BATHALA - Salot

FINALLY, after a wait of THREE YEARS (if I waited til next year, these Bathala articles would be coming out like the Olympics), let us take a look the villains of the Kidlat Superheroes Komiks series Bathala, the terrorist demigods known as...

SALOT ("PLAGUE")

 

BALANG

Real Name: Victor Coronel

The Salot leader Balang has the ability to shapeshift into a humanoid horse creature similar to the mythical tikbalang from which his name was derived.  He is also a martial arts expert and computer genius, and also happens to be the half-brother of Raja Team One leader Lam-ang.

 

KABAG

Real Name: Ivan Rutger

Named after the Kapampangan word for a bat (and not to be confused for the Tagalog word for gas pain) Kabag is literally as blind as one, but also possesses its hypersensitive hearing, as well as a sixth sense.  He doesn't actually have the power to fly, but can glide through the air using his bat wing-shaped cape, and has retractable razor claws that can slice even through metal.  

KAPRE

Yeah, this is the only other picture I can find of him.  You can also see him getting beaten to a bloody pulp by Carpio in the Raja Team One article.

Obviously named after the tree giant of Philippine folklore, this Kapre is the team's muscle, possessing superhuman strength, as well as his mythical namesake's smoking habit.

 

NUNO

Named after the nuno sa punso, small-but-terrible Nuno is the resident tech and weapons specialist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

K'WA

The older sister of Raja Team member Adarna (sibling rivalries for everybody!), K'wa likewise has bird-like abilities and is trained in martial arts. Her name is possibly short for kuwago or owl, which would also explain her owl-shaped headgear (or is that her actual hair?).

 

ARGAN

I'm not sure what mythical creature she's supposed to be based on (a santelmo, maybe?), but Argan is a literally hot babe with fire-based powers.

COVER GALLERY 2

 

BATHALA - Raja Team One

Hey, it's been a while.  Let's see if we can get back in the groove.

Way back in 2015, we did a brief feature on the Kidlat Superheroes Komiks serial Bathala.  Four years later, here's that looooooong overdue follow-up, spotlighting the series' protagonists...

RAJA TEAM ONE

LAM-ANG

Real Name: Geonell Salvador

Named after the Ilocano epic hero, Lam-ang has the ability to absorb and store any type of energy into his body and release it in the form of devastating bio-kinetic blasts or as a protective force field.

MAKILING

Real Name: Angelina Sagala

Named after the mythical guardian spirit of Mount Makiling, she can influence the temperature of her surroundings, notably giving her ice-based powers.  Makiling can also direct energy to her feet, enabling her to fly.

CARPIO

Real Name: Jay Jorge Beltran

Named after the mythological strongman Bernardo Carpio, he is the team's resident powerhouse.  Needless to say, Carpio possesses superhuman strength, but besides that he also has superhuman endurance that enables him to withstand extreme temperatures and hold his breath for an extended period of time.  He carries a protomagnetic shield that grants him the power of flight.

DWEN

Real Name: June Bautista

His name is taken from the word duwende, the Philippine term for dwarves, elves or goblins.  The youngest team member, Dwen has psionic powers that enable him to scan the minds of others or fire powerful psi-blasts at his opponents.  He is also capable of teleportation, but the range of this ability is limited to only 30 kilometers.

ADARNA

Real Name: Fritzie Aguilar

Named after the eponymous bird from the 16th century epic poem, Adarna has a powerful high-pitched voice that can shatter anything, including metal.  Aside from this, she is also a skilled martial artist, a pair of katana blades being her weapons of choice.  Her sister, K'wa, is a member of the opposing team, the evil Salot.

LAWIN

Unfortunately, I don't have the profile page for this guy.  Anyway, Lawin ("Hawk") possesses razor-sharp claws, super-sharp senses, and a winged cape that enables him to glide through the air.

From his appearance, one would assume Lawin to be the silent, brooding mystery-man of the group, but that couldn't be further from the truth.  Underneath that cool-looking mask is a brash and vain pretty boy who considers himself the star player of the team.

 

 

COVER GALLERY

 

That's all for now.  Watch out for our feature on the Rajas' villainous counterparts, the Salot, coming out--sometime in the future. (^_^)

BATHALA: Gods vs Monsters

Written and illustrated by Joseph Caesar Sto. Domingo, Bathala debuted in Kidlat Superheroes Komiks #1 (June 21, 1993), published by Sonic Triangle Publishing, Inc.

The series deals with a super-powered alien race which crash-landed on Earth centuries ago, forming the basis for the gods and monsters of ancient mythology.  In modern times, their descendants have split into 2 factions: the heroic Raja Team One and the evil Salot ("Plague").

Here's the second chapter from KSH #2 (June 28, 1993).

FIREPOWER 2001: Battle Armor

Firepower 2001 was a back-page feature in Terminator Komiks by Trigger 2000 artist Joseph Caesar D. Sto. Domingo, showcasing his original mecha designs.  Here are a few of his high-tech battle armor concepts.

TRIGGER 2000

Happy New Year 2011! Let's party like it's the year 2000!

IN THE YEAR TWO-THOUSAAAAAAAAAND!!!

Trigger 2000 was a popular series that ran from 1993 to 1994 in the pages of the sci-fi/action-themed Terminator Komiks, published by Sonic Triangle Publishing, Inc.

The title character Trigger was a wisecracking 20th century hitman out to assassinate corrupt technologies magnate Maximus Cerebro, the man responsible for his parents' murder. He somehow finds himself transported to the year 2000(?!), a post-apocalyptic timeline where a war rages between the oppressed mutant race and the ruthless cyborg empire-- headed by Cerebro himself!

As written by Mike Tan, Trigger was a memorable character for his devil-may-care attitude and wicked sense of humor. The series was illustrated by Joseph Caesar D. Sto. Domingo, whose sleek high-tech art style meshed perfectly with Trigger's futuristic world.

MUTANTS

DR. ZEUS

The leader of the freedom-fighting mutant underground.

MARA

Dr. Zeus' daughter. She possesses telekinetic abilities and healing powers. A budding romance forms between her and Trigger (well, what did you expect?)

TROY

Dr. Zeus' son, Mara's younger brother. He has the ability to turn anything he touches into an explosive.

CHAN

Neither a teenager nor a turtle, but a mutant ninja warrior. He is Trigger's ally against the cyborgs and his rival for Mara's affections.

DORK

Yes, that's his name. The muscle of the group, and the butt of Trigger's jokes. Oddly enough, I don't think Trigger ever picked on him about his name.

NOMADS

An evil faction of mutants, turned into crazed cannibals by overexposure to radiation.

CYBORGS

CEREBRO

In a previous life, Maximus Cerebro was a wealthy, brilliant, but crooked industrialist, the creator of the super-computer Babel. By the year 2000, he has become the half-man/half-mechanized emperor of the evil cyborg empire, ruling the world from its capital Centro City.

LADY CARMEN

Cerebro's wife. Back in the past, Carmen had an affair with Trigger, broke him out of prison, and helped him get revenge on her husband. Cerebro discovers her betrayal and murders her for it, but later resurrects her as a cyborg, erasing all of her memories to make her completely subservient to him.

TRIGGER 1994

Trigger 2000 was abruptly discontinued upon Terminator Komiks', um, termination in 1994. However, Trigger briefly resurfaced later that year in a 3-part Kickero story which ran in Kick Fighter Komiks #89-91. Set in the "present day," it was essentially a prequel to his previous series.

Trigger has to be one of the coolest characters to come out of Philippine comic books in the 1990's, and it would be great if they revived him again in the future. Of course, for obvious reasons, they'd have to change the title of his series.

COVERS