Validus
Encyclopedia
Validus is a fictional DC Comics
supervillain
, an enemy of the Legion of Super-Heroes
and a member of the Fatal Five
.
threatened to consume Earth's sun, thus destroying the solar system. Desperate to stop the Sun-Eater's efforts, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes recruited the aid of the Fatal Five. They discovered that Validus was among their ranks, but had no idea of his true parental heritage. The Fatal Five reluctantly agreed to help the Legion, and the Sun-Eater's efforts were averted. Validus remained a loyal member of the Fatal Five, always ready to do Tharok's bidding. During one memorable altercation with the Legion, Validus killed Lyle Norg, the original Invisible Kid.
Validus' true origin stemmed from a diabolical plot by a powerful Legion foe. As revenge for his defeat in "The Great Darkness Saga
", Darkseid
kidnapped one of the identical twin children of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl
at birth. He then sent the newborn back in time, cursed with a monstrous body and near-mindlessness (that made him easily controlled by the likes of the Emerald Empress
) with the idea that either the parent or the child would kill the other.
Years later, Validus fell under Darkseid's influence yet again. He manipulated Validus against Lightning Lad, placing him in a situation where the Legionnaire would be forced to kill him to save the life of his other son, Graym. Thanks to the efforts of Saturn Girl however, the plot was averted and both parents discovered that Validus was their child. Soon after, Validus reverted to his normal, human condition. His parents soon renamed him Garridan.
During the "Five Years Later" era chronicled in Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4), it was revealed that Darkseid's tampering with Garridan's body chemistry had spawned a new virus which Brainiac 5
dubbed "The Validus Plague". Only natives of Winath
and Titan
(the homeworlds of Garridan's parents) were susceptible to the disease, but for them it was fatal. As a result, Garridan was forced to wear a containment suit, allowing him mobility yet keeping him in perpetual medical quarantine
. His replacement in the reformed Fatal Five was a similar enigmatic behemoth named "Mordecai" by Leland McCauley IV.
After the events of the Zero Hour
miniseries, Legion continuity was rebooted entirely, and Validus' origin was changed considerably. He was no longer the child of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl, Darkseid
had nothing to do with his creation, and he was also significantly weaker. In the "Threeboot" continuity, Validus was the name of a nature spirit in the folklore of the planet of Winath
, known as the Lord of Lightning. Mekt Ranzz was a member of a cult that worshipped him. Since the Ranzzes gained their powers and left the planet the cult has grown considerably, seemingly granting everyone on Winath lightning powers. This was later revealed as the product of nanomachines in their blood.
On the cover of Justice League of America (vol. 2) #13, it shows Validus as a member of the latest incarnation of the Injustice League
. However, in the actual issue, he does not appear.
Validus (alongside the other Fatal Five members) were among the villains in Superboy-Prime
's Legion of Super-Villains
. However, Garridan Ranzz (along with his twin brother Graym) was recently depicted as a young child living with Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad. Thus, it appears that Validus and Garridan are not the same being in current continuity; or that this Validus is from a different moment in time..
Superboy
; in fact, it took the combined strengths of Krypton
ian-level heroes Superboy, Mon-El, and Ultra Boy
to overpower him. In addition, he was extremely resistant to all forms of harm, and could fire energy bolts from his brain which were powerful enough to incapacitate a Kryptonian or Daxam
ite with a single hit. He was also immune to telepathy
.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
, an enemy of the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
and a member of the Fatal Five
Fatal Five
The Fatal Five are fictional characters, a supervillain team of the 30th century in the DC Comics universe. They were created by Jim Shooter and first appeared in Adventure Comics #352 as enemies of the Legion of Super-Heroes....
.
Fictional character biography
In the latter half of the 30th century, an entity known as the Sun-EaterSun-Eater
A Sun-Eater is a fictional, artificially created living weapon in the DC Comics universe. It has played an important role in various storylines.-History:...
threatened to consume Earth's sun, thus destroying the solar system. Desperate to stop the Sun-Eater's efforts, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes recruited the aid of the Fatal Five. They discovered that Validus was among their ranks, but had no idea of his true parental heritage. The Fatal Five reluctantly agreed to help the Legion, and the Sun-Eater's efforts were averted. Validus remained a loyal member of the Fatal Five, always ready to do Tharok's bidding. During one memorable altercation with the Legion, Validus killed Lyle Norg, the original Invisible Kid.
Validus' true origin stemmed from a diabolical plot by a powerful Legion foe. As revenge for his defeat in "The Great Darkness Saga
The Great Darkness Saga
"The Great Darkness Saga" is a five-issue Legion of Super-Heroes story arc written by Paul Levitz, with art by Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstedt. Published by DC Comics in 1982, the arc first appears in Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2, #290-294...
", Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
kidnapped one of the identical twin children of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl
Saturn Girl
Saturn Girl is a fictional character appearing in DC comic books. A talented telepath from the 30th century, Imra first appeared in Adventure Comics #247 as a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes...
at birth. He then sent the newborn back in time, cursed with a monstrous body and near-mindlessness (that made him easily controlled by the likes of the Emerald Empress
Emerald Empress
The Emerald Empress is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain that is an enemy of the Legion of Super-Heroes and a member of the Fatal Five...
) with the idea that either the parent or the child would kill the other.
Years later, Validus fell under Darkseid's influence yet again. He manipulated Validus against Lightning Lad, placing him in a situation where the Legionnaire would be forced to kill him to save the life of his other son, Graym. Thanks to the efforts of Saturn Girl however, the plot was averted and both parents discovered that Validus was their child. Soon after, Validus reverted to his normal, human condition. His parents soon renamed him Garridan.
During the "Five Years Later" era chronicled in Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4), it was revealed that Darkseid's tampering with Garridan's body chemistry had spawned a new virus which Brainiac 5
Brainiac 5
Brainiac 5 is a fictional character who exists in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. He is a long standing member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Brainiac 5 is from the planet Colu...
dubbed "The Validus Plague". Only natives of Winath
Winath
Winath is a fictional planet in the 30th century .Winath is a primarily agrarian planet, settled by humans sometime between the 20th and 30th centuries...
and Titan
Titan (DC Comics)
Titan is a moon in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The moon is inhabited by a colony of telepaths.It is the fictional home world of Saturn Girl, Imra Ardeen. She is one of the most powerful telepaths in the history of Titan...
(the homeworlds of Garridan's parents) were susceptible to the disease, but for them it was fatal. As a result, Garridan was forced to wear a containment suit, allowing him mobility yet keeping him in perpetual medical quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
. His replacement in the reformed Fatal Five was a similar enigmatic behemoth named "Mordecai" by Leland McCauley IV.
After the events of the Zero Hour
Zero Hour (comics)
Zero Hour: Crisis in Time is a five-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by DC Comics in 1994. In it, the former hero Hal Jordan, who had until then been a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps, mad with grief after the destruction of...
miniseries, Legion continuity was rebooted entirely, and Validus' origin was changed considerably. He was no longer the child of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl, Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
had nothing to do with his creation, and he was also significantly weaker. In the "Threeboot" continuity, Validus was the name of a nature spirit in the folklore of the planet of Winath
Winath
Winath is a fictional planet in the 30th century .Winath is a primarily agrarian planet, settled by humans sometime between the 20th and 30th centuries...
, known as the Lord of Lightning. Mekt Ranzz was a member of a cult that worshipped him. Since the Ranzzes gained their powers and left the planet the cult has grown considerably, seemingly granting everyone on Winath lightning powers. This was later revealed as the product of nanomachines in their blood.
On the cover of Justice League of America (vol. 2) #13, it shows Validus as a member of the latest incarnation of the Injustice League
Injustice League
The Injustice League is the name of two fictional teams of supervillains in the .-Original League :The original Injustice League was the brainchild of the interplanetary conqueror Agamemno. Bored of his dominion, he set out to conquer Earth and their champions, the Justice League...
