| THE TRIARCH | BIOGRAPHY |
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TEAM DATA
Status: Defunct
Former Members: Archor the Sustainer, Quarra the Creator, Tzodar the Destroyer,
Space Sector: 2828
First Appearance: (cameo): Green Lantern Vol. 3 #42 (Late June 1993): "Death Times Two"
(full appearance): DC Universe: Trinity #1 (August 1993)
MEMBERSHIP
| Member | First Appearance | Joined | Status | Alternate names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archor the Sustainer | Green Lantern Vol. 3 #42 | DC Universe: Trinity #1 | Destroyed | Archorivvon; Archor The Grower |
| Quarra the Creator | Green Lantern Vol. 3 #42 | DC Universe: Trinity #1 | Destroyed | Quarradachach; Quarra The Cultivator |
| Tzodar the Destroyer | Green Lantern Vol. 3 #42 | DC Universe: Trinity #1 | Destroyed | Krotazodarikik |
HISTORY
Over ten billion years ago on the planet Maltus, the legend of the Triarch was born. The myths surrounding the Triarch remain to this very day. One history was unearthed in the late twentieth century. The Triarch were believed to have been three wise, benevolent leaders. This history was carved on a stone tablet by others of their era. Over the course of eons the Triarch would become part of Maltusian prophecy.
Long before they gained their vast powers, the Maltusians worshipped the Triarch. The deities were believed to have been three gods that had slain their father, Daalon, and in remorse left the homeworld of Maltus to wander the skies. They were known as Archor the Sustainer, Quarra the Creator, and Tzodar the Destroyer. The three gods promised to return one day to lay waste to Maltus and remake the universe. - DC Universe: Trinity #1
The blood of Daalon gave birth to demons, crying out for vengeance. They called for the death of the people of Maltus, but one demon, now known as the Predator, refused. He would not kill innocents. He fought his brothers and sisters and was cast out. With the departure of the Triarch, the Predator chose to strike at their true heirs, the Guardians of the Universe. - Green Lantern Vol. 3 #42
Three billion years ago, following the failure of the Psion project and the rebellion of the Manhunters, the Oans were divided on how to best combat the growing chaos in the universe. The Oan race split into two factions. The Guardians remained on Oa to form the Green Lantern Corps. The other faction, the Controllers left Oa to find ways to destroy evil. - History of the DC Universe #1
Millennia ago, one of the Controllers, Daalon, was charged with the creation of instruments of construction. He returned to Maltus seeking ideas. Daalon was to create devices which might help restore order in the universe. A spiritual journey inspired him to recreate the holy Triarch.
In a Maltusian lab, Daalon gave life to the legends. The Controller did his job too well. The three creations were programmed to believe they were the real Triarch. They repeated their history and turned on their creator. Believing "their father" was dead, the Triarch fled to the ends of the universe to fulfill the prophecy.
The Triarch could not have known that the Controller was still alive, though gravely injured. He managed to crawl into a life-sustaining matrix before it was too late. - L.E.G.I.O.N. '93 #58
In the present day, a disturbance of unknown origin had attracted the attention of the Guardians of the Universe. Centralized on the planet Scylla in space sector 2814, home of the late Green Lantern Laham, the disturbance could not be viewed by the minds of the Guardians. They sent Hal Jordan of Earth to investigate.
On Scylla, Jordan was confronted by the inhabitants of that world. Some were bothered by the fact that Jordan had not visited Scylla in years. All were frightened by the arrival of Quarra the Creator, a giant female humanoid from the stars. Quarra was altering the surface of Scylla with disastrous results for the Scyllans.
Jordan attempted to stop Quarra, but was unable to. Hal's actions were considered blasphemy by Quarra and he was swatted away like an insect. Quarra had not seen a Green Lantern for centuries, but she realized more would come to disturb her work. She blasted Jordan with energy and left to join the rest of the Triarch.
On Oa, Jordan reported the events that occurred on Scylla. The Guardians were taken aback by the news. The sighting of Quarra marked the return of the Triarch and the end of the Green Lantern Corps and all Maltusian races.
The Green Lantern of Earth was sent to the Book of Oa to learn of the Triarch. The great book opened to a section that had always been inaccessible.
