flee, Dr. Tambura unveiled the other two Shogun Warriors (Combatra and Dangard Ace) and gave them to Genji and Ilongo.
(Shogun Warriors#2) – Apologizing for the rushed training, Dr. Tambura showed the three pilots their new robots and brought them to the underground testing facility. After a brief showcasing of their respective robot's capabilities, Richard, Ilongo, and Genji were taken back topside and electronically bonded to their robots. Showing them around, Dr. Tambura answered Genji’s question about the Followers' status, namely, that they were not in fact true Earthlings, but rather cloned descendants of the original Followers. He showed them their clone banks, where a future generation of Followers would replace them when the time came. Richard’s jokes about doing things the old fashioned way went uncommented upon. Sherna and Dr. Tambura were alerted to Rokk-Korr’s return, spurring the Shogun pilots into action. The Followers watched intently as the giant monster split into three new monsters to fight the Shoguns.
(Shogun Warriors#3) – The Followers watched the fight from their monitors. When Genji was knocked out, Dr. Tambura communicated with her, rousing her to consciousness. When the pilots combined their powers and destroyed Rokk-Korr, the Followers celebrated. Dr. Tambura made a point to explain that while he was happy the pilots hadn’t died, they still needed to be trained some more for future battles.
(Shogun Warriors#4) – The Followers repaired and recharged the Shogun Warriors. As the pilots chatted, Dr. Tambura interrupted and ordered them to the briefing room. Watching their battle on the monitor, Richard, Ilongo, and Genji were lectured about their performance, with both pros and cons being discussed. Later, Genji asked Dr. Tambura for permission to take a night flight in Combatra. When she was later attacked, Dr. Tambura ordered Richard and Ilongo to go and assist her.
(Shogun Warriors#5) – The Followers hastily researched the Mech-Monster as Genji tried to fight it. Basque could only report that the creature seemed to be both organic and inorganic, while Sherna’s report stated that the creature seemed to be intelligent enough not to be programmed but seemed to be following specific orders. Dr. Tambura forwarded the results to Genji, which did her little good in the actual fight. He suggested finding the creature’s point of origin. The Followers went back to watching the fight from the sidelines.
(Shogun Warriors#6) – Sherna and Basque patched into Combatra’s video communications, bringing Dr. Tambura face to face with Maur-Konn. The alien overlord mocked Tambura’s efforts. Cutting the line, Dr. Tambura radioed Richard and Ilongo and ordered them to attack, revealing the reason why Combatra was attacking them. Later, when the battle was over, Dr. Tambura flew out to greet all three pilots in a spare Delta-V. He explained that each Shogun Warrior had only one spare part, so they had to be careful in their use. He also expressed pride at their winning and told them their training was complete.
(Shogun Warriors#7 (fb)) – Before sending the pilots back to their respective homes, Dr. Tambura gave each of them a special pendant and explained its use. He told them how to use them to summon their robots and keep in touch with the Sanctuary.
(Shogun Warriors#7) – With all three pilots away, the Followers monitored the world looking for signs of Maur-Konn or his forces. Spying what appeared to be a large platform off the coast of California, Dr. Tambura ordered them to monitor it before making any kind of call. When the platform transformed into the robot monster Cerberus, Dr. Tambura personally contacted Richard and ordered him to destroy the monster.
(Shogun Warriors#8) – Radioing Ilongo, Dr. Tambura warned him about a strange readings in the area and told him to be careful. Later, Dr. Tambura listened to Richard’s report of the fight and told him to keep an eye out in the event of anything else.
(Shogun Warriors#9) – When Ilongo frantically radioed for help, Dr. Tambura and Charn readied Dangard Ace and quickly sent it to Savage’s location. Once the mighty robot was sent, they both sat back and quietly watched the battle unfold between the star-born horror called Starchild and the mighty Shogun.
(Shogun Warriors#10) – Dr. Tambura contacted Genji as she watched the Hand of Five arrive and attack Tokyo. Sending her Combatra, he wished her luck in her fight. Switching off, he joined the rest of the Followers as they tried to search for an origin for these monster attacks.
(Shogun Warriors#11) – Dr. Tambura kept in contact with Genji was she fought the Hand of Five. He contacted Ilongo and Richard via their pendants and warned them about the possibility that their recent fights may be connected. Genji radioed in after her fight and asked to keep Combatra with her in lieu of sending it back to the Sanctuary. Dr. Tambura agreed to the request, provided she kept in contact. Not long after that, while searching for a possible connecting factor behind the recent attacks, the Followers were shocked to discover a giant meteor heading directly toward Earth.
