Character Guide


Series References
The Chromium Man regular series: CM
The Chromium Man: Violent Past mini-series: CV
Triumphant Unleashed mini-series: TU

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Chromium Man story synopses



Axe

First Appearance: CM #3
Axe was a bounty hunter of universal fame until he found himself chasing the same prey as another bounty hunter, Coil. Coil killed him (quite easily) to eliminate the competition. Axe carried a large golden axe that could "cut through anything."

Breaker

First Appearance: CM #3
Breaker was a superhumanly strong bounty hunter hired by Governor Tarsak to assassinate the Chromium Man. He tracked Kaanar to the Landing and engaged him in battle, but their battle was interrupted by the Phylenite invasion. Breaker lost track of the Chromium Man during the battle, and was not seen again.

Candi

First Appearance: CM #3
Candi is the Chromium Man's ex-wife. Candi's past is a mystery, even to herself. She remembers very little before meeting a doctor named Trew on a remote planet called Feltch. Flashes of memory and hints left by Doctor Trew indicate that Candi may actually be a series of clones created by the doctor, but this was never fully explained. Although her initial "meeting" with Doctor Trew occurred some 70 years before we first see her in CM #3, she appears little older than her mid- to late twenties. She has been an assassin for most of the time since then, always seeming to find her way out of very dangerous situations that she should not be able to survive. At some point in the past she met and married the Chromium Man. Although that marriage did not work out, they remained close friends and confidants, helping each other out of some very tough situations. At some point, Candi settled into a base on the Landing, where she met a pair of Rennians named Marge and Geddie, whom she adopted as her "Aunt" and "Uncle." Although both of them eventually fled to a secret Rennian enclave, they remain her only family. Candi possesses no superhuman powers other than the ability to be reborn into another clone body when her current one dies, but she is an extremely gifted warrior, adept at the use of a variety of weapons.

Chromium Man

Adopted Name: Kaanar
First Appearance: CM #1
The Chromium Man was a genetically engineered soldier created to serve The Realm. He and other genetically engineered children were created circa GCY 200 and mentally programmed with a fanatical devotion to The Realm. When he reached adulthood he became a member of the Riot Guard, and fought for The Realm for several decades, battling hostile alien races and rebellious citizens. Chromium, along with some other Riot Guard members, eventually overcame his mental programming and turned against his former masters. Most of his companions in the Guard set themselves up as petty dictators and tyrants on worlds outside of Realm control. The Chromium Man went a different way.

After several adventures within the Realm, including a failed marriage to the adventurer named Candi, Chromium faked his death and relocated to the remote Realm world of Kaabari. There, he attempted to live a peaceful life as a farmer, adopting for the first time in his life a real name: Kaanar. On Kaabari he married the daughter of a wealthy logger, Laayana. Their idyllic existence ended when Laayana was captured by Riot Gear troops during a peaceful anti-Realm protest. Kaanar once again adopted his Chromium Man persona and freed his wife. Forced to flee Kaabari, he and Laayana journeyed to the Landing, where he encountered the Phylenites and his ex-wife Candi. After several adventures on the Landing, he and Laayana fled to the remote planet Islandia to make a new start. There, they again encountered Realm brutality, and decided to return to Kaabari to make a stand against its oppressive rule. After liberating Kaabari, they were forced to flee into space to avoid the destruction of that world by Realm forces.

Chromium can change his skin to metal with properties similar to the metal shielding used in spacecraft. In Chromium form, his skin is nearly indestructible, resistant to almost all normal weapons and to radiation. His hair (which was always shaved when he was in the Riot Guard) is not invulnerable. Although he likes to keep his hair long, every time he gets in a fight it is inevitably destroyed.

In addition to his metallic skin, CM possesses superhuman strength and endurance that is greatly increased while he is in his metallic form. He is also extremely long-lived, and possesses a heightened ability to heal his wounds. He retains a great deal of these abilities even when in his fully human form.

