STEVE COFFIN

Real Name: Steve Coffin

Identity/Class: Human (temporary mutate)

Occupation: Former student

Group Membership: Division U (Mr. Wyatt), Wraith Squad (Alyssa)

Affiliations: Col. Macey, Micronauts (Acroyear, Biotron, Bug, Marionette, Microtron, Arcturus Rann), Muffin (pet dog), Time Traveler/Enigma Force, unidentified pet cat

Enemies: Acroyears, Baron Karza, Captain Universe (Roland Taylor), Mister E, Man-Thing, Professor Prometheus and his Humanoids, Shaitan

Known Relatives: Ray Coffin (father), Elaine Coffin (mother, deceased)

Aliases: Formerly Captain Universe

Base of Operations: Formerly Daytona, Florida

First Appearance: Micronauts I#2 (February, 1979)

Powers/Abilities: As a youth, Steve possessed no superhuman powers or special abilities, though he was resourceful and brave enough to fight alien invaders and the Man-Thing. He was open-minded enough to befriend the Micronauts.

    As an adult he apparently had some training in combat, energy detection, etc.

    As Captain Universe, he briefly possessed superhuman strength and durability, could fly, project energy blasts, rearrange matter (forming various weapons and equipment, like a pair of nunchaks, a skateboard, etc.), and remotely activate equipment and/or charge it with power. His Univsion allowed him to analyze the composition of beings or objects. He could survive in the vacuum of space and pass through solid objects at will.

    As part of the Wraith Squad he wore a suit of armor and used an energy weapon. The suit likely had some tracking capability.

Hair: Light brown
Eyes: Light blue

History:
(Micronauts I#4 (fb) - BTS / Micronauts I#8 (fb)) - Steve was the son of Ray, a NASA astronaut, who retired shortly after the death of his wife and Steve's mother, Elaine. Following Elaine's death, Ray closed up emotionally, shutting out his son, Steve.

(Micronauts I#2) - Steve was out mowing the lawn when the Micronauts' ship Endeavor crashed into his yard. They were first discovered by the Coffins' pet dog, Muffin, who was stun-blasted by Commander Rann. Steve inadvertently ran over Acroyear and Bug with the lawnmower, but the mighty Acroyear caught the whirling blade and stopped it, breaking the mower and tearing it from Steve's hands. Steve then caught sight of the Micronauts, whom he swiftly befriended despite his initial surprise. Almost immediately thereafter, the Micronauts and Steve were assaulted by a fleet of Acroyear warriors led by Prince Shaitan, who was loyal to Baron Karza. Armed only with his bare hands, Steve joined the Micronauts against their attackers. Assaulted by Shaitan's ship, the Micronauts boarded the Endeavor and teleported away, though the unconscious Bug was left behind. Steve used a rake to take out the last two ships, but Steve then realized that this left no one else to explain the battle-ravaged yard to his dad.

(Micronauts I#3 (fb) - BTS) - Steve tried to clean up the yard before his dad could get home.

(Micronauts I#3) - Ray initially blamed Steve for what had happened to the yard and disbelieved his explanations of the encounter with the tiny aliens until finding a small crashed ship with a tiny pilot in it.
    Ray later contacted his colleague at NASA, Professor Phillip Prometheus, and asked to meet him to discuss this discovery.

(Micronauts I#4) - Ray told Steve to turn on the sprinklers to make sure that all of the grass fires started by their visitors were fully extinguished. Ray then brought Steve and Muffin to Cape Canaveral, though they ignored Muffin's warnings that the Micronaut Bug had stowed away in their truck. Entering NASA, they went to H.E.L.L. (Human Engineering Life Laboratories), the institute run by Professor Prometheus. Leaving Muffin behind in the truck--a big no-no in the Florida heat -- Ray and Steve (who unwittingly carried the stowaway Bug in his pants cuff) met with Prometheus. The professor was happy to see Ray and initially dismissed his story as having been brought on by science fiction movies until the Coffins showed him the alien and ship they had found, at which point he became intrigued.

