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dbarajas03-blog · 6 years ago

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SUGARMAN

This underrated Marvel villain from the X-Men verse is probably one of the most demonic looking things to ever look upon. He is not only scary in appearance but as well as in character. Like any other villain, he creates devious plans to create mutant experiments in the hopes of having mutant slaves to work for him. In this post, we will look at this cunning creature.

Powers and Abilities

He has a tongue of indeterminate length that is able to pierce almost anything, including stone, steel and even beings in gaseous or liquid form. He is also able to control his own mass. If he loses mass, the lost mass is shunted off to some unknown location, presumably an extra-dimensional space and he shrinks in size. It's unknown how long it takes him to regain his normal size. His altered metabolism allows him to heal from injuries with ease, especially those that would otherwise kill him. For instance, he survived being crushed by Colossus's boot. He also regenerated from being beaten to death by Karima Shapandar with a metal pipe, being stabbed with multiple pieces of metal, and left for dead, and being beaten up by Callisto. Sugar Man is a genius regarding anything to do with genetics. He even produced the mutate bonding process.

Bio

Sugar Man ran the human work camps in the Pacific Northwest; specifically the Core; which housed thousands of humans. He was a capable geneticist having a lab located at Niagara Falls and regularly tormented his slaves. Magneto required a mutant with chrono-variant powers in order to travel back in time and restore reality to its proper order before the death of Professor X, whose existence was revealed by the displaced mutant Bishop. Apocalypse had ruthlessly killed all mutants with that power so that no one could undermine his regime, but Know-It-All found one mutant with latent chrono-variant abilities; Illyana Rasputina, the sister of Generation Next leader, Colossus. Illyana, a latent mutant who was one of the many slaves at the Sugar Man's Portland Core. Magneto sent Colossus and Generation Next to recover Illyana. With the various members infiltrating the Core, things went from bad to worse when Sugar Man returned to the facility. From the moment that Husk and Vincente had killed and replaced security chief Quietus, they instantly drew Sugar Man's suspicion when he learned from the Shadow King that someone had hacked into Apocalypse's databases. When "Quietus" came across their teammates’ Chamber and Skin, Sugar Man ordered them to be eliminated. Realizing that something didn't add up, Sugar Man impaled "Quietus" with his tongue, revealing Husk and Vincente's deception. He ordered his troops to slay them before seemingly being destroyed by a blast from Chamber. Sugar Man survived; however, and came across Mondo, who had just found Illyana. Mondo was killed by Sugar Man, and as he recovered Illyana before he could do anything else he was seemingly crushed by Colossus. Sugar Man survived this brush with death yet again, and in a much smaller form hid out in Colossus' boot. Sugar Man hitched a ride all the way to Apocalypse's citadel where the X-Men were battling to save their leader Magneto, and send Bishop into the past to save Charles Xavier. During the fight, Sugar Man left Colossus' boot and entered the M'Kraan Crystal. Suger-Man was transported to Earth-616, twenty years in the past. The events above in Earth-295 and we now look at the events in Earth 616.

Sugar Man mostly operated in secret, relocating to Genosha where he provided Genegineer with the Infinite technology and ability to create the mutant slave population that the Magistrates of Genosha would rule over. In modern times, when the mutant team Excalibur was investigating the first Mutate slave of Genosha, they almost learned the secret of the Sugar Man, however, Sugar Man activated a device that killed the Mutate before his involvement in Genosha's history could be revealed. When Excalibur continued to search for the secret history of Genosha, Sugar Man prevented them from finding out by destroying a master computer that held the truth. Detecting that X-Man, another refugee from Earth-295 was active in this reality Sugar Man would send his agent Rex to eliminate him in order to maintain his anonymity. However, Sugar Man's first attempt to assassinate Nate was interrupted by Selene, much to his frustration. Sugar Man next sought to capture this reality's Alex Summers, using Scarlet McKenzie as his operative; however, she too failed to do so, and he gave up on this endeavor. When Nate Gray's Earth-616 counterpart Cable arrived in Genosha, getting involved in the conflict, Sugar Man incorrectly believed him to be X-Man and decided to finally reveal himself to the world after twenty years of secrecy. However, tracking Cable down, Sugar Man realized he had made a mistake and began to believe that someone was going to take away his secret rule of Genosha when Cable discovered his lab. Sugar Man activated the self-destruct mechanism in his lab, and as the others were busy with trying to deactivate the bomb, Sugar Man captured Phillip Moreau for his own purposes; however, his plans for Phillip remained a mystery, as the database was destroyed. Having a near brush with this reality's Mr. Sinister in Genosha, Sugar Man worked together with the Dark Beast, yet another refugee from Earth-295, in continuing to keep their existence secret, as Sinister learning of their presence in this reality using his techniques would work against their own interests. They targeted Bishop, who retained memories from his counterpart who helped bring about the downfall of their reality. Using the Dark Beast's operative Fatale in an attempt to slay Bishop failed and the two refugees parted company. Returning to Genosha, Sugar Man attempted to return to Earth-295, utilizing a hyperdimensional device that would allow him to travel back to Earth-295's past. He succeeded and began resuming his experimentation on a super-virus that he hoped to use to bring back to Earth-616 to wipe out humanity. Unfortunately, Nate Grey followed him into the past and with the help of Magneto and Forge thwarted Sugar Man's plot and sent him back to present day Earth-616.[1] Back in that reality, Sugar Man and the other refugees from Earth-295 were targeted by the Shi'ar Empire who saw the fact that Holocaust having a shard of the M'Kraan Crystal embedded in him as sacrilege. Sugar Man disappeared for a time, resurfacing in Genosha again following its decimation at the hands of Cassandra Nova, clashing with those who were snooping around his old labs and archives. In a battle against Karima Shapandar, Shapandar seemingly beat Sugar Man to death with a pipe.

Sugar Man survived again and he was one of the mutants who retained his mutant powers following M-Day. When the Beast sought the aid of those who had skills in genetics to help saved the endangered mutant race, he asked the Sugar Man for aid. Sugar Man declined to help, telling the Beast that he couldn't afford the cost of his services (Douche move!).

Sugar Man next resurfaced back in Earth-295 under the service of the new Apocalypse, Weapon Omega. Under Weapon Omega's guidance, Sugar Man and Dark Beast used the energies of a Celestial Life Seed to resurrect deceased Alpha mutants who were then brainwashed and put into Weapon Omega's service. Their operation was interrupted by the human resistance, who sabotaged several of the resurrections, destroyed the lab, and kidnapped Sugar Man. The Human Resistance handed Sugar Man over to Penance in exchange for her co-operation. Penance planned to reform Sugar Man and utilize his science in her reformation of society.

As the final Incursion grew near, Magneto sought out the Sugar Man for his expertise in mutant genetics in hopes of discovering a way to amplify his powers beyond the effects of Mutant Growth Hormone. After Sugar Man handed over his data on mobile power amplifiers, Magneto impaled him with multiple pieces of metal, and left him for dead, telling Briar that he was a blight on mutantkind.

Having somehow survived his encounter with Magneto, Sugar Man genetically engineered six hundred mutant embryos in the wake of the M-Pox to send them years into the future, where it would be safe as the Terrigen Mist(causer of the M-Pox) would have dissipated. They would eventually grow into the next generation of mutants and Sugar Man would become their master. However, the X-Men discovered his plans and thwarted them.

When Bishop's time anomaly detector went off, it directed him to Dark Beast's safehouse in Hunts Point; however, both Dark Beast and an intruder had already escaped. Bishop followed the trail, and it leads him to the Sugar Man's safehouse in Long Island City, where the intruder shot Bishop in the back, which rendered him unconscious. When Bishop awoke, he discovered Sugar Man's remains.

Significance

Even from his beginnings, it was clear this monster was something of pure satanic-like creation. Reason for bringing up several times how he looks like something you see when you have sleep paralysis, he is overall something strange to find in the Marvel Franchise. Yes, we have villains like Dormammu and Shuma-Gorath but, when you see the evil intent of a volatile creature, you can't help being frightened a bit. So Thank You, Bishop.

References:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Sugar_Man_(Earth-295)

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dbarajas03-blog · 6 years ago

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CLOAK and DAGGER

The perfect duo of heroes as they were inseparable and need each other. Cloak draws his power from the Darkforce and Dagger generates power from the Lightforce she contains in her body. Together, they fight the evils that plague the area and protect civilians. They are definitely an interesting pair fighting crime as they go together like yin and yang.

Powers and Abilities

Cloak:

As a result of his exposure to an experimental drug, Cloak's body is a portal to the Darkforce Dimension, a world of strange ebony energy. Cloak is linked to a pocket realm of that dimension dominated by the Predator, which compels Cloak to absorb the life forces of other beings; but Dagger's light can temporarily satisfy this craving. When inverted by Mister Negative, Cloak draws his powers from the Lightforce, but they are otherwise identical. Cloak can channel Darkforce to create a field of darkness in his general vicinity, usually using his cloak as a focal point to manipulate this darkness, though it can spread well beyond the confines of his cloak. People enveloped by Cloak's darkness feel numbing cold and experience terrifying visions of their own greatest fears and nightmares. Overlong exposure to the darkness can drive people insane. Unprotected victims trapped in Cloak's dark realm are gradually drained of their life force, and presumably, die unless Cloak releases them. Dagger's light renders her largely immune to Cloak's darkness, and she can extend her light to protect others within Cloak's darkness if need be. Cloak can teleport by entering the Darkforce dimension, moving a short distance within it and emerging back on Earth a great distance from his point of origin. A span of miles on Earth can be traversed in only a few steps via shortcuts through the Darkforce. Cloak can teleport other persons or objects along with himself in this fashion, too, a feat usually reserved for Dagger since most beings cannot safely traverse the Darkforce. During Civil War, he teleported at least a hundred heroes and Thunderbolts from the Negative Zone to the middle of New York. This effort weakened him considerably, however. As Cloak, Tyrone is usually intangible, though he can solidify through an act of will, or by absorbing enough "light" to saturate his form temporarily. He can pass through objects and objects (such as bullets) pass through him. His intangibility makes him very hard to hit. On the rare occasions when he resumes human form, he usually reverts to his old stutter, which vanishes when he becomes Cloak. Tyrone's link to the Darkforce has been severed on several occasions, but he seems drawn to the darkness and vice versa, and he always regains his Cloak form eventually.

Dagger:

As a result of her exposure to experimental drugs, Dagger generates a form of 'living light' which is actually Lightforce. She produces much more than normal humans do but is usually conservative in the use of her powers. Overuse of her powers could be fatal. Dagger generates and stores this lifeforce energy automatically. If she goes for more than a week or so without using her powers she will become fevered and delirious, and eventually discharge her energy involuntarily. When inverted by Mister Negative, Dagger draws her powers from the Darkforce, but they are otherwise identical, save for her daggers causing additional pain. Tandy can form 6-inch 'light daggers' which she can throw from her fingertips. Her daggers may automatically form under certain conditions, such as another person in danger. The maximum effective range is unknown, but the daggers seem to weaken with further distance. Tandy has a limited ability to control their flight and reinforce them by compelling them to seek targets. They can track a being, but it is most effective when searching for Cloak. Those hit by these knives have their own lifeforce disrupted. Dagger can then drain a portion of their lifeforce; enough to kill if she wishes. Normally she chooses to leave them in a state of shock where they will see a vision of how their life might be different. The experience is powerful enough to make most individuals rethink their choices, although a hardened criminal or evil being is unlikely to change their ways. Tandy's energy can also 'purge' a person, removing toxins, drugs, and other malignant substances from their system. It also has the capacity to cure certain persons of drug addictions. Sometimes Tandy can redirect the daggers after they ricochet, other times the daggers are dispersed if they hit a non-living thing. She can project her lifeforce energy in a diffused manner, allowing her to illuminate dark areas as if by natural light. Tandy can also project her 'light' into Cloak's dimension to feed his 'hunger.' She is unharmed when traveling through his dimension and can pass this protection to others.

Bio

For Cloak, he was raised in a poor South Boston neighborhood, Tyrone Johnson was a good student despite his chronic stutter, a disability he struggled to master with the support of his best friend, Billy. When Tyrone was 17, he and Billy witnessed the robbery of a local store and the fatal shooting of its clerk. The thieves fled, and Billy ran as well, fearing that he and Tyrone might be wrongly suspected of the crime. When a policeman ordered Billy to stop, Tyrone tried to proclaim Billy's innocence, but his stuttering made it impossible to speak clearly, and the officer shot Billy dead. Feeling responsible for Billy's death and afraid of the police, Johnson ran away to New York City. Dagger was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, an affluent suburb of Cleveland. Bowen's mother, Melissa, was a celebrated and self-centered model who had become rich not only from her own career but also from receiving her previous husband's estate. Tandy's father had left for India seeking "spiritual rebirth." Subsequently, Melissa married Phillip Carlisle. Although kind, Tandy was still hurt by her father's leaving and did not accept Phillip. Her mother also neglected her. Feeling unloved, Tandy turned for affection to an older teenager named Rob Daltry. But when he left for college shortly thereafter, the despondent Tandy left home on a bus for New York City. While there, a man tried to rob her but was stopped by the homeless Tyrone Johnson. She bought him food and the two became friends.

Dr. Simon Marshall and his men rounded up runaways, offering them food and shelter. Naive, Tandy agreed, and Tyrone went with her, suspecting things were not right. There, they were knocked unconscious and injected with a designer drug the Maggia wished to use as a replacement for heroin. Because of latent mutant genetic factors and some magical interference by D'Spayre, Tyrone and Tandy survived while the others died due to the drugs' effects. They escaped, along with another prisoner, the Chinese human-carrier who would become Mister Negative, jumping into the river, and both began manifesting superhuman powers. They discovered Tandy could keep Tyrone in check. Marshall's men attacked but were consumed by Cloak's hunger then hit with Dagger's light daggers.

Cloak & Dagger started out as merciless vigilantes, killing Marshall despite the interference of Spider-Man, who saw the duo as misguided innocents and gradually became their friend. After ill-fated assassination attempts on the crimelords Silvermane and Kingpin, Dagger became less ruthless and tried to steer Cloak in a similar direction; however, since his power compelled him to consume living beings, Cloak found it more difficult to follow this gentler path, even though Dagger's light could satisfy his hunger temporarily.

Cloak & Dagger befriended the super-powered preteens Power Pack and twice aided the New Mutants, junior trainees of the X-Men. The duo eventually learned they were mutants themselves, and that Marshall's drug had awakened their latent powers. Though they tend to target ordinary street criminals, they have faced such diverse foes as Doctor Doom, the Beyonder, Vermin, the Zapper, the Disciplinarian, the Warlord of Kampuchea, Set, Mephisto, Thanos, the Assembly of Evil, Firebrand, and Lightmaster.

Cloak & Dagger found sanctuary at the Holy Ghost Church with the sympathetic Father Francis Delgado, but over time, Delgado became romantically obsessed with Tandy. Regarding Cloak as a demonic influence, Delgado tried and failed to split up the duo, going mad in the process. After Delgado was institutionalized, Cloak & Dagger found a new mentor in Tandy's uncle, Father Michael Bowen. Tandy's father, meanwhile, had become a cult leader as the Lord of Light in India. A "light vampire" who fed on others' life force, he clashed with Cloak and Dagger until he realized what he had become and tried to atone by hurling himself into Cloak's ebony abyss.

Police detective Brigid O'Reilly regarded the duo as a menace until they helped her capture serial poisoner Duane Hellman and told her of their origins. Later, when O'Reilly was betrayed and left for dead by corrupt cops, Cloak & Dagger used their powers to save her life, but the experience mutated Brigid's body and warped her mind. She became the vicious superhuman vigilante Mayhem, often fighting crime alongside Cloak & Dagger. O'Reilly's former partner, police detective Rebecca "Rusty" Nales, would become an ally to Cloak & Dagger as well.

Cloak continued to struggle with his power, and with the hungry Predator within his darkness. During a period when Cloak swore off consuming living beings, the Predator released the spirit of legendary killer Jack the Ripper to torment Cloak; however, when Jack betrayed the Predator in search of personal power, Cloak absorbed the madman and the Predator consumed Jack again. The drug-dealing crime boss Ecstasy (Renee Deladier) twice stole Cloak's powers for herself, largely because the Predator preferred the more ruthless Deladier as a host body. Cloak regained his powers both times, thanks in part to Doctor Strange. When the dream-demon Nightmare targeted Cloak, Tyrone prevailed with the aid of Dr. Strange and Dagger, who even managed to nullify Cloak's darkness altogether for a time; however, Tyrone feared that Dagger could only relate to him as Cloak, and he was soon manipulated into reclaiming his dark powers by the malevolent mystic Mister Jip. Tyrone's willing resumption of his Cloak form estranged Dagger, who briefly worked with the Black Cat before going back to Cloak, who had tried and failed to find a new partner in Dazzler. By this time, Jip was trying to usurp Cloak's body with the aid of his agents, Night and Day. Dagger defeated them all with the aid of the Predator, and the partners were reunited. Jip would continue to hound them, striking Dagger blind for a time, using the mad Delgado as a pawn, temporarily corrupting Dagger through the power of Night, and killing both Delgado and Father Bowen by mystically usurping their bodies. Cloak and Dagger would thwart Jip's plots again and again.

