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Air-Walker

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Gabriel Lan
Air-Walker
Gabriel Lan / Air-Walker.
Cover of Thor #305 (March 1981).
Art by Keith Pollard.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearance(Robot form): Fantastic Four #120 (March 1972).
(Real form):Thor #305 (March 1981).
Created byStan Lee (writer)
John Buscema (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoGabriel Lan
SpeciesXandarian
Place of originPlanet Xandar in the Tranta System, Andromeda galaxy
Team affiliationsHeralds of Galactus
Nova Corps
Notable aliasesAir-Walker
Abilities

Gabriel Lan is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, the character first appeared (in android form) in Fantastic Four #120 (March 1972).[1] Lan is a former member of the Nova Corps who became Galactus' herald.[2] He is known under the codename Air-Walker.[3] After Lan died in service to Galactus, a robotic duplicate was created to house his consciousness.[4]

Publication history

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Gabriel Lan debuted in Fantastic Four #120 (March 1972), created by Stan Lee and John Buscema.[5] He later appeared in Fantastic Four #211 (October 1979), Captain America #249 (September 1980), Thor #306 (January 1981), Dazzler #10 (December 1981),[6] and Silver Surfer vol. 3 #41 (September 1990).

Fictional character biography

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Gabriel Lan is a member of the Xandarian Nova Corps and the captain of the diplomatic and exploratory spaceship Way-Opener. Returning from a mission in space, the Way-Opener was confronted by Galactus, who abducts Lan and offers to transform him into a herald, in a similar fashion to the Silver Surfer.

A willing Lan accepts and becomes the Air-Walker. Pyreus Kril, the Way-Opener's officer and Lan's friend, becomes obsessed with finding Galactus after the abduction. Lan becomes devoted to Galactus, and the closest thing he has to a friend. On one journey to seek a planet for sustenance for Galactus, he battles the alien Ovoids, who kill Lan, but not before Galactus transfers a portion of his soul into an android body.[7]

Dissatisfied with the android, which lacked Lan's personality, Galactus sends it to Earth to re-enlist the Silver Surfer as his Herald. The Air-Walker encounters the Fantastic Four, and is then defeated by the Surfer, who guesses at the android's true nature. Mister Fantastic reprograms Galactus' ship to take him to the Negative Zone, where he will have an abundance of worlds to consume.[8] The remnants of the Air-Walker are found by the villain Machinesmith.[9]

The android eventually repairs itself and reactivates. Believing itself to be the original Gabriel Lan, the Air-Walker attempts to find the Surfer, but encounters the Thunder God, Thor. The Air-Walker's ability to wield Thor's hammer Mjolnir reveals its non-human nature, and Thor destroys the android.[10] Another of Galactus' former Heralds, Firelord, learns of the battle and confronts Thor. Firelord reveals that he was once Pyreus Kril, and eventually located Galactus' vessel and confronted the entity. Galactus agreed to reveal Lan's fate on the condition that Pyreus serve him as his latest Herald. Firelord then returns to space with the remains of the android.[11]

Firelord and the Surfer eventually revive the android to aid in a battle against Galactus' most ruthless Herald, Morg,[12] who completely destroys the Air-Walker.[13] A version of the Air-Walker and Firelord aid young superhero team the New Warriors against a threat from the planet Xandar.[14]

Lan's consciousness is then absorbed into the computer of Galactus' ship, and in data form directs Galactus to uninhabited worlds. Although the Worldship is later destroyed in a battle with the entity Tyrant,[15] the Air-Walker is restored to physical form and battles the Annihilation Wave alongside his fellow Heralds, but is destroyed once again.[16]

Powers and abilities

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Gabriel Lan was a normal man until he was transformed by Galactus. Endowed with the Power Cosmic, Lan as the Air-Walker possessed superhuman physical abilities, mastery of the electromagnetic spectrum, and immunity to the rigors of space. Like all Heralds, the Air-Walker was capable of travelling faster than the speed of light. Gabriel Lan graduated from the Xandarian Nova Corps Academy, and in addition to a thorough knowledge of combat, has knowledge of advanced alien technology and space navigation.

Air-Walker also wields the Bow of Gabriel, a powerful weapon which enables its user to terraform whole worlds.[17]

The android version of Lan appears to possess all the same abilities, in addition to a unique self-repair system and a homing beacon.

In other media

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Miscellaneous

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References

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  1. ^ Penagos, Ryan (December 23, 2019). "This Week in Marvel History: December 20-26". Marvel.com. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  2. ^ Gumeny, Eirik (2017-03-24). "Marvel Comics: 15 Heroes And Villains You Forgot Were Heralds Of Galactus". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  3. ^ Cronin, Brian (2023-04-20). "How Many of the Characters in the First Marvel 'Book of the Dead' Are Still Dead?". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  4. ^ Allan, Scoot (2020-06-15). "Fantastic Four: 10 Characters Galactus Could Introduce To The MCU". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  5. ^ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  6. ^ Walker, Gary (2020-10-02). "Air-Walker: How a Marvel Nova Became a Herald of Galactus". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  7. ^ All seen in flashback in Thor #306 (April 1981)
  8. ^ Fantastic Four #120-123 (March–June 1972)
  9. ^ Captain America #249 (Sep. 1980)
  10. ^ Thor #305 (March 1981)
  11. ^ Thor #306 (April 1981)
  12. ^ Silver Surfer vol. 3 #73-75 (Oct.-Dec. 1992)
  13. ^ Silver Surfer vol. 3 #79 (April 1993)
  14. ^ The New Warriors #40-42 (Oct.-Dec. 1993)
  15. ^ Silver Surfer vol. 3 #109 (Oct. 1995)
  16. ^ Annihilation: Silver Surfer #1-4 (June-Sep. 2006)
  17. ^ Black Order #2 (Dec. 12 2018)
  18. ^ "Voice Of Air-Walker (The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes) – Behind The Voice Actors". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  19. ^ Christopher L. Yost (writer) (November 11, 2012). "Avengers Assemble". The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Season 2. Episode 26. Disney XD.
  20. ^ Paige, Rachel (August 13, 2020). "Entering Marvel Contest of Champions: Air-Walker". Marvel.com. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  21. ^ Catig, Gary (August 15, 2020). "Galactus' Other Herald, Air-Walker, Looks To Dominate 'Marvel Contest of Champions'". Comicon.com. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  22. ^ "'Marvel HeroClix Iconix: Heralds of Galactus' Headed for Retail". ICv2. December 18, 2024. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
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