Rann - Rann Technology

Rann Technology

The most famous pieces of Rann technology are Sardath's Zeta Beam and the resulting variations. The Zeta Beam is a teleportation device, which boasts an extreme long range capability that can transport a human-sized target over light-years of distance. The Omega Beam acts as a Zeta Beam for planetary sized targets.

The Zeta Beam has undergone several stages. At first, the effects of a Zeta Beam would only last temporarily, resulting in Adam Strange having to return to Earth, at the point where he last teleported (in the southern hemisphere, the only part of Earth where Alpha Centauri is visible). Later, Sardath improved the Zeta Beam so that the effects would become permanent. The amount of radiation which the Zeta Beam produces would also be reduced, as shown in the Rann-Thanagar War mini-series, when Tigorr of the Omega Men, having used an older Zeta Beam model, is shown to have a large amount of ambient radiation from the teleportation.

Zeta Beamers, highly coveted by other races like the Thanagarians, are few and far between. Most are situated on Rann; Adam Strange later received a personal Zeta Beamer from Sardath. Throneworld, home of Prince Gayvn (Starman), received a Zeta Beamer as a gift from Rann.

The term zeta beam (or zee beam, as young Aleea said) can also be used as a verb. When one uses a Zeta Beamer, one is zeta beaming, etc.

The Zeta Beam relies on clear line-of-sight in order to teleport; any sort of interference would produce disastrous results. This was shown in James Robinson's Starman, when a villain attempts to use the Zeta Beam, only to be crushed against a shell of darkness at greater than light speeds. JLA: The Nail also has a dead Adam Strange, killed when he was trapped in space by a force shield surrounding Earth. The worst example of a Zeta Beam malfunction is shown in 52, when a Zeta Beam redirected through a portal created by Mal Duncan essentially splintered into several different beams. One caused Supergirl to be transported to the 31st century; one caused Adam Strange, Starfire, and Animal Man to be transported to an unknown planet and caused Adam to lose both of his eyes; one caused Alan Scott to lose both of his eyes and gain one of someone else's (likely one of Adam's); one caused the Red Tornado to explode and some of his circuitry to fuse into Mal Duncan's body; one caused Firestorm and Cyborg to fuse physically; and one caused Bumblebee to shrink to six inches in height and Hawkgirl to grow to twenty-five feet. The beam also caused the heroes to be trapped in some sort of limbo for over a month, until Halo and the Challengers of the Unknown are able to locate and rescue them.

The Omega Beam was used only twice; once to teleport Rann into an empty parallel universe to hide it from Starbreaker, then again to return it to the DC Comics universe, albeit in the Polaris System. Unfortunately, all Omega Beams were destroyed in the course of their use.

Rann also utilizes various futuristic robots, flying cars, and the like. One notable mode of transportation on Rann is jetpack. Adam Strange himself would feature a jetpack as part of his standard costume. Blasters and other plasma weapons are commonplace. Sardath, as a parting gift, gave Adam an upgraded version of his standard costume which allows for interplanetary travel as well as hard-light plasma weapons.