There have been many items in the Marvel universe that have claimed to be the most destructive force in the universe. But there is only one Star Brand. The simple symbol of a glowing star gives its bearer immense power. The ability to destroy a city with a simple punch, or the power to wipe out galaxies. It's not meant to be toyed with. And yet, a toy is exactly what it is right now, because the current bearer of the Star brand is a baby in the care of the Avengers.
The Star Brand has been around since a time before time began, a simple sigil of a star that attaches itself to a host. It is the most powerful weapon in the known universe. It gives its bearer access to incredible power. As far as anyone can tell, its sole purpose is to protect its bearer and the world it is in. The Star Brand grants the bearer near omnipotence, limited only by the bearer's imagination. Although it’s power is nearly unlimited, traditional superpowers include super-strength, invulnerability, flight, and energy blasts.
In Marvel’s primary shared universe (Earth-616), the Star Brand has been passed from bearer to bearer, generally at will. It came to the attention of the Avengers when it was discovered on a pregnant Earth woman taken into slavery by the alien race known as The Shi’ar. The woman died upon birth, and the infant girl was taken into possession of the Avengers for safe-keeping. Later, in Avengers #35 (by Jason Aaron and Javier Garron) in a confrontation with servants of the Egyptian moon god and Moon Knight’s patron deity, Khonshu, who is attempting to take over the world, Iron Man must strap a baby carrier onto his armor and carry the child into battle. This leads Iron Man into a crisis of identity, feeling that he is ill-equipped to care for the child, bemoaning the fact that he can’t even come up with a decent name for the child.
The idea for the Star Brand was created in 1986 by then-Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter, who wanted Star Brand (later The Star Brand) to be the flagship title of a new line of comics collectively known as the New Universe (stylized as “new universe”). The New Universe was to be a new shared universe of comics (later designated as Earth-148661) with all-new characters and plots in “a world outside your door.” The series--as well as New Universe--did not gain traction and had shuttered its doors completely within a few years.
The Star Brand and the New Universe were ideas that were out of its time. DC Comics had just collapsed its multiverse in its seminalCrisis on Infinite Earths, and, ever since, superhero titles set in “alternate universes” have repeatedly failed to catch on for any length of time, with the exception being Marvel’s Ultimate Universe, lasting about 15 years before its characters and concepts were folded into the primary Marvel universe.
Avengers #35 is available now in paper and digital formats.
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August 24, 2020 at 05:48AM
