Apollonians (as they are called by Humans, and formerly known as the "People of Raz" while under the rule of the corrupt tyrant "Raz the Ruler of the Universe") are a humanoid species native to a far-off planet that Humans dubbed, Planet Apollo.
Biology[]
The Apollonians were a humanoid species with varied appearances as the species was divided into a number of tribes, however, only two tribes have ever been witnessed, the mainline Apollonians who are the most advanced and dominant race on the planet, and the more primitive Giant Apollonians who are the second most prominent but more primitive of the species.
Mainline Apollonians are almost completely humanoid in appearance, possessing grey skin, white hair and white eyes, and stood around 1.8 meters (around 6 feet) in height, and for attire, they wore scholarly robes and vestments. Mainline Apollonians were remarkably intelligent, more so than the other tribes, which naturally made them dominant.
Giant Apollonians are of gargantuan size, standing at around 2.7 meters (around 9 feet) in height, easily towering over the average mainline Apollonian. They were also more visually distinct than their mainline kin, having hairy shaggy bodies covered in grey fur and had more primitive faces. Giant Apollonians were also described as somewhat dimwitted, which made them easy to conquer through deception by the corrupt ruler of the mainline Apollonians, the ambitious Emperor Raz, but they were still capable of fluent speech and reasoning. Their strength was also their greatest asset, with giants having strength equal to or almost on par with that of a Kryptonian, however, their large size makes them notably slower than Kryptonians, putting them at a disadvantage against the more mobile species despite their almost equal strength. Traditional giant attire is not known, but during their enslavement under mainline species, giants wore traditional Apollonian guard armor which depicted representations of their culture's zodiac.
The details concerning the other tribes of Apollonians are not entirely known, so their physiological differences from the other two tribes are not known, but they live in their own nations and small territories, and were at one time enslaved by Raz's forces until they were freed.
Culture and society[]
Apollonians are divided into a number of tribes across their world, each with their own cultures and appearances, however only the mainline and giant cultures were known.
Mainline Apollonians are an intelligent and scholarly species dedicated to the pursuit of science and honoring their religious customs. Apollonians delved in a number of fields, such as astronomy, chemistry, and one member, the brilliant scientist Thalin, dabbled in technology that manipulated thought waves, creating a telepathic helmet which would people to better understand one another by directly interpreting thoughts, and this device could even be used on those of different tribes or those alien origin so they could understand the Apollonian languages. However, despite their advances, they had yet to develop technology that would allow them to study other planets in detail, leading some Apollonians, mainly the ruling class, to believe that their world was the only inhabited planet in the universe.
The Apollonian religion was a highly valued aspect of their lives, one which incorporated the reverence of stars and elements comparable to astrology, having their own zodiac system made up of anthropomorphized stars which adorn their temples, as well as the vestments and armors worn by members of the Apollonian government. The Apollonian faith also held belief in the "Star of Death", an ethereal realm where spirits of the dead and spirits of evil reside, however, this aspect of their faith was manipulated by the tyrant Raz in order to instill fear in his subjects to make them believe that a traveler from another planet, a Kryptonian by the name of Superman who had actually come to save the world, was actually an evil spirit that was not to be trusted in order to ensure his rule remain unquestioned.
Although the Apollonian religion also held reverence for the stars, their faith mainly worshiped a divine which they called "The Great Being", their interpretation of the supreme creator who they would pray to in times of tragedy, however, like most aspects of Apollonian life, worship of the Great Being was also subtly suppressed by Emperor Raz, who upon his ascent to overlord, demanded that his people begin calling him the only "Supreme Ruler of the Universe" after his successful conquest of all the other Apollonian tribes, and had all of his subjects, especially those of the enslaved tribes, regard Raz himself as the only true god in the cosmos or else face execution.
Emperor Raz was able to maintain his authority as a false god over the primitive tribes, including the giants, by having his chemists create a poison which he dubbed "Stone Water", which was a fast-acting calcifying solution which petrified the drinker in a matter of hours by calcifying their organs and eventually their whole bodies at a rapid pace, eventually turning victims into statues. He would then pollute the drinking waters of the societies he wished to conquer and would pass off their eventual calcification as his "magic" to instill fear in the more primitive tribes, and when he enslaved the giants, he was able to use their titanic strength to easily crush and enslave any other tribe that opposed him.
Despite Raz's god complex, many rebels openly still held reverence for the Great Being, particularly the scientist Thalin, who was seen as the voice of the Apollonian party opposed to Raz.
Giant Apollonians are a more primitive species, described as slow or dimwitted by their mainline kin, residing high in the snow-capped mountains of the planet were they lived simple existences until the day Raz chose to conquer them. While under the rule of Raz, many giants had become violent and brutish servants loyal to Raz out of fear of his "magic", but a noble few, such as the personal slave of Raz's kind daughter, a giant by the name Ord, was more than willing to aid his mistress in freeing his kind and aiding the rebellion.
As the terminology for all aspects of Apollonian culture is known only by the translations interpreted by Superman using Thalin's telepathic helmet, the full accuracy of these translations are not completely certain or how much of it was only understood the way it was because of Superman's own limited understanding of their language, as even the helmet translated the name of the alien race and planet as Apollonian and Apollo due to that they were the only names Superman knew them as from scientists back on his own world, so the true names of the species, their tribes and planet are now known. However, the rest, as with the names of individual members was likely on point as far as the translations of the helmet goes.
Appearances[]
- The Adventures of Superman
- "Counterfeit Money" (October 1946, mentioned)
- "The Disappearance of Clark Kent" (November 1946)
- "The Secret Letter" (November 1946, mentioned)