Affiliations: Pawn of Thanos; prisoner alongside other former Protectors of the Universe;

Enemies: Quasar; (to a lesser extent) the Avengers and the Punisher

Known Relatives: None.

Aliases: Marvel Boy duplicate

Base of Operations: The White Room; formerly the Eonverse; formerly mobile on Earth

Appearances: (Marvel Boy duplicate) Quasar#26 (September, 1991); (Blue Marvel) Quasar#41 (December, 1992)

Powers: The Blue Marvel possesses duplicates of the Quantum Bands, which give him power comparable to Quasar. He can fly, teleport, project powerful energy blasts, and form solid objects of any imaginable variety and purpose. He is a savage fighter, and his insanity makes him somewhat unpredictable. He apparently possesses an exact duplicate of the body of Marvel Boy II(Bob Grayson).

History: The Blue Marvel was initially created by the mad Titan Thanos using the seemingly limitless power of the Infinity Gauntlet. Thanos sought to disrupt the funeral honoring the cosmic entity known as Eon, and was opposed by his human agent Quasar, the current Protector of the Universe. After a brief struggle, Thanos grew bored with the conflict and created the Quantum Banders, four duplicates of former Protectors, formed from the matter of Eon's immense corpse, and given the memories of the originals as well as replicas of the Quantum Bands. Quasar managed to overpower and destroy the duplicates of Ree, the Stygian Starbender, and Trantra. However, Quasar only incapacitated the duplicate of Marvel Boy II and left him in the Eonverse, where he was forgotten, and presumed to have ceased to exist following the defeat of Thanos.

However, the duplicate remained in the Eonverse, surviving by consuming the corpse of Eon. During the events of the Infinity War, Quasar was disintegrated by the Ultimate Nullifier. Although his possession of the Starbrand power allowed him to survive, he was presumed to have died. Thanos, in preparation for events following the presumed defeat of the Magus, created a portal back to Earth and sent the duplicate there to take over his role as Protector of the Universe.

To this end, he attempted to join the Avengers, telling them he had been chosen by Epoch as Quasar's successor. Feeling he needed an original name to join the group of heroes, he dubbed himself the Blue Marvel. However, he left when he learned of the forms and red tape necessary for joining. He then encountered and defeated the super-villain Heat-Ray, but had his attempts to behead the villain interrupted by Captain Marvel II. He attacked and overpowered her, which again drew the attention of the Avengers. They overpowered him, but he teleported away before they could incapacitate him.

Seeking heroes who took a harder stance against criminals, he briefly sought to become the partner of the Punisher. The Punisher attempted to dissuade him, but when the Blue Marvel injured several policemen with his mindless mayhem, he threatened to hunt him down and kill him. Blue Marvel considered destroying the Punisher, but then Thanos informed him that Quasar was alive and sent him to kill Quasar.

Blue Marvel was transported to the pocket dimension known as the White Room, which contained and imprisoned duplicates of all previous Protectors of the Universe, formed from Eon's own body and animated by mental residues left in the Quantum Bands from when they wore them. Blue Marvel destroyed the Angel of Vengeance, who was trying to free Quasar, and then attempted to slay Quasar himself. He again disintegrated Quasar, who was reformed by the Starbrand. Bereft of his own Quantum Bands, Quasar used the sword of the Angel of Vengeance, and the Starbrand power to overpower the Blue Marvel. Quasar then placed him in his own former seat in the White Room, where he presumably remains trapped.

Comments: Created by Mark Gruenwald, Dave Hoover, Greg Capullo, Steve Lightle, and Andy Smith.

Blue Marvel was apparently capable of independent thought. Presumably, the Infinity Gauntlet provided him with the personality of his template. His insanity may indicate that he was derived from Grayson's final appearances as the Crusader, or he may have gone insane while trapped in the Eonverse eating the alien's corpse, or Thanos may simply have twisted his mind for his own purposes when he created him.

Clarifications: Marvel Boy refers to Robert Grayson, aka the Crusader, the 1950s hero who acquired the Quantum Bands from the Uranian Eternals, @ Marvel Boy I#1. He should not be confused with:

• Marvel Boy (Martin Simon Burns), schoolboy, alleged reincarnation of Hercules @ Daring Mystery Comics I#6
• Marvel Boy (Martin Oskner Burns), schoolboy, gained super-powers from mummy of "Hercules" @ USA Comics#7
• Marvel Boy, aka Justice, Vance Astrovik, @ Thor I#411
• Marvel Boy, David Bank, mutated by Adreamix, @ Justice: Four Balance#3
• Marvel Boy, Noh-Varr, that Kree guy, @ Marvel Boy II#1

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Other appearances:
Quasar#27 (October, 1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Greg Capullo (pencils), Paul Becton (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Quasar#40 (November, 1992) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Steve Lightle & Andy Smith (pencils), Mark McKenna & Ralph Cabrera (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Quasar#41-43 (December, 1992 - February, 1993) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Andy Smith (pencils), Ralph Cabrera (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)

First Posted: 09/02/2001
Last updated: 05/01/2005

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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