(Micronauts I#5) - - Seeking Bug, other Micronauts (Acroyear, Marionette, Microtron, Rann) traveled to HELL labs, where they found Muffin and set her free so they could follow her to her master.
    Meanwhile, Professor Prometheus showed the Coffins his Prometheus Pit, revealing that he had known about the Microverse for some time, though the barrier between the Earth dimension and the Microverse had frustrated his efforts to learn more. When Steve mentioned that he had met live "sub-aliens"--who had survived passing through the spacewall--Prometheus grabbed Steve and demanded further information. Ray tried to calm Prometheus down, but Prometheus had his Humanoid servants restrain Ray while he explained his experiences with the Microverse and tried to force Steve to reveal more. Bug came to the Coffins' defense, and Muffin arrived as well, leading the Micronauts to them. Professor Prometheus decided to use the Micronauts (and the Coffins) to test his Prometheus Pit (a portal into the Microverse), causing the floor to shift to make everyone else slide towards the Pit. Microtron saved Steve from falling into the Pit, but as Prometheus continued to threaten them all, Ray tackled Prometheus into the Pit, through which they vanished.

(Micronauts I#6) - The Micronauts held back Professor Prometheus' Humanoids while they, Steve, and Muffin fled Prometheus' inner laboratory. Once out into the main section of HELL, Steve bluffed his way past NASA security until the guard saw the Micronauts, at which point they shoved the guard and fled past him. They made it back to Ray Coffins' truck and escaped as the Humanoids broke out of Prometheus' lab and distracted the guards with their gunfire. Steve used the truck to break through the gate, escape Cape Canaveral, and return to the Coffins' house. They arrived just in time to see Biotron fight off an attack by Steve's cat, whom he had forgotten to feed in the excitement.
    Steve then hooked the Endeavor's power cables into his house's main fuse box, causing a blackout and irritating next door neighbor Abner Jenkins (not the Beetle) as his television show cut off. Later, as Steve drove the truck alongside the Endeavor--communicating with them via CB radio -- he was pursued by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Micronauts stopped the patrol cars without injuring their drivers too badly, and Steve led the Micronauts to his father's fishing cabin in the Everglades.

(Micronauts I#7) - Steve fished from the dock at his dad's cabin, and Bug sat on top of his bobber until a fish attempted to feed on him. Steve later joined the Micronauts, watched a television broadcast from HELL and became upset when they didn't mention his dad. Distraught, Steve fled the cabin and nearly ran straight into the Man-Thing, drawn there by Steve's powerful emotions. Terrified by the Man-Thing, Steve soon became its target, and the Micronauts attempted to drive the muck-monster off. Eventually Steve managed to back his father's swamp buggy into the Man-Thing, splattering it across the swamp with its propeller.

(Micronauts I#8 (fb) - BTS) - Steve and the Micronauts saw reports of Baron Karza attacking HELL, and they traveled there to oppose Karza.

(Micronauts I#8) - Steve explained to NASA security chief Col. Macey about Karza and the Micronauts, after which they were struck be a blast from Karza, who also controlled Prometheus' Humanoids. Steve and Col. Macey watched helplessly as the Micronauts attempted to stop Karza only to fall before his power. When Captain Universe emerged from the Prometheus Pit and attacked Karza, Steve recognized Captain Universe's voice as his own father's. After Karza and the Micronauts had returned to the Microverse and the Unipower had been withdrawn from Ray Coffin, Steve ran up and hugged his father, who promised to make up for years of shutting him out.

(Micronauts I#12) - Ray, Steve, and Muffin enjoyed a night of recreation on Daytona Beach.

 

 

 

 

(Marvel Spotlight II#9 (fb) - BTS) - Ray settled back into his routine, enjoying watching his son grow up.