(Shogun Warriors#12) – Running a simulation through their computers, the Followers watched grimly as scenes of global catastrophe played out before them. Sherna contacted Ilongo, while Charn and Basque radioed Genji and Richard, respectfully. Teleporting them to the Sanctuary, Dr. Tambura briefed the pilots before sending them out on their mission. Watching from Earth, they were relieved when the Warriors destroyed the meteor, but they were shocked to see Dr. Demonicus' space station. When the Warriors were ambushed, efforts were made to contact Ilongo as he crashed onto the Moon, but he was unable to answer. Their efforts to reach Genji and Richard proved to futile, as the pair were blasted into space. Helplessly, the Followers watched as their champions were soundly defeated.
(Shogun Warriors#13) – Contacting Genji and Richard, the Followers outlined a plan. The pair was to conserve their energy until they neared an asteroid belt. Using their retro rockets, they could then blast backwards toward Earth. Charn hacked into the Central Intelligence Agency’s files and found out the background on Dr. Demonicus. Dr. Tambura forwarded this information to all three pilots. The Followers expressed some curiosity about how a man like Demonicus could have built such a massive space station, but decided to follow up on that line of inquiry later. Dr. Tambura, when he was finally able to raise Ilongo on the radio, ordered him to sabotage the space station in any way he could.
(Shogun Warriors#14) – The Followers watched helplessly as the Shogun Warriors were overwhelmed by the three monsters they had all faced before individually. When Dr. Tambura’s words of unity failed to motivate them, he began to insult the trio, urging them just to give up and die. When the pilots took the monsters on the offensive, the elderly Follower watched with pride as the trio of monsters were destroyed. When Dr. Demonicus launched another meteor at Earth, the Followers despaired before Ilongo, Richard, and Genji stopped both the meteor and the space station from crashing into the Earth. Dr. Tambura wondered about what to do with the captured villain.
(Shogun Warriors#15) – While the Shogun Warriors were busy training, Dr. Tambura monitored their progress from the Sanctuary, unaware that Richard had been replaced by a Yakuza imposter. When the real Richard managed to escape and drive a car toward the Sanctuary, Charn was the first to notice it on the monitor. When the imposter was revealed, Dr. Tambura ordered the captured gangster’s memories wiped before turning them over to the proper authorities (see comments).
(Shogun Warriors#16) – Dr. Tambura spent several hours trying to contact the pilots, unaware of their being attacked by robotic men in black. During all this, the computers to the Sanctuary had been taken off-line so as to ready them for a new training program that the Followers had devised. As such, they were caught unaware when contact with the pilots was finally made and wiped out in a sneak attack. When Richard, Ilongo, and Genji arrived at the Sanctuary, they were too late. The Sanctuary itself had been blasted to rubble. Dr. Tambura held onto life long enough to explain what happened. He died before a heartbroken Richard and Ilongo. Genji found Sherna, Charn and Basque, but they had already passed away. During the fight with the strange green alien, a rockslide buried most of the Sanctuary’s remains. After the fight, Richard, Ilongo, and Genji stayed behind to give the Followers of the Light a proper burial.
(Shogun Warriors#17) – Richard, Ilongo, and Genji said their final goodbyes to the Followers before going their separate ways.
(Shogun Warriors#19) – Richard invoked the Followers as an argument to seek out the Fantastic Four and warn them against the alien menace.
(Shogun Warriors#20) – After the fight was over, and the assembled groups were standing on top of the deactivated Gigatron, Richard explained who the Followers of the Light were and their mission to a curious Mr. Fantastic.
(Fantastic Four I#226 fb) – William McLaughlin found the remains of the Sanctuary by accident and spent the next two months combing through the remains until he found an unfinished robot.
(Fantastic Four I#226) – The pilots remembered the destruction of the Sanctuary and the deaths of the Followers as they flew to Japan with the Fantastic Four.
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#4 - Appendix) - Though the Followers on Earth were wiped out, presumably there are more elsewhere in the universe.
Comments: Created by Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils) and Dan Green (inks).
In #15, the pilots were still training and living at the Shogun Sanctuary. Dr. Tambura remarked at the end that people finding out about the Warriors was bound to happen sooner or later, despite the fact that the giant robots had already been seen across the globe and several world agencies by this point. Also, a group of armed guards was seen leading the gangster away. Not one of the guards was spoken to or introduced. Possible robots?
In #17, we see the remains of the Sanctuary, but not the actual graves.
OHOTMU info added by Loki.
