Mar-Vell
Mar-Vell is a male comic alien superhero who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Mar-Vell was a male pink skinned member of the Kree race who was born on Kree-Lar in the city of Rad-Nam. (Captain Marvel v1 #15) Mar-Vell’s father was said to had been a starship designer. (Untold Legend of Captain Marvel v1 #3) At a young age, his mother took him to the Third Noreastern Regional Military Academy that was to be his new home. This was because Kree had an expectation for their young to become a value to society and at a certain age they went through extensive military training which was seen as a path to adulthood. Mar-Vell’s mother thus ended her time in protecting and nurturing her son whilst she went to assist his father as a military liaison on the light-speed project. (Untold Legend of Captain Marvel v1 #2) His mother and father both died during his fathers first experiments in surpassing the speed of light. (Captain Marvel v1 #11) He joined the Colonial Vanguard where he served under Captain Prama and participated in battle on 3rd moon of Yelenta-V where they protected an Omni-Wave Projector from the Skrulls. (Chaos War: Dead Avengers v1 #2) He participated in the war of control for satellite galaxy NGC 205 between the Kree and the Skrulls where Mar-Vell earned a reputation as a battle hero that was spoken of as a fierce as well as valorous warrior among the Skrulls war annals. (Captain Marvel v1 #2) Such was his reputation that he was regarded as a famed war hero who was decorated with medals on three separate occasions. Despite that, he was noted for sometimes now following orders and engage in acts that his superiors felt were unproductive. One such mission saw him being deployed to the Kree world Tarsis located in the outer rim of the Greater Magellanic Cloud that was under attack from Galactus whose Herald the Silver Surfer brought his master to feed on the world. The planet contained an Intelligence Matrix that was collecting vital data on the world devourer with the mission being to recover it. They managed to recover the machine but were hit during their attempt at leaving the planet leading to the device along with Ran-Deff falling from the craft. Mar-Vell decided to save his subordinate rather than the Matrix which was destroyed as the world was consumed by Galactus. Afterwards, Captain Mar-Vell received a reprimand from his superior General Hez-Tarr with him being assigned to join an elite force on the Imperial Cruiser Pama under the command of Commander Zen-Pram. Whilst there, he was introduced to the ships second-in-command Colonel Yon-Rogg and the vessels medical officer Una. He was later briefed on their classified mission which was to find Grand Admiral Devros of the High Command who had gone missing in the Absolom Sector. Due to his ranking, he was deemed an important figure who had secrets of the empire which it could not afford to fall in the hands of enemies. Thus, under cloak, the ship was to rescue or terminate Devros with this mission being assigned by Prime Minister Zarek along with the Supreme Intelligence. During transit, they discovered a Shi'ar vessel under attack from Skrull warsaucers with Mar-Vell advocating them intervening to save the lone ship as the Shi'ar empire were allies of the Kree. He then led a squad in defence of the ship from Skrull boarders where he worked alongside the Imperial Guard who were protecting Regent Deathbird. (Untold Legend of Captain Marvel v1 #1) Afterwards, he came to learn that the threat that had taken Devros was the Brood who resided in that sector of space. Upon arriving on the planet, the Kree Outrider Party were ambushed by the Brood with a surprise attack from Devros revealing that the Grand Admiral had been infected leading to him transforming into one of the parasitic race. He stated that he had formed an alliance with the Brood as he came to believe that the parasitic species had a means of ensuring the Kree’s evolution into superior beings. Thus, after capturing the Kree forces, he had them infected with Brood eggs whilst intending to claim their vessel so that they could similarly infest the rest of the Kree empire. Mar-Vell managed to break the bonds holding him and killed the Queen-Mother whereupon he escaped with Medic Una. However, their bodies had been infested with Brood eggs leading to their slow transformation into one of the parasitic creatures. (Untold Legend of Captain Marvel v1 #2) Together, they worked to stop Devros where in a brief tender moment he and medic Una kissed. They infiltrated the Kree ship where Una was to find a way of preventing the Brood eggs in them from hatching whilst he worked to stop the Brood from escaping the planet. He ended up killing his Commander Zen-Pram who fully transformed into one of those parasites. This led to a confrontation with Devros where he successfully killed the Brood King. Mar-Vell then succumbed to his own transformation with him attacking Una but she managed to use the Omni-Wave Projector to kill the Brood eggs in him thus returning to normal. He then rescued Yon-Rogg and returned him to normal where the three escaped the planet after destroying the Brood on the surface. (Untold Legend of Captain Marvel v1 #3)
Upon arriving in the system, Yon-Rogg had Mar-Vell administered a breathing potion by Una and sent to Earth. (Marvel Super-Heroes v1 #12)
In a failed attempt on Mar-Vell's life, a plane piloted by Walter Lawson crashed and he was killed. The Kree officer found the remains and later began to use the identity as a human disguise whilst he was on Earth and be in a better to study Earth humans' progress towards developing means of space travel. While posing as Dr. Lawson, Mar-Vell first met the Cape's security chief, Carol Danvers, for whom he developed a special concern that, in time, caused him to experience love for her. Meanwhile, Kree Sentry #459, which the Fantastic Four had defeated, had been brought to the Cape for study, and Yon-Rogg, hoping that it would destroy Mar-Vell, re-activated it from his starship. Mar-Vell publicly appeared in his green Kree helmet and green-trimmed sky blue uniform to fight the Sentry, which he succeeded in defeating. Onlookers, hearing the Sentry call him by name, believed him to be a new Earth-born superhuman adventurer named Captain Marvel and acclaimed him as a hero. (Marvel Super-Heroes v1 #13)
Before he could be executed, the Aakon attacked the Kree forcing Yon-Rogg to devote his forces to fight them. During the crossfire, Una was struck with a stray shot and mortally wounded with a furious Mar-Vell fighting Yon-Rogg. He then escaped with Una where he took the rocketship at the Cape and fled into space but his love died in the journey with him burying her on a distant world. Now a fugitive from the Kree and Earth, he attempted to escape into deep space but the rocketship was intercepted by Yon-Rogg's vessel. The Kree commander used an energy tether to send the rocket spiralling at high speeds from which it could not escape with the idea that Mar-Vell would be trapped forever in this state and die from starvation. However, around 112 days, the ship was stopped by the mysterious who offered him great power in exchange for Mar-Vell's service with him intending to use his new abilities to get revenge against Yon-Rogg who he blamed for the death of Una. (Captain Marvel v1 #11)
Captain Marvel
He was then escorted by the Super-Sentry to the Supreme Intelligence who revealed that much of his actions had been part of the machinations of Imperial Minister Zarek. Alongside Ronan, the two conspired with Yon-Rogg to topple the Supremor and place themselves as the new leaders of the empire. Upon being exposed, Zarek attempted to use a Negation Sphere to destroy the Supreme Intelligence and escaped with Ronan but their weapon was neutralised with them being captured by guards. Mar-Vell was praised for his loyalty to the empire and was to rewarded whilst the Supreme Intelligence then considered sending a hyperspace bolt to destroy Yon-Rogg's vessel above Earth. However, such an act would destroy the planet with Mar-Vell begging the Supremor to spare the world. He then asked his reward be the planet being spared with the Supremor agreeing as his word was his bond. The computer intelligence then decided to empower Mar-Vell with the Nega-Bands but was informed that he could never rise from the position of captain in the Kree military. He then departed but during this moment he was pulled into the anti-cosmos of the Negative Zone. (Captain Marvel v1 #16)
Next, the Supreme Intelligence secretly enabled Mar-Vell to make telepathic contact with Rick Jones, a youth who had previously been a companion to the Hulk, Captain America, and the original Avengers. At the time, Jones was attempting to replace James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes as Captain America's partner, even going so far as to wear a duplication of Barnes's special outfit as Bucky. He then did not know that Captain America's greatest enemy, the Red Skull, had recently employed a Cosmic Cube to transpose his and the real Captain America's minds into each other's bodies. The Red Skull, in Captain America's body, gave Jones a brush-off that angered the youth, and he abandoned Avengers Mansion in a huff. It was then that Mar-Vell's image, disguised as Captain America's, lured Jones to a hidden and abandoned Kree base on Earth, where he had Jones slip on a pair of Nega-Bands around his wrists; owing to their unique properties, the bands promptly shrank to fit Jones's wrists, for which, up to then, they had been too