Coil

First Appearance: CM #3
Coil was a bounty hunter who first encountered the Chromium Man while trying to collect on the bounty offered by Governor Tarsak of Kaabari for his capture or death. Coil was defeated by the Chromium Man's ex-wife, Candi, when she sent a strong electrical charge through his metal coils, apparently killing him. Coil could transform his body into metallic cables which he could arrange in any way he could imagine, from sharp blades to drills to long, pointed tentacles.

Daara

First Appearance: CM #1
Daara is a childhood friend and neighbor of Laayana and a resident of Kaabari. She was married to a man named Haanok. She was killed by Riot Gear troops during a peaceful protest for the independence of Kaabari.

Daathra

First Appearance: CM #1
The Daathra are tiger-like predators native to the planet of Kaabari. Kaanar fought and killed one after it killed his herd of Faatimers. Daathras like their meat a few days old, so they will attack and kill their prey and then leave them to age in the sun.

Faatimers

First Appearance: CM #1
Faatimers are four-legged herbivores, beasts of burden found on planets throughout the Realm. Colonists would import them as both beasts of burden and food source as they carved out lives for themselves on inhospitable worlds. Chromium Man raised them on a farm on Kaabari.

Haanok

First Appearance: CM #1
Haanok is a childhood friend and neighbor of Laayana on Kaabari, he was constantly suspicious of the foreign-born Kaanar (Chromium Man). Haanok's wife, Daara, was more accepting. The pair was very politically active on Kaabari, working towards independence from the Realm. He was captured by Riot Gear troops during a protest, and not seen again until CM #9, when the Chromium Man freed him and several hundred other Kaabarians from a forced labor camp. Haanok joined the rebellion and became a valuable member, but was presumably killed when Kaabari was destroyed.

Islandia

First Appearance: CM #8
Islandia was a small farming planet on the fringes of the Realm. With its remote location, lack of native population and abundant vegetation, Islandia became a haven for those who had no place elsewhere in the Realm and wanted to make a new start. Kaanar and Laayana journeyed there to attempt a new start in CM #8. Unfortunately, their arrival was somewhat poorly timed: Islandia was on the verge of seceding from the Realm.

Jaakinbah

First Appearance: CM #1
Jaakinbah was the central Realm base of operations for the planet of Kaabari.

Jahan

First Appearance: CV #1
Jahan was a bounty hunter hired by the Realm to track down former Riot Guard members. He encountered the Chromium Man on the remote world of Feltch, and was instrumental in Chromium Man's defeat there. Although Jahan possessed no superhuman powers, he was a skilled warrior and very good at his job.

Jammer, Krane

First Appearance: CM #8
Krane Jammer was a international pirate/rogue and a self-described "discreet transportation specialist." Kaanar first encountered Krane while he and Laayana were trying to unobtrusively leave the Landing for Islandia. He agreed to take them there as a favor for his long-time friend, Candi (in addition to a large sum of money). Jammer appeared again several times to help Kaanar and Laayana out of some very difficult positions. His co-pilots aboard the ship were a manic-depressive robot named York and a small purple cat named Charla.

Kaabari

First Appearance: CM #1
Kaabari is a small farming world on the outskirts of the Realm. It was influenced very little by Realm policies and, at first, had only two Realm personnel stationed there permanently, a governor, Tarsak, and his aide. The rest of the Kaabarian military and government are made up entirely of Kaabarians, but Governor Tarsak was an alien. Tarsak began taking a strong hand against the people of Kaabari after a movement towards independence from the Realm began to form. He brought in Riot Gear squads to control the population, but the Chromium Man (who had been living on Kaabari as a farmer) soon halted his actions. Soon after the Chromium Man's departure from Kaabari, things went from bad to worse. Tarsak made Kaabari into a police state, complete with Realm police troops and forced-labor camps that mined Kaabari of all its natural resources. In his madness, Tarsak had a Planet Cracker installed at the center of Kaabari as a form of defense should the Chromium Man ever return. Kaanar did indeed return, and led a rebellion to rid Kaabari of all Realm influence. Tarsak was killed, and Realm forces moved in to destroy the rebellious world by bombing it from orbit. After a few thousand Kaabarians evacuated from the world, the remaining inhabitants activated the Planet Cracker at its core, preferring to end their own lives rather than let the Realm do it for them. Kaabari was utterly destroyed.

