Captain Kraken

Krak-En Vas

Krak-En Vas was hatched on the distant planet Illthus, a dark and dreary water-world on the edge of The Grue Unity. After some training as a soldier working for the Empire, Krak-En deserted his unit, and began a career as a pirate and privateer. Raiding various small shipments, he parlayed his successes into a larger crew and a larger ship, becoming known as a scourge of the spaceways in the Grue Unity, The Lor Republic, and many other parts of known space.
After years on the most-wanted lists of authorities across the galaxy, Captain Krak-En’s luck ran out when his ship was damaged in a space battle with a Lor cruiser near Earth. The space pirate managed a controlled entry of Earth’s atmosphere, but his vessel’s hyperdrive was badly damaged. To repair it, Krak-En needed parts, equipment, and supplies. As a pirate, he naturally set to stealing them.
His translation matrix latched onto information about Earth pirates (kindred spirits), so Krak’En’s English sounds like it came out of a Hollywood pirate movie (since, essentially, it did) and he has developed a fondness for dressing like a pirate from Earth’s Age of Sail. The alien pirate and his crew fought the Earth heroine Siren on several occasions, and “Captain Kraken” (as he become known on Earth) and his crew ended up in federal custody.
It remained unclear if the human authorities could even hold alien criminals, but for some time, Captain Kraken and his crew remained the “guests” of Blackstone prison. Eventually they escaped and Kraken was able to finish repairs to his ship. Although the space pirate escaped Earth, his vessel was nearly destroyed in the process. He resumed his career of plunder, but now with an eye toward the riches of Earth and the humans who’d dared imprison him. Kraken swore his revenge, and it is an oath he takes seriously.
Since then, Captain Kraken and his crew of space pirates have caused trouble for Earth on occasion. He would like nothing more than to unleash a terrible catastrophe or war on Earth, leaving the ruins for him to plunder. Kraken has also attracted trouble in the form of Grue, Lor, and other aliens seeking to capture him. He forges alliances with menaces like Lady Lunar and Star-Khan, breaking them when they no longer suit his plans. Through it all, he remains one of the most dreaded pirates, scourge of the spacelanes.

Physical Description

Special abilities

Captain Kraken is a healthy, athletic Illthusian, about as capable as an athletic human, albeit capable of seeing in almost absolute darkness, breathing both air and water, and possessing prehensile tentacles surrounding his mouth.
Like other Illthusians, Kraken can emit a cloud of inky black particulate, spreading out through air or water to provide temporary concealment, usually for an ambush or escape.
Captain Kraken is usually equipped with a transparent collapsible spacesuit, which activates automatically upon contact with a hostile environment. He is armed with a force blaster pistol and an energy sword, both styled to appear like antique Earth weapons from the Age of Sail.
Kraken also usually has use of his space cruiser, the Star Scourge, along with a crew of some of the most infamous pirates and scoundrels in the known galaxy.

Mental characteristics

Intellectual Characteristics

Captain Kraken tends to combine showboating and a preference for hiding behind his crew. He’ll send waves of space pirates at the heroes before facing them in personal combat, although he’s quite daring when forced into a direct confrontation. Kraken is willing to take hostages and hold entire cities ransom, if it serves his purpose. He often takes advantage of the more honorable nature of his opponents.
Captain Kraken tries to make sure he has an escape plan if things go wrong. He’s the first to abandon ship and head for the escape pods, and more than once heroes have witnessed the destruction of his vessel. Kraken always turns up later with some wild tale of how he survived to fight another day.