MOON
of DENEB IV

Official Name: Unrevealed (possibly the Moon of Deneb IV)

Nature: Extraterrestrial moon, orbiting Deneb IV, unidentified Deneb star system, unidentified galaxy (see comments for Deneb IV)

Environment: Life-sustaining biosphere;
    Mar-Vell considered it to be difficult to breathe, but not poisonous;
    Rick Jones collapsed in pain after taking off his helmet, but that was subsequently surmised to be due to Mar-Vell draining his power via the Nega-Bands (as well as perhaps Rick adapting to his mental/energy union with Mar-Vell)

Gravity: Unrevealed (neither Mar-Vell nor Rick (nor Drax) commented on the gravity, so presumably it was not different enough from Earth and/or other recent worlds to which they had traveled to draw their attention)

Atmosphere: An unspecified combination of gases (uncomfortable for the superhuman pink Kree Mar-Vell, more so for the human Rick Jones, but perhaps more a result of the factors noted above)

Natural Satellites: None known (although it was a satellite of Deneb IV)

Artificial Satellites: None known

Natives: None seen;
    various forms of flora were seen -- such as trees, grasses, perhaps fungi (such as mushroom-like structures) -- but no native fauna were seen

Population: Unrevealed (as noted, no native fauna were seen; undetermined numbers of flora existed

Capital City: Apparently inapplicable

Government: Apparently inapplicable

Languages: Apparently inapplicable

Monetary Unit: Apparently inapplicable

National Defense: Apparently inapplicable

Major Resources: Apparently inapplicable

Planetary Defense: Apparently inapplicable

Places of Interest: Barren region(s); wooded region(s)

Prominent Residents: None known

Visitors: Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell), Drax the Destroyer, Rick Jones, Rusty Paint

First Appearance:  Captain Marvel I#43 (March, 1976)

History:
(Captain Marvel I#43 - BTS) - The Supreme Intelligence caused Rusty to malfunction in the vicinity of Deneb IV's moon, forcing Captain Marvel and Jones to land there in its barren region.

    As Mar-Vell tried to figure out what was wrong with Rusty, Rick flew around and encountered Fawn -- a manifestation of his own subconsciousness created via his connection to the Nega-Bands -- who led him into a wooded area.

    Meanwhile, the Supreme Intelligence manipulated Drax the Destroyer -- who had been enraged to near-madness by Mar-Vell's seeming destruction of his arch-enemy, Thanos, whom Drax's life mission was to destroy -- into traveling there and attacking Captain Marvel, irrationally blaming him for having previously robbed him of a chance to kill Thanos.

    With Mar-Vell sensing Drax's approach, his initial strike only shattered Mar-Vell's helmet; Marv found the atmosphere uncomfortable to breathe but not poisonous.

    As the two battled, Rick followed Fawn, who convinced him to remove his atmospheric helmet. However, upon doing so, Rick cried out and collapsed (due to being weakened by Mar-Vell's drawing on the Nega-Bands' power, as well as perhaps due to his mind adjusting to his mental union with Mar-Vell).

Comments: Created by Steve Englehart and Al Milgrom.

    It was never named in its appearances, but it was specifically referenced as being "Deneb's moon" by Mar-Vell in Captain Marvel I#45.
--Donald Campbell

   The Supreme Intelligence had a timetable where he wished to condition Rick and Mar-Vell so that he could use their connection to gain control of the Destiny Force (as it was later called). The timetable involved the specific timing of the blooming of the Millenia Bloom, and the conditioning process involved the Mind Gem (see comments for Deneb IV), which was on Deneb IV. The Supreme Intelligence also intended for Mar-Vell to defeat Drax the Destroyer and think himself a conquering hero as he reached Deneb IV.
    The Destroyer may have proved too powerful for Mar-Vell to defeat, but, regardless, Fawn's involvement was some random factor that the Supreme Intelligence could not predict. How that affected the plot is not really clear to me, though...

    As Mar-Vell suggested, if Rick and he merged, Mar-Vell could have flown them through space without Rusty. However, Rick was not keen on the merger, preferring to remain a separate being, although he was not powerful enough to fly interplanetary distances on his own.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The moon of Deneb IV  has no known connections to

• other moons of other worlds, regardless of the star system, galaxy, etc.
  

The region Mar-Vell, Rick, and Rusty originally landed in was barren, with the exception of a number of these tall structures that may have been natural crystalline or other mineral formations, or they may have been scrap metal or something stacked thusly.      Obviously the latter option would indicate that there had been a population present on this moon at some point.       However, I think natural crystal/mineral formation is more likely until/unless some other story says otherwise.       After their arrival, Rick took off to explore the area while Marv stayed their, trying --and failing -- to figure out what was wrong with Rusty.      Marv was still there when Drax attacked, and they fought there for a while before taking off into nearby space. Marv eventually cast Drax back down into this region and pursued him there.      Meanwhile, Rick had followed Fawn-- a manifestation of his own subconsciousness created via his connection to the Nega-Bands -- into the wooded area before collapsing upon removing his helmet.      Fawn seemingly abandoned Rick and traveled to the barren region, where she granted Drax knowledge of Thanos' location, causing him to cease fighting and depart, and she informed Mar-Vell of Rick's plight and location. --Captain Marvel I#43 (44

The wooded region contained trees bushes, grasses, rocks, flowered plants, and what looked like some sort of mushrooms.       As Marv worked to try to repair their steed, Rusty, Rick flew around, and he was surprised to find the woman he had briefly encountered at the OK Space Station      Unknown to Rick, this woman -- who subsequently identified herself as Fawn -- was actually a manifestation of his own subconsciousness created via his connection to the Nega-Bands      When Rick first approached her, she vanished, but he soon found her again on the edge of a wooded region. She vanished again, but he then located her within the wooded region.      Rick and Fawn swiftly became affectionate, but when she convinced him to remove his helmet so they could be moreso, he painfully collapsed.      Although the atmosphere was uncomfortable for Mar-Vell, he noted that it was not poisonous, but the human Rick, although possessing some of Mar-Vell's power, had also been weakened by Mar-Vell's drawing on the Nega-Bands' power, as well as perhaps due to his mind adjusting to his mental union with Mar-Vell.      Fawn ran off, seemingly abandoning Rick, but she located Mar-Vell. Although he could not sense her, she made him aware of Rick's plight, and he departed with Rick atop Rusty (secretly repaired by the Supreme Intelligence). --Captain Marvel I#43 (44

images: (without ads)
Captain Marvel I#43, pg. 5, panel 4 (Rusty, Marv, & Rick approaching the moon);
           panel 6 (Rusty, Marv, & Rick on the moon amidst stacks of rock or rubble);
       pg. 7, panel 9 (Fawn standing by wooded area);
       pg. 8, panel 7 (Drax approaching moon);
       pg. 11, panel 4 (Rick finding Fawn within wooded area);
          panel 7 (Rick approaching Fawn in wooded area);
       pg. 18, panel 1 (Rick curled up with Fawn in wooded area);
    #44, pg. 7,panel 4 (Marv flying toward the moon; various surrounding worlds/planetoids);
           panel 7 (Fawn amidst wreckage or rock piles);
       pg. 12, panel 4 (Rusty flying Rick and Marv from the moon to Deneb IV);

Appearances:
Captain Marvel I#43 (March, 1976) - Steve Englehart (plot/script), Al Milgrom (plot/pencils/inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Captain Marvel I#44 (May, 1976) - Steve Englehart (writer), Al Milgrom (artist), Terry Austin (finishes), Marv Wolfman (editor)

First posted: 05/30/2023
Last updated: 05/30/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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