. However, in the actual issue, he does not appear.
Validus (alongside the other Fatal Five members) were among the villains in Superboy-Prime
Superboy-Prime
Superboy-Prime, also known as Superman-Prime, or simply Prime, is a DC Comics superhero turned supervillain, and one of several alternate Supermen. The character first appeared in DC Comics Presents #87 , and was created by Elliot S...
's Legion of Super-Villains
Legion of Super-Villains
The Legion of Super-Villains is a team of fictional supervillains that appear in comic books published by DC Comics. They are adversaries of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the future...
. However, Garridan Ranzz (along with his twin brother Graym) was recently depicted as a young child living with Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad. Thus, it appears that Validus and Garridan are not the same being in current continuity; or that this Validus is from a different moment in time..
Powers and abilities
Validus possesses incalculable superhuman strength, enabling him to easily overpower even the Silver AgeSilver Age of Comic Books
The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those in the superhero genre. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an interregnum in the early to mid-1950s, the Silver Age is considered to cover the...
Superboy
Superboy (Kal-El)
The original Superboy is a fictional superhero who appears in DC Comics. The name of Superman as a boy, Superboy has adventures that occur in the relative past to those of Superman and take place predominantly in his hometown of Smallville...
; in fact, it took the combined strengths of Krypton
Krypton (comics)
Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman and, in some tellings, Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog. Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman's flight from the planet, with exact details of...
ian-level heroes Superboy, Mon-El, and Ultra Boy
Ultra Boy
Ultra Boy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in DC Comics. He is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. Ultra Boy gained these powers when the space-speedster he was flying was swallowed by an ultra-energy beast , exposing him to...
to overpower him. In addition, he was extremely resistant to all forms of harm, and could fire energy bolts from his brain which were powerful enough to incapacitate a Kryptonian or Daxam
Daxam
Daxam is a planet within the DC Universe. It is home to a race called the Daxamites, who are descended from Kryptonian colonists.-History:Daxamites were originally Kryptonians who left their homeworld in order to explore the Universe. They are an intensely xenophobic race, and are fearful of alien...
ite with a single hit. He was also immune to telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
.
Television
- Validus has appeared in "Far From Home", an episode of Justice League UnlimitedJustice League UnlimitedJustice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...
with the other Fatal Five against the Legion. He had a robotic body in this series.
- Validus is a member of the Fatal Five in the Legion of Super HeroesLegion of Super Heroes (TV series)Legion of Super Heroes is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation that debuted on September 23, 2006, based on characters appearing in the DC Comics comic book series. The series centers on the young Superman's adventures in the 31st century, fighting alongside a...
TV series with the other Fatal Five. No mention is made of Lightning Lad being his father. This version is vulnerable to telepathy, as Saturn GirlSaturn GirlSaturn Girl is a fictional character appearing in DC comic books. A talented telepath from the 30th century, Imra first appeared in Adventure Comics #247 as a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes...
mind-controlled him in the pilot episode "Man of Tomorrow". In Season Two, Validus was eventually recruited by ImperiexImperiexImperiex is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Superman #153 , and was created by Jeph Loeb and Ian Churchill...
when he released him. Imperiex appears to perfectly understand Validus' seemingly incoherent grunting; in "Message in a Bottle" he answers the brute's question as if he had spoken clearly. In the two-part Season Finale, Validus was turned into computer data by BrainiacBrainiac (comics)Brainiac is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #242 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
(in Brainiac 5Brainiac 5Brainiac 5 is a fictional character who exists in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. He is a long standing member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Brainiac 5 is from the planet Colu...
's body) when trying to help Imperiex. It is unknown if he was restored to normal like everyone else was.
Toys
- Validus was the Collect and Connect figure for the fifteenth wave of the DC Universe ClassicsDC Universe ClassicsDC Universe Classics is an action figure toyline, a sub-line of the DC Universe toy brand manufactured by Mattel. These are 6-inch scale figures based on characters owned by DC Comics...
line.