Kaanar

The assumed name of the Chromium Man.

Klaarok, Trandlow

First Appearance: CM #0
Trandlow Klaarok was the father of Laayana and husband of Laaylot, who died while Laayana was an infant. He was a successful businessman and owner of a large logging operation on Kaabari. He died of natural causes less than a year after Laayana was married to Kaanar. He never knew his son-in-law's true identity.

Koravaians

First Appearance: CM #2
The Koravians are pirates and slavers who roam the spaceways, attacking undefended single ships and enslaving their passengers and crews to work in their mines. The Koravians were first seen attacking a passenger ship carrying both the Chromium Man and Prince Vandal. The pirates were easily defeated by their combined might.

The Landing

First Appearance: (mentioned) CM #2; (seen) CM #3
The Landing is an enormous artificial world, about the size of an Earth-sized planet's orbit, that predates the Realm by several millennia. The identity of its builders is unknown, and there are still many secrets of the Landing that are a mystery. When the expanding Realm discovered it, it became a spaceport and marketplace. As the central hub for spaceflight in half the galaxy, the Landing is integral to the Realm's survival.

Laayana

First Appearance: CM #1
Laayana, a native of the Realm world Kaabari, is the daughter of a rich logger, Klaarok. Laayana's mother died when she was very young, so Laayana was forced to grow up very quickly. By the age of 18, she had joined the day-to-day operations of her father's business. It was then that she met Kaanar (the Chromium Man), unaware of his past or his true identity. The two soon fell in love and were married. They settled on a remote farm and lived for three years in happy solitude. Then Laayana decided to attend a protest in support of an independent Kaabari. Most of the protesters were killed, and Laayana herself was imprisoned, forcing Kaanar to resume his Chromium identity and rescue her. The two fled Kaabari to the Landing where Laayana met and quickly befriended the Chromium Man's ex-wife, Candi. Tired of being a vulnerable spot for her invulnerable husband, Laayana persuaded Candi to train her in combat skills. She took to it quickly, learning marksmanship and self-defense. Kaanar got quite a surprise when he realized how much his formerly vulnerable wife had changed, but he later agreed to continue her training. Laayana and Kaanar then relocated to the farming world of Islandia, where they attempted once again to lead a normal life. After an encounter with Realm troops, Laayana and Kaanar decided to return to Kaabari to make a stand against the tyranny of the Realm. They became an important part of the rebellion against the Realm and its power-mad governor, Tarsak. Laayana quickly proved herself an able warrior. After Tarsak was killed, Laayana was forced to flee her homeworld before it was destroyed by Realm battle cruisers. Before leaving Kaabari forever, Laayana asked Kaanar to perform the Chaakara life ceremony with her, committing the couple to one another for life. (She explained that "a woman can have more than one husband in her life, but can only perform the Chaakara once.")

Light

Real Name: Aaron (surname unknown)
First Appearance: CV#1
Light is a member of the Riot Guard who never shook off the mental programming that made him absolutely loyal to the Realm. His real name was Aaron. Light continued to serve The Realm without question, even fighting his childhood friend, the Chromium Man, and nearly killing him. Light possessed energy-based powers that allowed him to fly and project beams of force.

"Aunt" Marge

First Appearance: CM #6
Marge was a Rennian, and Candi's adopted aunt. By the time Chromium Man came to The Landing, Marge was in a very old body, and about to die. In order to save her, Candi decapitated her and sent her head with the Chromium Man to the Landing sector 1214, where her husband, Geddie, awaited her with a new body in the Rennian sanctuary known as Parafestus. The Chromium Man accomplished his mission, and Marge was reunited with her husband and given a new body.

