First Family (comics)
The First Family is a fictional family of interdimensional explorers and superheroes in the Astro City comic book series, created by Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross and Brent Anderson.
Fictional team history
The Fursts are a multi-generational family of heroic explorers. The first generation consists of the brilliant Dr. Augustus Furst and his brother Julius, who beginning in the 1950s became monster-hunters and adventurers into the unknown. The second generation includes Dr. Furst's adopted children Nick and Natalie, the twin children of his ex-wife Nadia and one of the First Family's recurrent foes, Kaspian, prince of the eastern European Beast-Men. The twins both manipulate an unusual form of energy, and with them the First Family was officially born. When Natalie married Rex Zorus, the powerful, dinosaur-like son of another longtime enemy, he joined the group as well. The third generation, to date, is Astra, Natalie and Rex's daughter, who is able to transform herself completely into energy.
Astro City v. 2 #2 and 3 spotlight the Fursts, in particular Astra, who finds herself out of touch with other kids her age, having been raised in the (bizarre) home environment of the Mount Kirby observatory. After a successful adventure, in which she almost single-handedly defeats an extra-dimensional menace, she goes off on her own, attending a public school under an assumed name, Astrid Ljinders, until she is able to beat the school's bratty hopscotch champion. Humorously, the remainder of the First Family is shown racing around the world (and off it) to confront old enemies, having misinterpreted Astra's message saying that she was going on an adventure alone.
The First Family also made a major appearance in issue 4 of the original six-issue miniseries of Astro City, where Nick's fiancé, law firm partner Darcy Conroy, summons them in response to an attack by the Unholy Alliance, a band of super-villains. The crux of the story, however, involves one of Darcy's assistants, a resident of Shadow Hill, the city's east European-settled district, who is familiar and calm in dealing with the supernatural creatures which roam her neighborhood, but is frightened and put off by the super-villains which plague most of the city.
Members
- Astra Furst - a young adventurer/hero able to transform into energy and fly. Natural born daughter of Rex and Natalie, Astra was born in 1986. She is the subject of a Character Special issue of Astro City. While not depicted in any recent issues, the series is in real time, and so has been revealed by Kurt Busiek in fan forums that she is close to graduating college, in her early twenties, and that there have been rumors of her being engaged she was the star of the 2009 Astro City: Astra Special.
- Augustus Furst – a scientist/adventurer active from the 1950s through the present. Brother of Julius Furst and adoptive father of Nick and Natalie. Leader of the First Family.
- Julius Furst - an adventurer/hero active from the 1950s through the present. Brother of Augustus Furst. Visually based on and named for Julius Schwartz.
- Mr. Smartie - a cartoon-like computer construct who serves as Astra's tutor.
- Nadia - a mysterious eastern European woman who was rescued by Augustus Furst, a victim of either a mysterious energy field or her own uncontrollable powers. She became Augustus's third wife, but later married Kaspian. Mother by Kaspian of Nick and Natalie Furst. Disappeared in 1961.
- Natalia Furst (Natalie) (featured) - an adventurer/hero with energy powers that allow her to shift in size. Natural daughter of Prince Kaspian of the Beastmen, adoptive daughter of Augustus Furst, twin sister of Nikolai Furst, wife (since 1979) of Rex, and mother of Astra.
- Nikolai Furst (Nick) - an adventurer/hero with projective energy powers, which he uses for flight and generation of force fields. Natural son of Prince Kaspian of the Beastmen, adoptive son of Augustus Furst and twin brother of Natalie Furst. Husband of Darcy Conroy and father of Sasha and Karl.
- Rex - an adventurer/hero, super-strong and dinosaurian in form. Son of the villainess Madame Majestrix, husband (since 1979) of Natalie Furst, and father of Astra. Patron of Bruiser's.
- Uranium - a bizarre fish, either a rare deep-sea angler fish, a mutant fish, or an alien one, which is Astra's pet.
- Darcy Conroy - Successful attorney, fiance (and later wife) of Nick. Mother of Sasha and Karl.
- Sasha Furst- She can assume an animal-like form. Daughter of Nick and Darcy and sister of Karl.
- Karl Furst- He possesses bouncing powers. Son of Nick and Darcy and brother of Sasha.
Villains
- Antibodies - energy-absorbing servants of the Silver Brain.
- Derelikt - no details; currently believed to be somewhere in space.
- The Gorilla Swarm - insect-headed, gorilla-bodied hive-mind entities. The gorilla swarm ramets go berserk when the hive mind is disrupted. Easily used as servants by villains.
- Insectra - no details; currently in custody. Her helmet is on display in the First Family's trophy room.
- Kaspian - prince of the eastern European Beast-Men and natural father of Nick and Natalie.
- Kratorr the Invincible - a stonelike, moon-dwelling creature who first fought Augustus and Julius Furst in 1954; served by hundreds of lesser stone-beings.
- Lord Volcanus - volcano-dwelling living fire being with Aztec--aesthetic; served by hundreds of lesser fire-beings.
- Madame Majestrix - queen of Monstro City, a submerged civilization within the Bermuda Triangle, populated by non-humanoid beings. Mother of Rex.
- Praetor - robot or armored figure with Roman centurion-aesthetic; creator or ally of Omniac, a mechanical intelligence.
- The Silver Brain - Sergei Vlataroff, a scientist who figured out how to become pure brain, rendering himself bodiless.
- Ugly Max - no details; currently catatonic.
- The Unholy Alliance - A gang of supervillains who plague Astro City, including Demolitia, Flamethrower, Glowworm, Slamburger, and Spice.