Jose Arnau, also known as Damacles, was a Brazillian multi-millionaire and space pirate. He worked with the Bereznik government to "capture space".
In June 2066, Damacles had already captured five spacecraft but upon plundering his sixth victim, Freighter 203, he and his crew were interrupted by the approach of Steve Zodiac and Fireball XL5. He managed to evade XL5 and returned to his base in the uninhabited, volcanic planet of VA 17. After this, following orders from a Bereznik officer, Damacles turned his attention to capturing XL5 and replicating its technology in order to accelerate their progress for supremacy in space by up to three years. Informed of the presumed destruction of Strike Two, Damacles called off his ambush at Space Station Velnar to prevent further losses. He then ordered an agent in Miami to kidnap Doctor Venus, who was on holiday. World President Nikita Bandranaik authorised the trade of Zodiac and XL5 for Damacles' prisoners after being told of a kidnapping at a conference of Earth's top scientists. After the construction of the Fireball fleet and Zodiac's sabotage of the base, Damacles was forced to evacuate or succumb to the lava. He boarded his Black Ship and witnessed the rest of the fleet melt before his eyes due to them being made out of tin rather than Cahelium Extract X. The inexperienced new pilot of the real XL5 then crashed into the Black Ship after being shot down, with Damacles escaping the carnage with Zodiac in his personal ship Rapier. He took the Rapier back to his base in Brazil, ordering that Zodiac watch the impending elimination of Venus, but after providing a report of developments to Bereznik, the Bereznik officer was displeased with the usefulness of Zodiac without his ship. The officer pressed a small button and a decorative sword hanging above Damacles fell to the ground, while he coldly told his lifeless corpse that Bereznik did not accept failure. (COMIC: The Black Ship)