Profile by David Lawrence.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Followers of the Light have no known connections to:
Basque was the youngest looking member of the Followers and the most quiet. He was good with engineering. He later died in the attack on the Sanctuary.
--Shogun Warriors#1 (2- 7, 10-14, 16, Fantastic Four I#226 (fb)
Charn was a portly Asian man prone to smoking a pipe in times of stress. He was excellent with computers. He later died in the attack on the Sanctuary.
--Shogun Warriors#1 (2-7, 9-16, Fantastic Four I#226 (fb)
Sherna was a middle-aged woman of vaguely Asian descent. She seemed to be the science expert of the group. She later died in the attack on the Sanctuary.
--Shogun Warriors#1 (2-7, 10-14, 16, Fantastic Four I#226 (fb)
Dr. Tambura was the leader of the Followers. An elderly man, he was gruff and not above using insults to motivate the pilots. He later died shortly after the attack on the Sanctuary.
--Shogun Warriors#1 (2-16, Fantastic Four I#226 (fb)
The guards were armed men who all bore a passing resemblance to each other and dressed alike; not one of them spoke.
--Shogun Warriors#15
images:
(without ads)
Shogun Warriors#1, p10, pan2 (Shogun Sanctuary)
Shogun Warriors#1, p17, pan6 (the first Followers)
Shogun Warriors#15, p30, pan1 (Charn)
Shogun Warriors#3, p26, pan2 (Basque)
Shogun Warriors#4, p2, pan1 (Sherna)
Shogun Warriors#1, p16, pan2 (Dr. Tambura)
Shogun Warriors#15, p39, pan1 (guards)
Appearances:
Shogun Warriors#1 (February, 1979) – Doug Moench (writer),
Herb Trimpe (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter
(editors)
Shogun Warriors#2 (March, 1979) – Doug Moench (writer), Herb
Trimpe (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter (editors)
Shogun Warriors#3 (April, 1979) – Doug Moench (writer), Herb
Trimpe (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter (editors)
Shogun Warriors#4 (May, 1979) – Doug Moench (writer), Herb
Trimpe (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter (editors)
Shogun Warriors#5 (June, 1979) – Doug Moench (writer), Herb
Trimpe (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter (editors)
Shogun Warriors#6 (July, 1979) – Doug Moench (writer), Herb
Trimpe (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter
(editors)
Shogun Warriors#7 (August, 1979) – Doug Moench (writer), Herb
Trimpe (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter
(editors)
Shogun Warriors#8 (September, 1979) – Doug Moench (writer),
Herb Trimpe (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter
(editors)
Shogun Warriors#9 (October, 1979) – Doug Moench (writer),
Herb Trimpe (pencils), Jack Abel (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter
(editors)
Shogun Warriors#10 (November, 1979) – Doug Moench (writer),
Herb Trimpe (pencils), Steve Mitchell (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim
Shooter (editors)
Shogun Warriors#11 (December, 1979) – Doug Moench (writer),
Herb Trimpe (pencils), Jack Abel (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter
(editors)
Shogun Warriors#12 (January, 1980) – Doug Moench (writer),
Herb Trimpe (pencils), Jack Abel (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter
(editors)
Shogun Warriors#13 (February, 1980) – Doug Moench (writer),
Herb Trimpe (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter
(editors)
Shogun Warriors#14 (March, 1980) – Doug Moench (writer), Herb
Trimpe (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter
(editors)
Shogun Warriors#15 (April, 1980) – Steven Grant (writer),
Mike Vosburg (pencils), Bruce D. Patterson (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim
Shooter (editors)
Shogun Warriors#16 (May, 1980) – Doug Moench (writer), Herb
Trimpe (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter
(editors)
Shogun Warriors#17 (June, 1980) – Doug Moench (writer), Herb
Trimpe (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter
(editors)
Shogun Warriors#19 (August, 1980) – Doug Moench (writer),
Herb Trimpe (pencils), Rick Parker (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter
(editors)
Shogun Warriors#20 (September, 1980) – Doug Moench (writer),
Herb Trimpe (pencils), Rick Parker (inks), Al Milgrom and Jim Shooter
(editors)
Fantastic Four I#226 (January, 1981) – Doug Moench (writer),
Bill Sienkiewicz (pencils), Pablo Marcus & Bruce D. Patterson
(inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#4 (April, 1983) - Mark Gruenwald (writer/editor), Peter Sanderson & Mark Lerer (co-writers)
First Posted: 04/19/2009
Last updated: 08/16/2020
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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