Mutha Fwa

First Appearance: CM #3
A Mutha Fwa is a six-legged, intelligent blue parasite with one eye that looks something like a crab with a long tail. They are sentient beings possessing strong mental/psionic abilities. Mutha Fwas burrow deep inside their host's skull and take complete command of them. While in this form it is virtually impossible to tell them apart from normal, bipedal sentients. One Mutha Fwa, a bounty hunter, was sent after the Chromium Man by Tarsak.

Natar

First Appearance: CM #8
Natar is the capitol city of the Realm planet Islandia.

Oddsley

First Appearance: CM #8
Oddsley was a neighbor of Kaanar and Laayana on the remote Realm world of Islandia. Although diminutive in height, Oddsley had superhuman dexterity, and was proficient with a gun.

Parafestus

First Appearance: CM #7
Parafestus was a haven for the persecuted race known as the Rennians. It was located on the Landing, deep in the rough area known as sector 1214. Few knew of its existence and even fewer knew its location. The Chromium Man and Wurm journeyed there in an attempt to reunite a dying Rennian named Marge with her husband.

Phylenites

First Appearance: TU #0
The Phylenites are devotees of Phylenore, a.k.a. Skyfire. They follow her teachings and do her will across the Realm. Around the time of CM #3-4, the Phylenites were attempting to convert the entire Realm to their faith (as depicted in the TRIUMPHANT UNLEASHED crossover). They abducted the Chromium Man and Laayana, and attempted to force the Chromium Man to become Phylenore's consort. Their plans were interrupted when Phylenore was killed aboard her ship while approaching the Landing (CM #5). The Phylenites retreated from the Landing, vowing to await the return of their mistress, whom they believed would rise again. While retreating, they promised the Chromium Man that when their goddess returned, they would come for him again.

"Planet Cracker"

First Appearance: CM #1
A Planet Cracker is a small but very powerful bomb used by high-ranking Realm officials in extreme circumstances. It is literally what its name implies: a bomb that destroys planets. Several times, Chromium Man was threatened with the use of Planet Crackers. Eventually, Kaabari was destroyed by its own people using one of these weapons.

Planetary League

The Planetary League is a confederation of star systems that have succeded from the Realm to escape its repressive conditions. Realm forces were not yet at open war with the Planetary League in GCY 478, but the Realm brutally put down any Realm world that attempted to join the League.

Prince Vandal

Real Name: Daultnor
First Appearance: CM #2
Prince Vandal is a superhuman being with cat-like appearance whose origins stretch back to the early days of the Riot Guard program. Initially seen as a failure and cast off from the program, he developed a deep hatred for everything associated with the Riot Guard. Prince Vandal encountered the Chromium Man briefly while they were both traveling on a passenger freighter that was attacked by pirates. Recognizing Chromium as a member of the Riot Guard, Prince Vandal vowed to defeat him in combat, but was interrupted by the arrival of the pirates. The two worked together to save the ship and developed a mutual respect for one another, but Prince Vandal vowed to one day meet the Chromium Man again and defeat him. Prince Vandal possessed superhuman strength and reflexes, as well as a high level of agility. The May 1994 issue of CM (#10) solicited a crossover with Prince Vandal's own book, presumably allowing the Prince to collect on his long-overdue debt, but that story never appeared.

Ralmon

First Appearance: CM #9
Ralmon replaced Tehroa as the assistant to Governor Tarsak of Kaabari when Tehroa was imprisoned. Although he possessed less of a conscience than his predecessor, Ralmon finally turned against the Governor when he threatened to destroy the planet to defeat the Chromium Man. Ralmon was presumably one of the lucky few who escaped the destruction of Kaabari.

