Acanti

Acanti
A herd of Acanti.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Uncanny X-Men #156 (April 1982)
Created by	Chris Claremont (writer) Dave Cockrum (artist)

The Acanti are a race of fictional whale-like, extraterrestrial beings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They have appeared in Uncanny X-Men within the Marvel Comics universe. They were created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum. Many of them were enslaved by the Brood empire.

Physical characteristics

The Acanti are large space-faring creatures most closely resembling Earth's whale shark. They are a reddish-brown color. They have dorsal, ventral, lateral, and caudal fins, as well as green eyes widely spaced on their heads. An adult Acanti can grow to a few kilometers in length, and even an infant is large enough to swallow a 15-person spaceship with room to take in at least four more. They are sentient creatures which communicate through psionic sounds referred to as songs. Acanti have the innate ability to fly faster than the speed of light, without technological assistance.

Fictional race biography

According to myth, the Acanti are an ancient species which peacefully wanders through space, benevolent and compassionate by nature. The Acanti are led by one individual known as the Prophet-Singer. The Prophet-Singer is the repository of the Acanti's racial Soul, a collective semi-mystical force that links and motivates the Acanti species. As death approaches, the Acanti typically hurl themselves into stars. The Prophet-Singer of each generation also does so, releasing the Soul to join the body of the next Prophet-Singer.

Upon migrating to the Milky Way galaxy, the Brood begin to enslave the Acanti to take advantage of their natural ability to travel at speeds exceeding light. The Brood infect individual Acanti with the Slaver Virus, a disease which destroys the higher cognitive functions of their minds, making them ripe for easy control. Then, the Brood transform the mindless husks into living starships. The Brood succeed in enslaving the Acanti Prophet-Singer, and when he eventually dies and crashes on a planet, its body is reconstructed as the "throne city" (presumably like a capital) on the planet (referred to as "Broodworld" or "Sleazeworld") that the Brood then establish as the center of their empire. Thus, the Soul remains trapped in the skull of the dead Prophet-Singer.

Salvation for the Acanti comes when a new Prophet-Singer is born, however, without transferring the soul to him, the Acanti are still stuck near Sleazeworld. One day, the X-Men are abducted and infected by the Brood and brought to their homeworld. Carol Danvers (formerly Ms. Marvel) becomes linked with a white hole and transforms into Binary. The process makes her temporarily insane, and she blasts out of Lilandra's yacht, causing an explosive decompression that sucks Storm into space, where she is found by the newborn Prophet-Singer, whose mother was just enslaved by the Brood. Storm herself starts becoming a Brood as the egg begins to hatch. The Prophet-Singer saves Storm (who destroyed the egg and critically wounded herself).^[1] Other Acanti merge Storm's consciousness with that of the Prophet-Singer while Storm's body heals in a cocoon within him.

The Acanti save Storm, entering into a symbiotic relationship in which they heal Storm's body, purging it of the Brood embryo, and Storm's experienced mind provides a source of focus and strength for the baby Prophet-Singer. The Acanti then swallows Liliandra's yacht, masking it from Brood sensors while the crew effect repairs.^[1]

The X-Men then agree to release the Soul from Broodworld. After a battle against the Brood, Binary succeeds in releasing the Soul from the crystalline room in which it is trapped. The foul nature of the Brood Queen and the embryos within the X-Men resonate as black pools throughout the chamber. The grateful Soul purges the X-Men of the Brood embryos and transforms the Brood Queen into pure inanimate crystal. The Soul unites with the young Prophet-Singer, who assumes leadership of the Acanti.^[2]

The Brood later attempt to invade Earth using a fleet of Acanti ships, though ones without external domes. It is unknown whether these were leftovers from before the X-Men freed the Prophet-Singer, or whether the Brood have continued their depredations on the Acanti even afterwards. The fleet is scared away from Earth with a telepathic illusion of the Phoenix Force and Galactus.

One Acanti is obtained by Roxxon Energy Corporation. With a riding device added to it, the Acanti is controlled by an unidentified Brood-infected human working for Dario Agger in his plot to hire Weapon H into working for Roxxon. Weapon H uses his punch to defeat the Acanti.^[3]

Ultimate Marvel

Although not named, in the Ultimate Fantastic Four #35 (Dec. 2006) there is a huge alien creature, used by the Acheron Empire, ruled by Thanos, that resembles the Acanti.

Other media

An Acanti appears in the X-Men episode "Love in Vain". Enslaved by the Brood (here called "The Colony") to be their vessel, it is freed when Professor X uses his psychic powers to break the Brood's control. The Brood cannot stand the Acanti's song while the X-Man Rogue finds it beautiful.

References