Though Cloak & Dagger once rescued homeless youth Anna Johnson from cultists, only Anna herself was aware of the fact that she is Tyrone's long-lost sister. Tandy did stay in touch with her stepfather Philip, who persisted in offering Tandy moral and financial support. He even moved to New York City to be near her, caring for her during her temporary blindness, and the two gradually developed a real father-daughter relationship. Sadly, he was killed by an overdose of the designer drug D-Lite, a creation of the demonic D'Spayre, who feeds on human misery. D'Spayre revealed that he had helped create Cloak & Dagger, whose mutant powers would have been quite different had they developed normally. Apparently, their mutant powers would have activated naturally through contact between Tandy and Tyrone; but D'Spayre inhibited this reaction, allowing Marshall's drug to trigger their powers instead. D'Spayre also secretly placed two aspects of his own power--one light, one dark--within the teens, reshaping their mutant powers. These dark and light forms were meant to act as storage batteries for D'Spayre, accumulating pain and suffering he could tap for future use. He had selected Tyrone and Tandy as host bodies since he thought mutants were especially prone to suffering. When D'Spayre tried to reclaim the light and dark forms for himself, Cloak & Dagger resisted, and D'Spayre was seemingly destroyed. In the process, Cloak's and Dagger's powers were altered, though their original abilities reasserted themselves over time.

Cloak & Dagger are devoted to each other, but the lonely Dagger often wants more from life. While on an international case, Tandy performed with Eurocirque as Lady Light and shared a romance with supposed FBI agent Bill Clayton, who was exposed as a criminal but ultimately sacrificed himself to save Cloak & Dagger. Tandy found new friends in the New Warriors, who teamed with Cloak, Dagger and other heroes to defeat the shadow-lunatic Darkling. Around the same time, Cloak & Dagger teamed with Spider-Man and others to halt a murderous super-villain rampage led by superhuman serial killer Carnage; later, Dagger helped rescue the New Warriors from the supremely powerful Sphinx. She accepted an offer of New Warriors membership, though Cloak declined to join. Serving as a Warriors reservist, Dagger also undertook a single mission with the informal Secret Defenders group.

Bloodthirsty fellow vigilante the Punisher has been both an ally and an enemy to Cloak & Dagger over the years. When Cloak went missing recently, Dagger helped form the unofficial "Marvel Knights" alliance with the Punisher and other vigilantes and joined most of the other Knights in hunting the rogue Punisher after he left. Meanwhile, a Nightmare-manipulated Cloak embarked on a mad quest to consume all lawbreakers, absorbing the Punisher and many others until Dagger teamed with Dr. Strange to purge Cloak's corrupting darkness and rescue his victims. In the process, Cloak reverted to his human form as Tyrone Johnson, though this condition would prove temporary. Shortly thereafter, the Marvel Knights disbanded.

More recently, the secret criminal group known as the Pride tricked Cloak & Dagger into trying to retrieve their super-powered children. An encounter with these young Runaways soon convinced Cloak & Dagger of The Pride's true nature, but before they could act on this knowledge, the villains erased the duo's memories of The Pride. Cloak & Dagger continued to roam the mean streets, bringing the light of hope to the innocent and dark justice to the guilty.

Significance

Cloak and Dagger are definitely a great pair of superheroes that are inseparable to each other and clearly need more popularity, as they are underrated, to say the least. They have also crossed into the X-Men, Luke Cage’s Avengers and others. The pair have also gotten their own show on Hulu and interestingly, they decided to twist the story as Tandy is homeless and Tyrone lives a comfortable suburban life. I feel like their story is definitely so good and interchangeable that anything can happen and it's amazing that though they’ve had their ups and downs, they’re still together and strong as one with the power of two, perfectly in sync.

References:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Tyrone_Johnson_(Earth-616)

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Tandy_Bowen_(Earth-616)

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dbarajas03-blog · 6 years ago

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NORTHSTAR

Northstar formerly Jean-Paul Beaubier is an incredibly dashing hero, literally. His incredible speed and energy projectiles make him a great hero and will be getting into how amazing this underrated character really is in this blog post.

Powers and Abilities

First off what he is best at and known for is his speed. He possesses the ability to propel his body at superhuman speed, becoming a living projectile. Through an act of concentration, Northstar can channel a portion of the kinetic energy of the atomic motion in his body’s molecules in a single direction. This can accelerate his body in a velocity in direct proportions to the amount of kinetic energy he has tapped. It was once theoretically possible for him to reach 99% of the speed of light (186, 272 miles per second in a vacuum), although he never traveled at anywhere near that speed since if he did, he would wreak great damage upon himself and his environment. Northstar can also move a portion of his body at superhuman speed at a time.

Bio

He was only a baby when his parents died in a car crash. Though he was adopted, the family had died as well in an accident, leading Jean-Paul to live a lonely childhood. As a teen, he attempted to steal from a man named Raymonde Belmonde, who was himself involved in shady dealings. Belmonde helped the young Jean-Paul deal with his emerging super-human powers and perhaps with his homosexuality as well. Jean-Paul eventually left Belmonde and joined a circus in France as an acrobat. Always fiercely nationalistic, Jean-Paul returned to Quebec and joined a radical Separatist movement called "Le Front de Liberation du Quebec." However, he discovered their terrorist activities and left the group after stopping a bomb on a bus, with no official recognition that he was ever a member. Jean-Paul then decided to turn his passion for skiing into a career, and with his powers of speed quickly became a champion at the Olympic Games. After gaining notoriety as a sports star, he was contacted by James MacDonald Hudson, who had already met Beaubier's twin Jeanne-Marie. Jean-Paul was intrigued to meet the sister he never knew and joined Department H as Alpha Flight's "Northstar." He was present when Alpha Flight first fought the X-Men in Calgary in an attempt to reclaim Wolverine, who had once been Department H's "Weapon X." Unfortunately, Jean-Paul's abrasive personality made staying a member of Alpha Flight difficult. He was increasingly disdainful of Jeanne-Marie's relationship with Sasquatch (an attitude which may actually have been jealousy), and eventually left the team after a fight with his sister over an implied insult to her propriety. (Aurora then had Sasquatch manipulate her powers so that she was no longer identical to her brother.) While he was not officially a member at the time, Northstar later joined Alpha Flight when Loki's Fire fountain opened in Ungava Bay, Canada, because Aurora was suffering from a bout with her schizophrenia at the time. When Phoenix attacked Alpha Flight, blaming them for a psychic distress call she received from her father (Cyclops), Northstar chose Rogue as a target. Rogue kissed Northstar to drain his powers, and immediately became privy to all Jean-Paul's secrets, presumably including his sexual orientation. Interestingly enough, during the ensuing encounter with the Fire Fountain and the people transformed by it, Northstar agreed to touch Rogue's skin to see if Anodyne had cured her. Later, Northstar was forced to rejoin Alpha Flight at the Eye of the World when Talisman issued a mystic summons for help in their efforts to free Sasquatch's soul from the realm of the Great Beasts. Upset at being manipulated, he almost left immediately, but Snowbird used her powers to force him to stay. With Northstar's help, Alpha Flight managed to rescue Walter's soul, though Sasquatch's body was destroyed and his soul was now trapped in the box armor. It was not long before Sasquatch tried to regain a more human form, which led him to locate a humanoid body in another dimension. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the Hulk, and Sasquatch refused to displace his former colleague and friend, so his soul again was lost. When Alpha Flight responded to calls to put down the returned (and rampaging) Hulk, Northstar and Aurora tried to use their gestalt light powers, but instead, their touch shorted each other's powers out, due to the genetic changes Sasquatch had performed on Aurora. Northstar stayed with the reconstituted Alpha Flight for quite sometime after that. Eventually, his past as a terrorist was revealed to all (though Alpha had known for some time) when his former commander began killing off his subordinates and Jean-Paul was forced to save them. Fortunately, because he took part only in very limited terrorist activities, none of them murderous, Northstar was pardoned by the Canadian government.

Northstar remained an active member of a reorganized Alpha Flight for a while, surviving through the apparent abduction of his sister and then finding her again as a prisoner of Headlok. Following Headlok's defeat and Aurora's return to active duty, Jean-Paul discovered a baby abandoned in a dumpster, while in combat with the rest of the team. The child was HIV-positive and had already manifested AIDS symptoms, but Jean-Paul adopted her and named her Joanne. Sadly, Joanne died shortly thereafter, but her life and death catalyzed something inside Northstar, and he called a press conference at which he announced: "I am gay". Northstar remained a member of Alpha Flight while the team was in existence, but left angrily during a suspension of operations due to anti-mutant sentiments.

Northstar spent much of his time in this period searching for Aurora, who had disappeared following her breakup with Weapon Omega/Wildchild. He managed to stop her from killing Wildchild in a fit and brought her back to Canada for treatment, but she was abducted (and later released) by the Brotherhood of Mutants. Northstar eventually found her, half-insane, in the school in which she had grown up and taught. Though she eluded his grasp, Jean-Paul eventually got her treated with the help of his original Alpha Flight teammates, who discovered that Jeanne-Marie's worsened condition was part of a plot by Department H to destabilize certain mutants. The original team was reinstated, but Northstar stayed only a short time. With the "outing" of the X-Men as mutants and the vast expansion of the Xavier Institute, Charles Xavier himself approached Northstar with an offer to teach business and economics to his students. Jean-Paul refused at first but did grant a request by Xavier to support the X-Men field team operating nearby as they collected a new mutant. The mutant, a boy named Peter, turned out to possess an explosive field that decimated everything within a three- to four-foot radius, and Northstar insisted on flying him to a hospital so the Blackbird aircraft would not be damaged. Along the way, the two mutants struck up the conversation and came to accept each other (despite the ten-year-old's uneasiness towards homosexuals), but then Peter's powers flared twice more, and on the second time, Northstar was knocked out and they fell to the ground. Peter suffered severe internal injuries, and despite Xavier's assistance, the boy died. Northstar himself was heavily wounded, but as soon as he regained consciousness he accepted Xavier's offer and transferred to the Institute's faculty. During his convalescence, Jean-Paul found himself attracted by Bobby Drake, although these feelings did not go further.

As his old friends reformed Alpha Flight, Northstar returned to Canada and began living with his husband. He refused to rejoin Alpha Flight at first but reconsidered so he could keep an eye on what he believed to be troubling behavior from his sister.

Significance

Northstar is a great character to certainly means a lot to Marvel as he is to be their first openly gay character. It is important to them due to the fact that they try to stray away from doing so to characters. This, however, was definitely that a lot of people have been wanting and asked for. Now, I understand that it brings controversy and makes it feel like he needs more representation now because of the character’s sexuality but I think that it really doesn’t matter all that much. Granted, it creates a bigger fanbase, but I truly think his powers and backstory alone are incredible enough to show how great he is and underrated a character is which can definitely be shown more.

References:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Jean-Paul_Beaubier_(Earth-616)

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dbarajas03-blog · 6 years ago

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MAN-THING

Theodore Sallis AKA Man-Thing is an unlikely looking hero as he looks more like a monster. He became this way through chemicals and now looks grotesque. In this post, I hope to show Man-Thing as incredible as he really his and prove how awesome this character is in the Marvel Universe.

Powers and Abilities

His powers and abilities include Immorality, empathy/acidic secretion, biochemistry, and strong durability. Man-Thing is able to regenerate itself by drawing material from the swamp it dwells in and is virtually immortal. Its porous form is resistant to most physical attacks because it is not entirely solid; a fist or a bullet will usually pass right through it. He is also able to pass through many fences by oozing through the gaps in the chain links. As the Man-Thing, Ted's "brain" is no longer centrally located as when he was human: mutated analogs of his brain cells are unevenly distributed throughout the volume of his head and torso. Inhuman in its functions, his "brain" is incapable of reason, thought, or long-term memory. The Man-Thing does have a sensory apparatus, the location, and nature of which is unknown, which is able to empathically sense the emotions of other organisms. Unless stimulated by external emotion, the Man-Thing remains inert. Sensing emotion, he will seek out its source, his pace determined by the intensity of the emotion. Mild emotions provoke "curiosity," causing him to draw near and "observe." Violent emotion will provoke him to seek out the source and attack it. He does not possess emotions himself. Violent emotions in others cause him some form of extreme discomfort, which produces a physical reaction on the surface of his body. In response to emotional provocation, his body produces fuming sulfuric acid which can cause severe burns when in contact with the flesh of emoting beings. When the being ceases to radiate emotion, the Man-Thing's body ceases production of acid and secretes a mild, soapy mucus that tends to neutralize the acid. The Man-Thing will only attack a being that emotionally provokes him. When Man-Thing was granted speech again he spoke the language of X'zelzi'ohr, the universal language. Everyone heard him in a way they were accustomed to, meaning he spoke "normal" to the likes of Satana and Moonstone, but was concise and to the point for Ghost, a lewd Englishman to Mr. Hyde, and a total thug to Boomerang. Able to lift at least 2000 pounds but has fought foes as powerful as the Hulk so at times his strength may be able to increase past this.

Bio

Dr. Ted Sallis was a biochemistry professor who worked at Empire State University. The United States Army recruited him into "Project Sulfur," which aimed to allow soldiers to survive bio-chemical warfare. With the army, Sallis developed "Serum SO-2," which gave its user immunity to all known toxic biochemicals. However, it became unusable when it was discovered that it had a side-effect: turning its users into monsters. After Curt Conners lost his arm in battle, Ted met him in the hospital and the two began discussing nano-scaffolding and Ted’s attempts to create “Captain America 2.0," a project that aimed at re-creating the lost Super Soldier Serum that had created Captain America. While unable to afford to hire Curt once they returned state-side, Ted still aided him in his cell regeneration research, which soon led Connors towards using lizard DNA. Sallis fell in love with one of his students, Ellen Brandt. The two eloped following a secret affair. After their honeymoon, they visited the fortune teller Madame Swabada, who foretold a catastrophic change. Due to his own research needing to be moved somewhere more secluded, he discussed with Ellen the idea of moving to the Everglades so as to be closer to Curt. Sallis was then reassigned to "Project: Gladiator," a S.H.I.E.L.D. research program based in the Florida Everglades. Sallis modified his SO-2 formula as the basis for a new Super-Soldier Serum. The subversive organization AIM wanted the serum and conspired with a bitter Ellen, whom Ted had long neglected since their honeymoon. Upon completing his new serum, Ted committed its formula to memory and burnt his records. When Ellen led Ted into an AIM ambush, he fled and attempted to reach Curt Connors's lab. While fleeing, he injected the only existing sample of the serum into himself just before his car crashed into the swamp. He should have died, but the magical energies of the swamp, combined with the serum as well as some of Curt Connors regeneration serum, transformed him into the hideous creature later known as the Man-Thing. His intelligence rapidly fading, Sallis then slew the AIM agents and horribly burned half of Ellen's face. Unknown to Sallis, Ellen had been pregnant. Early AdventuresEarly AppearanceMan-Thing returned to his former laboratory after he stumbled across Project Gladiator's creator, Wilma Calvin. The locals assumed that there was witch-craft happening and captured one of the project members, Barbara Morse, though the locals were being secretly lead by AIM. After threatening the entire project members, the locals were slain by Man-Thing. He returned to the swamp. Not long after, Wilma appeared to recognize him as Ted but was shot and went into a coma. After wandering through the swamp for a time, he stumbled onto the Writer's Mansion and Man-Thing and Sallis appeared to be separated. Sallis was then looked after by the family that lived there. However, this turned out to be an illusion conjured by The Writer who was using Sallis to finish his book by bringing the characters to life. With the transformation of Ted Sallis into Man-Thing virtually unknown to the world at large, two of his former colleagues, Barbara Morse and Paul Allen, brought in Ka-Zar to try and track him down. At the same time AIM returned once again to try and obtain Sallis' formula. A.I.M. captured Man-Thing in a pit after Ka-Zar had begun to follow him. Confronting A.I.M, Ka-Zar fell into the pit and after a short fight in which Man-Thing had the upper hand, Man-Thing was then knocked out by AIM. Going in to kill the pair, they were saved by Zabu. Pulling the unconscious Man-Thing out of the pit, the duo took him back to the lab where they discovered that Paul and Wilma have been captured by AIM. While Ka-Zar leaves, Man-Thing slipped through his bars and followed them to A.I.M.s secret base. After discovering the truth about Paul working for AIM, Man-Thing busted through the wall of the base and rescued Ka-Zar. After everyone gets out, Man-Thing blows up the base with him inside. Meeting Ellen in the swamp, she removed the bandages to reveal that her face was fully healed and no longer feels scared of Man-Thing, who did not realize who she truly was. Showing no fear, the two then touched. Due to showing no fear, Ellen was not burnt and, sensing her sadness, Man-Thing left.

It was during this time Man-Thing first met the young witch Jennifer Kale and her brother, Andrew Kale when they accidentally summoned Thog the Nether-Spawn using the Tome of Zhered-Na. Initially unaware they had done so, the Kales returned to their town of Citrusville while being followed by Thog and Man-Thing. Confronting Thog, Man-Thing was initially able to destroy its original host before being summoned fully. Returning the fight to the swamp, Thog was thrown back into his home dimension of Sominus. Thog returned to seek revenge by bringing Man-Thing to his home dimension and offered him the chance to become human once more if he killed the Kale family. Refusing to do so, Sallis was then reverted back to Man-Thing and Thog was apparently destroyed. The Kales then realized they were still in the swamp and everything was an illusion that Man-Thing only manages to break when he realized that his touch wasn’t burning someone who knew fear. The Kales observed strange outbreaks of violence due to the takeover of human minds and souls by demons of the underworld. Deciding to assemble the cult, they prepare a ritual that they hope will block the demons' entry to the Earth realm. Jennifer Kale and the Man-Thing disappeared and re-appeared in chains in an other-worldly dimension. Here they met Dakimh the Enchanter, who needed to recover the Tome of Zhered-Na, the tome used to originally summon Thog. Dakimh was aware of the demonic invasion of Earth and told Jennifer that the Man-Thing is the guardian of the Nexus of All Realities. As the guardian, Man-Thing can prevent the doorways between worlds from being opened but must survive a trial by combat. The Man-Thing is forced to fight a barbarian Mongu. Mongu's battle-axe was ineffective against the Man-Thing, and the swamp monster fought back with his burning touch, winning the fight. Dakimh returned Jennifer and the Man-Thing to the swamp. For unknown reasons, Man-Thing ran amok in the city. Man-Thing then seemingly dropped dead and was soon taken to the Kale home, Joshua Kale told everyone the origins of the Tome of Zhered-Na, which has its origins stemming from Ancient Atlantis. Dahkim appeared and takes Jennifer and Man-Thing to an extra-dimensional nexus to try and recover the Tome, battling various forces of the demons of Sominus in the process. When the cult members are captured, Jennifer and Man-Thing worked together to secure the book and restore reality to normal, freeing the captured cultists. All are transported back to Earth, including a demon Man-Thing was fighting. Once back in the swamp Man-Thing is easily able to overpower the demon. With everything restored to normal, the Tome vanished, and Man-Thing returned to the swamp, his bond with Jennifer seemingly severed. Many of Man-Thing's early activities involved meeting many of its residents and aiding those who had been wronged, usually by causing fear and scarring those were causing strife to others, including an abusive husband, a racist cop, a corrupt businessman who wanted to build an airport on Native American Land and a crashed bus. His first interaction with a super-powered being was by awakening Wundarr, an alien who had been sent to earth to escape his dying world as a baby. Some time passed before his discovery and Wundarr soon grew to adulthood without any education. Assuming each was being attacked by the other, Man-Thing and Wundarr fought until Man-Thing left and rejected Wundarr's desire for Man-Thing to be his mother. Man-Thing was one of the many heroes involved in defending the earth from the hordes of the Dark Dimension when Dormammu attempted to invade the Earth. Man-Thing then teamed up with The Thing to take down the Molecule Man's "son" after he appeared in his swamp. The Thing had initially arrived due to him feeling that Man-Thing had stolen his name. During the initial confrontation Molecule Man turned both Thing and Man-Thing back into their human form, before attempting to teleport but couldn't teleport past the swamp due to the Nexus. Ted was unable to remember anything past the accident and the pair traveled to Citrusville, where they fought the Molecule Man. Turning the pair back to their monstrous forms, Man-Thing attacked the Thing and using the Man Thing's swamp mud, the Molecule Man was defeated. Recent dimensional travel had shattered the Nexus of Realities, and Dr. Strange recruited Ellen Brandt to help Man-Thing restore it. In the process, the Man-Thing was possessed by K'ad-Mon, the history of the Men of Lineage was revealed, and Sallis learned that his relation with Ellen was predestined to restore his hereditary mission. Ellen, the Man-Thing, and K'ad-Mon recovered Nexus fragments from within the maddened Devil-Slayer, from Howard the Duck (despite the opposition of Mahapralaya and a revived Cult of Entropy), from Cleito herself in ancient Atlantis, and from a Nexus-created planet that Ellen had to destroy to save reality. Their efforts to restore the Nexus were opposed by the Fallen Star Mr. Termineus, the embodiment of finality, who had visited the young Ted Sallis over the years. Termineus had captured Ellen's long-lost son Job Burkeand trained him as his disciple in a plot to destroy all existence. Devil-Slayer united the remaining Fallen Stars, including K'ad-Mon and Sorrow, to stop Termineus. Using the power of the final Nexus fragment, Termineus succeeded in shattering the healing Nexus, wiping out all reality. However, Sallis' nature as the Man of Lineage (combined with his love of Ellen) allowed him to briefly maintain the dream of existence; he joined forces with Job, who rebelled against his mentor, to re-imagine the creator's dream that had formed reality. All existence was restored, with Ted and Ellen inhabiting the Nexus itself, while K'ad-Mon retained control of the Man-Thing. Job returned home with his adoptive parents to live his life and prepare for his future destiny. Termineus began to plot anew to bring about the endgame, but as it was he who had involved K'ad-Mon in this struggle, he had to deal with bringing about his own failure, due to his inability to relinquish the love in his heart for his former wife, Sorrow. Shortly thereafter, the ancient Scrier mutated one of his cabal members into the Outrider to seize the Nexus. Spider-Man helped foil this plot, and Ted and Ellen drew the consciousness of the Nexus down into the Man-Thing, merging into a powerful collective being. This merged being left the earthly sphere, becoming the new Nexus, and the magic of the swamp re-formed the Man-Thing's original form, apparently instilling it with the residual memory of Sallis' consciousness. Continuing its subconscious mission to defend the swamp and Nexus, it incinerated botanist Owen Candler, creator of the Salvation Seed and the Union, which had threatened to replace humanity with plant simuloids; slew a mad scientist who tried to use the Man-Thing in experimental emotion therapy; and even opposed a universe-menacing, virtually omnipotent Thanos enhanced by the Heart of the Infinite. Eternally cursed with a monstrous form, barely aware of its past or surroundings, the Man-Thing remains the most startling slime creature of all. The Man-Thing was recently slashed in half by Ares of the Dark Avengers and "bagged and tagged" since then, however he was seen protecting the Moloids who are collecting and spiriting away the Punisher's body parts, after he is dismembered and decapitated by Daken, acting on the orders of Norman Osborn. After Norman Osborn was deposed during the events of Siege, Man-Thing was moved to the Raft. Hank Pym studied it and created a device which used Man-Thing's connection to the Nexus of All Realities to enable Luke Cage's Thunderbolts to teleport anywhere in the world. He was inscribed with the 'World Song' by Satana. Using the Nexus of All Realities, Man-Thing was able to escape the Raft and run amok around New York City. Howard the Duck, along with She-Hulk, Nighthawk, and Frankenstein's Monster went in search of him in an attempt to stop him. Returning to the Thunderbolts, he helped during an invasion of Chicago by absorbing the hordes of monsters sent to destroy it. This caused him to become giant-sized. Satana extracted a bulb from his old, burnt out body. During the Fear Itself event, Howard the Duck formed a team called the Fearsome Four with She-Hulk, Frankenstein's Monster and Nighthawk to stop the Man-Thing who found himself driven to an uncontrollable rage, caused by the immense levels of fear generated by the Serpent's hammer-wielders across the world. Facing various alternate universe heroes and the Psycho-Man, brought to Earth by the Man-Thing's connection to the Nexus of All Realities. The Four were eventually able to confront their own fears and calm the Man-Thing, bringing an end to his rampage and saving the world, before going their separate ways. After his escape from the Thunderbolts and handling by the Fearsome Four, the Man-Thing was captured and entered into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s S.T.A.K.E. sub-division. While on their inaugural mission, the Howling Commandos were in combat with a viral plant infection. Multiple of these infected individuals joined together to form a larger being. This was cause for Dum Dum Dugan to call in for Man-Thing to be dropped into the fight. He then proceeded to fight off the enlarged being and defeat it using his burning touch. Sadly due to this the idol they were sent to retrieve was destroyed and their first mission was both success and failure.

Significance

Man-Thing is definitely a great underrated character that is very interesting as one of Marvel’s big “monster-like characters” who portrays a big scary creature trying to be good. He has collaborated with other heroes and seems to try to be on the right of justice and I think this makes the character great. The contrast of physical appearance to the moral virtue of the character is amazing for a hero to have and I think this works for other Marvel characters as well like Hulk and The Thing.

References:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Theodore_Sallis_(Earth-616)

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dbarajas03-blog · 6 years ago

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NEBULA

Nebula is a merciless cutthroat pirate who has a deep hatred for Thanos and envy of Gamora. Weve seen her in the MCU as she has played quite the antagonist and as well as helping the Guardians of the Galaxy and playing on their side. She in the comics however, she only been portrayed as a villian and will get a little more into that in this blog post.

Powers and Abilities

She possesses an ability to lift weights ranging 800lbs to 25 tons. Due to her superhuman strength, she has possessed a very potent superhuman durability. Her muscular tissues are stronger than a human's. Nebula is highly skilled in military strategy, space warfare, leadership, astro-navigation, and the operation of advanced technology. She is a skilled hand-to-hand fighter. Her official Marvel Power grid rating is a 4, indicating that her strength is somewhere in the 800lbs to 25 tons range. Her ratings also indicate enhanced durability. Nebula wore wrist blasters that produced blasts of concussive force and is considered a Universal threat by the Nova Corps.

Bio

Little is known about the life of Nebula before the time she hijacked Sanctuary II, the solar-orbiting satellite built and used as a base of operations by Thanos. A short time before Thanos became permanently transfixed between life and death, Nebula sent a small band of her most trusted aides to Sanctuary II to repair its hyperdrive engines and teleport the station out of the solar system. The underlings were met by the Avenger then known as Captain Marvel, who had been sent to investigate the possible activity. Nebula's minions warped the satellite out of the solar system with Captain Marvel aboard and rendezvoused with Nebula. She planned to conquer the Skrull empire, which was then in chaos after the destruction of its throneworld by the planet-devourer Galactus. Not knowing how to return home, Captain Marvel pretended to go along with Nebula's scheme, but actually helped the Skrulls evacuate the outpost world Nebula was intent on destroying. The Avengers eventually located their missing member and allied themselves with the Skrulls to oppose her. Before the Avengers could catch up to Nebula, she annihilated both the Skrull outpost and the planet Xandar, home planet of Firelord. In the battle with Nebula, the Avenger Starfox, brother of Thanos, learned that Nebula was apparently Thanos's granddaughter and thus his own grandniece. Shortly thereafter, the virtually omnipotent Beyonder, curious about the Avengers, arrived, and in an attempt to help the Avengers vanquish Nebula, helped her and her minions to escape by teleporting them out of the Andromeda Galaxy.

Sometime after all this, while Firelord and Starfox were searching known space for Nebula, Thanos was reborn. One of his first tasks was to reclaim Sanctuary II. When he found Nebula, she claimed to be his granddaughter. He torched her body and left her on the brink of death, where she hovered until the affair of the Infinity Gauntlet. For whatever reason, Thanos left Nebula to roam around his shrine as he battled all manner of beings to keep the Gauntlet. After Thanos defeated Eternity and left his body, Nebula claimed the Gauntlet and fully restored herself to life as she achieved omnipotence. She eventually lost the Gauntlet to Adam Warlock and was placed in the custody of Firelord and Starfox. Later one of her crew freed Nebula from her cell on Titan, finding her in a catatonic state. After surgery to restore her to her former mental capacity (if not her former looks) she battled the Silver Surfer and Jack of Hearts. She killed her crew in escaping. Nebula later resurfaced as a member of the Graces, Gamora's group of female warriors. She battled Ronan the Accuser alongside Stellaris. Ronan triumphed, severely wounding her. She later fought side-by-side the other Graces, defending their base of operations from the Annihilation Wave.

After Thanos' son Thane decided to orchestrate a plan to kill his progenitor, he enlisted the help of Nebula, Starfox, and Champion. As part of his plan, Thane deceived them into helping him invade Terrax's warship to steal a Phoenix Egg in his possession. Upon discovering the truth, Nebula killed Thane to prevent him from opening the egg, but his death just made the egg hatch and allowed the Phoenix Force to turn him into its new host. Thane's former allies sought Thanos' help to stop Thane, and in turn, Thanos had them take him to the God Quarry so that he could acquire the power he needed to defeat his son. Following Thane's defeat, Nebula was left behind in the God Quarry. She fell victim to the Quarry's ensaring illusions and didn't break free until after a considerable amount of time.

When Nebula escaped from the God Quarry, the trio of witches named The Coven that guarded it informed her that Thanos had met his end at the hands of Gamora. The Coven informed Nebula of the existence of the Naglfar Beacon, a powerful weapon Nebula could use to one-up Gamora as the most dangerous woman alive. Nebula kidnapped the dwarf Urzuul and forced him to build an axe with teleporting abilities and help her find the horn. The Asgardians of the Galaxy assembled by Kid Loki attempted to obtain the Naglfar Beacon for themselves, but they arrived too late. Nebula tested the horn, summoning the Naglfar Armada on Netredeen and then on Chandilar. She moved to her true target, Earth. Expecting retaliation from the Asgard because the Naglfar Horn was Asgardian in nature, Nebula subdued and kidnapped Thor to use him as leverage. She also captured Kid Loki, who had tried to warn Thor about Nebula's plans. The Asgardians of the Galaxy tracked Nebula down, and Loki incapacitated her using an illusion long enough for Valkyrie to take the Naglfar Beacon from her. During the fight, Nebula's teleporting axe was damaged, and he had Urzuul repair it. The dwarf tempered with the axe, sending Nebula somewhere unpleasant when she used the axe to escape after her defeat.

Significance

This Marvel character is probably the most underrated in Guardians of the Galaxy. Now I understand that she is right after Gamora but I did this intentionally as to show how underrated the characters place in the ranking, in terms of popularity they fall short but Nebula falls far below Gamora. I think that this character still has a lot of potential however and can be worked into a lot of things. She, being a space pirate mercenary with a hatred of Thanos has been proven in MCU and she has shown to be ruthless and widely skilled in combat. Her story is relatively short and she clearly has plans for revenge, so I think this underrated character will most likely see much more in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, seen as she has more prominence in the films created recently.

References:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Nebula_(Earth-616)

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dbarajas03-blog · 6 years ago

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GAMORA

Gamora Zen Whoberi Ben Titan from Earth 7528 is a deadly force to be reckoned with. She poses a huge threat as a female assassin trained by none other than Thanos. She may not have superpowers, but she possesses abilities that make her extremely powerful.

Powers and Abilities

Gamora was enhanced at low levels of superhuman strength, durability, endurance and reflexes, and healing factor. Gamora received treatments from Thanos that enhanced her physiology. While engaging the US Military, it was mentioned that the armed forces were under the impression that she was no stronger than Spider-Man. However, her skill combined with her strength made them estimate her to be close to as dangerous as Iron Man. Gamora's bodily tissues are much harder and more resistant to injury than those of a human. Her body is also specially adapted to withstand the physiologically debilitating effects of moving and running at high rates of speed without sustaining injury. Her skeleton was constructed of a lightweight yet nearly indestructible alloy, enabling her to survive falls that would eventually kill a normal human. Gamora is said to be the most dangerous female assassin in the Milky Way galaxy. She is a highly accomplished athlete trained in gymnastics, hand-to-hand combat, the uses of the known weaponry of the galaxy, and stealth techniques. She is one of the most skilled martial artists in the universe. She is capable of defeating opponents who possess superhuman strength and durability that far surpass her own, and she has defeated a military platoon containing dozens of combat-trained men in only a few minutes. She has learned to paralyze or kill opponents using vital point strikes directed at certain nerve clusters. She is an accomplished strategist. She had been widely considered one of, if not the greatest, both on and off the battlefield. She is able to formulate battle strategies and her brilliant tactical sense allows her to alter any strategy to fit the changing need of the situation. Gamora is an extremely skilled assassin, being sent by Thanos to kill many of his adversaries across the galaxy. Her years of training and experience have made her an expert acrobat, gymnast, and aerialist.

Bio

Gamora was the sole survivor of the alien humanoid race called the Zen Whoberis, a peace-loving people whose population were wiped out by a zealous religious order seeking to establish a galaxy-wide empire. Agents of the Church, called Grand Inquisitors, herded the entire population of the planet into a valley and exterminated them all for their resistance. The mad Titan Thanos rescued Gamora and brought her through time to a period at least two decades prior to her people's deaths, traveling from Earth-7528 to Earth-616. Aboard his space station Sanctuary, Thanos raised Gamora and used advanced technology to endow her with enhanced humanoid abilities. He also subtly altered her perceptions so that she would not recognize the evil of her deeds. Thanos decided to train her as a weapon to use against and kill the Magus. Thanos made sure Gamora was raised with discipline, though he did on occasion show her affection as a father would show his child: such as celebrating the religious holiday of Yule. Through rigorous training, she would become a highly skilled master of various martial arts forms from throughout the universe. Even though Gamora was learning and becoming a master martial artist, she still had more to learn. While still a young girl, she went on a trip with Thanos. Though explicitly against Thanos orders and warning, out of curiosity she decided to venture planetside. In turn, she fell into an ambush set up by a group of thugs. The attackers used their numbers advantage and were able to defeat her in spite of her great skill. She was severely injured in the fight and gang-raped. Near death, her proverbial knight in shining armor arrived in the form of Thanos, who quickly dispatched the assailants. Thanos then recovered the apologetic and near dead Gamora. After returning to Sanctuary Thanos restored and augmented Gamora. This was achieved via bionic implants and replacement parts of Thanos' own design. These physical and power upgrades made her an equal to Adam Warlock's own physical abilities. She also received specialized training and abilities including resistance to reality distortion as well as an accelerated healing factor. Thanos planned to send Gamora to assassinate his enemy, the Magus, the leader of the Universal Church of Truth, a warped version of Adam Warlock from an alternate future. She practiced for this assignment by killing the Church's Grand Inquisitors. Thanos hoped that the presence of a non-contemporary element such as Gamora inserted into the Magus's presence would disrupt his opponent's plans and eliminate the divergence of events that created the Magus from this timeline. Gamora's presence was detected by the Magus, who prevented her from getting close enough to assassinate him. Gamora did, however, assist Adam Warlock in his final battle against Magus. When Magus was defeated, Gamora returned to her master, Thanos. After a couple of weeks at Sanctuary, Thanos' base of operations at the time, Gamora expressed her boredom to Thanos. Thanos then told her to find Warlock, and become his unofficial bodyguard. While locating Warlock, she was attacked by Drax the Destroyer, a being whose sole purpose in life is to kill Thanos. She escaped Drax, and returned to Thanos, only to find out Thanos' plan to destroy the universe as a sacrifice to Death. Horrified, she tried to slay Thanos with a dagger, but Thanos slew her instead. Adam Warlock found Gamora with one last spark of life remaining in her body and used his Soul Gem to absorb her consciousness. Gamora's spirit remained in the Soul Gem until the Infinity Gauntlet crisis, when in a plan to stop the Mad Titan from destroying the universe, Warlock projected his, Gamora's and Pip's souls into three deceased bodies. His powers reshaped their shattered bodies into new, more powerful versions of their old bodies. She joined Warlock in his plan to stop Thanos, but she herself was not present for most of the fighting. At the end, when Warlock had seized possession of the Infinity Gauntlet for himself, Gamora remained at his side for whatever would come next, although she was a bit against the idea of leaving Thanos free.

