Century: Distant Sons #1
Distant Sons
After defeating his former owner, the Broker, Century has ventured into space with his former slaves to bring them all back to their home worlds. Century hopes that while on this mission he’ll be able to uncover the mysteries surrounding his forgotten past.[1]
One evening, Century dreams of a world under siege by the Scatter. He sees these events through the eyes of a young boy named Comus. Comus witnesses his mother get killed and hides in some rubble until the Scatters have finished decimating their planet. The boy gets one last look at the invaders and the being who brought them there, Century himself.
Century wakes up from this dream screaming. When Onyx — another one of the Broker’s former slaves — comes in to check on him, he assures Onyx that he is fine. He is then informed that they are approaching a planet called the Roost, home world to the avian Kiwi. As Century heads to the bridge he is reminded how uncomfortable he gets when the other freed slaves refer to him as the deliverer. After check in with the crew, Century heads down to the holding cells. Along the way, he passes Slug, who is being mentally forced to go into the weapon’s hold and claim the Broker’s Tyrmean brain-stem parasites. Century visits the Broker himself in his cell and demands her reveal the secrets of his past. The Broker refuses, telling Century that even if he does learn the truth it will break him. Century loses his temper but stops himself from causing serious harm, and warns the Broker not to test his patience.
Heading back up to the bridge to bid farewell to Kiwi, Century is informed by Skewer that some of the Broker’s files have been decrypted. They reveal the location of Skewer’s home world of Prashard. When Century asks if he’d like to be the next one to return home, Skewer informs him that his world has been dead for years and storms off the bridge. Century assures the others that he’ll talk to Skewer once he has had a chance to cool off and decides they’ll be returning Onyx home next.
Century returns to his quarters to practice using his trademark weapon, the two sided axe called Parallax. That’s when the bridge sends an emergency alert. Teleporting there, Century is attacked by the crew and soon overpowered and has a Tyrmean parasite attached to his neck. As it turns out, the Broker has gotten free and re-enslaved the entire crew. Century is then tossed in the brig until they arrive at their new destination to meet with a potential slave buyer.
The Broker then teleports himself, Skewer, Kerth, and Century to the surface of moon orbiting the planet Memoriam. There he shows them a monolith erected in memory of the people who once lived there who were decimated by a powerful being called Lore and then finished off by the Scatter. The Broker then amuses himself by revealing that Century’s own people, the Hodmurians, were also victims of Lore.[2] In fact, they created Century and created his mind from 100 of their world’s greatest warriors and survivalists. Given a 100 year life span, Century was sent into time and space to hunt down and destroy Lore. It was while on this hunt that Century was captured and enslaved by the Broker. The Broker then learned that the Scatter were following Lore and finishing off what remained of the planets she destroyed. Needing a tracker to follow after Lore, he sold Century to them. He then reveals that Century was the one that led the Scatter to Skewer’s home world. As it turns out, Skewer was the little boy in Century’s dream. When Skewer tries to kill Century, the Broker incapacitates him.
That’s when the buyer finally shows up, she is a woman named Imogen who Century finds familiar but can’t tell why. She is joined by an entourage that includes two bio-engineered warriors and a member of the Quo Madri race. Imogen wants to purchase Century so she can use his powers to bring her to another dimension where she seeks an object of power. The Broker happily sells Century to her and when the teleport away, he returns to his ship and orders his crew to follow after them. The Broker intends to steal Century back so he can make more profit off such a valuable slave.
In this other dimension, Century leads his new owners toward their destination when they are attacked by hideous alien creatures. Surrounded on all sides, they are all saved by a woman named Azimuth who teleports them to her stronghold. As it turns out, Azemuth is Imogen’s sister and that Imogen has come to steal a powerful artifact called the Crucible. She then uses her powers to free Century, telling him that he is destined to be a hero and that his place is on Earth alongside Force Works.
That’s when Imogen incapacitates Azimuth with an energy blast and heads for the Crucible. Suddenly, the Broker’s ship arrives and begins opening fire on the stronghold. Teleporting down to the surface, the Broker has come to reclaim century. That’s when Slug — racked with guilt over re-enslaving his friends — sacrifices his life to destroy the slave controlling device aboard the ship. This frees everyone from the Broker’s control and they turn on him. In the ensuing battle, Century gets behind his foe and decapitates him.
In the aftermath of the battle, they discover that Azimuth is also dead and that Imogen escaped with the Crucible. Returning to their ship and returning to normal space, Century meets with Skewer. In trying to learn the secrets of his past, Century has only found more unanswered questions and realizes that he has no desire for the answers.[3] Instead, he has decided to turn over command to Skewer as he wishes to return to Earth, the place he now calls home and has friends he can count on.[4]
Recurring Characters
Century, Onyx, Skewer, Kerth, Slug, Kiwi, The Broker
Continuity Notes
When Century appeared on Earth in Force Works #1, he had no memories of his past. The Broker came after him in Force Works #15. Upon the Broker’s defeat, he left Earth to learn about his past.
Marvel Legacy: The 1990s Handbook #1’s profile on Century confirms that the Lore who decimated Century’s home world is the same Nexus being that will later go on to fight the Scarlet Witch in Scarlet Witch #1-4.
The rest of Century’s mysterious origins, his potential connections to Azimuth and Imogen, as well as what becomes of the Crucible all remain unanswered as of this writing in January, 2023.
Century will return to Earth in Force Works #19.