"Before the Guardians, before the Zamarons, before the Controllers, before even reason had come to our race... the myriads of Maltus bowed to the Triarch, to those three gods who had slain their father, Daalon, and in their red-tinged guilt left this vale of suffering to wander the skies... Quarra the Creator... Archor the Sustainer... Tzodar the Destroyer. One day they would return. So they promised. And on that day they would lay waste to Maltus, and the universe would be made new."
The Guardians ordered Jordan to Maltus to watch for the Triarch and only observe. There was nothing in the eons of their lives to show the prophecies were not true. They could not rise against their gods.
On Elyrion, Archor the Sustainer had turned that world into a wasteland. He stood in silence as if waiting for a sign. Darkstar Rayyana led her deputies Epernix and Tuprolix against the giant. They had seen the power of their enemy and Rayyana had sent a plea for help to a fellow Darkstar, a rare event in their organization.
Epernix moved in too close with his maser attack. When Archor retaliated he killed the Darkstar with a glance. Tuprolix was cut down seconds after. He would die as his homeworld had.
Darkstar Ferrin Colos and his deputies arrived too late to save Rayyana. They searched for a weak spot on their foe but could do no more than distract him. Archor faded from the planet, leaving Elyrion to the three Darkstars.
On Maltus, the L.E.G.I.O.N. had recently been contracted as the police force for the overcrowded world. Vril Dox was interested in the Maltusian ruins, going as far as making it a stipulation of the contract. Part of his agenda was to find out more about Maltus, the world from which the Guardians and the Controllers had come.
Bertron Diib had discovered the ancient stone tablet upon which was written the legend of the Triarch. Maltus would soon see the Triarch first hand; Tzodar the Destroyer had arrived.
In response to the Darkstars, Jordan called in the Green Lantern Corps. The Green Lanterns made quick work of the Darkstars. The L.E.G.I.O.N was once again ordered to fight the Green Lanterns that opposed the Triarch, but this time they were backed by a fleet of yellow plated starships.
Back in the laboratory-tomb, Vril Dox discovered a Controller kept in stasis. He brought the sleeper out of deep freeze. The tablet was an ancient religious artifact dealing with Maltusian gospel. It proved without question the legend was just that, a story carved by contemporaries of the original Triarch. - Green Lantern Vol. 3 #45, L.E.G.I.O.N. '93 #58
Vril Dox had arranged a three way stand-off with the fighting forces. A number of the combatants realized they were wasting their time fighting each other, rather than the Triarch. Hal Jordan asked Captain Comet to link minds to call a truce. before more Darkstars were killed.
The three teams converged on their mutual enemies. The Triarch were surprised but not impressed. The gods linked their powers and blasted the teams out of the sky. On the ground, the energy wave flash-burned all it touched. Thousands died in an instant. - L.E.G.I.O.N. '93 #58
Brought to the surface of Maltus, the Controller told his story to the gathered heroes. He was in awe of his creations. Dox sent the L.E.G.I.O.N. to delay the Triarch while he searched for an answer to their problem.
Phase of the L.E.G.I.O.N. told the Triarch the truth, that they were not gods, just beings created in a laboratory. This outraged and disturbed the Triarch. Still, they felt there was at least some truth to the mortals' words. The teams took the confusion of the Triarch as an opportunity to attack.
Though the Triarch were not the gods they thought they were, they still would fight their enemies. Dox questioned the Controller, who seemed distracted. The Triarch would overrun the defense forces of Maltus without help from the Controller.
He was pleased with this outcome. Maltus would be the Controller's base of operations from which he would transform the universe. His would be a future of harmony, discipline and order, devoid of sentient life. He flew off to join the Triarch. None could stop him. The Triarch recognized him as their creator, their father, Daalon. They welcomed his guidance. - Darkstars #12
The Controller ordered the Triarch to cleanse Maltus and then move out into the galaxy. The L.E.G.I.O.N., Darkstars, and the Green Lantern Corps concluded they had no chance fighting the Triarch. Hal Jordan saw "Daalon" as a potential weak link, and the heroes united against the Controller.
Vril Dox tapped into the communications equipment of an orbiting Darkstar cruiser to contact the Controllers. As Dox had planned, the Guardians had been eavesdropping on the transmission. Both Maltusian races considered the idea of attacking the Triarch blasphemy.
Unopposed, the Triarch had completed their work. They could not understand why "Daalon" had not come to judge their work.