(Marvel Spotlight II#9) - The Unipower came to Ray again, but his body was unable to take the strain and he had a heart attack. Steve drove him to Kennedy hospital at Cape Canaveral, where he was treated. Steve quickly learned that something was wrong with the hospital staff, but he was too late to stop one of the nurses from injecting Ray with something that began to cover his body in shadow. The Unipower then chose Steve to become the next Captain Universe, and he purged the shadows from Ray's form. Steve was then confronted by a group of shadow warriors, and he transformed an intravenous support rod into a pair of nunchaks which he used to fight the warriors. When they began to drain his strength via their shadowy touch he transformed a cart into a skateboard and escaped them. Flying outside the hospital, Steve found the entire base blanketed with darkness and then observed Mister E perched atop the new Solar Shuttle, which his shadow warriors coated with shadow as well. Upon hearing Mister E's plot to bombard the sun with negatron particles and turn it into a black star, Steve attacked him, only to be blasted away by his power. Steve was then nearly overwhelmed by the shadow warriors, but managed to energize the launch pad's floodlights, and the brilliant light purged the shadow warriors exposed to it of their shadows, returning them to normal humans.
    Steve boarded the Solar Shuttle just before Mister E launched it, creating a light saber to drive off Mister E's true shadow demons, but Mister E neutralized his weapon. Steve used the Univision against Mister E, who protected himself by retreating to the shuttle's bridge. Steve passed through the wall and charged Mister E, only to tear through the ship's hull when Mister E dodged. Steven then turned the ship so that the breeched hull faced the sun, and the sun's light destroyed Mister E. The shuttle--no longer protected from the nearby sun--exploded as well.
    Steve returned to Earth, after which the Enigma Force reclaimed the Unipower, telling Steve that he had proven himself worthy, but there were now others who must have their chance for the power. The Uni-Power healed Ray as it departed, allowing a rapid and complete recovery from his heart attack.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Cosmic Powers Unlimited#5/2 (fb) - BTS) - Coffin (see comments) became obsessed with regaining the Unipower and joined the super secret government organization known as Division U, dedicated to the study of the Unipower with the goal of claiming it for themselves. Coffin established himself as difficult to control, but he was valued nonetheless because he had once possessed the Unipower. Coffin served in the armored field agents of the Division U, the Wraith Squad.

(Cosmic Powers Unlimited#5/2) - When the Unipower possessed Roland Taylor, the Captain Universe manifestation was detected by Division U, and Mr. Wyatt directed Alyssa to take Coffin--against her objections--and the rest of the Wraith Squad and capture the host (and the Unipower) within 24 hours. The Wraith Squad tracked down Taylor and attempted to take him into custody. When Taylor/Captain Universe fought back, Coffin savagely attacked him with an energy gun and then demanded that Taylor give him his powers back. Alyssa told Coffin he was out of line, and Coffin told her to report him, but the distraction had given Taylor time to recover from the assault and he blasted the entire Wraith Squad from the building and then escaped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments: Created by Bill Mantlo, Michael Golden, and Josef Rubinstein.

I would ASSUME that the "Coffin" in Division U from Cosmic Powers Unlimited#5 is Steve, but it is not 100% clarified.

Anyone know how to get hold of Eric Fein and see what he had intended to do with Division U?

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connection to:

 

images:
Micronauts I#2, p11, panel 2 (Steve face)
    #7, p1 (fishing)
Marvel Spotlight II#9 cover (Captain Universe)
Cosmic Powers Unlimited#5, p12, panels 1-2 (Division U armor)

Micronauts I#2-7 (February-July, 1979) - by Bill Mantlo (writer), Michael Golden (penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker), Al Milgrom (editor).
Micronauts I#8 (August, 1979) - by Bill Mantlo (writer), Michael Golden (penciler), Bob McLeod (inker), Al Milgrom (editor).
Micronauts I#12 (December, 1979) - by Bill Mantlo (writer), Michael Golden (penciler), Al Milgrom (editor, inker).
Marvel Spotlight II#9 (November, 1980) - by Bill Mantlo (writer), Steve Ditko (artist), Al Milgrom (editor)
Cosmic Powers Unlimited#5 (May, 1996) - by Eric Fein (writer), Neil Errar (penciler), Don Hudson (inker), Mark Gruenwald (editor)

First Posted: 10/09/2005
Last updated: 06/03/2007

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters