Quasar (comics)
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Quasar (Wendell Elvis Vaughn) is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is one of Marvel's cosmic heroes, a character whose adventures frequently take him into outer space or other dimensions. However, Quasar deviates from the archetype of the noble, dauntless alien set by such Silver Age cosmic heroes as the Silver Surfer, Adam Warlock and Captain Mar-Vell in that he is an everyman. He starred in an eponymous monthly ongoing series written by Mark Gruenwald that ran for sixty issues beginning in 1989 and has served as a member of The Avengers.
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[edit] Publication history
[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Origin & early career
Wendell Vaughn was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. When S.H.I.E.L.D. came into possession of the alien Quantum Bands that had been worn by the deceased 1950s superhero Marvel Boy, Wendell Vaughn had just graduated from S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy. Although considered highly capable by his superiors, they nonetheless deemed him unfit for field work, sensing that Vaughn lacked the necessary "killer instinct"—the will to win at all costs.
His first assignment was security detail for a research facility where a team of scientists were performing experiments on the Quantum Bands. A test pilot selected to wear the bands proved spectacularly successful at wielding them (a probable allusion to Hal Jordan), but he perished when the energy output reached a critical mass beyond his control. Vaughn witnessed this, yet despite the inherent danger he donned the bands when the criminal scientists AIM launched a full-scale assault on the facility. Using the bands' power to generate solid energy constructs, he repulsed the attack. Afterwards, the energy buildup began to overwhelm him, so Vaughn soared off into the upper atmosphere to ensure that the imminent explosion would endanger no one else. Resigning himself to annihilation, he decided to simply relax and "go with the flow". To his surprise, the buildup abruptly dissipated. Vaughn realized the key to wielding the bands was a flexible will, rather than an indomitable, uncompromising one. Ultimately, his lack of a killer instinct made all the difference.
Wendell Vaughn became a superhero, using the codename Marvel Boy in his first appearance alongside S.H.I.E.L.D.'s superhuman Super-Agents; he later became Marvel Man and finally settled on the nom de guerre of Quasar.
[edit] Protector of the Universe (the Quasar series)
Quasar journeyed to Uranus, the planet from which the original Marvel Boy had received the bands, and had the bands' true nature and origins revealed to him by the cosmic entity called Eon. Eon revealed that the bands were intended to be worn by his agent, the Protector of the Universe, a role which had previously belonged to the late Captain Mar-Vell. Quasar was offered the role and accepted. As a result, his mind was opened to the true extent of the bands power, including how to use the bands to teleport via a dimension called the Quantum Zone. After returning to Earth, he resumed his role as a superhero and shortly thereafter joined the Avengers. He went on to encounter a number of highly obscure Marvel characters both in guest appearances and in his own series.
Quasar's solo career in his own series was rocky. After a falling-out with both his estranged father and Eon, he quit his role as Protector of the Universe. During this time Maelstrom, the "Cosmic Assassin," killed both Quasar and Eon. However, Quasar was recreated in an energy form by the cosmic being Infinity and battled Maelstrom in the heart of a black hole. Maelstrom was destroyed by the Quantum-bands and Quasar resurrected himself, complete with a new costume. Eon was revealed to have reincarnated in the form of its newborn offspring, Epoch.
Later, during the Infinity War crossover, Quasar attempted to use the near-omnipotent Ultimate Nullifier against the godlike Magus. Magus used the Infinity Gauntlet to turn the weapon against Quasar, wiping him from existence. Quasar thus found himself in the realm of Oblivion, where he was apparently destroyed. However, he was able to resurrect himself through means of the Star Brand, which he had acquired during a trip to the New Universe prior to the Infinity War. The Star Brand's presence in the Marvel Universe precipitated the Starblast crossover, which was intended to stir up interest in Quasar's solo series or a prospective cosmic team series starring Quasar, but it failed to do so. Quasar was soon cancelled at issue #60, in which Quasar set out to leave Earth in order to spend more time to his job as Protector of the Universe. This exile into space was enforced when the radioactive Soviet expatriate called the Presence threatened to kill his loved ones and Quasar decided to fake his death, leaving Earth in the process.
[edit] Later appearances (post-series)
Quasar has since been seen only sporadically, usually in the context of Avengers stories. During "Avengers: Infinity", Quasar helped defend the universe from aliens called Infinities. In the "Maximum Security" crossover, Quasar absorbed the essence of Ego the Living Planet and again exiled himself into space, but he has since been seen in the company of the Avengers once more.
Stories in the Avengers as well as the Fantastic Four and Marvel Team-Up have depicted Quasar on Earth again, hinting that he has somehow gotten rid of Ego behind-the-scenes.
Quasar recently appeared in the Annihilation: Nova miniseries with a new costume. At the end of the miniseries, he was killed as Annihilus drained the energy from his Quantum Bands.
[edit] The new Quasar: Phyla-Vell
After Annihilus' defeat, the Quantum Bands came into the possession of Phyla-Vell, who commented that when given the option, the bands 'chose' a good host, rather than an evil one.
Marvel editor Andy Schmidt revealed in September 2006 that Christos Gage will write a five-issue Quasar limited series[1] that will star Phyla-Vell. [1]
[edit] Powers and abilities
[edit] Quantum Bands
Quasar's powers are derived from the pair of Quantum Bands fused to his wrists (or more specifically, from the seven gems on each of the bands). They are linked to their wearer's nervous system and grant tremendous powers of energy manipulation.
Foremost amongst these powers is the ability to tap into a limitless energy source called the Quantum Zone. Quasar can project quantum energy in the form of devastating beams of force or heat, but more commonly employs them to fashion incredibly durable constructs of solid energy, such as containment spheres or pincers. He protects himself with a personal force field of quantum energy, which is similar to the abilities of the Power Rings used by DC Comics' various Green Lantern.
The Quantum Bands can also exert control over many other types of energy that are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. For example, Quasar once tapped into a sun and caused it to emit an enormous solar flare. He can also absorb and redirect the cosmic energy wielded by such powerful beings as the Silver Surfer, Jack of Hearts, Adam Warlock, Thanos, Phoenix and the Watchers, siphoning their power and using it to augment his quantum energy. Forms of energy the Quantum Bands cannot control include magic and the Darkforce.
Although he cannot overtly affect psionic energy, Quasar has programmed his bands to render him impervious to psionic mental control. Even Moondragon and the Overmind proved unable to overcome this defense. He does not appear to be protected from magical forms of compulsion.
Quasar can create apertures into and out of the Quantum Zone, thus allowing passage through its infinite, featureless expanse. He mainly uses this ability to traverse interstellar distances in a manner similar to hyperspace travel. The effect is essentially a form of teleportation, which Quasar refers to as a Quantum Jump. A Quantum Jump has a destructive side effect on the local environment, violently upheaving gravity and tearing holes in the atmosphere (on Earth, it would damage the ozone layer), so Quasar initially refrained from using it except when in space or in dire circumstances. However, he eventually realized that he could prevent this effect by surrounding himself with a barrier of solid energy before jumping. Quasar can also shunt other matter into the Quantum Zone provided that he's in physical contact with it.
The Quantum Bands enable their wearer to fly by manipulating gravitons. The maximum flight speed he can attain is unknown, but he made a trip from Earth to Uranus in approximately four years flying non-stop (this was before he learned how to quantum jump). That would require a constant speed of roughly 50,000 miles per hour. This doesn't take into account the velocity he can achieve in a short burst of acceleration.
The quantum band gems possess some capability for analyzing and processing information as if they were extremely advanced computers. This allows Quasar to navigate the Quantum Zone and the depths of space. The gems are able to detect, analyze, and track energy emissions across vast distances. They can also "program" his Quantum energy to register and react to certain preset conditions. For instance, at one time Quasar had the Earth surrounded with an invisible laticework of energy that was designed to act as a global alert system against potential extraterrestrial threats. The energy field could detect any surges of exotic energy emanating from the planet's surface as well as if any object larger than a micrometeorite passed through it; in either case, the field would react by transmitting an alert signal to the Quantum Bands.
Quasar has a direct link to Epoch through his bands, which gives him ready access to her nascent omniscience.
In Annihilation: Nova #4, Annihilus killed Quasar and gained the Quantum Bands, adding to his already considerable power.
[edit] Star Brand
While he possessed the power of the Star Brand, Quasar gained the abilities of flight, superhuman strength and resilience. He also was able to regenerate his entire body from minute remains and did not need to eat, drink or breathe. However, virtually all of the energy derived from the Star Brand was depleted not long after he gave it away. The Living Tribunal later stated that Quasar's body retains only an insignificant trace amount of energy.
[edit] Cosmic awareness
Quasar also briefly possessed the same powers of cosmic awareness that Eon granted to the original Captain Marvel. By simply concentrating for a moment, he could gain complete knowledge about virtually anything in the universe. It's unclear why Eon didn't bestow cosmic awareness on Quasar permanently, but being nigh-omniscient himself, he likely determined that it would have been detrimental to Quasar's psyche (as it was to that of Genis-Vell). The fact that he received the awareness while his mind was inhabiting an energy construct, and he did not demonstrate it upon returning to his body, may also have something to do with it.
[edit] Other versions
[edit] Ultimate Quasar
Although Quasar has not appeared as a superhero in the Ultimate Marvel setting, S.H.I.E.L.D agent Wendell Vaughn is the head of security for the top secret Project Pegasus in Devil's Point, Wyoming. He first appears in Ultimate Power #1, when Project Pegasus is attacked by the Serpent Squad.
[edit] Captain Universe Quasar
After a failed war with the Elder God Set and the deaths of every hero on Earth save The Silver Surfer, Quasar was merged with Captain Universe to form a superbeing that was capable of capturing and defeating Set. Using the Eye of Agamotto Quasar trapped himself and Set within its pocket dimension.[2]
Once, during a trip through alternate realities, the Earth-616 version of Quasar viewed his Captain Universe-enhanced counterpart and Set battling each other.[3]