The Realm

The Realm is the main interstellar empire within the Triumphant Comics universe, extending over several thousand light-years' distance. It was founded more than 500 years before the main events of the comics, on the planets Ran and Sutar. The Realm started as the Space Confederation, a theoretically democratic government. After several generations of the Tepin family were elected president, with a popular president followed directly by his son and then his grandson, the Tepins became almost a royal dynasty, with longer and longer terms of office. When The Realm went to war against another empire, the Amarins, a Tepin descendant was given expanded power and became emperor in all but name.

In GCY 224, a woman named Zia Tepin became president, and launched a new war against the Amarins, using the war as an excuse to heavily tax Realm citizens to pay for a new battle fleet -- and for the enrichment of The Realm's capitol and core worlds. The punitive taxation led to rebellion, and within a decade The Realm was in the midst of a civil war. Zia Tepin deliberately fanned the flames of war to consolidate her power, sending the Realm's "PeaceFleet," and its flagship, Captain Ximos's battlecruiser Peacekeeper, on what she called a holy war. The Realm was brutal, sometimes wiping out whole planets to suppress dissent.

It was around that time that she ordered her scientists to create an elite fighting force, the Riot Guard, made up of genetically engineered soldiers with superhuman powers -- Chromium Man was one of those soldiers.

After more than 50 years of civil war, the Realm's resources were exhausted, short on fuel and suffering from widespread defections. Many of the Riot Guard rebelled, and even Captain Ximos, the Fleet's greatest commander, renounced the Realm in disgust over its acts of genocide and tyranny. The wars ended with Zia Terpin's apparent assassination in GCY 288.

The Realm survived and remained corrupt, but for many decades lacked the resources to actively oppress many Realm worlds. By the time of the main events in the comics, The Realm has begun to rebuild, and is trying to reassert its control over its former territories, leading to new conflicts. Many former Realm soldiers, including Chromium Man and Captain Ximos, now fight against their former masters. Realm worlds have begun to defect to the neighboring confederation known as the Planetary League.

Rennians

First Appearance: CM #6
Rennians are an alien race that are essentially living heads, using a series of bodies throughout their lives. There is an intense fear and hatred of Rennians throughout the Realm. This prejudice has forced them to live in secret among the humanoids in the Realm or in small, secluded enclaves like Parafestus, the one that Candi's adopted "Aunt" and "Uncle" live in on the Landing. The Chromium Man first encountered a Rennian when Candi asked him to deliver her Aunt's dying head to her Uncle in the Parafestus.

Riot Gear

First Appearance: CM #1
The Riot Gear was created to replace the Riot Guard when that program proved a failure. Riot Gear are normal human beings with advanced weaponry and a host of cybernetic implants. Riot Gear members are subject to mental control signals from the Realm that make it virtually impossible for them to disobey orders. One unit was marked for death by their masters after accidentally breaking free of their control signals. (Their adventures are the subject of the Riot Gear comic series.) Riot Gear members came into conflict with Chromium Man on several occasions, trying to apprehend or slay him.

Riot Guard

First Appearance (mentioned): CM #1
A peacekeeping police force created by the Realm to subdue rebellious planets. The Riot Guard was the final product of genetic engineering/ cross-breeding experiments conducted over the years GCY 150 to GCY 220. Lifeforms from many different Realm planets, each chosen for its unique properties, provided raw genetic material. The result was super-human beings with incredible powers, each had his/her own unique properties. Riot Guard members had the Riot Guard emblem permanently grafted onto their bones at birth to brand them, so that they would not be able to hide their identity. They were born and raised in carefully controlled environments, and subjected to Realm propaganda so that when they were fully grown and trained they would "choose" to work for the Realm. The Realm treated the Riot Guard personnel as royalty, and thus did not anticipate that these super-beings would become ambitious.

