- "You think we survived the destruction of our world by giving everyone a say? Our royal house stood for a thousand years because our people need our order and our leadership."
- "Our house would've fallen. So rebuild with me father, please."
- —Lar Gand and Mon-El[src]
Lar Gand (died March 2017) was the king of Daxam. He was also the husband of the late Rhea and the father of Mon-El. He rules what is left of the Daxamites after the planet was ravaged by the debris of the destroyed planet Krypton. He was killed by his wife after he allowed his son to remain on Earth instead of returning to Daxam.
Biography
Early life
Lar Gand was born on the planet Daxam into the royal family, eventually becoming the king Daxamites, at he some point he met and fell in love with a woman named Rhea, and they had a son named Mon-El.
Destruction of Daxam and searching for Mon-El
When Krypton exploded and rained debris down on the planet, Lar Gand fled with his wife Rhea in a large ship with a number of their people. He and his wife learned that their son was alive and started to search the stars in order to find him. They journeyed to the Well of Stars then to Maaldoria trying to find him. They then learned from the locals and a Dominator ambassador that Mon-El was on Earth.[1]
They eventually made it to Earth when he saw that the yellow sun was having an effect on them. They sent a message for Mon-El to be turned over to them, thinking that he might be a captive. When Supergirl flew to the ship, he ordered for the ship to attack her, believing that the Kryptonian was trying to attack them.
Lar Gand and Rhea reuniting with their son Mon-El.
When Mon-El transmitted a plea to stand down as he was going to give himself to them, he had the ship's weapons withdrawn. He then transported his son and Kara to the ship where he and his wife were reunited with their son. He then called for a feast to celebrate though Mon-El was hesitant about the idea and wanted to leave with Kara but she insisted that they stay. While they ate, they exchanged stories of their respective journeys after the devastation on Daxam.
When Mon-El later returned to the ship, Lar Gand was ready to have them return to Daxam and begin rebuilding their society but his son said he wasn't leaving Earth. He also claimed that Lar Gand and Rhea didn't really care about their people and he was tired of being served and primped up. His wife accused Kara of being the cause of his attitude but Mon-El claimed that she made him want to be better. Mon-El then asked to be returned to Earth and Lar Gand silently went to answer his request and sent him back.[2]
Lar Gand and Rhea meet with Mon-El in the Alien Bar.
Lar Gand and his wife were called to the Alien Bar by their son. He was surprised to see that Mon-El, given his status, was working as a bartender. A bounty of 300 quartz crowns had been issued on Kara and he suspected it was them but Lar Gand claimed that they had no part in that. He defended that the reason that they were still orbiting Earth was because they were hoping that Mon-El would change his mind and return to Daxam with them. He told his son that he was in despair after losing him but Rhea kept them strong up until they finally received his beacon and were given hope again. When Mon-El returned with Rhea, he was happy to see him but was shocked that Rhea had been the one that issued the bounty of Kara and coerced their son to return to them by threatening Kara's life.
Lar Gand and Mon-El speaking about Daxam's future.
Lar Gand went to his son as he was watching it for the last time and he assured him that Kara would be safe and that coming back with them was still the right thing to do for their people. Mon-El told him that one day he would be the King of Daxam and he wanted to make it better than it was before. His son wanted to have a kingdom where there was justice for all and equal say for all of their people but Lar Gand claimed that the notion was ridiculous. When Mon-El asked him why it was ridiculous, he claimed that it wasn't what the people of Daxam needed. That the people needed their order and leadership to survive and it was their house's power which had their people survive. Mon-El stated that their house would've inevitably had fallen but it could be rebuilt to be better and he asked his father to help him but Rhea arrived and had Mon-El placed into a cell to try and stamp out Kara and Earth's influence on him.
When J'onn J'onzz and later Kara teleported to the ship and engaged Rhea, he moved to fight against J'onn. He angrily claimed that all they wanted was for their family to be together but J'onn claimed that was what they also wanted. Mon-El was freed from his cell by Winn and he saw that Kara was in trouble from the Kryptonite weapons Rhea was wielding and he made a hole in the window of the ship to have the vacuum suck out the Kryptonite. Lar Gand managed to seal it back up and then ordered their soldiers to stop against his wife's protests. He saw that Mon-El had a new family and decided to allow him to return back with them as he seemed to have made his choice.
Death
Lar Gand looking up at Rhea after she stabbed him before he dies.
Lar Gand was taking a final look at Earth before they would return to Daxam as he was joined by Rhea. She asked him why he let Mon-El go and he explained that on Daxam they value happiness and he felt that Mon-El wouldn't have been happy to leave with them. Rhea then told him that they used to be completely in sync, at each other's side, but it seemed they no longer were. Lar Gand claimed that he was still at Rhea's side and they would find a way to move on but Rhea said they wouldn't before she stabbed him. Over his dead body, Rhea claimed that he betrayed her and she wasn't done with Earth yet.[3]
Legacy
When Mon-El confronts his mother with a gun full of lead bullets, she lies and tells him that Lar Gand was so upset with Mon-El leaving them that he took his own life. The news of his father committing suicide stopped him from killing his mother.
