Terravores are a sapient shapeshifting planet-eating species from the Urma-Annexate. One Terravore, known as the Shepherd, took the form of a god-like being in an attempt to consume Earth.
Biology[]
A Terravore shifting back into their true form from a Human-like appearance
Terravores are massive, shapeshifting beings. In their true form, they are semi-humanoid beings with red skin resembling exposed muscle tissue, with several spikes visible on their forearms. Their elongated heads have four beady eyes and what appears to be a mouth extending from their forehead to their lower semi-humanoid jaw, lined with sharp teeth and bearing a tube-like tongue. In addition, Terravores have several mandible-like appendages around their mouths, also lined with sharp teeth. Their shapeshifting abilities enable them to take on the form of a Human-like being, albeit at massive size. True to their name, Terravores consume planets, carving them up and eating them down to the core. They are capable of firing energy beams from their eyes, even while in another form, and are immortal. They are known to "fatten up" a planet's population over the course of a thousand years before consuming it, implying that they can go for that period of time without sustenance, and that their main source of sustenance is the planet's biosphere rather than its materials.
Culture and society[]
Little is known of Terravore society, other than the fact that they target planets to fatten up and consume. They are known to take on Human-like disguises, masquerading as celestial beings akin to the Abrahamic God, and trick the population of a planet into serving them by granting them various superpowers while also poisoning their minds with some form of gamma radiation, making the population more subservient and less intelligent. After a thousand years of "fattening up" a planet, they will proceed to consume the planet and all who reside on it. Terravores are known not to recognize the authority of the Green Lanterns. Due to their diets, Terravores participate in planet-trafficking, focusing on shrunken planets that are easy to collect within their spacecraft, and are known to claim that they "liberated" the worlds they purchase.
Technology[]
The Shepherd's ship
Terravores are known to use large spacecraft with spherical sections for holding shrunken planets, which are suspended in the air. While appearing almost opaque from the outside, and in a yellow color, the coverings of the spherical component are transparent from within, showing a clear view of space. Terravores are also known to use large spray cans on the planets they collect, which is presumably what poisons population of said planets. Notably, they can create "super-suns," artificial stars that are small relative to Terravores, and can grant superpowers to the populations of shrunken planets. It is unknown if these super-suns can grant abilities to Terravores.
History[]
The Shepherd, disguised
At some point in time, the Green Lanterns documented the traits of the Terravores, programming that information into their rings, although the Terravores themselves seemed to have had no knowledge of the Green Lanterns. In the 21st century, alien slave traders known as Dhorians were auctioning a shrunken Earth to the highest bidder. A Terravore known as the Shepherd, who took on the form of a giant, elderly Human-like being, creating a resemblance to either the Abrahamic God or Zeus from Greek mythology, purchased Earth, adding it to his collection of worlds. He had Earth placed under an artificial star within his spaceship, where he could begin the thousand year-long process of "fattening up" the planets, poisoning the population of Earth with gamma radiation to make them less intelligent and more subservient. Then, a Human Green Lantern named Hal Jordon confronted the Shepherd, declaring him under arrest. The Shepherd brushed off Hal Jordan's claims, saying that he was above any authority the Green Lanterns had. When further questioned, The Shepherd claimed that the people of Earth adored him, which was truly the result of his gamma radiation and superpower granting, also saying that the bacteria and animals on Earth, the true majority of the population, had no objection. He then claimed that he was bringing Earth and other captured planets to a "space sanctuary," where they would supposedly be in paradise. Hal, after looking at the situation on Earth, identified The Shepherd as a Terravore with his ring, before being attacked by The Shepherd. Hal managed to strike The Shepherd with a large fist construct, forcing The Shepherd to revert to his true form, although Earth's inhabitants did not change their opinion of The Shepherd, prompting Hal to place the entirety of Earth under arrest while he got into contact with other Lanterns to arrest The Shepherd and other planet traffickers.
Appearances[]
- The Green Lantern Vol 1 #3 (2019)