AJAR'L DARKLOCK AJAR'L DARKLOCK
Real Name: Ajar'l Darklock
Identity/Class: Extradimensional/Alternate
Reality (Reality-8116) extraterrestrial (Altarixian) civilian;
extratemporal (approximately 1 million A.D.)
Occupation: Tax lawyer
Group Membership: Instrumentality (theocracy), head of "an army of clerical detective"
Affiliations: None identified beyond his family
Enemies: Bialgesuard and his associates, Taurus Killgaren
Known Relatives: Woolfor Darklock (father; see comments), Cula Darklock (mother; see comments), Syzygy Darklock (brother, deceased), Lena Darklock (wife, deceased), Ravol Darklock (son)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly an unspecified city/nation on the planet Altarix, unspecified star system, Empirical galaxy
First Appearance: "The Price," Eclipse Graphic Album Series#5 (1981) - see comments
Powers/Abilities: Ajar'l was a peaceful family man, and he was a highly skilled tax lawyer.
He wore a Personal Defense Buckle, which provided protection against conventional threats.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'10")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 180 lbs.)
Eyes: Unrevealed (dark, presumably brown)
Hair: Light brown
History:
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - Ajar'l and his brother
Syzygy were native to Altarix, one of the inner planets spared the
conflicts seen in the outer planets in the 200 year-long war between the
Instrumentality and Monarchy theocracies. Altarix was the homeworld of
the Instrumentality's mystical arm, the Order of Vieltoor.
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - As a child, Ajar'l Darklock had
glimpses of things in shadows or in dark places, and
he often thought he saw certain shapes out of the corners of his
visions; but when he turned to focus on them, they were gone. He was
afraid to go out at night or down in the basement; he was also certain
that there were things under his bed.
Eventually, Ajar'l's brother, Syzygy, showed him there was nothing to afraid of in the dark.
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - Ajar'l's parents told him it was silly to worry about things in shadows, telling him he had to remember the courage Syzygy had given him to face the fear.
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - Ajar'l's wife, Lena, died in an accident,
but their son Ravol survived.
Ravol's high spirits and innocence granted Ajar'l a level of calm, but after Ravol went off to school, Ajar'l felt terribly alone and confused.
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - Secretly manipulated by the Dread Veil sorcerer Taurus Killgaren, Syzygy Darklock became a priest of the Instrumentality, rising to the position of Lord High Bishop.
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - Ajar'l Darklock eventually rose to become an executive tax lawyer for the Instrumentality, the head of an army of clerical detectives, who sifted through mountains of tribute returns each year, looking for those sinners who sought to defraud the church of its "rightful" 25% of every citizen's income.
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - Ajar'l knew that his profession was not popular among the general public and that the empire's stagnation during the last century of the war meant that only only war could support the economy. Nonetheless, Ajar'l rationalized his job because it paid well and because he felt the church needed the money due to the ongoing war. He also justified his actions to himself by noting that he only added up the figures, found out the reasons for discrepancies, and reported his findings: "Whatever happened after that is not my responsibility...nor any of my business."
Ajar'l further refused to
accept/believe the "wild/whispered rumors" about how the church dealt
with tribute evaders. He told himself that if those were true, he'd
have "seen something on the video" or in "The Daily Instrument."
Additionally, he noted to himself that he was one small wheel in a very
large machine and "one small wheel can't change anything...and isn't about to."
He finally considered that he had worked too hard to get where he was,
and as he was the only person on which his son, Ravol, could count.
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - Fearing normal mortal threats, Ajar'l consistently wore a personal defense buckle.
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) <A year after Syzygy became a high bishop) - Lonely without Lena or Ravol, Ajar'l Darklock took the long way home from work.
("The Price") - Ajar'l was surprised to see
how some neighborhoods had
deteriorated in the last few years. Occasionally glimpsing things in
the shadows, Ajar'l tried to convince himself it was just his childhood
fears getting the best of him. He pondered his career, the
Instrumentality's nature and history, and his brother's history.
Ajar'l kept trying to reassure himself that there
was nothing to fear in the shadows, but ultimately, a tentacled
creature (the demon Bialgesuard or his agent(s) (see comments) reached out from behind him in the shadows; Ajar'l's screams were heard throughout the city.
("The Price" - BTS) - Sensing Ajar'l's passing, Syzygy interrupted his meditation to seek out his brother.
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - Only portions small enough
to fill a small box were all that was left of Ajar'l's body to be
recovered by authorities.
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - The investigating police captain assumed Ajar'l's death to have been the result of some outlaw fringe religious cult, some sort of human sacrifice.
The pathology officer felt the butchery didn't look to
be the work of any human killer.
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - As the security force was legally not allowed to investigate any
crime involving any mystical power or element, the Papal division sent
a cardinal, who examined Ajar'l's remains and ruled that no supernatural
agency had anything to do with it.
("The Price" - BTS) - Syzygy learned of his brother's brutal passing, the official ruling, and the security officer's suspicions.
