Aric of Dacia is Valiant’s flagship hero, better known to the world by his superhero name, X-O Manowar . Much of his success is owed to his friend and mentor the Eternal Warrior, Gilad Anni-Padda. Originally born to the Visigoths during their wars with Rome, Aric became the leader of his people who made a new home for them in modern-day Nebraska.
But long before Aric was an armored superhero or a king, he was a simple Visigoth soldier opposing Rome's armies in the 4th Century. Gilad taught him to fight back then, and when Aric reappeared in the 21st Century as X-O Manowar, Gilad taught him how to rule.
When the Valiant Universe rebooted in 2012, it began with X-O Manowar #1, written by Robert Venditti with art by Cary Nord, Stefano Guadiano, and Moose Baumann. The opening story clearly established who Aric was and the trajectory of his arc. While fighting the Romans, he was abducted and taken into space by aliens known as the Vine, where he stole their holiest object, the X-O Manowar armor. With this suit, he traveled back to Earth, but due to time dilation he arrived in the present and the Vine had infiltrated most human governments. After exposing their leadership on Earth, Aric traveled to the Vine's homeworld, Loam, where he learned other Visigoths were still alive but enslaved. He freed them and brought them back to Earth, landing his stolen Vine spaceship in modern-day Romania (formerly the Visigothic homeland of Dacia).
Despite having a powerful alien armor, Aric of Dacia remained a simple man from simpler times. By landing his spaceship in downtown Bucharest, he presumed the land was his by right of conquest and ordered his people to set to work farming the lands around the city. As his people worked, Aric visited Bucharest's Natural History Museum, where the relics of his people were preserved behind glass, including the crown that had belonged to his uncle, King Alaric--a man Aric remembered fighting alongside, but who had been dead more than a thousand years.
At this point, Gilad Anni-Padda entered, telling Aric "crowns are easier gained than worn." The two reunited, as Aric was genuinely delighted to see his old fighting instructor. Gilad explained that he was immortal, and Aric invited him to serve as an advisor in the new Visigoth nation.
Gilad tried explaining that the 21st Century operated in a very different way than the 4th Century had. It was no longer acceptable to just park an army in a new land and settle it. Worse, by landing the Vine spacecraft in Romania, Aric posed a threat to NATO, Russia, and multiple nuclear powers. Of course, Aric did not understand the complexities of international politics in a post-nuclear world. He was just a barbarian with some high-tech armor. What he did understand was that he had finally returned his people to the homeland they had been driven from by the Huns. After all that the Visigoths had suffered at the hands of the Huns, Romans, and the Vine, he had given them a home in Dacia--a land now named renamed Romania after his Roman enemies.
In his ignorance, Aric reacted poorly to being told he had to leave this land he had just reclaimed. He lashed out, and the two fought in the museum. The Immortal Warrior easily outmatched Aric and tried one final time to clarify things in a way Aric would understand. Holding the crown which had once belonged to King Alaric, Gilad explained that Alaric had been a successful monarch because he possessed wisdom and understood how to seize an opportunity. Unwilling to listen, Gilad donned his X-O Manowar armor, unleashing his fury against his former friend. By the time their fighting was finished, the museum was in ruins, and King Alaric's crown, which once marked the reign of Visigoth kings, was destroyed in the scuffle.
But as Gilad pointed out, wisdom--not a crown--makes one a king. In the immediate aftermath of this story, Gilad was apprehended by the superhero team Unity, then the Earth was attacked by the alien Armor Hunters who tried to kill the planet just to destroy the X-O Manowar armor. He emerged from both of these events as a leader, earning his people a new home living in the United States, and proving to be a shrewd monarch after finally absorbing the lessons his old teacher had imparted. The crown might have been destroyed in their exchange, but thanks to Gilad's council, Aric was finally worthy of what it had represented.