A couple of months later, Warlock was convinced by the Living Tribunal that he was unworthy of wielding the power of all Infinity Gems, so he decided to divide the gems among those he trusts. Gamora was entrusted with the supposed defunct Time Gem and was made a member of the Infinity Watch. The team, led by Adam Warlock and consisting of Drax, Pip and Moondragon, settled in Monster Island, the sovereign nation ruled by the Mole Man. Not long after that, the Watch was forced to team up with Thanos after the reappearance of an old foe of theirs, the Magus. However, this Magus was the result of Warlock expelling both the bad and the good from his body in order to truly become a logical being. She and Thanos appeared to have reconciled their relationship and even went a round of friendly sparring while on their mission to defeat the Magus. The Watch, Thanos, and Earth's heroes managed to defeat the Magus, and he was banished to Soul World.

At times, Gamora would inadvertently tap into the power of the Time Gem, and get a good glimpse of the future. One of her visions was of a man standing over, what appeared to be, a deceased Adam Warlock. This frightened her, even more so when Warlock was put into a coma after the battle with the Magus. While the Watch, struggled to come together as a team, Gamora stayed by Warlock's bedside and protected the island from foreign invaders. However, one day, a man by the name of Maxam washed up on their shore, and she immediately recognized him as the man from her vision. This suspicious man had no idea who he was nor where he was, but even so, Gamora voted for the Watch to not help him, but Warlock (who had recently woke up from his coma) said they'd help him for the time being.

Yet another universal threat emerged when Adam Warlock's good side sought to eradicate the universe of all sin by simply eradicating the universe itself. However, Gamora (and many of Earth's heroes, including fellow Infinity Watch member Moondragon) was manipulated into joining the Goddess' crusade. A war broke out between those manipulated and those non-manipulated with both sides suffering heavy casualties. Those manipulated were broke out of the trance when Warlock and Thanos defeated the Goddess and banished her to the soul world. The team returned back to Monster Island where they could focus on helping Maxam, to Gamora's displeasure. It was a much-needed break, but then Warlock called the Watch to help the Silver Surfer defeat the mentally unstable Thor. The Watch went against Adam's instructions and attacked Thor without him present, which resulted in Thor taking the Power Gem from Drax. After this catastrophic mistake, Warlock and Silver Surfer were forced to enlist the help of Doctor Strange to take them and the rest of the Watch to Asgard. They were not met gladly there, for they had to fight their way through Trolls and Asgardians warriors (and even had to get help from Thanos)) to get Odin to finally help Thor. In the end, Thor was cured and Asgard was indebted to the Watch.

Her true feelings for Adam Warlock began to show further when Maya came to the island and she and Adam fell in love because of Count Abyss' love potion. She believed the best answer was to simply kill Maya. Eventually, she accepted it for what it was and went to help rescue her from Abyss in his dimension. The Watch was successful in rescuing Maya, but she ended up marrying someone else.

Things would quickly get out of hand for Gamora again. This time due to Maxam making what he thought was a harmless tease about Gamora's feelings towards Adam and referring to it as puppy love. Due to her still being unable to express herself to Adam and her unease and concerns about Maxam, due to the visions from her gem, Gamora attacked Maxam. The two had fought before but this time Gamora was aware of her opponent. The fight favored Gamora to triumph until it was broken up when Moondragon, who was currently in a coma, used Drax and his power gem to communicate. Adam was displeased with Gamora's actions and told her so. This, in turn, angered and caused Gamora to verbally lash out. For it was not her mistrust of Maxam directly concerning Adams own well being. Unable to accept Adam siding with Maxam over her, she quit the team and threw her gem at Adam when he asked for it back. Which Warlock, in turn, gave to Maxam. She then had Pip teleport her away from Monster Island and Earth. She was tracked down by Thanos, who sought out the Time Gem in order to erase his troubled history. However, just as Gamora was going to make a decision to help him or not, all the Infinity Gems of the Watch and Thanos' Reality gem disappeared.

Some time afterward, Gamora finds out that Thanos created clones of himself many years ago, but never activated them. They remained dormant until a secret enemy of his activated five of them recently, and those five clones all had the fixation on destroying the universe and the programming "Adam Warlock is the key to oblivion". Just then, the Thanos clone she recently encountered tracked her to her location, so she and Thanos had to destroy it. After they did that, Thanos began to spy on the other "Thanosi", he did and their plan was revealed. Gamora was later sent to aid Spider-Man and Captain Marvel in protecting Atleza, a human girl who was destined to become an anchor of their reality. They, with the aid of Moondragon, protected the little girl until Adam Warlock, Pip the Troll and Thanos arrived. They arrived to defeat the Omega Thanosi, who was a combination of Thanos and Galactus. After they won the battle, Gamora and Adam Warlock entered a loving relationship and decided to depart into another dimension to protect and raise Atleza.

Having no purpose and wanting to do things for the greater good, Gamora joined the team of heroes known as the Guardians of the Galaxy. At first, she was not trusted because of her past, but after risking her life to save the others, she was seen in a different light. While trying to close a fissure located inside a Dyson Sphere, the team decided to stop threats to them by turning off the shield that protected them from the star's immense heat. They planned to teleport out but were unable to do so. Gamora braved the intense heat in order to turn the shields back on, charring her entire body from head to toe. It took some time for Gamora to heal from this. After the Skrulls were found on Knowhere, the team's base, accusations ran high, especially towards Gamora. After they found the Skrulls, it was revealed to all that Star-Lord had Mantis mildly brainwash them into joining the team. Disgusted, Gamora quit the team and headed off with Adam Warlock. After a short run in with the Universal Church of Truth, Gamora and Adam returned to the Guardians in order to help them continue to save the universe.

After experiencing reoccurring dreams concerning encounters with an older version of herself, Gamora came to the realization that a portion of her soul remained trapped inside the Soul World. Determined to set it free, Gamora set out to find the Soul Gem. To this end, she located Grandmaster and made a deal with him. To perform missions for him with the Guardians of the Galaxy in exchange for information, hoping to find about the Soul Gem this way. When carrying a heist on the Collector's collection, Tivan agreed to help Gamora in her mission. He made a deal with Gamora, offering his assistance in stealing the Soul Gem if it turned out the Grandmaster possessed, in exchange for the Infinity Gem Gamora bluffed about possessing.

When the Collector interrupted the Guardians' rendezvous with their client, the Grandmaster revealed he had challenged his brother just to test him. The Collector and the Grandmaster learned that some of their fellow Elders were mysteriously altered or gone, and determined they could be linked to the disappearance of the Infinity Stones. Since helping the Grandmaster and the Collector gather the stones aligned with her plans, Gamora convinced her teammates to embark on a quest to find them. After helping the Nova Corps defend the Power Stone which had manifested in the planet Xitaung, the Guardians took off with it to Oblitus. They were approached by Adam Warlock and Kang the Conqueror, who had joined forces to find the Time Stone and already had the Soul Gem in their possession. Gamora attempted to force Warlock to hand over the Soul Gem, and a fight broke out. During the battle, Drax managed to hold it but was exposed to the corruption of Soulworld. He struck Gamora to prevent her from opening the gem and departed with Warlock and Kang. In addition to Drax's betrayal, the other Guardians refused to follow Gamora into pursuing Kang. Outraged by her teammates' behavior, Gamora left them to obtain the Soul Gem on her own.

In order to help her quest, Gamora kidnapped a master forger from Nidavellir and forced him to make her an armor, killing him afterward. She later agreed to a parley with Star-Lord in order to steal the Power Stone from him, by switching it with a fake without him noticing, and encrusted the hilt of her Infinity Blade with it. Sporting her masked armor and the encrusted sword, Gamora attacked Thanos before he could set out to gather the Infinity Stones to prevent his interference. After being felled, Thanos remarked that Gamora was going to conduct his requiem. Despite brushing off her father's comment and killing him, Gamora decided to adopt that word as her new alias and became known as Requiem. After murdering Thanos, Gamora started being plagued by apparitions of him. Requiem subsequently interrupted a conclave of the new Infinity Watch to steal the Infinity Stones, and her true identity was quickly revealed to her former allies. Star-Lord was surprised by Gamora's uncharacteristic behavior, and she tried to kill him, he was only saved by the intervention of Doctor Strange using the Time Stone. As the conflict continued, Gamora managed to get her hands on the Reality Stone, and quickly claimed the remaining Stones from their owners. Encouraged by Thanos' apparition, Gamora hesitantly opened a portal to the Soul Gem and reunited with the fragment of herself, becoming whole again. She then set out to rebalance the Soul Gem. To prevent opposition from her quest and to feed the being Devondra, who was responsible for the Soul Gem's hungering for souls, Gamora used the Infinity Stones to fold the universe in half and merge the two halves together before sending the new universe into a pocket dimension called Warp World inside the Soul Gem. Gamora planned to create a reality once Devondra devoured all the souls and ensure that suffering no longer existed in this new universe. She also sealed Loki into the Soul Gem when he asked to be her counsel. Gamora and Loki's companion Flowa then traveled to the God Quarry so Gamora could investigate what laid beneath it as she couldn't see past it.

Even with the Infinity Stones, Gamora was unable to breach the barrier at the bottom of the God Quarry. After fending alternate reality versions of Captain Marvel and Moondragon, Gamora was confronted by Loki and his newly assembled Cosmic Avengers who had managed to escape the Soul Gem. Wielding copies of the Infinity Stones Gamora unintentionally created when she created Warp World, the Cosmic Avengers easily subdued Gamora and took the Infinity Stones from her. However, Loki used his sorcery to take control of Gamora's Infinity Stones and used them to send her and the alternate reality Phyla-Vell and Moondragon to Warp World before transporting himself to the unknown realm that existed beneath the God Quarry.

While in Warp World, Gamora was clobbered by Soldier Supreme and nearly consumed by Devondra but was rescued by Peet, the fusion of Star-Lord and Groot. The Cosmic Avengers eventually returned with the Infinity Stones after Loki relinquished them. With Adam Warlock's help, the Cosmic Avengers restored the universe while also allowing Warp World to remain in existence. They then fled Soul World using the Soul Gem with Gamora, Star-Lord, Groot, Rocket Raccoon, Moondragon, and Phyal-Vell, but Drax had to stay behind to keep the portal opened. They arrived on Earth and crash-landed in Egypt. Phyla-Vell and Moondragon wanted to punish Gamora for destroying their universe, even though that was the work of a different Gamora. Adam Warlock decided to send Gamora to a random location using the Infinity Stones in order to redeem herself. Gamora ended up on an unknown planet with a resurrected Magus.

Significance

In conclusion, Gamora is without a doubt, an incredible female character in the Marvel Universe. She is an enhanced skilled and powerful warrior who has a deep sense of loyalty and justice. She has gone through a lot of tragedies and this has definitely affected her personality. I think she is one the best female heroes in the Marvel Universe and if her representation in the MCU isn’t enough, then I enough the info. gather on this post was.

References:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Gamora_Zen_Whoberi_Ben_Titan_(Earth-7528)

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dbarajas03-blog · 6 years ago

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NOVA (RICHARD RIDER)

Richard Rider was selected at random to possess the powers of a Nova corp warrior. Richard Rider is the host of the entire Nova Force, a vast energy source that he can access to grant himself a number of superhuman attributes. He uses his power for good to protect Earth. He’s definitely one of Marvel’s underrated characters to be seen.

Powers and Abilities

Nova derives his powers from an energy source called the Nova Force which all Nova Corps Centurions wield. This energy was transferred to Rider by the Nova-Centurion, Rhomann Dey. The Nova Force affords Rider superhuman powers including flight, superhuman strength, speed, and durability, as well as the power to absorb energy directed against him and release it as gravimetric pulses and beams, either from specific parts of his body or from his entire body. Nova is a good hand-to-hand combatant and has been coached by Chord.

Nova wears a standard Xandarian StarCorps uniform, designed to accommodate his powers without being damaged by them. The uniform is highly resistant to damage, including outer space conditions, and is airtight. In addition, the uniform has a built-in life support function that can sustain Rider under the most extreme environmental conditions, including acting as a life-support suit by locking off the mouth and eyes of the helmet. The helmet contains a radio, telescopic sights, night vision sensors, and heat imaging sensors, as well as a visual heads-up display for tracking energy signatures. Nova's helmet has a rigid construction and shape when worn, but becomes as malleable as cloth when it is not, allowing Rider to hide it in his civilian clothes when desired. Nova's uniform is not only extremely malleable but contains specific functions to aid Rider in his role as a Nova Corps Centurion. Among these features is an electromagnetic discharge that can nullify gravity and an interface to stargates that allow him to enter hyperspace, where he can move at velocities exceeding the speed of light. Rider can also alter the appearance and nature of his uniform to suit his needs. However, as Rider learns the hard way, the Nova Corps keeps a strict dress code. When he makes major cosmetic changes to his uniform after rejoining the New Warriors, Nova is summarily ordered to conform to standard.

During Annihilation, Rider's uniform is altered and enhanced to house the Xandarian Worldmind as well as the entire Nova Force, which was previously used by all members of the Nova Corps. With the Worldmind and the Nova Force, Rider possesses tremendously augmented strength and durability as well as nearly limitless quantities of energy. The Worldmind consists of the entire culture and history of Xandar as well as the individual minds of thousands of years of dead Xandarians. The consensus voice of the Worldmind can speak directly to Rider, helping him to control the Nova Force, fight enemies, sense energy, interface with electronics, and protect against psionic abilities. The Worldmind can also assume direct control of Rider's body when he is asleep.

Bio

Born in Hempstead, New York, he was chosen at random by the alien Rhomann Dey, last surviving Centurion of the planet Xandar's elite Nova Corps, to inherit his power and succeed him in the rank of Nova Prime following the destruction of his world by the intergalactic pirate Zorr. Having been mortally wounded in the battle that tore Xandar apart, Dey succeeded in tracking Zorr to Earth, but he was unable to exact vengeance himself due to the extent of his injuries. At death's door, Dey had little choice but to transfer his power to an unsuspecting human on the planet below, gambling that whoever he found would be willing to take up his cause and prove worthy of the powers he had given their recipient. The sudden infusion of power overloaded Rider's body, and he was hospitalized. While Rider was comatose, the moribund Rhomann Dey explained to him telepathically what had happened to him and what his mission was. Rider's recovery was as sudden as his incapacitation had been, being preceded by eye-blasts that knocked a doctor out of his room. Discharged, he tried to resume his normal routine. But the very next day, Rider was alone in his bedroom when Dey suddenly transmitted to him his (Dey's) last gift to Rider, his Centurion's uniform. Rider found himself possessed of a high strength level, near invulnerability, the power to fly, and a uniform with a sealed life-support system, but little instruction on how to use these new powers. Indeed, he had barely had the opportunity to test out these powers before radio circuitry contained in his uniform's helmet alerted him to depredations that Zorr was committing in the heart of New York City. Rider was able to locate Zorr and engage him in combat for a handful of minutes; though he did not manage to injure Zorr severely, Rider did enable Dey to lock onto Zorr's location by means of the Xandarian's telepathic link with his Terrestrial successor. Dey then teleported Zorr aboard his (Dey's) Nova-Ship and used the energies of its Computer P.R.I.M.E. to disintegrate Zorr totally, leaving behind only the alien's life-support suit. The energies of the Computer P.R.I.M.E., indeed, were so powerful that Dey's own moribund body was itself destroyed in the process. Rider, calling himself Nova, had little idea how to use his new powers, enamored of them as he was. Still, he took up the life of a superhero, fighting costumed enemies such as the Condor, Powerhouse, Diamondhead, the Corruptor, and others in New York while gradually learning how to use his new powers. Rider led a listless life. Depressed by the loss of his powers, and unwilling to go back to the high school from which all his friends had graduated, he worked odd jobs until the day he was approached by Night Thrasher. Night Thrasher was attempting to build his own super-hero team, and he had read, in an analysis of Richard Rider, that Rider's powers might be reactivated if he suffered a great enough adrenaline rush. To accomplish his "experiment," he kidnapped Rider and dropped him from the top of a building. As Taylor had expected, Rider's powers were then reactivated, and his identity as Nova was restored. After his initial anger at Taylor, he eventually agreed to join his team. Nova proved to be a valuable asset for the Warriors. Dubbed "Kid Nova" by the media after the Warriors' debut, Rider had to work harder to regain the respect of the public after his absence. Working with the New Warriors, Rider also began a flirtatious relationship with his teammate Namorita, although they did not move beyond friendly squabbling in the first few months. When a woman claimed the power of Nova's old enemy, the Sphinx, she reorganized reality into a version that appealed to her. Here, Rider had achieved prominence as a member of the Avengers and the respect he craved as Nova. But Sayge, the Embodiment of Truth, nonetheless confronted Nova and made him see this reality was a lie. Recruiting the other original New Warriors, Nova fought the Sphinx and made her reverse her changes. Nova and Night Thrasher finally buried the hatchet after this adventure, and Taylor provided Rider with an upgraded version of his original uniform, allowing him to cast off the media-given "Kid Nova" name completely and operate unchallenged as Nova again.

In an encounter with Garthan Saal, also called Supernova, Rider used the full power of the Nova Force to help restore Xandar and its population, including Adora and many others, through the planetary cloning banks that the Worldmind controlled. Although his powers were increased, Rider was reduced to being one of many personnel of the Nova Corps. With Xandar now under the protection of the Shi'ar Empire, Nova had superiors to whom he had to answer as a Corpsman. Nova had difficulty in maintaining his duties as both one of the Nova Corps personnel and a New Warrior. He met an alternate reality Nova, "Nova O:O," who helped Rider develop his powers. He also saved Earth from destruction by preventing the detonation of the "Deathstorm" bomb. But dealing against the Deathstorm bomb had meant ignoring a call from the Nova Corps, and that amounted to dereliction of his duties. Thus Rider was stripped of his Nova powers. His power was given to Garthan Saal, who came to Earth as Nova in his place. After several months as a powerless associate of the New Warriors, Rider and Saal confronted the Dire Wraith queen Volx, who fatally wounded Saal. The Xandarian passed his powers on to Rider, exactly as Rhomann Dey once had, and Richard Rider's identity as Nova was again reinstated.

