fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

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'' ...

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include '' Man-Thing'', '' Omega the Unknown,'' '' Marvel Spotlig ...

Sal Buscema Sal Buscema (; ; born Silvio Buscema, January 26, 1936) is an American comics artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he enjoyed a ten-year run as artist of '' The Incredible Hulk'' and an eight-year run as artist of ''The Spectacular Spider-M ...

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...

Earth-691 Within Marvel Comics, most tales take place within the fictional Marvel Universe, which in turn is part of a larger multiverse. Starting with issues of ''Captain Britain'', the main continuity in which most Marvel storylines take place was des ...

timeline A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representi ...

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel 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 ...

Dan Adkins Danny L. AdkinsDanny L. Adkins
at the

Marvelmania Marvelmania International was comic-book publisher Marvel Comics' authorized but independently operated fan club from 1969 to 1971, which absorbed the Merry Marvel Marching Society begun in 1964. It included a six-issue fan magazine, ''Marvelmania ...

'', Marvel's in-house fanzine, and the first part of the unused story itself was printed in ''Marvelmania'' #6. Though the serialization was to continue in the next issue, the title was cancelled before that happened. The in-continuity Starhawk first appeared in a cameo appearance in '' The Defenders'' #27 (Sep 1975), with his first full appearance in '' The Defenders'' #28 (Oct 1975). The character was created by

Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include '' Man-Thing'', '' Omega the Unknown,'' '' Marvel Spotlig ...

and

Sal Buscema Sal Buscema (; ; born Silvio Buscema, January 26, 1936) is an American comics artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he enjoyed a ten-year run as artist of '' The Incredible Hulk'' and an eight-year run as artist of ''The Spectacular Spider-M ...

. It is unclear whether this Starhawk has any connection to the ''Marvel Super-Heroes'' character. Starhawk appeared along with the rest of the original Guardians of the Galaxy team in the 2014 series ''

Guardians 3000 Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

''. Writer

Dan Abnett Dan Abnett (born 12 October 1965) is an English comic book writer and novelist. He has been a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, sinc ...

described him as "the soul" of the team.

Fictional character biography

Origin

A male child was born to the superheroes Quasar and Kismet in about the year 2002 of the

Earth-691 Within Marvel Comics, most tales take place within the fictional Marvel Universe, which in turn is part of a larger multiverse. Starting with issues of ''Captain Britain'', the main continuity in which most Marvel storylines take place was des ...

timeline A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representi ...

. As such, he was half-

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

and half-artificially created being. Just as soon as he was born on the planet Vesper, he was kidnapped and deposited on the planet

Arcturus , - bgcolor="#FFFAFA" , Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, it is the third-brightest of the ...

IV. The baby was discovered by an Arcturan couple who were among the last of their planet's

mutants In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...

; for much of his life, Stakar would believe that these mutants were his birth parents. The mutants were found and slain by the Reavers of Arcturus, Arcturan military cadres dedicated to eradicating the mutants of their race. The Reaver Ogord discovered the infant and, assuming him to be a normal Arcturan, adopted the child and raised him as his own with his wife Salaan, naming the boy Stakar. Stakar cultivated an interest in

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

and explored ruins containing the Hawk God. Around the year 2020, he and his adoptive sister

Aleta Ogord Aleta Ogord, briefly also known as Starhawk, is a fictional character, a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted in a future of the Marvel Universe and is the adoptive sister of Starhawk. ...

reanimated the dormant deity and were physically transformed. They took turns occupying the same physical space, while the other stayed in a type of "limbo". They were given extraordinary power and left Arcturus IV for the stars; when dominant, Stakar adopted the costumed identity of Starhawk. Developing romantic feelings for one another, Stakar and Aleta petitioned the Hawk God to temporarily separate them. During this time, they had three children together: Sita, John and Tara. Upon receiving his power from the Hawk God, Starhawk identified himself and summarized his purpose by saying "I am the wisdom and the glory of your ancestors. I am the light and the giver of light. I am your heritage and your destiny! I am the POWER that was Arcturus!"

Guardians of the Galaxy

As an adventurer and protector, Starhawk revealed himself to the Guardians of the Galaxy and the

Defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: *Defense (military) *Defense (sports) **Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...

in the year 3014. He aided them in overthrowing the

Badoon The Badoon are a fictional reptilian alien species appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Badoon Exfulgence are notable for living under strict gender segregation, resulting in two separate societies; the Brotherhood of ...

occupation of Earth. Starhawk joined the Guardians of the Galaxy in a space mission, and helped defeat the

Topographical Man Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

. It is later revealed he manipulated events to bring the Guardians together; for example, when Charlie-27 teleported from Jupiter to escape the Badoon, Starhawk caused him to be transported to Pluto where he met Martinex. During this time, Stakar's three children (Tara, John and Sita) were changed into energy vampires by Aleta's father and sent to kill Stakar. They died of accelerated old age. Aleta thereafter blamed Stakar (rather than her father) for the deaths of their children, and their relationship never recovered. Starhawk teamed with the time-traveling

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

, and battled

Korvac Korvac is the name of a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appears in '' Giant-Size Defenders'' #3 (Jan. 1975) and was created by Steve Gerber and Jim Starlin. Publication history Michael K ...

and his Minions of Menace. Starhawk later traveled to the 1970s alongside his fellow Guardians, and assisted 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 ...

in battle against

Korvac Korvac is the name of a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appears in '' Giant-Size Defenders'' #3 (Jan. 1975) and was created by Steve Gerber and Jim Starlin. Publication history Michael K ...