large. Mar-Vell then appeared to Jones in his true form and had Jones strike the nega-bands together above his own head. The result of Jones doing so was that he and Mar-Vell exchanged places: Mar-Vell was instantly teleported to Earth, and Jones, his body surrounded by a protective aura that allowed him to survive, was just as instantly teleported into the Negative Zone. As long as they wore the bands, Mar-Vell and Jones were in total telepathic contact; thus, the Supreme Intelligence had created the psychic link it sought between an Earth human and a pink Kree. The nega-bands remained on Earth on the wrists of whichever of the two, Mar-Vell or Jones, was on Earth at the time. Hence Mar-Vell could return to the Negative Zone by striking the bands together above his own head, thereby returning Jones to Earth. Mar-Vell soon discovered that he could only remain on Earth for brief periods of time; if he stayed a total of three hours or used enough energy to consume three hours, he and Jones would exchange places automatically. This meant that it was Jones who spent most of the time on Earth. However, he was usually willing to exchange places with Mar-Vell at intervals. (Captain Marvel v1 #17)
Soon after becoming linked with Jones, Mar-Vell confronted Yon-Rogg, who had abducted Carol Danvers as a hostage to use against him. Mar-Vell defeated Yon-Rogg, who died when a nearby Kree device exploded. But in the course of this fight, Danvers was bombarded with radiation from a Kree Psyche-Magnetron, which caused her to develop a half-Kree physiology that was similar to Mar-Vell's own; using the super-human powers she had accidentally acquired by this means, Danvers later became the first costumed adventurer known as Ms. Marvel. (Captain Marvel v1 #18)
During the short encounter, Anelle became pregnant with Mar-Vell's child who she then send away to Earth for his own safety as he was hidden from everyone and given the identity of Theodore Altman. (Young Avengers v1 #11) Mar-Vell’s former lover Elysius was distraught after his death and came to access his genetic material in the Titan computer ISAAC. From there, she became pregnant with his child named Genis-Vell who was raised unaware of his heritage and under the mistaken belief that Eros was his father. The boy was grown to adolescence and implanted false memories of his childhood in order to better protect him from his fathers enemies as he came to grow up on the planet Paraxis. (Silver Surfer Annual v1 #6) Elysius later used the same process to give birth to another child of Mar-Vell with this being Genis’s younger sister Phyla-Vell. (Captain Marvel v5 #17)
Legacy
Following his death, Mar-Vell was said to had entered the Etherplex that was the Kree afterlife that was governed by the Sublime Intelligence. (Chaos War: Dead Avengers v1 #1) Later on, a Skrull warrior named Khn'nr who served Queen Veranke came to be among the soldiers recruited for the Secret Invasion of Earth. He was noted to had volunteered for the infiltration mission where he was to be modelled and given the personality of Mar-Vell where he was to pretend to be the hero resurrected. However, the deeply-seated encoding program resulted in an error where the Skrull genuinely believed he was the real Mar-Vell and that he had survived his cancer. After breaking free, he went to Earth where he resumed becoming Captain Marvel whilst attempting to escape the Skrulls attempts at capturing him. (Captain Marvel v6 #5)
During the Chaos War, the Chaos King Amatsu-Mikaboshi looked to eliminate all of reality and started by destroying the various pantheons of the gods. This saw the dead being brought back to life which included Mar-Vell who used his cosmic awarenss to understand the nature of current events. Alongside other deceased heroes, the group looked to stop the danger posed by the Chaos King. (Chaos War: Dead Avengers v1 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Though he followed the path of the warrior, he stated that he did not crave bloodshed or war. (Untold Legend of Captain Marvel v1 #3)
After leaving for the academy, his father regularly sent him ship schematics which he studied as a way of staying close to him. This resulted in Mar-Vell being intimately familiar with the internal designs of Kree spacecrafts. (Untold Legend of Captain Marvel v1 #3)
From Anelle, he had a son he never knew existed who grew up to be the Earth superhero named Hulkling. (Young Avengers v1 #11)
Powers and abilities
As a Kree, his home galaxy had gravity that was far stronger than that of Earth which meant that he had a freedom of movement and sheer physical strength that was many times greater than humans. (Marvel Super-Heroes v1 #12)
