| WAGNORIANS | BIOGRAPHY |
| Created by Denny O'Neil & Gil Kane |
PERSONAL DATA
Space Sector: 2814
First Appearance: Green Lantern Vol. 2 #72 (October 1969): "Phantom of the Space-Opera!"
Creators: Denny O'Neil & Gil Kane
HISTORY
An imperialistic race, the Wagnorians sought to conquer the fourteen planets of the star system Berliotz. Perhaps lacking the power to defend itself from any concentrated opposition, the Wagnorians tried to use any excuse under intergalactic law to justify their planned seizure of the Berloitz. To this end, they conceived of a plot to disrupt the space opera, an event held each year at the Shattered Planet.
Millennia ago the Shattered Planet was an average sized world but gravitational forces broke it apart. Its pieces were now held loosely together by magnetic stasis fields. The magnetic fields enabled the people of Berliotz to convert the largest fragment into a gigantic stage.
The Wagnorians allied themselves with the Verdees, the Earth equivalent to wandering space gypsies. Using the nomadic Verdees as pawns, the Wagnorians plotted to cause friction between the opera performers and the Verdees which would result in fighting. The Wagnorians would then sweep in, conquering the Berliotz system while claiming to be coming to the rescue of their Verdee allies. The Verdees were fed rumors that the opera would be used to humiliate them.
The Verdees attacked the starship of the opera production, only to find it defended by Green Lantern Hal Jordan. The ring wielder had been alerted of the Wagnorians aggressive tendencies by his masters, the Guardians of the Universe. Green Lantern stabilized the situation, much to the chagrin of the Wagnorians.
The lead tenor of the space opera, Du-quesne, was secretly a spy for the Wagnorians. Du-quesne sabotaged the mnemno-teacher, a device which played a telepathic tape which placed the words and music of the opera in the subconscious minds of the cast while they were held in a trance like state. The mnemno-teacher kept the cast from having to go to long, boring rehearsals. The effect of the sabotage was excruciatingly painful to the cast members and while Green Lantern and the ship's captain found an ultra sonic transmitter patched into the mnemno-teacher's cable.
There was very little time to investigate as the Verdees attacked the opera stage. They were angered by insults displayed by an astro-projector normally used to show the audience program notes. Green Lantern tried to convince the Verdees they were somehow being set up by the Wagnorians to attack the opera.
Immediately before the show began, the singers were put back in a trance to begin their performance. The opera commenced and riots ensued when the cast members sang lyrics degrading the Verdees. The cast members were in their performance trances and did not realize what they were singing.
Aboard the Wagnorian ship the commander prepared to attack, to "defend" the Verdees. Green Lantern managed to temporarily stop virtually all of the spectators of the Berliotz system. He had deduced Du-quesne was behind the sabotage and had secretly replaced the mnemno-teacher's tape.
Though revealed as a spy, Du-quesne was not ready to surrender. He ordered Green Lantern to enter a prop disintegrator and destroy himself or have the Wagnorians atomize all the creatures of the Berliotz system. Green Lantern had little choice as he was too weak to confront the Wagnorians and the people of the Berliotz were still suspended in place. He entered the disintegrator and in a flash of light disappeared.
A Verdee that had witnessed the Green Lantern's heroic sacrifice attacked Du-quesne and overpowered the Wagnorian spy. Green Lantern had not been disintegrated; rather he had willed an energy discharge from his invisible power battery to flare up, suppressing the blue spectrum of light and emitting a yellow flash. He used the flash of light to drop through the floor and escape. After recovering his strength, Green Lantern took on the Wagnorians, capturing their command ship.
Their plans foiled, the Wagnorians were taken from the Berliotz system by Green Lantern to face an intergalactic court. They have not been heard from since. - Green Lantern Vol. 2 #72
CHRONOLOGY
For a definitive list of appearances of Wagnorians in chronological order click here