Most of the Nova Corps and Nu Xandar had been destroyed by the Annihilation Wave. Richard Rider now contained the Worldmind, giving him substantially increased power to fight against the threat. However, it was not known how long he could contain the Worldmind. Drax had offered to assist him. Later, in an effort to buy more time for the evacuation of the besieged planet Nycos Aristedes, Nova and Quasar punched through the Annihilation Wave to meet Annihilus face to face on his own command ship. In the ensuing battle, Quasar was killed and, though Rider was forced to flee, his efforts, combined with the timely intervention of the Worldmind, succeeded in driving the Annihilation Wave to retreat from the sector and secure the planet's complete evacuation. Faced with the universal threat Annihilus now posed, Rider and the Worldmind agreed to abandon the search for a safe haven and remained joined together to fight the Wave head on. To oppose the Annihilation Wave, 205 days after Annihilation Day, Richard Rider formed an army which he called the United Front. His land-based army included Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Ronan the Accuser and Starlord (Peter Quill), while his outer-space forces consisted primarily of Firelord, Red Shift and Stardust, former Heralds of Galactus. Rider and his forces fought valiantly holding off the wave as best they could, gaining small victories here and there. Other allies joined the United Front like Super Skrull and Phyla-Vell. The Front, ultimately, was made up of hundreds of species all fighting to stop the Wave. After months of fighting, Nova finally confronted Annihilus and the two began a fierce battle. Phyla-Vell attempted to join but found that Nova had sealed her and Quill in an energy bubble, wanting to face Annihilus alone. Using the quantum bands, Annihilus proved to be too much for Nova. Phyla-Vell forced her way out of the bubble and attacked Annihilus, attempting to wrest the quantum bands from him. Annihilus threw her aside, but the quantum bands abandoned Annihilus and joined with Phyla-Vell. Annihilus fought on, but Nova surmised that the gap in Annihilus's armor was his mouth. Taking advantage of that, he forced his hand down Annihilus's throat and tore out his (Annihilus's) entrails, yelling, "THIS IS FOR THE NOVA CORPS!!!" Both Annihilus and Nova slumped to the ground as Nova looked up to see the veiled figures of Thanos and Lady Death looking over him and smiling. Nova told them, "Better luck next time." The war was over, Annihilus's forces were defeated and treaties were signed. Ronan, who had now become the Emperor of the Kree Empire and ruled in the name of the Supreme Intelligence, offered to make Nova an honorary Kree. Nova was left debating his future and wondered if he should return home to Earth.

Significance

Nova is definitely very interesting as a Marvel character whose potential continues to grow more. He was just an average teen chosen at random for greatness and now possessing the Worldmind. He is an incredible warrior and I think he would be ideal for the position of a hero corrupted and used as a weapon for evil. This would go against his morals and everything he stands for, giving him an interesting dark side. I think Marvel can definitely see Nova going the dark route through corruption and manipulation.

References:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Richard_Rider_(Earth-616)

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dbarajas03-blog · 6 years ago

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ERIC BROOKS aka BLADE

Eric Brooks, a vampire slayer whose half-human and half-vampire is definitely one of Marvel’s oldest characters. Debuting in July 1973, Blade is quite interesting with having all the powers of a vampire while having only one weakness, a thirst for blood. In his story, it shows the struggle of Blade trying to avenge the death of his mother by searching for Deacon Frost, a vampire responsible for Blade’s powers. Through this post, we will see how Blade deserves more than given, as many don’t seem to think much of this badass vampire slayer.

Powers and Abilities

Blade was born a half human/vampire hybrid, the enzymes in Blade's blood made him immune to normal vampire bites, uniquely attuned to sensing the supernatural and resistant to aging. Since being bitten by Morbius, Blade has gained many of the traditional powers of the vampire without developing their weaknesses. He has superhuman strength, senses, and stamina, plus an accelerated healing factor. Blade is born as a Dhampir. This altered his skeletal and cardiac muscle system on a cellular level. His skeletal muscles are more dense, more efficient and faster, allowing him to produce short and fast bursts of excessive force. Although this requires a lot of stamina, his cardiac muscle system has changed as well accordingly. The cardiac muscle system provides the skeletal muscle enough nutrition to allow his body to perform for several hours of maximum combat before fatigue begins to impair him. His hardened and thickened skeletal system support his superhuman strength somewhat contributing to his enhanced durability. He possesses the strength sufficient to lift about 1 ton. As Spider Hero, he showed exceptional prowess in sorcery and the supernatural. He assumed that Photon's light mimicry of Shuma-Gorath's shields would buy them time, and was able to guide Power Man to utilize his chi in much greater and diverse ways that he never had before, creating an astral tiger to defeat him on both levels as he had theorized. Blade is practically proficient in every form of weaponry known to man. His particular specialty is the use of edged weapons, be they teakwood daggers or swords. Blade is a master in the use of small bladed weapons and can hurl knives with great accuracy. Blade also shows great skill with firearms, including both automatic and semi-automatic, which he often modifies to fire hollow-point, garlic-filled silver bullets. After training with Jamal Afari and various other private instructors, his main form of combat is a mixture of Boxing, Capoeira, Escrima, Jeet Kune Do, Hapkido, Jujutsu, Shotokan Karate, Kung Fu, and Ninjutsu. Blade is unaffected by direct exposure to sunlight, whereas most vampires are either rendered comatose during the daylight hours or are quickly incinerated when exposed directly to sunlight. Vampires are also highly allergic to silver, supposedly because of the metal's mystical purity. As a result, silver blades or bullets are capable of killing vampires. If not killed, and merely injured, it will take a vampire much longer to heal than if the injury had been inflicted by another material. Blade himself could be injured by a silver weapon, much as an ordinary human would, but his healing powers would be able to heal it as if it were an ordinary wound. Blade is also immune to the effects of religious icons, such as crucifixes, whereas vampires are rendered almost powerless when confronted by them.

Bio

First, he was born in Soho, London, in 1929. His father, Lucas Cross, a member of the secret society the Order of Tyrana, sent his pregnant wife Tara to England before he was taken as a prisoner in Latveria. There she took the name "Vanessa Brooks" and found shelter with brothel owner Madame Vanity, another member of the Order of Tyrana. Experiencing labor complications, Tara was forced to seek a doctor's assistance. The doctor, Deacon Frost, was actually a ravenous vampire and feasted on the woman as she gave birth, passing on a series of enzymes that altered her baby. The enzymes entered the infant's bloodstream, transforming him into a being tainted by a vampire's kiss, but not converted. In other words half-man, half-vampire. Frost was driven away before he could slay the child, but Tara perished, leaving the orphaned Eric Brooks to be raised at Madame Vanity's brothel. While he was growing up on the street of London, he ran into American veteran Vampire Slayer, Jamal Afari and saved him from being killed by vampires with a grudge against the old man. Afari soon learned about Eric and his origins and decided to take him under his wing, becoming his mentor and foster-father and helping him to control his powers. Afari taught Eric everything he knew about hunting, fighting, and killing vampires. Blade in his original costume. Determined to avenge his mother's death, Eric fashioned himself into a vampire hunter like Afari while still a teenager and started calling himself Blade, after the sharp weapons with which he used to kill vampires. Finally, Blade and Afari split up when Jamal willingly took the fall for murder when Blade killed a man (who was suffering from a derangement), whom he mistook for a vampire. After stalking the night on his own for a number of years, Blade became a part of a small band of like-minded individuals hunting Dracula consisting of Musenda, Orji, Ogun, and Azu. Blade went to Dracula and told him he represented a group of men who believed that in another sixty years vampires would rule the world, and that realizing humanity had no chance against their "superior," Blade would offer his and his associates assistance to carry on Dracula's bidding during the daytime. Blade further enticed Dracula with this idea telling him that they had facilitated a plan that would speed up global conquest by vampires to only ten years. Intrigued, Dracula agreed to go with Blade to meet his associates. Dracula met these associates: Ogun, Azu, Musenda, and Orji. However, Dracula would soon find that this was all a trap and that they were really a group of vampire killers. They nearly succeeded in destroying Dracula by driving a stake into his heart. It was during this battle that Blade's companion would try out wooden knives of his own design and find that they work just as well as stakes. However, Dracula soon was resurrected by his servants and exacted revenge by murdering the band of vampire hunters, leaving only Musenda and Blade alive.

On November 7, 1972, the murder of a bat-like monster in New York brought Blade's attention. When looking for the corpse in a morgue, he discovered Kaluu investigating the body with magic and attacked him believing him to be a vampire and an enemy. As soon as detective James Lucas, Constance Molina, and Adam Brashear arrived at the scene, the fight was stopped when Blade realized he was among allies. They started investigating the murder as soon as The Bear appeared, and presented herself as the killer of that creature, in self-defense, as she wanted to prevent the Deathwalkers from using it for sacrifice. The Bear explained that she herself was the result of a failed attempt of the Deathwalkers to extinguish humanity in 1908 and that they would try to do it again. With the mystery solved, the people present formed the Mighty Avengers and went to find the Deathwalkers. Kaluu tracked down the magic they used in the were-bat to a secret subway below the City Hall. The Mighty Avengers then attacked the Deathwalkers before they could make their sacrifice. After Blade recovered the Talisman of Kamar-Taj, which was required to perform the sacrifice, Adam Brashear caused the subway to collapse above the Deathwalkers. With the Deathwalkers stopped, the team disbanded.

Blade, still looking for his mothers killer, found a clue leading to their apartment. Blade attacked the occupant, but the vampire was revealed to be Hannibal King, the vampire detective. Hannibal easily defeated Blade but due to their mutual mission, they decided to work together. They waited in Frost's apartment for his recent victim to rise as a vampire. When he awoke, he explained that he had dug up a coffin containing an exact copy of Blade. Blade and Hannibal King continued their hunt for Deacon Frost, they wondered how Frost intended to take over the world with a duplicate of Blade. Blade and King went to London so Blade could visit Saffron. Blade and King found the "Doppelgänger" and he revealed that he was created to destroy the original. The two fought, but Blade stopped when the two began to fuse together on contact. Hannibal King tried to rush to Blade's rescue, however, he was too late to stop the merger from completing. With the vampire doppelgänger in full control of their unified body, it set its sights on King. The Doppelgänger attacked King, and despite his savage fury, he is easily fought off by King who stabbed the faux-Blade in the chest with one of his own wooden daggers, defenestrating the imitator, allowing Hannibal to escape. King fled from the vampire doppelgänger of Blade and their fight crashed into Dracula's party with Deacon Frost in attendance. Furious of Blade's interruption of his party, Dracula attacked and was shocked to find his longtime vampire hunter foe to be a vampire himself. Blade appears to have the upper hand when he stabs Dracula in the back with one of his wooden daggers. However, Dracula turns around and mocking the fake Blade's inferior skill to the original impaled the vampire doppelgänger in the chest with a stake, killing him.

Deacon Frost teamed up with Marie Laveau to take over organized crime in New Orleans as a staging area for greater conquests. Blade was alerted by Bible John, and the two fought Dracula and later Marie Laveau, who was attempting to resurrect Varnae. It appeared that King and Drake had somehow been merged into Dracula when he was resurrected, but the two had since been freed. Deacon captured Blade, Hannibal King, and Brother Voodoo to establish his rep among the undead in a power grab. The heroes freed themselves from the trap and Blade battled Deacon Frost to a stalemate. Deacon escaped and Blade vowed again to hunt him down. In New Orleans, Blade teamed with Brother Voodoo to stop Marie Laveau and Deacon Frost's plans to build an undead army. Later, Blade and Spider-Man encountered the vampire Henry Sage and learned of the development of the Daywalker formula, a version of the Sunlight Serum. Blade helped Spider-Man try to capture their former ally Morbius, who was under the control of a vampire known as the Hunger. During the battle, Morbius bit Blade, but his blood enzymes were not enough to protect him from Morbius' unique form of vampirism. This transformed Blade into a Daywalker: a vampire able to move about in the sunlight and lacking most of the vampire's traditional weaknesses. Blade was now driven by bloodthirst, however, but he was able to hold it back with a serum. Back in New Orleans, he was contacted by Dominique Levant who led him into the midst of a vampiric coup which involved Morbius and the powerful Ulysses Sojourner. Sojourner sought to unify all vampires on the East Coast, but Blade was able to stop his plans.

Blade found the Punisher hiding on a rooftop he was viewing a deal between vampires and some thugs. The Punisher emerged from the shadows the two drew their weapons, Blade eventually lowered his and told the Punisher, that if he shot him, the vampires below would know. Then the Punisher attached a silencer to his gun and shot Blade in the back, Blade remains unharmed and they argued. They turn their attention to the crime below. Blade admitted that he admired the Punisher but suddenly there was an explosion a few blocks away, the vampires think it is the thugs and try to eat them, but Blade and Punisher jumped from the roof to kill them all.

Blade was forced to battle Xarus son of Dracula as he unites the various Vampire Sects. The X-Men are attacked by a siege of Vampires, but Blade was around to lend a hand. The vampires are now using technology to protect them from sunlight. Dracula arrived at Utopia and offered his assistance in defeating his son. With vampire activity in San Francisco escalating, Cyclops gave the order for the X-Men to tackle their foe, find out what their next move was. He had Blade teaming up with Angel in taking down a few vampires at a rock-and-roll concert. Blade and the X-Men have to battle wave after wave of attacking Vampires. With Dracula in the Xarus tried ordering his minions to help him, but receives no support. Blade didn't see eye-to-eye with Cyclops and charged at Dracula, only to knocked unconscious with an optic blast. Cyclops then reminded Dracula of their previous, unspoken agreement. After a short stare down, Dracula called Cyclops' bluff, but nonetheless, decided to end hostilities with mutants, even giving Jubilee back to them. Jubilee was put in isolation. Blade believed that the only solution was to put her out of her misery. Wolverine warned him not to, prompting the vampire hunter to leave.

Blade, when he secretly arrived at New York to ask for assistance by Spectrum, he adopted the former identity of Hawkeye’s (Ronin). He joined the Mighty Avengers assisting them to Attilan and them helping him. Ronin was attacked by ninja were-snakes, which were sent by the Deathwalkers, who had discovered Blade's disguise, to get the Talisman of Kamar-Taj. Numerous other creatures were sent to hunt down Blade, and he was ultimately defeated by were-roosters. Blade was then brought to the Deathwalkers, who planned to use him for a sacrifice. Even though he escaped captivity after being drained a portion of his blood, and the Mighty Avengers located him, Blade couldn't prevent the Deathwalkers from finishing their ritual. The successfully-finished ceremony merged them together into the Deathwalker Prime, a creature with control over the four elements, thus power over the fifth: the spirit, which would be the key for it to destroy humankind. However, the Mighty Avengers managed to get hold of the cup used in the ritual of merging, and using a similar procedure merged themselves into the Avenger Prime, which managed to destroy the Deathwalker Prime, mainly because unlike the Deathwalker, the different personas merged into it were truly spiritually bonded, while the personas composing the Deathwalker were fighting for control

Significance

Blade provides a significant and well-supported character that is versatile in many ways. Blade has been affiliated with the X-Men and the Mighty Avengers, even the Punisher. Although he starred in a trilogy of solo movies, he hasn’t been introduced into the MCU and unfortunately, most likely won’t. However, I still believe Blade has a lot of potential now. I think he should be given a cinematic tv series on Netflix or Hulu perhaps as his story would be well told through tv media. Blade can be related to by many people as he had no parents to guide him through life, toughening him to be this hardened man who depends on no one. This shows how his struggles as a person affect him as a hero and giving the story drama to entice people to watch. Proven, this will make Blade a character perfect to binge on the weekend.

References:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Eric_Brooks_(Earth-616)

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dbarajas03-blog · 6 years ago

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JUBILATION LEE

Jubilation “Jubilee” Lee is a teenage mutant who possesses the ability to create explosions of light energy. She is affiliated with the X-Men and to Emma Frost, She has one of the most destructive powers known to mutants. Even with such a deadly potential power, she has a strong sense of justice and understands the value of human life. In addition, she has also been a vampire and obtained powers from The Wizard’s power suit.

Powers and Abilities

Jubilee possesses the mutant ability to generate what she calls "fireworks"(also known as Energy Plasmoids or "Lumikinetic Explosive Light Blasts"). These are essentially globules of light energy that vary in power and intensity. The globules obey her mental commands, traveling where she directs them, arranging themselves in a variety of forms - balls, streamers, and other shapes - and exploding when she wishes. The explosions can result in anything from a multitude of colorful sparkles, capable of temporarily blinding a person, to a fairly powerful detonation capable of smashing tree trunks or metal objects. Jubilee can also absorb the generated fireworks back into her own body without harm. According to Emma Frost, she has the potential to detonate matter at a sub-atomic level. Jubilee's mind possesses a natural defense against telepathic detection or attack. These psionic shields render her mind "slippery" and invisible to telepathic beings unless they know precisely what to mentally scan for. When she no longer possesses superhuman powers herself, she had some derivatives of technology used by the technologically advanced villain known as The Wizard. Jubilee possesses a variation of the Wizard's Wonder Gloves. The micro-circuits lining the gauntlets are designed to use gravitational waves for the purpose of increasing her strength. While wearing the gloves, Jubilee possesses a degree of superhuman strength sufficient to lift a train locomotive. The gloves are capable of generating a powerful electromagnetic force field around her. While within this field, Jubilee is highly resistant to physical injury. The field has proven able to withstand high caliber bullets, powerful impact forces, temperature extremes, and energy blasts without sustaining injury. Jubilee has some of the Wizard's anti-gravity technology built into her current costume. She can propel herself through the air at great speeds, though the limits aren't fully known. She is able to reach speeds, however, of at least 100 miles per hour and still breathe comfortably. Jubilee's costume also has what she refers to as a "ghost mode". This ghost mode renders Jubilee intangible in a way similar to Shadowcat. In this mode, Jubilee literally becomes untouchable and can pass through any known substance. This function was used for emergency escapes.