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - Secretly sensing Killgaren's involvement in the death of Ajar'l Darklock, the Lord Papal knew Syzygy would investigate, and he allowed this, hoping to see his rival eliminated
("The Price" - BTS) - Suspecting Ajar'l's murderer(s) had targeted himself and had mistakenly struck against Ajar'l, Syzygy investigated his brother's office, uncovering Bialgesuard's identity. Bialgesuard revealed his master to be Taurus Killgaren and led Syzygy to gain the power to defeat Killgaren, grotesquely mutating Syzygy in the process. After Killgaren revealed his motivations, Syzygy reluctantly accepted his destiny and sacrificed his greatest love to gain even greater power from the demon Slytis before departing Altarix.Comments: Created by Jim Starlin.
Dreadstar was a licensed
character/title created by Jim Starlin starting way back with the
Metamorphosis Odyssey in Epic Illustrated#1 in the Spring of 1980. The
Metamorphosis Odyssey started around the modern era and affected Earth,
but then swiftly destroyed the entire Milky Way galaxy and then moved
on like a million years in the future. Dreadstar eventually got his own
series under the Epic imprint, but Starlin later took the whole shebang
over to First Comics. And in 1994, it was published under the imprint
of Bravura, a creator-owned division of Malibu comics. He appeared
sometime later in issues #5-7 of the Breed III series. And, there's
been talk of a Dreadstar television show...
Still that earlier Marvel connection allows
me to place this reality in the fringes of the Marvel Megaverse.
Peter David took over the writing around issue#31 or so, but
Starlin remained the owner. At any rate, from start to finish, it is the best
series I've ever read, period! I'd love to see it continued, by Starlin, David,
or both!
With this profile, I start covering the characters
and events of the second part of the Metamorphosis Odyssey, the origins
of Syzygy Darklock. It is noteworthy to consider that the very end of
the Metamorphosis Odyssey and everything thereafter (including the
Price) takes place 1 million years after Aknaton used the Infinity Horn to destroy the entire Milky Way galaxy to eliminate the threat of the Zygoteans.
Bialgesuard is credited for slaying Ajar'l, although Bialgesuard is a feline-humanoid, while the creature that grabbed Ajar'l, while only partially seen, had tentacles. It is certainly possible that Bialgesuard is a shapeshift, but it's also quite likely that Bialgesuard had lesser demon agents or allies grab Ajar'l. Perhaps they brought him to Bialgesuard, who may or may not have been hidden within the shadows or perhaps in another realm.
Ajar'l's parents names
The Price was
originally published in black and white in Eclipse Graphic Album Series #5 (1981). It was reprinted, with colorized artwork, in Dreadstar Annual#1 (1983) by Epic (the licensed characters/stories division
of Marvel)
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Ajar'l Darklock should be distinguished from:
Note: Syzygy Darklock's profile in Dreadstar and
Company#4 named his parents as Woolfor (father) and Cula (mother), and while Ajar'l and Lena are
noted as deceased, Woolfor and Cula are not...
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - Lena, died in an accident,
but her and Ajar'l's son Ravol survived.
("The Price" - BTS) - With Ravol having gone off to school, a lonely Ajar'l Darklock took the long
way home from work; en route, he was slain by demons (see comments).
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - Ravol survived the accident that slew his mother, Lena.
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - Ravol's high spirits and innocence granted Ajar'l a level of calm.
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - Ravol never knew
his uncle Syzygy (a lord high bishop in the Instrumentality's mystical
Order of Vieltoor) as anything more than a dark stranger.
("The Price" (fb) - BTS) - After Ravol went off to school, Ajar'l felt terribly alone and confused.
("The Price" - BTS) - A lonely Ajar'l Darklock took the long way home from work; en route, he was slain by demons (see comments).
("The Price" - BTS) - Ravol was too young to handle the confusion that Ajar'l's unexpected death had caused.
("The Price") - Before departing Altarix to seek out his destiny, the mutated and scarred Syzygy bade Ravol farewell.
Note: Syzygy Darklock's profile in Dreadstar and
Company#4 named his parents as Woolfor (father) and Cula (mother), and while Ajar'l and Lena are
noted as deceased, Woolfor and Cula are not...
images: (without ads)
"The Price," story pg. 2, image panel (main/full);
pg. 4, panel 5 (Personal Defense Buckle);
pg. 5, panel 2 (face);
panel 6 (confronted by demon);
pg. 43, panel 1 (Syzygy bidding Ravol farewell)
Appearances:
"The Price," Eclipse Graphic
Album Series#5 (1981) - Jim Starlin (writer/artist); I don't know who
edited it; reprinted in Epic's Dreadstar Annual#1 (1983) it credited Jo
Duffy (associate editor) and Archie Goodwin (editor)
Dreadstar and Company#4 (October, 1985) - Jim Starlin (writer/artist),
Jo Duffy (associate editor) and Archie Goodwin (editor); specifically
the text profile on Syzygy Darklock at the end - I am not positive who
wrote that
First posted: 06/07/2020
Last updated: 09/30/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
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