Winslow

Origin

The Winslow predates the Big Bang that created the Universe itself. Easily the oldest living creature in existence, it is also immortal and apparently indestructible. The Winslow moves about in a state of blind indifference; as it is completely focused on "the Great Scheme of Things" or because it is so completely stupid is a source of endless religious debate/wars.

Creation

The "real" Winslow is a stuffed doll that was found by Phil Foglio one day in the trash while he was living in Chicago. He adopted it and it became his unofficial mascot.

Ever since that time, he has drawn it in somewhere in every single piece of work that he has done, ultimately writing the definitive origin of the Winslow in a short 3-page filler of Myth Adventures #5.

Thus the Winslow has made cameo appearances throughout any number of series and even had a much more prominent role in Foglio's " Buck Godot: The Gallmaufry".

History

The Winslow is a small, green, fuzzy, reptilian creature which possesses limited intelligence and sentience. Measuring 66 centimeters from snout to tail, it is also the most important creature in the Universe. The Winslow is the source of endless debate, controversy, religious wars and jihads, and inadvertently giving philosophers aneurisms.

It is Immortal, Indestructible, and for some reason; it is apparently Extremely Important. A number of oldest races and alien cultures have studied the Winslow and have been even more confounded and puzzled by its very existence. The Winslow apparently predates the Big Bang itself and may be very well be considered the archetype of intelligent life giving credence to the Prime Movers; a race of nearly omnipotent superbeings’ claim that the Winslow is the “the Most Important Being in All of Creation”.

One of the most powerful and deadliest entities in existence, the Uligb who possess the ability to perceive all 13 and a ½ dimensions proclaim that the Winslow “has no beginning and no end,” and that for a race that can perceive everything including time itself, “they fear the Winslow because it is the one thing that they cannot see.”

However it is also one of the dumbest and stupidest creatures ever encountered. Although the Winslow is capable of speech, its’ favorite word is “Hi!” which it enjoys repeating ad nauseam, leaving some to wonder if it is simply parroting words without really understanding them.

All of the contradictory evidence has resulted in a number of races to worry because if the Winslow is indeed the Archetype of Intelligent Life; this presupposes that the Winslow is THE Ideal and Most Perfect Form of Life itself. If that is indeed true, then that means that something must have gone terribly wrong with the rest of the Universe’s life forms and leaving them to wonder if they need to lobotomize themselves.

Due to its immortality and tendency to migrate, the Winslow has appeared throughout history and upon any number of worlds and cultures. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly; the Winslow is the main focus or plays a major component of three-quarters of the known religions existing throughout the Universe ... at minimum. This translates itself to several hundred thousands of species.

Irrationally, the Winslow is worshiped, hated, adored, and feared by any number of races throughout the Known Universe. It is one of the Fourteen Accepted Signs of Divinity which is; “Be the Winslow.”

Because of this; tens of thousands of alien races all seek the Winslow for their own purposes and considering the stiff competition faced; one of the most effective strategies of acquiring the Winslow has been the annihilate the planet that the Winslow is currently residing on and then collect it from the debris since it will be the only surviving creature afterward.

For this reason, the Prime Mover has sought to preserve the fragile peace by keeping the Winslow’s current location a secret and entrusting it to a race who would act as the Winslow’s custodians.

Several thousands of years ago, the Pogs were the race who protected the Winslow until they began to worship it and thus became unsuitable. The Prime Mover then chose another alien race known as humans to serve as the protectors of the Winslow and would employ his powers to guarantee that humanity would never face extinction; or at least as long as they shielded the Winslow.

Up until recently, humanity was content with the bargain but came to realize that as they had spread out throughout the Universe and colonized hundreds of other worlds, that the non-extinction clause no longer shielded them as it once did. As long as one planet filled with human beings remained intact as viable breeding stock, all of their other worlds were still at risk and expendable.

When EarthGov discovered that someone had discovered that humans were the current guardians of the Winslow, they decided to renounce custody of the Winslow by proclaiming to the galaxy at large that they no longer possessed it by “donating” the Winslow to the Gallimaufry.

They hoped that those who desired the Winslow would thus no longer have a reason to destroy humanity. However they underestimated the rest of alien races and humanity found itself facing a number of threats from assassination attempts and attacks from thousands of different races and even being infected by an alien bio-weapon to force them to give up the Winslow; which was all complicated by the sudden disappearance of the Winslow itself.

Fortunately, Buck Godot was able to puzzle out the Winslow’s disappearance and also found the Beemahs; a secretive alien race and introduced them to the Prime Mover as a suitable replacement as protectors of the Winslow.

The Prime Mover was impressed and as a reward: agreed to extend humanity’s non-extinction protection indefinitely. Partially out of gratitude for finding a new race of protectors for the Winslow; for shielding the Winslow for so long; and as Godot's finder fee.

The Beemahs themselves aren't sure if they really got the best in the bargain; admitting that in a few millennium, they might have to follow humanity's example in giving up the Winslow as well ... or simply out of sheer frustration from keeping the stupid creature from accidentally drowning itself in it's own water dish.

Powers & Abilities

The Winslow is essentially immortal and invulnerable. It can not be killed or die in any conventional or unconventional manner.

Predating the very birth of the Universe in the Cosmological Event known as the Big Bang, there is no known force or weapon that can used to hurt, injure, or even damage him. The Winslow can withstand being dropped into a star, the airless void of space, the destruction of an entire planet, and even existing in shiftspace without suffering the slightest impairment. The Winslow will even survive even past the End of the Universe itself without harm to itself.

The Winslow is also renowned throughout the Galaxy and is the source of a countless religions and cultures and has inadvertently inspired hysterical mania and fanatical fervor by tens of thousands of alien species and races who all seek to possess the Winslow for themselves ... or deny everyone else the opportunity to possess it.

It is unknown if the Winslow possesses any other notable powers, as it has never demonstrated any as such. However, it is unimaginably ancient by any standard so it may possess undefined skills and knowledge; whether if it possesses the ability to utilize such information is another matter.