Alpha Centauri in Fiction - Comics

Comics

• Eagle (Dan Dare) #1 et seq (1950- ), title in the Eagle comic book series. In the Dan Dare stories "The Man from Nowhere" and its sequel "Rogue Planet," Dare (The World's No. One Space Hero!) visits an unnamed star system less than 5 light-years from Earth that has three suns, one of which is a red dwarf. Since all the components of Alpha Centauri are closer to the Earth than 5 ly (AB at 4.36 ly; C at 4.24 ly), and the second closest star to the Earth (Barnard's Star) is 5.96 ly distant, Dare's destination was Alpha Centauri.
• Showcase #17 et seq (1958- ), comic books in the DC Comics universe. Rann is a planet originally located in the Alpha Centauri system whose capital city is Ranagar. Rann is most famous for being the adopted planet of the Earth explorer and hero Adam Strange and for its teleportation device called the Zeta Beam, invented by the noted Rannian Sardath. Natives of Rann are for all intents and purposes identical to terrestrial humans.

• Marvel Super-Heroes (Guardians of the Galaxy) #18 et seq (1969- ), comic books in the Marvel Comics universe. The Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team) are a band of super-heroes active in the 31st century. An original team member is Major Vance Astro, an astronaut from 20th-century Earth who spends a thousand years travelling to Alpha Centauri in suspended animation. Upon his arrival on the planet Centauri IV, Astro learns that space travelers from the Earth have beaten him there by two hundred years, having developed a faster-than-light drive during his journey (compare Literature: Far Centaurus above). In spite of this, the Centaurian people give him a hero's welcome.
• The Transformers #1-80 (1984–1991), comic books in the Marvel Comics universe. Cybertron, the home planet of the Transformers, originally orbited Alpha Centauri, but was later thrown out of orbit and sent wandering through the galaxy. Cybertron has a metallic surface; the atmosphere is breathable by carbon-based life, but liquid water is rare enough on the planet that its existence is in doubt.