| Arak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Arak as depicted inArak, Son of Thunder #21 (May 1983). Art byAdrian Gonzales andAlfredo Alcala. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publisher | DC Comics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | The Warlord #48 (August 1981) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Roy Thomas (writer) Ernie Colón (artist) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In-story information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Bright-Sky-After-Storm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team affiliations | Quontauka Tribe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable aliases | Son of Thunder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abilities | Expert swordsman, archer, and tracker, weather manipulation, earth manipulation, illusion casting, longevity, magic, marksmanship, wind bursts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Arak is a fictionalcomic book character and asuperhero published byDC Comics. He first appeared in aspecial insert inThe Warlord #48 (August 1981)[1] and was created byRoy Thomas andErnie Colón.[2]
Arak (Bright-Sky-After-Storm) is depicted very much as aConanknock-off in early appearances. Later, after encountering theMoirai, who explain his destiny to him, he takes on a moreNative American appearance, including leather-fringed pants and aMohawk hairstyle.[3] Unlike Conan (a character Roy Thomas also wrote during his tenure atMarvel Comics), who usually fought againstH. P. Lovecraftian monsters and entities, Arak encounters figures and creatures from myth and legends, includingGreek,Norse,Judeo-Christian-Islamic,Oriental and others.
Arak was relativelyculturally sensitive for the time when it debuted. Unlike other Native American heroes, likeApache Chief, who took a cartoonish view of Native Americans similar to the old western movie Natives, Arak did not have broken speech or other stereotypical Native traits. Also, the Vikings looked more like real Vikings and were not illustrated wearing the stereotypical horned helmets and fur clothing.
Arak returns in the crossover eventConvergence, being turned byBrainiac into an almost cybernetic entity with no memory of his previous life, and being renamed asTelos, becoming the main villain for most of the event until the finale, when Arak/Telos remembers his identity.
Co-creator Roy Thomas initially wanted to adaptRobert E. Howard'sCormac Mac Art, but shifted focus after realizing there was not as many stories to adapt unlike Howard's other creations, Thomas brought in his then fiancéeDanette Couto, who liked the time period of500 A.D, but decided to center the story around aNative American discovering Europe, Thomas later stated "Arak, Son of Thunder's early issues were notConan stories recast with Arak, They just had similar element's because Howard was my primary influence in sword and sorcery, so I just naturally thought that way"[4]
After his debut inThe Warlord #48, Arak starred in a monthlyDC Comics series,Arak, Son of Thunder, which ran 50 issues (and one 1984 annual) from September 1981 to November 1985. After a few token appearances in other stories, Arak has not appeared in any new adventures since 1988.
TheArak series was written, in one form or another, byRoy Thomas, joined in later issues by his wifeDann Thomas and byJean-Marc Lofficier andRandy Lofficier. After penciling the first 12 issues, artist co-creator Colón left the title, replaced by a string of artists, includingAdrian Gonzales,Ron Randall,Gérald Forton, andTony DeZuniga.
Arak's mother, Star-of-Dawn (of the Quontauka Native tribe) was seduced by an evil serpent god while wandering alone. She realized at the last moment what was happening, and tried to escape before the final act. She was rescued by He-No, the Thunder God. He took her into his realm and under his care she recovered from the serpent god's venomous bite. Although she married him in gratitude, she did not really love him, and missed her people; so he returned her to her tribe. Her father, the tribalshaman, recognized the touch of both deities upon her, and that she bore He-No's child. She named him Bright-Sky-After-Storm, for 'he will follow in his father's footsteps, who is the thunder'. Years later, a tribe that worshipped the serpent deity attacked while the serpent itself attacked He-No; the Thunder God was winning but saw his son about to die. He struck down the attacker, suffering severe wounds in the process. While most of the Quontauka were slaughtered, He-No arranged for Bright-Sky-After-Storm to wind up in a canoe and float out to sea, beyond his enemies' reach.
Bright-Sky-After-Storm was discovered out at sea byVikings and rescued just before the canoe sinks. He is unconscious, but awakens just long enough to utter the phrase He-No (a reference to his Native American father) a few times and swing a knife at the Viking leader. He was not attacking, but cut off the leader's necklace which has a hammer symbol called a hammer of thunder (related to the godThor fromNorse mythology). The leader wants to kill him, but another Viking stops him and adopts the boy. He names him Arak (intended as "Eric" but Bright-Sky-After-Storm mispronounced it) and raises Bright-Sky-After-Storm as a Viking, trained in warfare. Arak is particularly effective with a small axe, similar in proportion to a Native American club he was found with, but can also use a sword, shield, and bow.
As a young man Arak joins the Vikings on their raids. They consist mostly of raiding monasteries for treasure, including a huge gold bejeweled cross which the captain hangs upside down on the mast as a good luck hammer of thunder. Near the end of the first issue, a sea serpent sent by thesorceress Angelica attacks the Vikings and some monks. All of the Vikings, including Arak's adoptive father, are killed. Arak seizes the gold cross and says, "Hammer of one god, or cross of another, strike for me now!" He throws the cross, which has a sharp bottom, at the serpent. The cross pierces the roof of its mouth and enters its brain, killing it. Arak manages to save one monk. The monk tells him that God has delivered them. Arak replies he does not know it if it had been the monk's god, or his own god, whom he had all but forgotten.[2]
After the first issue, Arak goes on to otherConan-like adventures similar to those of another major DC-created fantasy hero,Warlord. He becomes an ally ofCarolus Magnus (a.k.a. Charlemagne) and befriends several of his knights. He enters a relationship with Valda the Iron Maiden. After a time, he leaves his Court on a mission to thePope; from there he sets off in search of his destiny.
Arak encounters many creatures and races from myth and legend, gods, heroes and demons. At one point, he dies and encounters his father, He-No, who explains his origin and offers him a place at his side. Arak refuses, wanting to find the remaining fragments of his tribe (now wandering across North America, seeking a new home). In anger, He-No returns his son to his body - but gives him a single feather from his enormous Headdress of Power. From this point on, Arak gains the ability to see spirits and a resistance to magic. He becomes a shaman, although he still concentrates the majority of his skills on his warrior training. Eventually, he bids farewell to his friends and sails from Japan across the Pacific back to North America. He finds his people and leads them to an island off the West coast of Canada where they remain at peace. On his deathbed, his father appears to him, tells him he loves him, and leaves a mystic cloak for a descendant who he promises will aid the world when they need it the most. Arak/Bright-Sky-After-Storm dies happy.
Arak and Valda (along with several other heroes of past eras) traveled to the present day to help battling theUltra-Humanite during theCrisis on Infinite Earths inAll-Star Squadron #55 (1985).[5] More recently, Valda was transported to the present day to become a member of the extendedShadowpact in theDay of Vengeance special. She is apparently still living in our time and has visited theOblivion Bar on several occasions.
 | This articleis missing information about Arak being transformed into Telos. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on thetalk page.(April 2017) |
Arak is a good swordsman, skilled with a tomahawk, trained in hand-to-hand combat and is competent with the bow and arrow. He also possesses limited certain magical powers which include weather manipulation, earth control, longevity, along with spell and illusion casting, all due to his godly heritage.
In 1982, Arak received a 5.5" action figure as part ofRemco's toyline "Lost World of the Warlord".
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