Bio

The daughter of two prosperous Chinese immigrants, Jubilee, was born and raised in Beverly Hills, California and lived a charmed life. Jubilee attended an exclusive Beverly Hills school and was believed to have the gymnastic potential to participate in the Olympic Games. However, all in one fateful weekend, her parents lost their money in the stock market and were then mistaken for their neighbors (also named the Lees) and killed by two hit-men, while Jubilee was out with a friend of the family. Jubilee was then sent to an orphanage, but ran away and hid in a Hollywood shopping mall, stealing food to survive. Jubilee first discovered her mutant power, to generate blinding and explosive energy "fireworks", while running away from mall security. The stress of running away from the security guards caused Jubilee to emit a large light energy blast while in a back alley. This completely disoriented the men and allowed the frightened young girl to escape. Upon learning about her mutant ability to create fireworks, Jubilee realized she could earn money by using her powers to entertain customers and visitors in the mall. Frustrated with the young girl's rebellious nature and powerful light-shows, the mall security hired mutant hunters, known as the M-Squad, to capture her. Jubilee held her own by blasting the M-Squad's energy tractor beams, but she was eventually caught. Lucky for her, Jubilee was rescued by the X-Men: Dazzler, Psylocke, Rogue, and Storm, who happened to be shopping at the mall. Curious about these strange women, she followed them for a while and later jumped into a portal after them.

On the other side of the portal, Jubilee found herself at the X-Men's temporary base in the Australian outback. Jubilee stayed hidden and, while living in the underground base, the mutant known as Gateway was the only person aware of Jubilee's existence. During her stay in the base, Jubilee stowed away in Dazzler's quarters and found an immediate kinship, in the extent of Alison Blaire's wardrobe. Jubilee stole food and borrowed clothes from several of the X-Men to create a makeshift costume for herself. Jubilee was present when Nanny and Orphan-Maker ambushed the X-Men at their base, but simply hid while the battle ensued. Once while the X-Men were out, Jubilee was harassed and hounded by a Reaver guard dog that was left at the base. Jubilee stayed in hiding until the X-Men had abandoned the base, and their enemies the Reavers had captured Wolverine and taken over the base. While sneaking around the caverns in the outback base, Jubilee was startled to find Wolverine hung up on a cross and near death. Jubilee helped Wolverine get down from the cross, and nurtured him back to health. Afterward, she teamed with Wolverine on several of his missions throughout the world. During this time she held her own against The Hand and blew up a section of the Mandarin's castle with her powers while being held prisoner there with Wolverine and Psylocke. Jubilee and Wolverine grew a close father-daughter relationship with one another. Jubilee needed the guidance of a parent, while Wolverine needed the peace and joy of a child. Due to this relationship, Jubilee was referred to as Wolverine's unofficial sidekick. The duo teamed up to fight Sentinels, Omega Red, Sabretooth, Sauron and even sought revenge on Reno and Molokai for the murder of her parents.

Sometime later Jubilee accompanies Wolverine to their old base in Australia. Their arrival sets off a dormant Sentinel, whose attack interacts with Gateways portal and sends Jubilee back in time to her parents' house just before they were killed. Certain she could save them from dying in the car crash, she is convincing them not to go when the doorbell rings. At the door stand two armed hit men, Reno and Molokai, who take her parents away at gunpoint. Learning for the first time that their car accident had been faked and that they had in fact been murdered, Jubilee swears revenge. Upon returning to the present she tracks the two hit men down, with Logan backing her up the entire time. But once she has her parents' killers at her mercy, she finds that she just can't bring herself to kill them, a revelation that pleases Logan.

After Magneto violently removes the Adamantium from Wolverine's skeleton, he decides to leave the X-Men, fearing that he is a liability to them. Knowing how much this will affect Jubilee, he writes her a touching goodbye letter and leaves his favorite cowboy hat for her. A short time later, Sabretooth is brought to the mansion by Professor X and held in captivity there. Jubilee is terrified of him and has nightmares of him killing the X-Men and leaving her for last. Attempting to get over her fears she begins to bring food to Sabretooth, who taunts the poor girl mercilessly. One night her nightmares almost come true when the mansion's security system goes down and Sabretooth escapes from his cell. He hunts the X-Men throughout the mansion, but in the end, it is Jubilee who takes him down with a neutralizer pistol.

With the other X-Men busy, Banshee is the only person to notice that Jubilee is having trouble coping with Wolverine's absence, as well as all that has happened to her since he left. When the Phalanx assimilates most of the X-Men, Jubilee and Banshee are forced to team up with Sabretooth and the White Queen, Emma Frost (who has recently awakened from a coma in the mansion's medical facility), to escape from them. This unusual group works together to gather all the young mutants listed by Professor X as future allies. The Phalanx has later defeated thanks to the sacrifice of a young mutant girl named Blink.

Feeling that she needed a rest from the stresses at the mansion, Jubilee volunteered to join a new group of teenage mutants known as Generation X. The team was led by both Banshee and Emma Frost and was comprised mainly of Jubilee, Husk, Synch, Monet, Chamber, Skin, and Penance.

Both Banshee and Emma Frost educated the teenagers in school subjects as well as combat and field skills. Jubilee and the other mutant teens honed their unique abilities and occasionally battled minions such as the Juggernaut, Omega Red, and their arch-rival Emplate. Time after time, Jubilee used her experience with the X-Men to help her teammates outsmart their enemies. On more than one occasion, Jubilee was solely responsible for the defeat of Emplate. She used her sarcasm when Emplate siphoned her powers so that he would become enraged enough to not have control over them, causing him to blast himself with Jubilee's energy blasts. During the team's last encounter with Emplate, Jubilee blew up Proudstar Hall in order to defeat him. Her teammates survived the massive explosion because Iceman covered them with an ice shield.

While Pixie and Jubilee hung out in Union Square, a biological suicide bomber exploded nearby, coating the area, and Jubilee, in blood. Later on Utopia, Dr. Nemesis discovered that Jubilee had been infected with vampire blood that would slowly overtake her. Ultimately, a hypnotic suggestion took over her and she fled to her masters. After being bitten by Xarus, son of Dracula, Jubilee had become a vampire. Wolverine chased after her, and Xarus used Jubilee to convert him. Jubilee bit Wolverine and he led the army of vampires that attacked Utopia until it was revealed that Cyclops had planned for the event and had Nemesis implant nanites in Wolverine's blood. After Dracula killed Xarus and the X-Men defeated the vampire army, Jubilee was released into the X-Men's care and placed into a cell until a cure was found. Touching DarknessJubilee, along with Wolverine and Gambit, briefly teamed up with X-23 when Laura was in Paris. Jubilee helped Laura cope with depression, and the two formed a strong friendship. The ForgivenShe was later taken in by a group of vampires called the Forgiven, who have learned to move beyond their need for blood and can move about in the day, as a student. Avengers vs. X-Men. During the first brawl of the Avengers vs. X-Men conflict on the beach of Utopia, Jubilee battled Black Widow. Shogo and a new X-Men team after discovering a baby boy in Budapest, Jubilee named him Shogo and brought him back to the Jean Grey School where she reunited with her X-Men teammates, including principal members Storm, Psylocke, Rachel Grey, Kitty Pryde, and Rogue. The adoption paperwork for Jubilee to become Shogo's legal mother is currently being processed. Jubilee was field leader when she and X-Men teammates Pixie, Hellion, Mercury, Bling!, Karima, and Cipher fought Sentinels on Santa Catalina Island. When Monet attacked the school under the influence of her brother, Emplate, she took away the medallion Jubilee used as protection from sunlight, and then threw her out of the school. Quentin Quire sacrificed the fragment of the Phoenix Force he carried within him to cure her of her vampirism, restoring her powers in the process.

Significance

In conclusion, Jubilee is a very interesting character from the storyline and the unique abilities she acquired. I wished that Jubilee would get maybe a redo as it seems that Marvel tried to limit the potential of Jubilee and by giving her the good girl who deals with a lot of heartbreak feel. I think due to her extremely powerful ability of light energy, it would be amazing to see her go bad. Jubilee sounds like a sweetheart, so for her to become a misnomer would be fantastic and proof, characters have many different sides to them. She was introduced to X-Men films, but as part of the Uncanny X-Men, so it would be great if Jubilee got action solo, or with a close partner. There is still a lot of potential here and it would be a shame if Marvel lets it go.

References:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Jubilation_Lee_(Earth-616)

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dbarajas03-blog · 6 years ago

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GWENPOOL

Gwendolyn Poole aka Gwenpool is a fundamental wild card in Marvel’s superheroes. She is an average person who somehow gets warped into the Primal Marvel Universe. Then, she has the ability of medium interaction and as well as knowledge of fighting skills and explosives. Her childish personality and violent methods make her very interesting as a hero, and as we will see.

Powers and Abilities

Gwenpool has very impressive powers and abilities for a character who doesn’t have supernatural powers or high-tech. From training with Batroc, she learned hand-to-hand combat and uses a variety of weapons (katanas, grenades, and explosives). When Gwen was transported to a pocket universe that recreated her home reality, Gwen's unique perception of the fictional world allowed her to gain the ability to recognize and manipulate the artistic medium in which she dwells. She can see and physically interact with lettering and caption boxes, and touch and even break through panel gutters, allowing her to transport objects short distances through space and time by moving them across panels, and interact with different instances of herself from multiple panels on the same page. The reach of Gwen's powers extends outside the page. She's capable of exiting to the Gutter Space, which allows her to observe pages from the outside and move through them. By moving to the Gutter Space and returning to the comic book on a previous page, Gwen can essentially travel back in time. From the Gutter Space, Gwen can see how the remaining page count of her comic book, and deduce how much pages does it have left. Gwen can further forcibly remove characters from the narrative by dumping them into the Gutter Space, as she did with Paste Pot Pete, or alter characters, as she did by pulling a villainous version of Doctor Doom out of his more heroic current incarnation. However, these changes are short-lived and fragile, reverting after a short time. Once Gwen moved West, the other West Coast Avengers showed no knowledge of these abilities, though Kid Omega noted she had some unknown power he could not detect. There was an implication that Gwen used her medium-breaking powers to put 200 towels in Quentin's room in retaliation to him always leaving wet towels on the floor. However, when she was falling after being thrown off a flying B.R.O.D.O.K., Gwen noted she could not reach out of the panel to escape to safety as before. Gwen possesses a relatively small degree of medium awareness, as she can't be certain of any fact other than that she lives in a world that is fictional, to the point rather than knowing her adventures happen in a comic book, she assumes they do. This limitation can also cause her to mistakenly assume things, like who the writer of a story she stars is. Her medium awareness additionally makes Gwen a genre savvy being able to extrapolate the characteristics of things like video games to situations inspired by them. She also can, or at the very least believes, that she can purposefully invoke cliches or tropes, or typical narrative elements, in order to aide herself, or indeed to help other people, such as making an extra say their name to turn them into someone the writers won't be able to easily kill off. Once noting the medium interaction powers introduced in her solo title were not working, Gwen even questioned if she had been rebooted to not have them anymore. The extent of how much effect such action actually has on the world, however, is unclear. Due to the fact she read countless of adventures that delved into the private lives of various superheroes she currently interacts with, Gwen possesses a vast knowledge on heroes' alter-egos and other such secrets, including Jane Foster's double-life as Thor, and the fact that Miles Morales hails from another universe. She's even aware of writer trademarks, concluding (wrongly) after stumbling by Kitty Pryde that the author of the story she was in was Brian Michael Bendis.

Bio

Gwen Poole originally lived in a universe, not unlike ours, a place where all super-heroes and super-villains were fictional characters that manifested through comic books, movies, and other media. Gwen's difficulty to find a job after having been unable to graduate from high school, combined with the fact all of her friends moved away, led her to submerge in fiction in order to escape from her reality and fantasize about a better world, becoming lazy and apathetic, to the chagrin of her parents. Through unrevealed means, Gwen and her brother Teddy ended up in the Prime Marvel Universe. However, both became separated on arrival and believed the other hadn't survived the transition. Unwilling to being relegated as an "extra," Gwen went to Big Ronnie's Custom Battle Spandex and requested her own costume to stand out. The tailor Ronnie complied, but she also misread Gwen's form, and thought the young girl went by the alias of "Gwenpool." Gwenpool's first misadventure involved stealing a virus from the Black Cat and selling it to Hydra for quick cash, believing that the Avengers would deal with any sort of consequence. When Gwenpool attempted to kill Howard the Duck, who had been coerced by the Black Cat into finding the thief, he made Gwen see the error in her nonchalant attitude, which originated from Gwen undervaluing the lives of the inhabitants of the Marvel Universe, whom she believed was nothing more than fictional characters. Gwen rectified her misdeed by infiltrating into a Hydra facility and getting rid of the virus with Howard's help. In order to find a stable source of income, Gwen decided to become a mercenary, getting contract jobs from the tailor Ronnie. While trying to carry out the job of taking down a Teuthidan squadron stationed on Earth, Gwenpool murdered another mercenary that had completed said mission and took credit for his work. The employer of the hitman Gwen murdered turned out to be M.O.D.O.K., who tracked down Gwenpool to have her take the place of his deceased hitman in his Mercenary Organization Dedicated Only to Killing. In order to coerce her into joining his namesake organization, M.O.D.O.K. killed Cecil, a hacker Gwen befriended who had become her mission control. Gwenpool's teammates in M.O.D.O.K.'s elite were Batroc the Leaper, Mega Tony, and Terrible Eye. Fighting M.O.D.O.K. After catching notice of Gwen's lack of skills during her first mission, Batroc helped her become a better fighter. With M.O.D.O.K. growing suspicious of Gwen's absolute lack of back records, which also prevented her from getting paid, she sought Doctor Strange's help. The sorcerer transplanted every trace of Gwen's existence from her home universe to her new reality. Even though Gwen now enjoyed the benefits of getting paid and Batroc's training, the appearance of her back records allowed M.O.D.O.K. to discover she was, in fact, a completely normal person with no real skills. M.O.D.O.K. confronted Gwen and tried to kill her for it, but with a mix of luck and Batroc's training, Gwen managed to fend off M.O.D.O.K., ultimately defeating him with the help of Cecil's ghost, whose presence was made possible in the land of the living with Doctor Strange's help. After M.O.D.O.K dissolved, Gwen decided to move to rural Georgia and become a “D-list” character. While there, Gwen came into conflict with Rocket Raccoon and Groot after accepting the job to capture an alien fugitive known as Chammy. They teamed-up once they reached an agreement that would let Gwen keep the bounty. Gwen initially refused to help Rocket and Groot capture the alien that had set the bounty, Reeve, who intended to murder Captain Marvel, arguing whichever person was writing Rocket and Groot's "comic book" wouldn't be allowed to kill her off. After falling under the mistaken impression that the comic she was currently in was being written by a "big-deal comic book writer" with the editorial authority to kill Captain Marvel, Gwen accompanied the team to New York and successfully prevented Reeve from killing her. Gwen, Hawkeye and Ghost Rider. Without a team, Gwenpool decided to join the newly-formed Champions. Gwen tried to help the young heroes take down the corruption in Daly County's police force, though her violent methods were quickly frowned upon by the Champions as soon as they met her, as well as her reasoning that the corruption could only originate from a supervillain plot rather than naturally. Once Sheriff Studdard was exposed as the person that had been facilitating the recent wave of xenophobic violence towards minorities, Gwenpool promptly left, annoyed that it wasn't secretly a plot by some supervillain. Following a depressive episode caused by the dissolution of M.O.D.O.K. which led her to take numerous dangerous jobs, Gwen reunited with her old crew when they were all abducted by Arcade into a fantasy RPG-inspired version of Murderworld. While making their way through enemies in order to escape, Gwenpool met and confronted Deadpool, eventually convincing him to join forces and defeat Arcade. Afterward, Gwen went on to live a normal life, her unique perception of the Marvel Universe caused her to become aware that she was still in a fictional world, and even developed the ability to interact with the elements of the comic medium, such as title cards or the border of panels. Gwen eventually managed to go beyond the panels and reach the Gutter Space. By observing the comic book world from there, she regained her lost memories and learned of Teddy's alliance with the future versions of her allies. Gwen returned to the recreation of her universe and took Teddy with her back to the Marvel Universe. When the future heroes tried to take down Gwen, the evil future version of Gwenpool used her presence in Spider-Man's flashback as a gateway to reach the present. The evil Gwenpool wanted to ensure present Gwen went on to become her, so she tried to both eliminate the future heroes as well as to convince Gwen to become a villain. The evil Gwenpool took Gwen back to the Gutter Space so she could understand that by becoming part of the comic book world, she was bound to its rules so nothing she did really mattered. Even if her actions didn't have consequences, Gwen still frowned upon the evils her future self committed, especially for the things she did to the characters she loved. Gwen's show of determination to avoid becoming evil caused her future self to be erased. From the Gutter Space, Gwenpool could observe the page count of her own comic series. When she renounced the possibility of becoming evil, she noticed that her remaining page count greatly diminished. After Gwen went through a failed attempt at becoming relevant by taking on Victor von Doom, she reluctantly tried out villainy. She sought Batroc's help to this end, but since he knew it wasn't in her true nature to be a criminal, he made sure their first heist was to supervillain Chance, so he unwittingly sabotaged Gwen's last attempt at extending her series' life span. While lamenting over her series' end, and what it entailed to her friends, Gwenpool was visited by a future version of herself to comfort her. Future Gwenpool explained her younger self her adventures will live on even after their end, and that the impact she made in fans will most certainly allow for her return one day. Gwen's future self also explained that renouncing a long-lived future for the sake of characters she once disregarded due to not being real made her a hero, and that would also ensure a future for her. Future Gwen encouraged her past self to use her abilities to exploit the medium one last time, and she used them to travel into various points in time and live possible future adventures.Gwenpool looking back and thanking the reader once she returned to the present, Gwen helped Cecil regain his human body, spent time with her friends from M.O.D.O.K., met up with the Marvel Universe counterparts of her parents, and rescued Teddy, whose soul had ended up in Mephisto's hands. Decades into the future, Gwen had barely aged due to the sliding timescale and being the main character, and visited at a hospital an elderly fan of hers who once had been younger than Gwen but aged naturally due to being a background character. With only two pages left, Gwen jumped back into the Gutter Space to travel to the past and thanked the reader. She then visited her younger self when she was lamenting her series' end.