Dr. Benjamin Savannah's radiation treatment of Rick Jones had altered Mar-Vell's genetic structure, giving him the ability to absorb energy from outside sources, especially solar energy, and metabolize it back, convert, and manipulate it for a variety of uses. (Captain Marvel v1 #22)
After encountering Eon, he developed the power of cosmic awareness allowing to learn any knowledge in the universe. (Captain Marvel v1 #30)
He wore a protective helmet and battle suit that offered him a number of facilities to him. This contained its own radiation factor that could be detected by sensors or effect sensitive guidance systems. Mar-Vell was later outfitted with a wrist monitor that allowed him to be contacted by his superiors when he served the Kree empire. A weapon he had in his possession was the universal beam blaster that was an all-purpose weapon which had a safety setting and could be set for a wide-angle coverage. The beam could fire a black light which could blind targets and leave them stumbling in pitch darkness. (Marvel Super-Heroes v1 #2)
He could use the photonic Uni-Beam to fire carefully controlled light-blasts that could solidify targets that were out of phase and immobilise such enemies. (Avengers v1 #89)
A skill initially utilized through use of his Nega-Bands, he came to realize he could heal himself through his natural ability to absorb and metabolize solar energy. (Captain Marvel v1 #43) Using the Nega-Bands, he could redistribute absorbed photon power to heal as well as reinvigorate others. (Captain Marvel v1 #58)
Kree training was meant to allow him to master any Earthian invention though more advanced technology from scientists such as Reed Richards was beyond his knowledge. (Avengers v1 #89)
Notes
- Mar-Vell was created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan where he made his first appearance in Marvel Super-Heroes v1 #12 (December, 1967).
Alternate Versions
- In Ultimate Secret v1 #1 (2005), an alternate version of the character named Mahr Vehl who inhabited the Ultimate Marvel universe designated as Earth-1616.
- In Thanos Imperative: Ignition v1 #1 (2010), an alternate version of Mar-Vell first appearance in a reality designated as Earth-10011 which became part of the Cancerverse. This version went through a similar life as the mainstream version except in his dying moments he wished for anything to save him from the cancer that was claiming his body. His pleas were heard by the multiversal demons known as the Many-Angled Ones who invaded his Earth and consumed it whereupon its inhabitants were transformed into demonic monstrous servants. He himself was transformed into the prime agent of the Cancerverse known as Lord Mar-Vell who sought to open the doorway to other universes for his masters to consume leading to an invasion of Earth-616 when the Terrigen Bomb caused a tear between realities.
In other media
Television
- In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Mar-Vell made a number of appearances in the animated series where he was visually based on Mahr Vehl and was voiced by actor Roger Craig Smith.
Films
- In Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell appeared in the live-action film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where this version was a female that was portrayed by actor Annette Bening. She was shown as being a Kree scientist who wanted to find a peaceful resolution to the Kree/Skrull War as she recognised that her race were persecuting the Skrulls. Thus, she took a Kree Imperial Cruiser and went in orbit around Earth where she worked to create a light-speed engine able to reach anywhere in the universe. Upon arriving on Earth, she took the identity of Dr. Wendy Lawson and came to work at Project PEGASUS with her gaining access to the Tesseract. During this time, she met two test pilots named Maria Rambeau and Carol Danvers who helped test craft with the experimental engines. On one such flight, she was a passenger whilst Danvers was the pilot and intended to access her laboratory in orbit. It was during this time that the Kree came to learn of her research and attacked in order to forcibly claim the research. This caused her craft to crash and expose Mar-Vell's true identity to her protégé Carol Danvers with her intending to destroy the engine to prevent its recovery by her people only for Yon-Rogg to kill her.
Video games
- In Marvel: Ultimate Alliace, Mar-Vell appeared as an alternate costume for Genis-Vell in the PSP version of video game where he was voiced by actor Roger Rose.
- In Marvel Heroes, Mar-Vell appeared as an enhanced costume for Ms. Marvel in the setting of the MMORPG video game.
Appearances
- Marvel Super-Heroes v1: (1967)
- Captain Marvel v1:
- Avengers v1:
- Untold Legend of Captain Marvel v1:
- Chaos War: Dead Avengers v1:
- Thanos Imperative v1:
- Secret Avengers v1:
External Links
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