Marvel Boy
Encyclopedia
Marvel Boy is the name of several fictional
comic book
characters in the Marvel Comics
universe
, including predecessor companies Timely Comics
and Atlas Comics
.
revealed to him that he possessed the power of Hercules
, he became a superhero. The character made only two appearances—Daring Mystery Comics
#6 (June 1940), by Joe Simon
& Jack Kirby
, and USA Comics #7 (Feb. 1943), by writer
-artist
Bob Oksner
—each of which featured a wildly disparate version of his origin (the first had him the reincarnation
of the legendary Greek
hero while the second had him accidentally scratched by the demigod
's mummified remains
in a museum and 'infected' with his superhuman strength), although both shared the basics noted above. The Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe: Golden Age
2004 reconciles these different origins by stating that there were two Marvel Boys named Martin Burns active in the 1940s.
. He continued to appear when the series title was changed to Astonishing with issue #3. Created by writer-editor
Stan Lee
and artist Russ Heath
, with writer-artist Bill Everett
taking over with issue #2, this Marvel Boy is the son of Dr. Horace Grabshield (later Anglicized as Grayson), a scientist who fled Earth with his infant during the rise of Nazi Germany
. The Graysons landed on Uranus
, where they were greeted by the native Uranian
Eternals
. They presented Robert with a costume and a pair of powerful bracelets that he used to battle crime on Earth. His final story was in Astonishing #7 (Dec. 1951).
Grayson made an appearances in an alternate-reality
story in What If
#9 (June 1978), as well as in tales taking place before his death, in the 12-issue miniseries
Marvel: The Lost Generation
(March 2000 - Feb. 2001) and in Avengers Forever
(Dec. 1998 - Nov. 1999), although the Avengers Forever appearance is technically part of a timeline that no longer exists.
For many years it was believed that the Grayson Marvel Boy had gone insane following a disaster that had destroyed the Uranian Eternals. Debuting in Fantastic Four
#165 (Dec. 1975) under the name "The Crusader," his seeming return was brief and he died at the end of this arc, having exploded with only his Quantum Bands remaining.
The 2006 Marvel miniseries Agents of Atlas explained his survival by stating that The Crusader had actually been a different person—a confused and surgically altered Uranian Eternal who had been using the Quantum Bands as a replacement for Marvel Boy's own power bracelets. This replacement was intended as an unquestioningly loyal servant of the Uranian Eternals, conditioned to obey and to believe he was actually the original Marvel Boy. However, the plan went awry when a disaster destroyed his creators midway through the project, leaving the Crusader in a deranged and delusional state, and finally dying.
Grayson himself remained on Uranus, eventually joining a society of native Uranians. Having evolved there, they were wildly different from the Uranian Eternals; they were in fact fully non-humanoid invertebrates. Nonetheless they completely (and physically) absorbed him into their culture, adapting his body to suit. When he eventually left for Earth, he was told he would never be able to return.
The years living with the Uranians have caused profound psychological and physical changes in Robert Grayson - for instance, he extends his entire esophagus when eating, and is strangely attracted by large marine invertebrates.
The Grayson Marvel Boy remains active as an Agent of Atlas.
agency S.H.I.E.L.D.
, became the 1970s Marvel Boy in Captain America
#217 (Jan. 1978) when he became bonded to the 1950s Quantum Bands. The bands had been remanded to S.H.I.E.L.D. after the events of The Fantastic Four #165, above, with Robert Grayson. His codename was quickly changed to Marvel Man as part of the agency's short-lived Super-Agent program. He changed it to Quasar
in The Incredible Hulk #234 (April 1979), and under that name teamed up with the Thing
in Marvel Two-in-One
#53 (July 1979). After learning that the cosmic entity Eon
had intended to give the alien Quantum Bands to the Protector of the Universe, he accepted that role.
. He later adopted the codename Justice.
in the Marvel Comics
Universe, who can fly and project energy blasts. He first appeared in Justice: Four Balance #4 (1994). David Bank took on the name of Marvel Boy
in the closing issue of a series featuring Vance Astrovik, the previous Marvel Boy.
was introduced in a 2000 miniseries
of that title by Grant Morrison
and J.G. Jones. He is an alien of the pink-skinned Kree
species, although he hails from another reality. Upon arriving on Earth, he became an anti-hero
styled after Captain Marvel
but with elements of teenage rebellion added to the mix. In 2006 he appeared in the Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways
mini-series and later in an issue of the Illuminati
. Later on, Noh-Varr joined the Dark Avengers
, as Captain Marvel, alongside the Iron Patriot, Hawkeye
and others.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
characters in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
, including predecessor companies Timely Comics
Timely Comics
Timely Comics, an imprint of Timely Publications, was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics....
and Atlas Comics
Atlas Comics (1950s)
Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic...
.