Significance

She serves a significant purpose towards heroes who don’t have superpowers like fire or flying. She is unique due to the fact that she comes from an Earth like ours and using knowledge from comics against characters like Spider-Man and etc.. In addition, she has the power to move through comic panels and by moving through time scales, she barely ages. She came a long way from being a mercenary, being a hero, trying to resort to villainy, and then eventually sacrificing her comic’s end by being a hero. She came a long way from having an attitude of noting mattering in “the fictional world” she warped to, and then realizing even if it’s not real, she should be committed to being a hero. She may not be as exciting as other heroes, but she has a personality and interesting backstory to support her as a character that deserves more and more coverage.

References:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Gwendolyn_Poole_(Earth-TRN565)

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dbarajas03-blog · 6 years ago

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BLACKHEART

Blackheart, a villain from hell, literally. This character is the son of Mephisto and possesses a variety of abilities. He has appeared as a villain for Daredevil, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and Ghost Rider. The character has appeared in many Marvel video games and was the antagonist in the movie Ghost Rider. This character has appeared, but as for understanding the character itself, cannot be done in video games. So, with that said, I think this character deserves to be seen in a different perspective.

Powers and Abilities

He possesses vast inherent supernatural powers, including superhuman strength, speed, and endurance which are magical in nature. He also has telekinetic and telepathic powers and can levitate, teleport inter-dimensionally, change his size and physical form, enter and leave different planes of existence and dimensions at will, heal himself at the sub-molecular level and has the ability to generate various forms of energies for destructive purposes, such as powerful concussive blasts of black energy. He also possesses very high intelligence. Blackheart has demonstrated the ability to call forth armies from the pits of Hell. He has also shown his telekinetic powers by ripping an entire planet apart by the force of will. He can teleport himself and others to the Darkforce Dimension where he is at his strongest. Blackheart can generate various forms of energies for destructive purposes such as powerful concussive blasts of black energy. Unlike his father, Blackheart can capture a soul against the will of the person he is stealing it from. Blackheart has demonstrated the power to control millions of minds at once while in Hell. As a demon, Blackheart is functionally immortal. He is immune to the effects of aging and is immune to all known Earthly diseases and infections. Blackheart is also beyond the need for food, water, or oxygen. He has no soul, making him invulnerable to the Ghost Rider's Penance Stare.

Bio

Centuries of murder in a locale named Christ's Crown, New York, drew the attention of a demon-lord, Mephisto, who created a "son", Blackheart, from the energy of the accumulated evil. Blackheart explored the nature of evil under his father's tutelage, clashing with and failing to corrupt Daredevil and Spider-Man. Mephisto and Blackheart once tormented Daredevil, Brandy Ash, the genetically engineered Number Nine, and the Inhumans Gorgon, Karnak, and Ahura manipulating their emotions and tricking them. They were soon drawn into Hell for worse torments. Brandy Ash did not survive. Later, in an attempt to be free of captivity, Blackheart made contact with Misha from the group Warheads and became the source of her precognitive visions. Eventually, Misha's squad, Kether Troop, invaded Hell itself and freed Blackheart, who was temporarily in the disguise of Doctor Strange.

Mephisto sent Blackheart to Earth with diminished powers to learn humility. Blackheart would return to Christ's Crown and tempt Ghost Rider (Daniel Ketch), Punisher, and Wolverine to the town itself in an attempt to corrupt them. The group would eventually follow Blackheart back into his own realm for a final confrontation. He would once again attempt to commission their services, using them to help him finally destroy Mephisto, and taking over his portion of Hell. Alongside the Grim Reaper, Blackheart brought Wonder Man to Mephisto's realm to fight Mephisto.

Time later, Blackheart created a group of Spirits of Vengeance, in order to oppose the Ghost Rider, who recently found out he was Noble Kale. In hopes of killing him, Blackheart tricked him and recruited him as a member of his group of Spirits of Vengeance, promising Kale the power to rule in Hell alongside Blackheart. In the end, the Ghost Rider double-crossed him and "killed" him, freeing the other Spirits of Vengeance, and gaining rule of Blackheart's portion of Hell.

He was later seen alive and attending a meeting with Mephisto, Satannish, Hela, and Dormammu about a disturbance created by the newly resurrected Magik, who was looking for the Soulswordand the original Bloodstone amulet. Belasco's daughter, Witchfireappeared during the meeting and revealed herself as the current owner of the original amulet and vowed to take her father's place as ruler of Limbo and seat at their table.

Blackheart tried to become the new ruler of Hell by bringing it to Earth in Las Vegas, using a dimensional portal, he tricked the new Ghost Rider (Alejandra Jones) into activating it, while Doctor Strange and Hellstorm tried to stop the spreading. Ghost Rider joined forces with Agent Venom, Red Hulk and X-23 to stop Blackheart. To stop the heroes, Blackheart created Antitheses of them, and they were all killed. But Mephisto gave the fallen heroes another chance to live only if they stop Blackheart. The heroes managed to get the Spirit of Vengeance, which had been trapped by Blackheart and wanted to take it to Alejandra, so she would become the Ghost Rider once again. During the battle, after Red Hulk and Venom were thrown away by Blackheart, Flash gave his symbiote to Red Hulk and it bonded with him, as well as the Spirit, thus becoming the new Ghost Rider. Blackheart was defeated when Ross as the Ghost Rider used the mirror which Blackheart used to create the Antithesis on, creating his own Antithesis, who easily defeated him. At Hell, Mephisto gave Blackheart and Gari Oyle (Blackheart's partner) a new chance to live, but as humans.

Blackheart’s last attempt was to turn the city into the epicenter of humanity's downfall, causing mankind to destroy itself and leave the planet ready for reaping. He disguised himself as the mayor of Chicago, and worked in secret with Dray, the leader of one of the city's biggest gangs, the Southstone Rangers, to incite and exacerbate violence. Blackheart was opposed by Falcon and his apprentice Patriot, who attempted to control the riot. Blackheart used his disguise as the mayor to have Falcon and Patriot arrested, and tried to dispose of them after revealing his true nature. However, they were rescued by Doctor Voodoo. When Falcon confronted Blackheart again, the demon unceremoniously ripped his soul straight from his body and sent him to Hell. He was saved by the combined efforts of his allies. During Falcon's third confrontation against Blackheart, Dray turned against his ally, and killed himself, using the Key of Abbadon gifted to him by Blackheart himself to force Blackheart back into Hell, putting an end to his scheme and the magically-fueled riot. Blackheart was taken by Mephisto's lackeys for punishment, but his father ensured him he was already planning Falcon's death since Mephisto also had a feud with him for escaping his domain.

Significance

In conclusion, Blackheart is a super-villain with godly powers and with the ability of high intelligence, however, I think he needs to be fixed. I think his high intelligence simply wasn’t proven and shown in his character. I think he could have had more schemes that were planned to every detail and he could have had stronger ideas that would show off this high intelligent creature who has the sole purpose of unleashing Hell onto Earth. With that said, I fully believe this is easily fixable. I can give a simple example of what Marvel can do with the character. For example, they can make Blackheart break out of Hell again, but this time he has a plan to destroy the Earth and he will succeed, bringing a neverending purgatory where you can never escape. This small example is one of the hundreds to which Marvel can create.

References:

#https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Blackheart_(Earth-616)

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dbarajas03-blog · 7 years ago

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KAMALA KHAN

Kamala Khan otherwise known as Ms. Marvel is definitely a great character to talk about. She was just an average teenage girl living a tough life of a minority, then gained incredible power. She uses her power to fight bad and bring justice in Jersey City. Being a minority, this raises significance as it is very important, in my opinion, that there is a lot of representation.

Powers and Abilities

Kamala is a human with latent Inhuman heritage whose powers were activated by the Terrigen Bomb, causing her to become a polymorph. Kamala can stretch, deform, expand, or compress her entire body or parts thereof into any contiguous shape. Kamala can adjust her height and stature adding upon her already impressive physical abilities, from shrinking to the size of an action figure, to grow as tall as a building structure. With this ability, she has also made her body as thin as paper. Kamala is capable of rapidly healing from injuries such as bullet wounds; however, use of her other powers interrupts the healing process, requiring Kamala to maintain her normal appearance while recovering. Extensive healing also leaves Kamala heavily-fatigued and hungry; although it appears the more she utilizes her healing ability, the less malleable her cells become, which prevents her from utilizing the full range of her morphogenic abilities. Kamala possesses the power to alter her physical appearance including her hair and clothing, and could even alter her appearance enough to mimic inanimate objects. Ms. Marvel feared she had lost this ability due to her healing factor reducing the elasticity of her cells, but this power is still present and is used on rare occasions, such as when she impersonated James Rhodes during a conversation with Tony Stark.

Bio

Kamala Khan is a Pakistani-American born in Jersey City, the daughter of Yusuf Khan and Muneeba Khan. Her parents and her older brother, Aamir Khan moved to the United States from Karachi, Pakistan. In kindergarten, Kamala met Nakia Bahadir, who went on to become Kamala's best friend. Like Kamala, Nakia was a practicing Muslim and the daughter of immigrants. Kamala found solace with her two best friends, Bruno and Nakia, something she sorely needed. Though proud and respectful of her heritage and faith, Kamala always felt different and was often mocked by her other peers for her nerdy interests, and strict parents. In addition to Nakia and Bruno, Kamala found escape in her love of video games, social media, fan fiction, and above all, superheroes. She devotedly followed the career of Carol Danvers, the former Ms. Marvel who had recently started going by the nom de guerre Captain Marvel. One day, Kamala went to a party against her parents’ wishes and was exposed to Terreign Mists. She had a vision of being visited by her favorite superheroes and then afterward emerged from the Terrigenesis and had gained powers beyond her imagination. Kamala was visiting the Circle Q to check on Bruno and there she encountered an armed robbery in progress and abandoning her desire to reconcile with her friend over the circumstances her grounding, Kamala jumped into action in an attempt to stop the burglar but was shot in the process. Luckily, Kamala discovered that she had a second power: she could heal from her injuries by simply shifting back to her true form, outing herself to her friend in the process. Bruno explained the thief she had just faced was his younger brother Vick, who had gotten involved with a mysterious person called the "Inventor" and was being forced to break the law for him. This resulted in a huge battle between Ms. Marvel and the Inventor, which lead to Khan learning of her Inhuman lineage. She was also aided by Medusa and Vinatos when one of the Inventor’s robot attacked the school. The Inventor had been powering his machines by using teenagers, preying on their feelings of worthlessness and giving them “meaning” by using it as an energy source. Kamala realizes after that her life won’t be normal anymore. She deals with Inhumans who plan to overthrow Queen Medusa and she gave out her identity during the Incursions. Bruno had finally professed his feelings for her but Khan walled her own feelings off and wanted to focus on being Ms. Marvel. Khan returns to heroic activity and everyone moves on with their lives. After the Second Superhuman Civil War, she resigns from the Avengers and forms The Champions with Nova, the new Spider-Man, Vivian, and the new Hulk. The team did a lot of great things together but eventually came to an end.

Significance

As I mentioned earlier, Kamala being a Pakistani-American teenage girl, her significance as a character must be greatly appreciated. She may not has as much popularity as the original Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), however, Khan proves that Marvel represents all ethnicities. This is very incredible for many people who are minorities and find solace in characters like Kamala Khan. The significance of this character is amazing which is why I think that Khan probably deserves more in terms of story. I think it would be amazing if her story continues as an adult and with that comes more problems but it would give good context and show how much sense of justice and feelings of goodwill she carries with her. Marvel really has done such an amazing job with representation and showing anyone can be a hero.

References:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Kamala_Khan_(Earth-616)

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dbarajas03-blog · 7 years ago

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NEGASONIC TEENAGE WARHEAD

Ellie Phimister was a Genoshan teenager and a student of Emma Frost. Her mutant power gave her precognitive nightmares and premonitions. She chose the codename Negasonic Teenage Warhead for herself. This superhero is probably one of Marvel’s most underrated characters. Through this blog post, I will do my best to showcase that this hero deserves more recognition and story.

Powers and Abilities

Ellie was a mutant with psychically based powers. The full extent of her abilities is unknown, but her powers include Telepathy, pre-cognition, reality warping, telekinesis, and particle manipulation and absorption. Ellie has the ability to read thoughts, project and broadcast her own thoughts, as well as affect the minds of humans and animals with higher order intelligence. Ellie experiences precognitive nightmares and premonitions. It would appear she often foresaw disasters, which may help explain her depressed and angst-ridden personality. For instance, she foresaw Genosha being destroyed, Kitty Pryde losing control of her powers and uncontrollably phasing down, and the defeat of Selene's army. She was also able to see and avoid or counter the members of Deadpool's Mercenary team with relative ease. Ellie has demonstrated the ability to mentally levitate objects and people. Ellie has the power to warp reality. She created clothing and an entire house she lived in out of nothing. Ellie power over reality enables her to absorb, generate and manipulate vast amounts of raw power for various effects. Ellie has vast control over both matter and or energy, quite possibly on a quantum level. Having been able to reform Inferno's fire into flaming monkeys, disassemble Domino and Gorilla-Man's guns into their component parts, transmute Jack-Chain's darkforce links into butterflies, completely absorb The Presence's nuclear energy, and even creating material energy duplicates of herself. After Umbral used her powers, Ellie’s power was expanded, allowing her to demonstrate superhuman qualities such as super strength and super reflexes.

Bio

During a telepathy class with Emma Frost, Ellie revealed that the previous night she had the same nightmare fifty times wherein all people in Genosha were exterminated. She also pointed out that she experienced the same vision during the class. At that point, Cassandra Nova's gigantic Wild Sentinels appeared on Genosha and wiped out half the world's mutant population: 16 million people. Ellie's corpse was carried by Emma Frost, who had survived the Genoshan genocide thanks to her secondary mutation when she was found by Beast and Jean Grey. Emma proclaimed the teenager to be a credit to her family and the mutant race and suffered a mental breakdown when she found out Ellie was dead. When Emma Frost's subconscious began attacking the X-Men due to a telepathic attack planted by Cassandra Nova, Negasonic Teenage Warhead appeared as a member of the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club with the Black King and Perfection. She faced off against Kitty Pryde and predicted she'd uncontrollably phase through the ground, which caused her to do so. The telepathic projection of Ellie was "murdered" by Cyclops when he shot her with a handgun. Ellie was one of the many thousands of deceased mutants resurrected by Selene with the help of Eli Bard's Techno-Organic Virus. After Destiny's escape, Ellie joined Thunderbird and Caliban as one of Selene's righthand slaves. Ellie resurfaced sometime later, seemingly alive and well again. She was targeted for apprehension by Deadpool and his Mercs for Money on behalf of Umbral Dynamics and used her precognitive abilities to single-handedly defeat most of the Mercs before Wade himself approached to reason with her. Ellie agreed to accompany him, but not before having a series of precognitive flashes presaging disaster to come. Umbral's CEO Caroline le Fay used Ellie's power, and those of other victims captured by Deadpool, to bring back the Presence to life. In the process, Ellie's abilities were expanded, allowing her to demonstrate superhuman strength, for instance. Deadpool eventually learned of Umbral's use of the abductees with ill-intent and set out to save them. Not only he and the Mercs of Money eventually succeeded, but Ellie proved crucial to the Presence's defeat, siphoning back all the energy that was keeping him alive. Following the thwarting of le Fay's plans, Negasonic decided to stay with the Mercs for Money. Even though Domino took the reins of leadership of the Mercs from Deadpool, Ellie supported Wade and remained loyal to him above all, since he was the one who had saved her from Umbral. When the M-Pox crisis reached its climax and the X-Men went to war against the Inhumans over the toxicity of the Terrigen Cloud, Ellie almost used her powers of reality warping to render the cloud harmless to mutants. She was stopped by a time-traveling future version of herself from a timeline in which altering the cloud actually worsened the conflict. After her future self convinced her to let the conflict develop naturally, Negasonic fled the Mercs for Money to watch over Deadpool's mutant daughter Ellie Camacho until the conflict blew over. She would later return to the team and help oppose the forces of Deadpool's ex-wife Shiklah when she invaded Manhattan. After Deadpool wiped his own memory to forget his most recent misfortunes, he returned to working as a mercenary and convinced Negasonic Teenage Warhead to work as his assistant. Wade wasn't exactly sure if he had an actual history with Ellie, or was simply with her due to having been paired up in a movie.

Significance

In conclusion, this blog post focused on bringing to light what little has been given to this Marvel character who deserves more in terms of storyline. She has made cinematic appearances in Deadpool and Deadpool 2, but she should be given more. I say this because I think that a character who has dealt with a lot of pain and losing her entire race makes the character very appealing as that character will be mentally tough. Marvel has lots of potential with this character as she is part of the X-Men and helps out Deadpool. I think that Marvel should focus their efforts towards building more on this character and I hope they do.