The Riot Guard was initially very useful to the Realm, but as time wore on and their psychological conditioning was broken down in the face of their "stormtrooper existence," members began to doubt the integrity of their commanders. When members of the Riot Guard began rebelling, the Realm realized that it had no effective way to control these super-beings. The Realm decided to disband the Riot Guard, only to find them too powerful to destroy. The ex-Riot Guard members escaped into the universe as outlaws, hunted by the Realm that created them. Many of the former Riot Guard fled the Realm, and set up their own kingdoms on the outskirts of known space.

Skyfire

Real Name: Phylenore
First Appearance: TU #0
Although she never actually appeared in the CM series, Skyfire played an important part in the story of the Chromium Man. She was powerful being born in GCY 212. In GCY she launched a holy crusade to restore peace to the galaxy, starting a cult of her followers. From a distance, apparently as a result of the stories she had heard about the Chromium Man's prowess as a warrior, she decided that he was to be her consort and life mate. Her followers, the Phylenites, began a long program to apprehend Kaanar and make him into her loyal servant. Their plan was interrupted when Skyfire was killed aboard her ship while approaching the Landing.

Tarsak (Governor)

First Appearance: CM #1
Tarsak was the Realm-appointed governor of the planet Kaabari. He was a non-human alien, not native to Kaabari. When the natives of Kaabari began to protest for independence, Tarsak called in Riot Gear troops and ordered them to kill the protestors. Unfortunately, one of those protestors was the wife of Kaanar, the Chromium Man. Kaanar attacked and killed the Riot Gear troops, and forced Tarsak to destroy the Riot Gear commander, telling him that the entire planet would be destroyed if he didn't. Tarsak was left in charge by Chromium Man, but was told that he would have his activities watched closely by a Kaabarian council. After Chromium Man left Kaabari, Tarsak arrested the council and resumed total control of Kaabari, instituting forced-labor camps for "criminals." He also put out a large bounty on Chromium Man's head. The Chromium Man returned several months later to find Kaabari a police state run by Tarsak. After slowly destroying his entire government, Chromium Man threw Tarsak out a window, where he was torn to shreds by a mob of angry Kaabarians.

Tehroa

First Appearance: CM #1
Tehroa was the aide of Governor Tarsak when Chromium Man first came to Kaabari. More moderate than Tarsak, Tehroa actually seemed to care for the people of Kaabari. After Kaanar left Kaabari, Tehroa was put in prison by Tarsak and replaced with a new assistant. The Chromium Man freed Tehroa during the rebellion against the Realm. A natural administrator, he was instrumental in the evacuation of thousands of Kaabarians before the death of their world. Tehroa was one of the lucky few who escaped the destruction of that world.

Tomay (Admiral)

First Appearance: CM #8
Tomay was an admiral in the Realm fleet with a reputation across the galaxy for vicious efficiency. When rebellion began to arise on Islandia, Tomay was sent to squash it, and told by his superiors to accomplish his objective at any cost. He was thwarted when the Chromium Man and the residents of Islandia defeated his troops.

Uriah

First Appearance: CM #8
Uriah was one of the first people Kaanar and Laayana met when they relocated to the remote world Islandia. He was a politically minded farmer who owned the farm next to theirs. Uriah was a staunch supporter of Islandia leaving the Realm. When Realm troops attempted to arrest him for treason, the Chromium Man and several other local farmers resisted them in order to protect their friend. He possessed the ability to manipulate energy in various ways, much like a magician. The source or exact nature of these powers was never explained.

Wurm

First Appearance: (unnamed) CM #6; (named) CM #7
The leader of a street gang in a particularly rough area of the Landing. Despite his young age, Wurm had been the leader of the gang for several years. Wurm possessed the ability to disintegrate non-organic materials with a touch of his hands. How he acquired this ability was never explained. Wurm attempted to mug the Chromium Man, but got more than he was bargaining for when the Chromium Man defeated his whole gang in combat. While Wurm and Kaanar were fighting, a rival gang took advantage of the situation and killed the rest of his gang members. Wurm and the Chromium Man joined forces to defeat the other gang, and ended up becoming friends.

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