Martin Burns
Martin Burns is the 1940s Marvel Boy. After a mysterious shadowShadow
A shadow is an area where direct light from a light source cannot reach due to obstruction by an object. It occupies all of the space behind an opaque object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, or reverse projection of the object blocking the...
revealed to him that he possessed the power of Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
, he became a superhero. The character made only two appearances—Daring Mystery Comics
Daring Mystery Comics
Daring Mystery Comics is an American comic-book series published by Timely Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics, during the 1930-1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books...
#6 (June 1940), by Joe Simon
Joe Simon
Joseph Henry "Joe" Simon is an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.With his...
& Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
, and USA Comics #7 (Feb. 1943), by writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
-artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Bob Oksner
Bob Oksner
Bob Oksner was an American comics artist known for both adventure comic strips and for superhero and humor comic books, primarily at DC Comics.-Biography:...
—each of which featured a wildly disparate version of his origin (the first had him the reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
of the legendary Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
hero while the second had him accidentally scratched by the demigod
Demigod
The term "demigod" , meaning "half-god", is commonly used to describe mythological figures whose one parent was a god and whose other parent was human; as such, demigods are human-god hybrids...
's mummified remains
Mummy
A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
in a museum and 'infected' with his superhuman strength), although both shared the basics noted above. The Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe: Golden Age
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
2004 reconciles these different origins by stating that there were two Marvel Boys named Martin Burns active in the 1940s.
Robert Grayson
Robert Grayson is the 1950s Marvel Boy, debuting in Marvel Boy #1 (Dec. 1950), from Marvel 1950s forerunner, Atlas ComicsAtlas Comics (1950s)
Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic...
. He continued to appear when the series title was changed to Astonishing with issue #3. Created by writer-editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
and artist Russ Heath
Russ Heath
Russell Heath, Jr. is an American artist best known for his comic book work — particularly his DC Comics war stories for several decades and his 1960s art for Playboy magazine's Little Annie Fanny featurettes — and for his commercial art, two pieces of which, depicting Roman and...
, with writer-artist Bill Everett
Bill Everett
William Blake "Bill" Everett, also known as William Blake and Everett Blake was a comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner and co-creating Daredevil for Marvel Comics...
taking over with issue #2, this Marvel Boy is the son of Dr. Horace Grabshield (later Anglicized as Grayson), a scientist who fled Earth with his infant during the rise of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. The Graysons landed on Uranus
Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It has the third-largest planetary radius and fourth-largest planetary mass in the Solar System. It is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus , the father of Cronus and grandfather of Zeus...
, where they were greeted by the native Uranian
Uranian (comics)
The Uranians are a fictional race in the Marvel Universe. They first appeared in Marvel Boy # 1 , written by Stan Lee, as the human-like inhabitants of the planet Uranus, who became the hosts and mentors of Marvel Boy , as well as providing him with the technology which he used on Earth to become a...
Eternals
Eternals (comics)
The Eternals are a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics universe. They are described as an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth. The original instigators of this process, the alien Celestials, intended the Eternals to be the defenders of Earth which...
. They presented Robert with a costume and a pair of powerful bracelets that he used to battle crime on Earth. His final story was in Astonishing #7 (Dec. 1951).
Grayson made an appearances in an alternate-reality
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
story in What If
What If (comics)
What If, sometimes rendered as What If...?, is the title of several comic book series published by Marvel Comics, exploring "the road not traveled" by its various characters...
#9 (June 1978), as well as in tales taking place before his death, in the 12-issue miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Marvel: The Lost Generation
Marvel: The Lost Generation
Marvel: The Lost Generation is a twelve-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics in 2000 and 2001. The series was written by Roger Stern and drawn by John Byrne. Numbered in reverse order, it began with issue #12 and finished with issue #1 Marvel: The Lost Generation is a...
(March 2000 - Feb. 2001) and in Avengers Forever
Avengers Forever
Avengers Forever is a twelve-issue comic book limited series published from December 1998 to November 1999 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern and drawn by Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino.-Publication history:...
(Dec. 1998 - Nov. 1999), although the Avengers Forever appearance is technically part of a timeline that no longer exists.
For many years it was believed that the Grayson Marvel Boy had gone insane following a disaster that had destroyed the Uranian Eternals. Debuting in Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
#165 (Dec. 1975) under the name "The Crusader," his seeming return was brief and he died at the end of this arc, having exploded with only his Quantum Bands remaining.
The 2006 Marvel miniseries Agents of Atlas explained his survival by stating that The Crusader had actually been a different person—a confused and surgically altered Uranian Eternal who had been using the Quantum Bands as a replacement for Marvel Boy's own power bracelets. This replacement was intended as an unquestioningly loyal servant of the Uranian Eternals, conditioned to obey and to believe he was actually the original Marvel Boy. However, the plan went awry when a disaster destroyed his creators midway through the project, leaving the Crusader in a deranged and delusional state, and finally dying.
