Captain Red (Valiant Comics)

Captain Red is a pirate from the 18th Century who accidentally steps into a Doorway to the Lost Land and eventually ends up in present day United States, accompanied by two bionisaurs, Misfire and Proto, and the robot OU-8-2.

History[]

Originally, Esau Vestment was a French youth in Gijon, until he was shanghaied by a French captain. His abductor didn't live to regret his decision, as Esau ultimately killed him and took over the ship, turning it into a pirate vessel and adopting the name of Captain Red.

Captain Red's legacy came to a sudden and mysterious end in the 18th Century, when he docked his ship in a hidden cove in the southern regions of North America to conceal his treasure. As it was buried, he wandered off to explore the cave and found a Doorway to the Lost Land, whereupon he was pulled through.

In the Lost Land, he was nearly eaten by a T-Rex, but was saved by robot minions of Mothergod, who promptly took him captive. In his captivity, he was taken to the bio-mechanics lab, where his left arm was amputated and replaced with a cybernetic one and his missing left eye was similarly replaced. During this time, he saw Turok as one of Mothergod's slaves. When the first Unity event was thwarted, Captain Red was able to kill his guard and escape in the confusion; rescuing two failed bionosaur experiments - Proto and Misfire - he directed the servant robot OU-8-2 to help them flee Mothergod's city, this time spotting Turok fighting against Mothergod's forces.

During the upheaval, a sudden timeshift grabbed the quartet and returned them to southern America, but this time in the 21st century. In an unfamiliar time and place, Captain Red clung to sanity by fixating on a simple plan: recover his long-buried treasure, and resume a life of piracy.

In issues #13 through to #15 of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, Captain Red comes to Cape Cynthia, the modern-day port town that grew up around the hidden cove where he left his treasure. He attacks the local college library for the maps that OU-8-2 requires to find Captain Red's treasure, injuring Turok's ward Andy Howell in the process. This outrages Turok, who chases the group right back to the same cove; in the ensuing battle, they discover the Doorway to the Lost Land still exists in that cove, and the vengeful Turok knocks Captain Red and his followers through it, sending them back to the Lost Land.

Captain Red would later reappear in issue #25 of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. In the following issue, it would be revealed that after his return to the Lost Land, the former pirate captain ultimately became chieftain of a tribe called the Lake People, falling in love with and marrying a lake woman named Shar. As such, he now stands as friend to Keth the Picture-Maker of the Forest People and one of those dedicated to resisting the plans of the Campaigner. This brings him into an alliance with Turok, and after a final meal at his home with the Lake People, he takes Turok to the Wing People to seek further allies - when they return in failure, a devastated Captain Red discovers his tribe has been massacred by the Campaigner's forces, and his wife Shar is dead. Enraged, he leads the assault against the ruins of Mothergod's fortress, which ultimately brings the Campaigner down.

He appears for the last time in the final three issues of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, starting with issue #45. Here, it's revealed that Captain Red returned to the Lake People after the war was over and rebuilt the village. He eventually took a new wife - the fiery-tongued and roguish Lara - and had a son with her. When Turok and Andy come by to visit their now-friend, he explains that the Lake People have recently been suffering raids from a tribe called the Lizard People. Before they can partake of an evening meal, the Lizard People launch one of their attacks, trying to goad Captain Red into surrendering by burning two of his captive men alive in front of him. This fails, and leads to an attack that is ultimately repelled when Andy manages to defeat the son of the Lizard People's Queen. Captain Red then sets about rebuilding his village. With the series' cancellation after that issue, it's unknown what happened to him afterwards.

Personality[]

Captain Red is bold, flamboyant, fearless and passionate. He is a charismatic individual, able to inspire considerable loyalty in his followers, but also ruthless and amoral. He has a devil-may-care approach to life and does as he pleases.

He finds redemption after joining the Lake People. His love for his wives Shar and Lara is deep, and he admits that they have given him a place to belong that he never had as a pirate. He is shown to be a surprisingly strong and capable leader to the Lake People.

Powers and Abilities[]

Captain Red possesses cybernetic prosthetics, most notably an arm and an eye. The precise abilities of either item are unknown, but the arm possesses a retractile blade mounted above the wrist.
Captain Red is a skilled sailor and an experienced captain from his life as a pirate captain.
Captain Red is a skilled combatant, specialized in the use of dual-wielding cutlass and pistol.