Dox offered to work with one group if the other would leave. The Guardians did not trust the Controllers with their history of rash actions. The Controllers did not trust the Guardians' history of over-rationalizing in difficult situations. Neither the Controllers nor the Guardians would leave the fate of Maltus in the other's hands. Both sides scanned the artifact to verify its authenticity.
Daalon fought with all his power, his stray energy blasts tearing up the surface of Maltus. Weakening against the combined assault, "Daalon" ordered the Triarch to assist him.
The Triarch saw the destruction of their works. While the Controller fought his enemies, he had lost control over his creations. The Triarch once again doubted their mission.
The Guardians and Controllers appeared as projections to the Triarch. They told the Triarch that they were lied to by their creator. Their destruction had been without purpose. The "children" turned on their "father". Hal Jordan had to stop the Triarch from killing the Controller.
They were disgusted by their actions and wished to eliminate the ruins around them. In a blinding flash of light, the Triarch released all their power. Witnesses thought it was the end of everything, instead, the Triarch had turned the once starving world into a paradise. The Triarch was gone, apparently disintegrated in the power blast.
The representatives of the defending forces met onboard the orbiting Darkstar cruiser. They negotiated a pact to determine the jurisdictions of protection across the cosmos. The Darkstars would attend to individual districts as planetary protectors. The L.E.G.I.O.N. would protect their contracted worlds. The Green Lantern Corps would limit involvement in the internal affairs of the planets. Furthermore, the Controllers would take care of their renegade brother if the Guardians would return the Mosaic Cities.
The pact was sealed with the mental waves of each of the three representatives. Though Dox was offered the position of Darkstar administrator, he declined. The pact would be short-lived, as fate would soon turn against each of the groups. Manu Twi'a Sosopo knew the truth, that the real Triarch would one day come. - DC Universe: Trinity #2
A short time later, the Guardians allowed the dissolution of the Mosaic project. A contingent of heroes came from Earth to protect the cities as they were taken from Oa. The heroes of Earth could not believe some wanted to stay on the Mosaic. John Stewart, Green Lantern and protector of the Mosaic cities, revealed himself as the creator of the Mosaic. He created the Mosaic to pay the cosmos back for all the deaths when he had fought the Anti-Life years before.
In a city from Maltus, a reader of the ancient Maltusian prophecies told Hal Jordan the prophecies were not meant to be read concretely. The "Opener of Doors" was not a Triarch of gods, but one man.
John Stewart was the Creator, Sustainer, and Destroyer. His hands were stained with the blood of the many. He would lay down the foundation of a new world. He was a man from another world who would be given the power to make new worlds. This new world would be a beacon to lead others to solutions. - Green Lantern: Mosaic #17-18, Cosmic Odyssey #1-#4
Some of the inhabitants of the Mosaic stayed to help forge a unified community. They were eventually evacuated when Hal Jordan returned to Oa to claim the energy of the Central Power Battery. John Stewart spent a short time as the Director of the Darkstars before he was injured and the group disbanded. - Green Lantern Vol. 3 #50, #75
Whether or not this is the end of the story of the Triarch has yet to be revealed.
CHRONOLOGY
For a definitive list of appearances of The Triarch in chronological order click here
GLCWP NOTE
I whipped up this entry because it ties into a number of the Green Lantern entries. I can go into more detail about the Green Lanterns' battle with the Triarch, and tie into the Darkstars and John Stewart. Even with those references, there's more to it.
It's the first real meeting of DC's three space teams (at that time anyway) and each group enters a short-lived agreement with the others. There's more info about early Guardian/Controller/Zamaron history along with the Maltusian prophesies. Maltus itself is transformed and previously forbidden pages of the Book of Oa are opened to Hal Jordan. This is the first time we see the Book of Oa as distorting the truth when dealing with the topic of the Guardians' past.
The Triarch had differing "job descriptions." In Trinity #1, they were known as Tzodar The Destroyer, Quarra The Creator, and Archor The Sustainer. In Darkstars #11, they were known as Tzodar The Destroyer, Quarra The Cultivator, and Archor The Grower.
As I reviewed other issues for other character profiles, I came across the story of the Predator in Green Lantern Vol. 3 #42. This altered much of my thinking regarding the history of the Guardians, the Corps, and a dozen other characters.