Grayson himself remained on Uranus, eventually joining a society of native Uranians. Having evolved there, they were wildly different from the Uranian Eternals; they were in fact fully non-humanoid invertebrates. Nonetheless they completely (and physically) absorbed him into their culture, adapting his body to suit. When he eventually left for Earth, he was told he would never be able to return.
The years living with the Uranians have caused profound psychological and physical changes in Robert Grayson - for instance, he extends his entire esophagus when eating, and is strangely attracted by large marine invertebrates.
The Grayson Marvel Boy remains active as an Agent of Atlas.
Wendell Vaughn
Wendell Vaughn, an agent in the Marvel Comics espionageEspionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
agency S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and a secret military law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 , it often deals with superhuman threats....
, became the 1970s Marvel Boy in Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
#217 (Jan. 1978) when he became bonded to the 1950s Quantum Bands. The bands had been remanded to S.H.I.E.L.D. after the events of The Fantastic Four #165, above, with Robert Grayson. His codename was quickly changed to Marvel Man as part of the agency's short-lived Super-Agent program. He changed it to Quasar
Quasar (comics)
Quasar is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the . He is one of Marvel's cosmic heroes, a character whose adventures frequently take him into outer space or other dimensions...
in The Incredible Hulk #234 (April 1979), and under that name teamed up with the Thing
Thing (comics)
The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
in Marvel Two-in-One
Marvel Two-in-One
Marvel Two-In-One was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics that featured the Fantastic Four member, the Thing, in a different team-up each issue with a different character. The series continued from the team-up stories starring the Thing in the final two issues of Marvel...
#53 (July 1979). After learning that the cosmic entity Eon
Eon (comics)
Eon is one of the fictional cosmic entities in Marvel Comics' universe.-Publication history:Eon was created by Jim Starlin, and first appeared in Captain Marvel #29 to proclaim Mar-Vell as the Protector of the Universe...
had intended to give the alien Quantum Bands to the Protector of the Universe, he accepted that role.
Vance Astrovik
Vance Astrovik was the 1980s Marvel Boy. He used the Marvel Boy codename for some time before being sent to prison in the pages of New WarriorsNew Warriors
The New Warriors is a Marvel Comics superhero team, traditionally consisting of young adult heroes. They first appeared in The Mighty Thor #411 .-General publication history:...
. He later adopted the codename Justice.
David Bank
David Bank is a mutantMutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
Universe, who can fly and project energy blasts. He first appeared in Justice: Four Balance #4 (1994). David Bank took on the name of Marvel Boy
Marvel Boy (David Bank)
Marvel Boy is a fictional character, a mutant in the Marvel Universe. He first appeared in Justice: Four Balance #4.-Fictional character biography:...
in the closing issue of a series featuring Vance Astrovik, the previous Marvel Boy.
Noh-Varr
While never using the name Marvel Boy, Noh-VarrNoh-Varr
Noh-Varr is a fictional character created by Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones and appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appears in Marvel Boy #1 . He appeared in the Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways and the New Avengers: Illuminati limited series...
was introduced in a 2000 miniseries
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
of that title by Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
and J.G. Jones. He is an alien of the pink-skinned Kree
Kree
The Kree, also known as the Ruul, are a scientifically and technologically advanced militaristic alien race in the fictional Marvel Universe. They are native to the planet Hala in the Large Magellanic Cloud...
species, although he hails from another reality. Upon arriving on Earth, he became an anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
styled after Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel (Marvel Comics)
Captain Marvel is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Most of these versions exist in Marvel's main shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe.- Publication history :...
but with elements of teenage rebellion added to the mix. In 2006 he appeared in the Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways
Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways
Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways is a comic book mini-series tie-in to Marvel Comics' Civil War crossover event. The series serves as a team-up between the characters from Young Avengers and Runaways. The series was written by Zeb Wells with art by Stefano Caselli...
mini-series and later in an issue of the Illuminati
Illuminati (Marvel Comics)
The Illuminati are a group of comic book superheroes who joined forces and secretly work behind the scenes in Marvel Comics' main shared universe. The group was formed very shortly after the Kree-Skrull War...
. Later on, Noh-Varr joined the Dark Avengers
Dark Avengers
Dark Avengers was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is part of a series of titles that have featured various iterations of the superhero team the Avengers...
, as Captain Marvel, alongside the Iron Patriot, Hawkeye
Bullseye (comics)
Bullseye is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe.A psychopathic assassin, Bullseye uses the opportunities afforded by his line of work to exercise his homicidal tendencies and to work out his own personal vendetta against Daredevil.Although he possesses no...
and others.
External links
- Marvel Boy (disambiguation) at the Marvel Universe
- Marvel Boy at the Marvel Database Project