Captain Charlie-27 is a fictional character appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
Marvel Comics. The character usually appears in the
Earth-691 timeline of the
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...
as a member of the original 31st century incarnation of the team known as the
Guardians of the Galaxy.
Charlie-27 first appeared in ''
Marvel Super-Heroes'' #18 (Jan. 1969). Writer
Dan Abnett described him as "the heart" of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The character was portrayed by actor
Ving Rhames in the 2017
Marvel Cinematic Universe film ''
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2''.
Publication history
Charlie-27 first appeared in ''
Marvel Super-Heroes'' #18 (Jan. 1969). According to
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...
, all of the original Guardians of the Galaxy were created in a conference between
Arnold Drake and
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
, but it remains uncertain whether each individual character was created by Drake, Lee, or both.
The team was featured in several Marvel titles: ''
Marvel Two-In-One'' #4-5 (July-Sept. 1974), ''
Giant Size Defenders'' #5, and ''The Defenders'' #26-29 (July-Nov. 1975), and writer
Steve Gerber included the character when he revived the team in ''
Marvel Presents'' #3-#12 (Feb. 1976-Aug. 1977).
Charlie-27 is a recurring character in the 1990s ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' series and appeared along with the rest of the original Guardians of the Galaxy team in the 2014 series ''
Guardians 3000''.
He was also one of the characters featured in the 2016 ''
Guardians of Infinity'' series.
Fictional character biography
Charlie-27 is a soldier and space militia pilot, genetically engineered to live in
Jupiter's gravity, born in Galileo City, Jupiter. As such, he has eleven times the muscle mass of a normal human. He was also a captain in the United Lands of Earth Space Militia.
In the year 3007, he returns from a six-month space mission to find his city taken over by the
Badoon. He hears a Badoon mention he is the last surviving Jovian, so he escapes in a teleporting pod to Pluto. Unknown to him,
Starhawk had keyed in the location. He joins forces with
Martinex, the only survivor of Pluto. The two go to Earth using the telepod and meet
Yondu and
Vance Astro to form the
Guardians of the Galaxy, a band of freedom fighters. In 3014, he teams with the time-traveling
Thing,
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
, and
Sharon Carter to retake New York City from Badoon forces. He later time-travels to the 20th century, and meets the
Defenders. He returns to 3015 with Starhawk and the Defenders to defeat a Badoon invasion force.
Charlie-27 departs post-war Earth on a space mission and meets
Nikki, who joins the Guardians of the Galaxy. He then visits the Asylum planet and helps defeat the Topographical Man. Charlie learns how the
Silver Surfer repulsed the original Badoon invasion in the 20th century. He meets
Aleta Ogord and learns the origin of Starhawk. Charlie then discovers the space station ''Drydock''. The Guardians use it as a base of operations.
Charlie teams with the time-traveling
Thor to battle
Korvac and his minions. With the Guardians of the Galaxy, Charlie-27 pursues Korvac to the present. He meets the
Avengers
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
**Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...
, who saved the life of a young
Vance Astrovik. Charlie assists the Avengers in battling Korvac. He attends an Avengers membership meeting but leaves early. Charlie battles the Thing to prevent the meeting of Vance Astro's 20th and 31st century selves. With the Guardians, he then returns to the 31st century.
Charlie and the Guardians go on a quest to find the lost
shield of Captain America. He battles
Taserface and the Stark. He encounters
Firelord and defeats the Stark. He battles the superhuman team
Force
In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a p ...
. He encounters
Malevolence. He locates Haven, a lost colony of Earth founded by
mutants. He battles
Rancor and her lieutenants.
Charlie's romantic relationship with fellow Guardian Nikki is broken up. They still remain friends.
Charlie-27 becomes involved in the
Infinity War
''Avengers: Infinity War'' is a 2018 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to '' The Avengers'' ( ...
. He and his team save Avengers Mansion from an invasion by the
Masters of Evil. Both teams fight evil doppelgangers of themselves sent by the
Magus.
Rita DeMara earns his friendship by performing an impromptu surgery with her stings on a massive internal blood-clot, saving his life.
As with the rest of the team, Charlie becomes lost in space and time.
Powers and abilities
Charlie-27 is a member of a genetically engineered offshoot of humanity whose traits were designed for survival under the heavy gravity conditions of the planet Jupiter. As such, he has superhuman strength, and enhanced durability and stamina.
Charlie is trained in hand-to-hand combat as a militiaman. He also has the ability to pilot most air and spacecraft of the 31st century, including the Guardians' starships such as the ''
Freedom's Lady'', ''Captain America I'', and ''Captain America II''.
Reception
Lucas Siegel of
Newsarama opined Charlie-27 as the clear inspiration for ''
X-Men: The Last Stand'' version of
Juggernaut
A juggernaut (), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originated in the mid-nineteenth century and was adapted from the Sanskrit word Jagannath.
...
.
In other media
Charlie-27 appears in the live-action
Marvel Cinematic Universe film ''
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'', portrayed by
Ving Rhames.
This version is a member of a group of
space pirates called the
Ravagers. After attending
Yondu Udonta
Yondu Udonta, or simply Yondu (), is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original version of the character is depicted as the last survivor of his species in the 31st century, and is a founding ...
's funeral with the other Ravagers, Charlie-27 later appears in a mid-credits scene in which he interacts with members of Udonta's original team.
References
External links
Charlie-27at Marvel Wiki
{{Guardians of the Galaxy
Characters created by Arnold Drake
Characters created by Gene Colan
Comics characters introduced in 1969
Fictional characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability
Fictional genetically engineered characters
Fictional military captains
Fiction set on Jupiter
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength
Marvel Comics military personnel
Marvel Comics superheroes
Superhero film characters