When Rhea is confronted by Kara, who tries to reason with her to surrender, she spitefully throws the fact that she personally killed Lar Gand for opposing her at Kara to make her accept that her words will not sway her.
Kara later informed Mon-El (off-screen) that Lar Gand did not commit suicide, but was murdered by Rhea. After lead was released into Earth's atmosphere, Rhea was quickly dying and she begged Mon-El to save her. He coldly asked if he should save her the way she "saved" his father.
Personality
Lar Gand possessed the common traits of most Daxamites as he valued personal splendor and happiness. He was somewhat arrogant and vain when it comes to his and his family's position as royalty. He stands firmly behind his planet's policies of slavery and rank.
However, Lar Gand had a soft side when it comes to both his wife and his son. He will do what is necessary for the good of his family, even fight for them as soon as he sees they are in trouble. He had even shown that he does care for his people, in his own misguided way, as he believed that his actions were for the best of the Daxamites in his rule. Before his death at the hands of his own wife Rhea, it was seen that Mon-El's change from being with Kara Danvers and the humans was starting to have an effect on him as well. His own son said that he wasn't a good man though he was still heartbroken when he learned of his death and vengeful when he learned that Lar Gand had actually been murdered by his mother.
Like all Daxamites, Lar Gand disliked Kryptonians due to their arrogant and self-righteous traits, despite this, he still made an attempt to be civil with Kara.
Powers and abilities
Powers
- Daxamite physiology: Normally, like all Daxamites, Lar Gand's capabilities were no greater than a normal human of his physical conditioning. However, once charged by the energy of a blue or yellow sun and metabolized into his body, he became able to perform various inhuman feats.
- Solar energy absorption: While Lar Gand's powers are dependent on the energy spectrum from a blue or yellow sun, his body is able to constantly and passively absorb such energy while exposed to it, essentially keeping his reserves fully charged near-constantly. Direct exposure to sunlight will also accelerate his recovery from any injuries he does manage to sustain.
- Accelerated healing factor: Lar Gand's solar charged metabolism accelerates his healing and allows him to burn calories at a fast rate, making him resilient to weight gain.
- Electrosynthesis: Lar Gand's cells harness and absorbed the electrical energy surrounding him, manipulating it to regenerate himself at a cellular level and manifest his own energy source.
- Contaminant immunity: Lar Gand had an immunity to all forms of disease and contaminants on Earth.
- Green Kryptonite immunity: Despite having a similar physiology to Kryptonians, Lar Gand was immune to the radiation effects of Green Kryptonite.
- Silver Kryptonite immunity: Despite having a similar physiology to Kryptonians, Lar Gand was immune to the radiation effects of Silver Kryptonite.
- Super leaping: Lar Gand was able to perform incredibly high jumps in a single bound.
- Invulnerability: Lar Gand was essentially invulnerable to all Earthly weapons. He was able to take far more damage than any normal human.
- Super speed: Lar Gand possessed the ability to move at incredible speeds, far greater than that of any normal human.
- Super strength: Lar Gand's strength was enhanced under a blue or yellow sun, enough to easily kill a normal human if he were to attack them directly.
- Accelerated healing factor: Lar Gand's solar charged metabolism accelerates his healing and allows him to burn calories at a fast rate, making him resilient to weight gain.
- Solar energy absorption: While Lar Gand's powers are dependent on the energy spectrum from a blue or yellow sun, his body is able to constantly and passively absorb such energy while exposed to it, essentially keeping his reserves fully charged near-constantly. Direct exposure to sunlight will also accelerate his recovery from any injuries he does manage to sustain.
Abilities
- Expert hand-to-hand combatant: As a member of the royal family of Daxam, Lar Gand was a capable unarmed fighter.
- Expert stick fighter: As a member of the royal family of Daxam, Lar Gand was a capable stick fighter; he was able to go toe-to-toe with J'onn J'onzz, a Green Martian who is 317 years old and is an expert stick fighting in his own right.
Weaknesses
- Lead: Weapons made from lead will penetrate Lar Gand's skin; if lead stayed in his system for too long, he will die from the poisoning.
- Extreme energy: Extreme amounts of energy, can be enough to kill Lar Gand.
- Red Sun energy: Like Kryptonians, exposure to the Red Sun will make Lar Gand the equivalent of a human being on Earth.
- Magic: Lar Gand is not invulnerable to magic because his powers come from his natural physiology and not supernatural means.
Appearances
Supergirl
Season 2
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Behind the scenes
- In the DC comics, Lar Gand is the true name of Mon-El.
References
- ↑ "Supergirl Lives"
- ↑ "Star-Crossed"
- ↑ "Distant Sun"