Varan was a Solonian leader who cooperated with the Overlords, angering other Solonians like Ky.
On the orders of the Marshal of Solos, he had his son Vorn assassinate the Administrator, who had come to grant independence to Solos. When Varan saw Vorn murdered at the hands of the Marshal, he turned against him and joined Ky on Solos. Varan tried to gather his people to overthrow the rule of the Marshal and all other Overlords, but found that there were only a few warriors left who had not mutated. When Varan saw that he was also beginning to mutate, he hastily gathered a few warriors at his call and attack Skybase One - using Jo Grant, Stubbs and Cotton as hostages. Later, he led a reckless attack on the Marshal, but his warriors were soon gunned down in the crossfire.
Varan himself was killed when a hull breach blew him into the vacuum of space, where he screamed in airless silence as he suffocated. (TV: The Mutants)