Maltus (comics)

Infobox comics location
name= Maltus


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caption=Drawn by Jonathan Peterson in Secret Origins #23.
publisher= DC Comics
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creators=
planet=y
residents=
races= Guardians of the Universe
Controllers
Zamarons
Maltusians
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subcat=DC Comics
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sortkey=PAGENAME|

"Maltus" (often spelled "Malthus") is a fictional planet, that has appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics. The planet exists in DC's main shared universe, known as the DC Universe. It is the planet the Guardians of the Universe originated from previous to their move to Oa. Maltus is also the originating planet of the Controllers, and the Zamarons female counterparts to the Guardians.

History

Maltus is home to an ancient, nearly forgotten civilization that gave birth to the Maltusian race which eventually evolved into the Guardians of the Universe, Controllers, and the Zamarons over 10 billion years ago in the DC universe. Maltus is known to be an extremely overpopulated planet which serves home to a poverty-stricken humanoid race with the inherent potential to evolve into Guardians of the Universe (Oans).

While advanced in technology, Maltus suffers from severe problems due to their overpopulation, as detailed in Green Lantern #81, during the Green Lantern/Green Arrow adventures of the late '70's.

It was revealed in Secret Origins #23 that life evolved on Maltus very similarly to Earth. Maltus had it's era of dinosaur-like creatures previous to the humanoid race. It was also revealed that a new organism sprung up on Maltus, called "symbiotes." The symbiotes merged with the humanoid race and gave them their advanced intellect, along with the building blocks to becoming immortal. It was revealed that the symbiotes were the source of all the powers granted to the race of humanoids that eventually evolved into the Guardians of the Universe.

The Guardians, Controllers and the Zamarons eventually left Maltus to further their own agendas. The Guardians set up on the planet Oa, while the Zamarons went to a new planet and named it Zamaron, the name of the Controller homeworld is unknown.

Millennium

Maltus was further detailed during the Millennium event, when the Guardians and the Zamarons came to Earth to create a new race of New Guardians. In Secret Origins #23, Heru (Guardian) and Nadia (Zamaron) tell the newly selected Guardians their origins.

Trinity

Maltus resurfaced in the Trinity mini-series of 1993 that introduced the Triarch, a trio of Maltusian gods. It was during this crossover mini-series that the Maltusians revealed an ancient prophecy about Green Lantern John Stewart.

Trivia

The name Maltus is supposed to be a nod to the demographer and political economist Thomas Malthus, who predicted for Earth overpopulation problems similar to those the fictional planet had to face.

External links

* [http://glcorps.dcuguide.com/profile.php?name=maltus The Book of OA: Maltus]
* [http://www.glcorps.org/maltus.html GLCorps.org: Maltus]