References:

http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Ellie_Phimister_(Earth-616)

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dbarajas03-blog · 7 years ago

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GAMBIT

Gambit is a very interesting X-Men character and its a shame he isn't as popular as say Wolverine or Storm. This ninja appearing character possesses psychic power to which he has used for the sides of good and bad. Once villain, starting life as a thief, then turning into a great hero helping the X-Men.

Powers and Abilities

Gambit is a mutant with the ability to convert the potential energy stored in an inanimate object into pure light kinetic energy, thus "charging" that item with highly explosive results. He prefers to charge smaller objects, such as his ever-present playing cards, as the time required to charge them is greatly reduced and they are much easier for him to throw. The only real limitation to this ability is the time required to charge the object: the larger it is the more time it takes to charge. Most charging takes place through direct skin contact. The power of his explosions is dependent on the mass of the object he is charging: for example, a charged playing card explodes with the force of a grenade. Gambit can also use his mutant abilities to accelerate an object's kinetic energy instead of converting its potential energy; for example, he can charge his Bo staff with enough kinetic energy and power to level a house.

Gambit's ability to tap into kinetic energy also grants him incredible superhuman physical attributes (strength, speed, reflexes and reactions, agility, flexibility, dexterity, coordination, balance, and endurance), as his body constantly generates bio-kinetic energy and so is perfectly constructed for constant motion. This gives him an added edge that he has used to his advantage by developing a unique acrobatic fighting style.

The charged potential energy always in his body grants him the ability to build up charges of static electricity, and shields his mind from detection and intrusion by even the strongest and most powerful telepaths such as Emma Frost, Jean Grey, and even Charles Xavier. The shield has the added effect of destabilizing touch-based abilities. Gambit also possesses an unusually strong and irresistible hypnotic charm that allows him to exert a subtle influence over sentient beings.

Bio

Abandoned at birth due to his burning red eyes, the child who would one day become Remy LeBeau was kidnapped from his hospital ward by members of the New Orleans Thieves' Guild who referred to the child as "le diable blanc" - the white devil. They believed he was the child that had been prophesied to unite the warring Guilds. Soon after, Remy was placed in the care of a gang of street thieves who raised the child and taught him the ways of thievery. However, he became excommunicated and banished from New Orleans to keep the peace between the thief guilds due to Remy killing the brother of spouse he was arranged to marry. Wandering the world, he used his skills as a master thief and used his mutant ability to charge objects with explosive energy. Then, he found Mr. Sinister who helped Gambit gain greater control of his power in exchange for Gambit’s service. He had to assemble a group of assassins known as the Marauders. Gambit however did not realize that Sinister would have massacre a whole underground community of mutants (the Morlocks), Gambit manages to save a young girl, Marrow. Afterwards, he meets Storm running from the Shadow King, becoming partners. Gambit eventually becomes part of the X-Men and falls in love with Rogue. During this time he helps the X-Men but as while as handling personal quests, for example the New Son (Gambit from an alternate reality who equally matched Gambit for a foe) and helping Rogue with the X-treme X-Men.

During Apocalypse's most recent bid for power, Gambit joined Apocalypse's side as the horseman, Death. Gambit believed that Apocalypse would be able to save the mutants, but he would be able to stop Apocalypse should he betray them. As Death, Gambit attacked his lover Rogue and his former group X-Men. Cyclops arrived with The Avengers to stop Apocalypse and his Horsemen. Apocalypse finally lost, and seems dead for a while. Sunfire, Apocaypse's other Horseman rescued Death from battle and they escaped. Afterwards they returned to take Polaris, who had also become a Horseman of Apocalypse only to find Polaris had been injured in the last battle and was now in a coma. Death and Sunfire lost the battle and were forced to run from the X-Base. Afterwards they discussed what will happen to them without Apocalypse. During their conversation, Mr. Sinister found them and they joined his Marauders. As Death, Gambit regretted attacking Rogue. Sinister rescued him from his Death form, leaving Gambit feeling betrayed by the X-Men and indebted to Sinister. In the end, Gambit decided to stay with Sinister. The Marauders waited for the right time to attack the X-Men, with Gambit at the Marauders' side. During the battle, Mystique betrayed the X-Men and shot her step-daughter Rogue, Gambit's lover. They then took Rogue and ran. The Marauders had won the first battle. After that, Gambit and Sunfire attacked Cable. Cable lost and was thought to be killed by Gambit, but Cable was in fact not dead. The X-Men went to the Marauders for the baby where Wolverine injured Gambit, and learned the baby Messiah was actually with Cable. Upon learning the Marauders had no idea where the baby was, it was surmised Gambit assisted Cable in taking her. When Bishop attacked Cable, Gambit rescued the baby, but as he returned to Sinister, he discovered Mystique killed him. Gambit felt as if he was finally free, and when Mystique used the baby to try to heal Rogue, Gambit saved the baby again. Professor X and Cable came to take child, so Gambit gave the baby to them. Rogue was healed, and even though she wanted to kill Mystique, she didn't. Rogue's final request of Gambit was that he didn't follow her.

After Apocalypse used the Celestial Technology to transform Gambit into the Horseman Death, Gambit demonstrates the ability to convert inert materials into toxic substances (such as transforming breathable air into poisonous gases) and has the potential to ingest diseases and plagues. It is apparent that the Celestial Technology never left his system, as seen during a telepathic attack against him that temporarily brought out the Death persona, which eventually killed the attacker. He also showcased new abilities he had not used before in this form – such as his Death Charge, which fueled his projectiles with dark energies that have the effect of either disintegrating or entrapping beings within his cards.

Significance

Gambit being an ex-villian, reformed hero makes for a great superhero story. Given that, I do believe it would be great for Marvel to give Gambit his own spin-off feature or if not then, exploring his backstory in a X-Men film. The story of Gambit is incredibly rich and involves many people who have been introduced already on the big screen. Also, it would be incredible to see this powerful mutant who has the ability to use kinetic energy to charge objects go from bad to good and then being a character who is stuck between both sides. I say this due to Gambit not losing his Death persona, making him deadly. The character has a lot of potential and I do believe Marvel will work hard on giving Gambit more and deciding which path to follow: Good or Evil?

References:

https://www.marvel.com/characters/gambit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambit_(comics)#cite_note-92

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dbarajas03-blog · 7 years ago

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QUICKSILVER

Quicksilver, Pietro Maximoff is a high-speed quickster who is definitely a character of interest for underrated characters. His powers excel greatly for a character who was human turned mutant by experimentation. For example, he can move so fast that time moves at a slug’s pace. The importance of his character is actually very important and he proves to be a vital member in the Marvel Universe, but needs more representation and credit, given the fact his powers are essentially The Flash from DC but better.

Powers and Abilities

Through the course of his life as a mutant, his super speed has granted him numerous abilities. One of the very peculiar ones was being able to vibrate his molecular structure at high speeds. Different writers used it for different purposes that were often absurd or completely ignored it to avoid obscurity. He has demonstrated the full effect which enables him to destabilize atomic matter by accelerating the target object's molecule structure, often causing it to fall apart or explode usually by touching it. He also had the ability to fly for short periods of time. Pietro's body is adapted towards the rigors of high-speed running. His cardiovascular and respiratory systems are many times more efficient than those of a normal human being. He metabolizes an estimated 95% of the caloric energy content of foodstuffs (normal humans use about 25%). The chemical processes of Quicksilver's musculature are so highly enhanced that his body does not generate fatigue poisons, the normal by-products of locomotion, which force the body to rest. Rather, his body constantly expels waste products during his accelerated respiration through exhalation. His joints are smoother and lubricated more efficiently than those of a normal human being. His tendons have the tensile strength of spring steel. His bones contain unknown materials significantly more durable than calcium to withstand the dynamic shocks of his feet touching the ground at speeds a human could never achieve or withstand. Quicksilver's practical reaction time is several times faster than a normal human's and the speed at which his brain processes information is heightened to a level commensurate with his bodily speed, enabling him to perceive his surroundings while traveling at high velocities. Quicksilver has used his powers of acceleration for various feats. He has plucked an arrow out of the air from a standing start and has dodged machine gun fire. He has created cyclone-like gusts of wind, which are able to knock a man off his feet. He is able to run across the Atlantic Ocean and to oversea continents without having to stop, run up the sides of buildings effortlessly, and also seems able to use some type of energy, comparing it to "his father's power". After being captured by the High Evolutionary, where his powers were upgraded by Isotope E, his running speed was increased until he was capable of easily reaching high supersonic speeds. The true extent of his amplified abilities are unknown and are stated to be limitless, he has been observed outrunning Thor's lightning bolts, running from Tibet to Indonesia in a few seconds, and covering half the Earth's distance in 92 seconds (not at full speed). Quicksilver is also immune to the effects of friction, reduced oxygen up to a point where a human can no longer breathe, and impact upon his body while moving at super-speeds. He has traveled around the world by running on top of the ocean water and even ran all the way up Mount Everest without slowing down and went flying above cloud level as a result. He has recently shown the ability to shift his molecules through solid objects, and transport people at speeds greater than the speed of sound without injuring them. Pietro's reflexes are superior to the finest human athletes. Because his brain functions at superhuman speeds, everything he perceives moves slower to him. Even in his earliest appearances, he could perform feats of incredibly fast reaction-time, such as dodging a close range optic blast from Cyclops.

Bio

Pietro Maximoff was kidnapped from Serbia and brought to Wundagore Mountain, the base of the High Evolutionary, he and his twin sister, Wanda, were the children of a Romany couple, Django and Marya Maximoff. The High Evolutionary supposedly abducted the twins when they were babies and experimented on them, once he was disgusted with the results, he returned them to Wundagore, disguised as regular mutants. They joined the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants by Wanda accidentally causing a house to burst into flame through her hex powers, which she could not yet control. Superstitious townspeople began chasing her, thinking she was a witch. Despite Pietro's attempt to defend her, they were soon overpowered and were about to become victims of mob violence when Magneto came to their rescue. Magneto pressed them into service in his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, costumed them, and named them the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. For months they served Magneto out of a sense of obligation and fear of his reprisal. As members of the Brotherhood, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch aided Magneto in his terrorist campaigns against humanity and helped him combat the original members of the X-Men. When Magneto was defeated by the overwhelming powers of the alien Stranger, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch quit the Brotherhood; the Stranger transported Magneto away from Earth, and the Maximoff twins returned to Transia. Pietro and Wanda sought refuge with the Avengers, a world-renowned team of superheroes. They were inducted along with Hawkeye to take the place of the charter members, who wished to take a leave of absence. This foursome was nicknamed "Cap's Kooky Quartet". At first, it was looked upon as less capable than the previous roster, but defeating Kang the Conqueror, Doctor Doom, and other threats quickly proved their worth. Although the hot-tempered Quicksilver and Hawkeye often both rebelled against his orders, Avengers leader Captain America molded them into valuable team members. Humanity's suspicion of mutants still rankled Quicksilver, and he briefly rejoined Magneto after the latter returned to Earth, compelling his sister to come with him. The X-Men and Avengers eventually defeated Magneto. The Scarlet Witch then began a quest to recover her powers by studying grimoires, with Quicksilver and the Toad supporting her. Her studies accidentally summoned extra-dimensional caudillo Arkon, who kidnapped the Witch to made her his bride, the Toad when he opposed, and then a number of Earth-born scientists in an attempt to use atomic power to save his own world Polemachus even by destroying Earth. Quicksilver gained the help of the Avengers to save his sister, the Avengers managed to save Polemachus without damaging Earth, Arkon ceased any further violence against Earth and renounced to the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch eventually resumed their membership with the Avengers. Quicksilver eventually became romantically involved with Crystal, an Inhuman. However, his negligence for his wife and her infidelity lead to their split after his rage controlled by Maximus, a malevolent cousin of Crystal. During the House of M, Quicksilver lost his powers and was mentally unstable. He gained his powers back by bathing in the Terrigen Mists then afterward, his rage became very violent. Eventually, he was criminally charged and in prison, he experienced several hallucinations about his sister and his daughter and ex-wife. He escaped and then saved the life of an innocent. From that point on, he rediscovered the feeling of being a hero. He helped the Avengers on countless missions and exposing that Loki was disguised as the Scarlet Witch. Rejoined with his sister, they fought for the side of justice and proved to be valuable members of heroes.

Significance

The significance of Pietro Maximoff in the Marvel Universe is great and I think with the facts stated earlier. He provides a great storyline alone and together with his sister, The Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff). His sister is an Avenger and it would definitely be interesting to see Quicksilver find that Wanda disappeared in Infinity War, making a great cinematic reveal. This could lead to a lot of potential for Quicksilver to appear as he has been introduced into the cinematic universe before. Additionally, his powers are so incredible that show-casing them on the big screen would be amazing. In conclusion, his story is so dramatic and interesting so it would be great to have this character get more representation. Which is why I push greatly for characters to be shown in visual media as nowadays, that is the way people see and appreciate things.

References:

http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Pietro_Maximoff_(Earth-616)

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dbarajas03-blog · 7 years ago

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SHUMA GORATH

Shuma-Gorath is the archetypal Class Three demon, native to an extradimensional realm. This villain is perhaps familiar to some from the Marvel vs. Capcom fighting game which I have enjoyed before. Shuma Gorath is probably one the most powerful characters to exist in the Marvel Universe and exceeds so many abilities and potential for a demon-god.

Powers and Abilities

Shuma-Gorath's power level is far beyond human comprehension. He is virtually indestructible and powerful so he can regenerate completely, also being able to change his own form. He generates energy within himself and can also absorb energy, which he easily manipulates to create several forms of attacks. He is capable of teleportation, levitation, and phasing, being also able to travel through dimensions at will. He can communicate telepathically and mind-controlling others, even from other dimensions. The aura of his essence alone would destroy several galaxies and he has the ability to create a ball of energy capable of destroying all reality within a dimension or universe. In his own dimension, Shuma-Gorath is completely omnipotent. Shuma-Gorath has conquered hundreds of realities and he is the ruler of the Lovecraftian Eldritch gods/entities known as the "Many-Angled Ones" (whom the Marvel Fact Files has revealed are also known as the "Old Ones"). It is a race that exists in the space between realities and Shuma-Gorath himself exists simultaneously in many planes.

Bio

Shuma Gorath is one of the "Old Ones" who came to Earth untold millions of years ago, ruling it and feasting on mankind's ancestors. Though banished in the distant past by the sorcerer Sise-Neg, Shuma returned to Earth and ruled for an age in what would be Cimmeria, fed by blood sacrifice. Over 21,000 years ago, the newly risen god Crom led a shaman to three iron-bound books of magic with which the shaman imprisoned Shuma in what became Mount Crom. Around 10,000 B.C. the newlywed sorcerers Kulan Gath and Vammatar sought to release and enslave the demon but failed after betraying each other. A century later, Shuma-Gorath was indeed unleashed by the two sorcerers and others, but the barbarian Conan used the Books to banish the demon from Earth. In the modern era, Shuma attempted to be reborn on Earth through the mind of the Ancient One via his agents' Nightmare, Sligguth, Ebora, N'Gabthoth, Dagoth, Kathulos, and Living Buddha. Unable to stop the demon, Doctor Strange instead slew the Ancient One, banishing Shuma back to his realm while allowing the Ancient One to become one with the universe. Later, Strange's near destruction of his many talismans and scrolls in a battle against alien sorcerer Urthona collapsed the barriers imprisoning the Old Ones, allowing Shuma to gain a foothold on Earth. Forced to use black magic to oppose Shuma's agents - such as Erlik Khan, Ghaszaszh Nyirh, and a water elemental- Strange ultimately merged with Shuma and then impaled himself. This temporarily destroyed Shuma, but Strange suffered the consequences of his dark actions for some time. Re-forming over time as Strange purged himself of the demon's taint, Shuma continues to seek to conquer Earth and other realms, sometimes by an acquisition of objects of power like the Infinity Gems. Recently Nicholas Scratch tried to revive Shuma-Gorath. Along with the Salem Seven, Nicholas trapped Dr. Strange and his servant Wong in a dimension so he could not stop Shuma when he returned. In order to create more sacrifices, he called the Fantastic Four and brought them to Wing Hill where Shuma was eventually resurrected by Nicholas. However unknown to Nicholas, Mister Fantastic freed Diablo and ordered him to free Dr. Strange and Wong. After he freed the Sorcerer Supreme, Diablo and Dr. Strange traveled to Wing Hill and joined the battle against Scratch and Shuma-Gorath. Strange then devised a plan and teleported himself and Shuma to Stonehedge where he once again banished Shuma-Gorath. Shuma, in the modern era, tried to be reborn on Earth and

Significance

Shuma Gorath is a god amongst the Marvel characters and one of the coolest villains to surface the Marvel universe. This tentacled being has multiple abilities and its power is beyond human comprehension. He rules the entities like him (the Old Ones) and he has conquered hundreds of realities. This godlike figure originated in the Dr. Strange series as demon unleashed by the sorcerors, Kulan Gath and Vammatar and others. Afterward, the barbarian Conan banished Shuma from Earth using the Books in the 10,000 B.C. But Shuma Gorath did not let allow itself to be tossed around as some toy and sought to attack Earth. He had ruled Earth before and wanted to take over once again. This character has only been able to be banished and no superhero is able to expel him on his own. Shuma Gorath has fought with Dr. Strange on some occasions and the Fantastic Four. He is definitely a character worthy of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and I feel would tie nicely in with the Dr. Strange story. As the antagonist was Dormammu and if Marvel is using such powerful characters in the Cinematic Universe now, Shuma Gorath would make a great addition to those villains. Shuma Gorath is essentially indestructible so it would be nice to see how it would take not one, but multiple heroes to fight Shuma Gorath, a god-like villain.

References:

http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/Shuma-Gorath

https://www.marvel.com/characters/shuma-gorath

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