Solune (Character)

Solune is one of the main characters of the Incal saga, and one of the most powerful beings in the Jodoverse. He was the child of Animah and John DiFool, although he was later adopted by the Metabaron. His birth was part of the Incal's supreme design, assuring the necessary genetic code that would result in Solune being born with the heart of the perfect androgyne.

He eventually became his essential self through transfiguration, sharing his consciousness with the Incal, and defeating the Techno-centreur. He would later replace the imperfect Emperoress, assuming his place under the title of Patmah.

He made his first appearance in the first issue of The Incal, The Black Incal. The story of his adoption is presented in more detail in the short story In the Heart of the Impregnable Metabunker.

Animah gives birth to Solune
After the Incal sensed that the universe would soon be in great peril, and could be destroyed before the awaited consciousness was brought to light, he decided that Animah should "engender the mutant savior", Solune, by having sex with John DiFool, since only they had the necessary genetic code. Following the Incal's orders Animah went to the surface, and, posing as homeo-whore, had sex with John.

Nine months later she gave birth to Solune, which she gave to the Metabaron, so the he could give protection and mentor him. The Metabaron was initially reluctant about adopting a child, since all metabarons must eventually go through a initation ceremonies by which they kill their own parent. However, Animah showed to the Metabaron that Solune was actually indestructible and couldn't be killed by standard means. Thus, Solune grew without knowing the identity of his real father.

Kidnapped by Tanatah
At one point Tanatah, the sister of Animah and Guardian of the Black Incal, who had escaped to the surface kidnapped Solune. Tanatah wanted to blackmail the Metabaron with Solune, offering to exchange Solune for John DiFool. However, even though the Metabaron brought DiFool before Tanatah, she realized that Solune's power could eventually get in her way, so she decided to kill both Solune and the Metabaron. However, Solune, the Metabaron and John defeated Tanatah's underlings. Upon knowing that her revolution against the Floating Palace had failed and the Necrodroid was coming after the Incal, she decided to switch sides, and guided John, Deepo, Solune and The Metabaron to the Center of the Planet.

Reuniting with Animah
At the Center of the Planet, Solune met his mother, Animah, who saved them from the psychorats. Still escaping form the Necrodroid, who was also after the Incal, Animah guided the rest of the crew to the Interior Sun. Solune felt displaced by Animah, and told the Metabaron that he thought his mother didn't love him, but their conversation was interrumpted by one of Gorgo's attacks. The Seven eventually reached the door of the Interior Sun, where each of the characters had to made peace with each other in order to open the door. Animah made peaces with Solune, his son, by acknowledging him, and Solune asked to be forgiven for being bitter towards his mother.

Transfiguration
Once in the Interior Sun, The Seven reached the Door of Transfiguration after going through the Forest of Singing Crystals. In the Doorway, each of the Seven Companions served as a key, and Solune’s power allowed them to form an entity of transdimensional energy, and to be transported to “another space in another time”. There, they arrived to the pyramid island, the interdimensional nexus point where the two Incals could be united as one. At this crucial moment, Animah revealed that John was the biological father of Solune. When the Incals were reunited Solune dematerialized and became the consciousness of a starship that had the abilities of the Incal and was shaped in the form of the two merged pyramids.

As the Incal Ship
Solune expressed that his new body as the Incal Ship felt incredible. The Incal transported The Seven into outer space, where they tried to fire at the Shadow Egg, but they quickly realized that it was indestructible. The Incal, which was linked to Solunes consciusness told them that they should go into subspace and travel to Aquaend instead. In Aquaend they met with the Emperoress, and decided to launch a war campaign against Technogea with the help of the Bergs. In order to get the help from the Bergs John participated and won the Five Thousand Year Nuptial Games, coming into an alliance with the Protoqueen, after he impressed her by showing her the Incal Ship in a miniaturized form.

With the help from the bergs The Seven managed to neutralize the Shadow Egg and disband the Technos, but the Emperoress was infected by the tenebrae virus. The Incal summoned a medusa to stall the Darkness, but understood that there was another darker vessel, a being totally devoted to the Darknes: The Techno-centreur, which is hiding in the War Star.

Against the Techno-centreur
John tried to infiltrate in the War Star but is discovered due to Greyfield's double-crossing. The Techno-centreur attacked John with black plasma and began to be consumed by the Darkness. But the Incal, which was miniaturized inside John, couldn’t do anything until the Imperial Fleet arrived. Eventually, the Imperial Fleet arrived although they ended up rematerializing too close. Since the dark plasma was about to completely cover John, the Incal got out through a microscopic hole of one of DiFool’s hairs. The Incal Ship enlarged and started attacking the Endoguards.

The Seven managed to destory the main processor of the War Star,but at the core of the War Star Solune and the Techno-centreur kept on fighting. The Techno-centreur destroyed the shell of the Incal, which made Solune reappear in his former human form (although with the power of the Incal reamined inside him). Solune removed the Techno’s helmet, revealing his skull. At that moment the Great Darkness was liberated and started to surround Solune, so the Incal descended into the Darkness to help Solune, breaking the barrier of the Light in the process. Solune made the Darkness retreat, but now that the barrier was broken the Darkness had a new pathway to spread its negative force.

As Patmah
After the surrender of the War Star the political factions of the General Assembly were arguing about what to do next, when suddenly the darkened Emperoress, who had killed the last Medusa, appeared. Solune mutated into an Energy Egg to counter her/him, but before dying the darkened Emperoress told everyone that in 22 days Darkness would fall across the heart of the galaxy. Impressed by Solune’s power, the Assembly elected him the new Emperoress, under the title of “Patmah”.

Solune proclaimed that humanity had to enter a state of deep slumber called the Theta Dream to avoid falling under the influence of the Darkness and empower the Incal. After the human and Berg galaxies entered the Theta Dream The Seven went back to the Portal of Transfiguration, so that the united Incal could prepare to absorb the Theta Dream energy which had been generated. The Seven entered the Theta dream itself, and they were transported to null-time and null-space to confront the Darkness.

In the first circle of the Theta Dream, The Seven started hallucinating nightmares concocted by the Darkness to feed on their inner terror (Solune's nightmare involved turning into a monster with two bodies), but they eventually realized that the nightmares were only a part of themselves that they were afraid to face. In the second circle The Darkness attacked the Incal itself, so the Incal demanded the energy of all Seven Companions to survive. They all gave their energies, with the exception of John, who wanted to remain himself.

Symbolism
Solune represents the Sun and Moon trump cards (See: Tarot symbolism in The Incal), his name and the picture on his shirt also allude to this fact. According to Jodorowsky, while everyone has masculine and feminine charectristics, Solune represents the essence of this duality. The Emperoress represents the "imperfect" androgyne, he/she exists in an egg, symbolizing the "first step" towards the authentic, "perfect androgyne", Solune, who doesn't need to live inside an egg to survive. Thus, in The Incal the imperfect masculine-femenine duality it's actualized by its true essence.

The fact that Solune is John DiFool's son symbolizes the idea that each and everyone of us, despite our mediocrity, has a divine spirit in our soul, in our consciousness.

Etymology
His name is a combination of the french words soleil (sun) and lune (moon).

Behind the scenes
In the first draft Solune was called "Parisis", and then "Erol 17". He was originally meant to be The Metabaron's little brother, but Jodorowsky considered that would limit his role in the story. His character was influenced by the duality of the alchemistic Rebis (from the Latin res bina, meaning dual or double matter) and the Simorgh from The Conference of the Birds by Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar,