Nameless, the Last of the Metabarons

***Nameless, the Last of the Metabarons*** is the eigth issue of *The Saga of the Metabarons* (the main series of The Metabarons franchise). It was written by Alejandro Jodorowsky, illustrated by Juan Giménez and released by Les Humanoïdes Associés in 2003.

In this issue the truth about Lothar's identity is revealed, the supra-lice threaten the universe and Steelhead and the Metabaron face each other in a space battle.

## Plot

Lothar is angry at Tonto for humilliating him.
Tonto explains his taunting by telling him how the Metabaron
got the scar. First, Tonto reminds Lothar that Aghora actually broke the
Bushitaka law, because he didn’t really kill Steelhead, he simply launched him
into space.

The story continues in a flashback: After
Aghora birthed Nameless, he developed advanced psionic powers, was taught how
to endure physical and psychological pain, and served as executioner in a
prison planet. At 13 his ear was mutilated, and at 14 weapons were implanted in
his body, and spend the next 5 years as a mercenary. On the eve of his 17th
birthday he faced the metabaron tradition, according to which he had to kill
his father to acquire the title of metabaron. Nameless manages to pierces his
father-mother’s chest, killing him-her. After the experience Nameless swears to
never have children.

Meanwhile, in the ensuing years, Steelhead
traveled, balled up like a fetus in his invulnerable sphere, when one day he
was gobble up by a Trans-ludens, which took him to Ulkmar-eight-moon, the most
sacred planet of the galaxy. Unable to digest Steelhead, the Trans-ludens
defecated him on the slopes of the volcano Hungar. Convinced that Steelhead was
Ounser, the divine fetus, the local Proto-anthropoids honored him by drinking
the blood from their own bosoms. The blood was absorbed by the dry porous rock
which caused the volcano to awaken, and the burning acid lava ate through
Steelhead’s omni-cryo-refrigerated sphere.

Once Steelhead was freed he eliminated all the
tribes of the planet, and then waited for several years for the Trans-ludens to
come back, allowing himself to be swallowed again, and forcing the animal to
take him back to his own galaxy. Finally, he arrives at Terra 2014 when
Nameless was 30 years old, and Steelhead challenges him to a mortal combat for
the title of metabaron. Nameless provokes Steelhead into attacking him, but he
has measured the space between them with such precision that only his right
eyebrow is split into two. The Metabaron takes advantage of Steelhead’s
surprise and eye-blasts him with a powerful paralyzing ray.

Nameless takes advantage of his ancestor’s
catatonia to open his pectorial brain: He removes parts of the lobular circuits,
erases his memory and makes him believe he’s a robot, fitting the
indestructible body inside a heavy metallic armor that Lothar has believed all
this years to be his own body. Thus, the truth is out: Steelhead is Lothar, and
that’s why the Metabaron truly wanted to destroy his robots.

Now that the truth has been revealed, and
Steelhead is the true metabaron, Tonto is obligated to follow his orders.
Steelhead decides he wants to capture Nameless, so he sends an omni-global
signal to attract possible enemies of the Metabaron. They eventually get picked
up by the supra-lice, the descendants of the prehistoric lice, who have sucked
the blood, the sap and the energy of the universe. Steelhead meets the
Soul-queen of the supra-lice, Diophante, who tells him that Nameless has led the humans to Ghartabis (an alternative universe), occupying planets in the Zimoun
galaxy. They decide to perform a hyper-spatial jump and come out at the
frontier of the exofringe, to cross the communication gate with the parallel
universe.

After going through the exofringe, they arrive
at Lucioh, the communication gate to Ghartabis, which they enter after correctly
singing the tune to Ophidat, guardian of the gate. The supra-lices start
causing troubles by devouring a planet, and the Metabaron appears to stop the
invasion. Steelhead and the Metabaron face against each other in space, using
their mental powers and swords in the fight. Steelhead overpowers Nameless, who
flees. Tonto follows the Metabaron, who brings him to Obecity the capital city
of Terra-bis, and shows him how a galaxy near the Lucioh gate explodes. Tonto
is confused about what just happened. The Metabaron explains: Even though
Steelhead had lost his memory, the Metabaron preserved the link that united
their caste, by exchanging cerebral waves they didn’t seek to destroy each
other, they actually united to save humanity. In reality Steelhead had misled
the supra-lice and he knew they were planning to lay billions of eggs that he
couldn’t possibly eliminate them all in time. The combat in space between them
was actually to buy time for Diophante to give birth to countless supra-lice,
which created a supra-louse the size of an entire galaxy, while the Diophante-mother
metamorphosed into a galactic supra-louse stood ready to attack. Steelhead had
been absorbed by the insectoid galaxy and had auto-destructed himself, using
his mini-atomic bomb to kill the supra-louse.

After saving the universe, the Metabaron falls into a depression. Since his cyborg body forbides him to self-destruct before he’s
reached 30.000 years, he feels unbearably boredom, occasionally destroying an
asteroid or a deserted plane to keep in shape. Tonto builds himself a female
human body to seduce him but the Metabaron laugh at the idea.

One night the Metabaron lights up all the Holo-biograms
of his departed family and reflects on his ancestors lives, considering his
clan vain and useless. At this moment a bee lands on his left hand, but the
Metabaron stops himself from squashing it at the last second, promising to
never destroy another life. Suddenly Gangez spirit bursts out of Nameless chest,
and explains that he had been waiting for the time a metabaron would know pity,
and encourages him to restore justice in the universe. Gangez regenerates the
Metabaron’s taste and invites him to try tasting honey from a bee-hive in the concealed
underbelly of the metabunker. Thanks to this experience the Metabaron understands
the meaning of love and how it feels to be human.

The Metabaron decides to go back to Galaxia
Prima, and start cleansing evil from the universe. He destroys the government headquarters
of the Golden Planet, and plans to restore freedom throughout the galaxy by
facing the imperial powers, the techno-techno cult, the magnate, the ekonomats,
and the colonial forces.

 Other Issues

1. *Othon the Great-Great-Grandfather*(1992)
2. *Honorata the Great-Great-Grandmother*(1993)
3. *Aghnar the Great-Grandfather*(1995)
4. *Oda the Great-Grandmother*(1997)
5. *Steelhead the Grandfather*(1998)
6. *Doña Vicenta Gabriela de Rokha the Grandmother*(1999)
7. *Aghora the Father-Mother*(2002)
8. ***Nameless, the Last of the Metabarons***(2003)