Sun Devils is a 1984-1985 DC Comics maxiseries that ran for 12 issues. It was created by Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas, and illustrated by Dan Jurgens, Rick Magyar, Tom Ziuko, John Costanza, and Steve Mitchell.
Taking the genre conventions of a Space Opera and combining them with a war epic, the story follows the exploits of the Sun Devils against the tyrannical forces of Karvus Khun and the Sauroid Empire, who sought to conquer the galaxy by destroying any resisting planets. The Sun Devils were a ragtag group led by Rik Sunn, whose planet was destroyed in the opening issue, and consisted of the beautiful catgirl Anomie and her pet Pook, three clones named One, Two, and Three, the tough-talking fighter Scyla, the mysterious Myste, and Shikon, a Sauroid slave who turned against his masters.
As the story went on and the stakes got higher, readers saw Rik slowly slide from a born pacifist to a warmonger not much different from the emperor he was battling. The series concluded with a bang when the Sauroids stole the Starcrusher, a weapon capable of destroying star systems, and the Sun Devils were torn on whether to destroy it so no one could use it, or use the deadly weapon themselves to bring peace...but it turned out they never had a choice in the matter.
After the series wrapped up, the Sun Devils weren't seen again until Superman Vol. 2 #86, which revealed the final fates of Rik and Khun in "The Last Sun Devil."
This comic book contains examples of:
- Became Their Own Antithesis: The pitch for the comic was that the series would follow the progression of the main character, Rik Sunn, from a man devoted entirely to peace to a man devoted entirely to war. By the time of the Fully Absorbed Finale, "The Last Sun Devil", when Rik is confronted by the notion that his Arch-Nemesis, Karvus Khun, is now a feeble old man who is no danger to anyone and can't even remember him at all, the former pacifist kills both himself and Khun in a fit of despair.
- Cat Girl: Anomie is from a race of altered humans with cat-like features, including big eyes and a tail.
- Clones Are People, Too: Clones One, Two, and Three join the Sun Devils and, while initially indistinguishable besides coloration, gradually gain independence from one another and separate personalities and names.
- Earth-Shattering Kaboom: The Sauroids destroy Rik's home planet of Wolfholme in the opening issues, leading him to fight them at all costs. The Starcrusher superweapon takes this even further by being able to destroy entire star systems.
- Fully Absorbed Finale: The maxiseries ends inconclusively, with the team now on the run from the Centauri after finally dealing with the threat of the Sauroids and their leader, Karvus Khun. In the pages of Superman, after a space misadventure with Lobo, Superman ran into the remaining Sun Devils, Rik Sunn as well as the daughter of Scyla. They were tracking the whereabouts of the still-alive Karvus Khun, now a Retired Monster and living with his grandson. Rik confronts Karvus and, enraged that his hated enemy did not recognize him after all these years, killed both Khun and himself.
- Hope Spot: The final issue has the team manage to talk Rik out of wanting to use the Starcrusher against the Sauroids, and they speed off... only to find the government betrayed them and used it on the Sauroid star system, wiping out nearly the entire race.
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Scyla was named after Scylla, the monster from Greek mythology, and lampshades her parents were into the classics.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: The main villains are the Sauroids, a race of humanoid lizard-men, and their leader, Karvus Khun.
- Sex Slave: Anomie Zitar was sued as one of these by the Sauroids.
- Smoking Is Cool: Scyla is never seen without a cigar or cigarette in her moth, and she's one of the most physical fighters of the team.
- Super Smoke: Myste's entire body is made up of mist, and she gained her powers after her apparent death.
- Team Pet: Pook is Anomie's doglike pet and functions as a team wild card. At least he does until his death.
- Welcome Back, Traitor: Most of the Sun Devils forgive Anomie for her betrayal, with Rik being the one exception.