. Alongside the Guardians, the

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

, Dargo, and Keeper, Starhawk battled manifestations of Korvac's power in various eras. In 3017, Starhawk accompanied the Guardians on a quest to find the lost

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

of

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 ...

. He battled

Taserface Taserface is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a supervillain and a recurring adversary of the original Guardians of the Galaxy. Taserface appears in several forms of media, such as the Ma ...

and the Stark, and was physically separated from Aleta in an accident. Aleta was the stronger of the pair, and Stakar forcibly reabsorbed her to sustain himself. The two struggled for dominance of their physical space, and Stakar metamorphosed into a 'dark' version of himself, projecting 'black light'. Because of Stakar's assault on their teammate, the Guardians chose to expel him from the team. Eventually, Aleta became dominant, and reverted Stakar's body to an infant state. Aware of his destiny, she sent him back in time to begin his life cycle again.

Freed from rebirth

When the Guardians traveled back in time to the 20th century of Earth-616, their native timeline was altered – to the extent that Starhawk had lived his entire life over again and was waiting for their arrival. Stakar and Aleta had harsh words for each other, and the Hawk God appeared and intervened, attaching the two ex-lovers by bonding their fingers together. After being forced to work together for a time, the Hawk God again granted them audience, allowing them to plead their cases. He separated them and allowed only Stakar to retain his power, while Aleta was given back her former power to manipulate light. Aleta then chose to stay with the Guardians, while the Hawk God told Stakar the truth about his ancestry. He then went on a quest to learn more. During this quest he found the wounded Silver Surfer, whom he healed and equipped his Quantum Bands for a short time. Eon then reveals to Stakar that his biological father Quasar once wore the bands. Starhawk is then consumed by Abrogate, a place where all former Quantum-Band wielders go after death. Quasar tells him about his lover and Stakar's mother Kismet. Stakar finds her alive and living in a secluded religious retreat on the planet Vesper.''Guardians of the Galaxy #62. Marvel Comics. After that, a creature who called himself Era, the son of

Eon Eon or Eons may refer to: Time * Aeon, an indefinite long period of time * Eon (geology), a division of the geologic time scale Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Eon, in the 2007 film '' Ben 10: Race Against Time'' * Eon, in the ...

, revealed himself. It admitted having kidnapped Stakar at birth, along with other vile deeds. With the encouragement of the Hawk God, Starhawk and Kismet dedicated themselves to locating and confronting Era.

Return

Using some technology from his timeline, Starhawk teleports himself into the 21st century of the Earth-616 timeline, to meet up with that era's equivalent of the

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...

on

Knowhere Knowhere (pronounced "no where") is a fictional location appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, and related media. It is depicted as the enormous severed head of an ancient celestial being, which serves as an interdimension ...

.

Vance Astro Vance Astro, born Vance Astrovik and going by the code name Major Victory, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as being from the Earth-691 timeline of the Marvel Univers ...

, aka Major Victory, was found by this new squad of Guardians, and Starhawk fights him before teleporting away.''Guardians of the Galaxy'' vol. 2, #3 (Sept. 2008). Marvel Comics. Starhawk again ventures to Knowhere, but this time appears as a woman. Claiming that there is not meant to be a Guardians of the Galaxy at this point in the timeline, and that Major Victory's appearance there has put the entire future in flux, she again attempts to kill Astro and the Guardians.''Guardians of the Galaxy'' vol. 2, #5 (Nov. 2008). Marvel Comics. She is detained by the Guardians,''Guardians of the Galaxy'' vol. 2, #6 (Dec. 2008). Marvel Comics. and held captive for a time, until

Moondragon Moondragon (Heather Douglas) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A powerful telepath, master martial artist, minor telekinetic and highly skilled geneticist, Moondragon's most notable characterist ...

released her.''Guardians of the Galaxy'' vol. 2, #15 (Aug. 2009). Marvel Comics. She discovers that the anomaly that is disturbing the time stream is not Astro or the Guardians, but instead

Black Bolt Black Bolt (Blackagar Boltagon) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appears in ''Fantastic Four'' #45 (December 1965). Black Bolt is the ...

activating a bomb that will cause time and space to collapse. Starhawk sacrifices her life to save the Guardians, and instructs

Star-Lord Star-Lord (Peter Jason Quill) is a fictional character and superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan, first appeared in '' Marvel Preview'' #4 (January 197 ...

to stop Black Bolt, at any cost.''Guardians of the Galaxy'' vol. 2, #16 (Sept. 2009). Marvel Comics.

Powers and abilities

The true extent of Starhawk's powers is unknown, but they are said to be immense in nature. He has an incredibly long lifespan, possibly inherited from his mother or due to his empowerment by the Hawk God. Starhawk can manipulate light to create concussive force blasts of

photon A photon () is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Photons are massless, so they always ...

ic energy, heat, and solid-light constructs. He can also fly at the speed of light by tapping anti-gravitons, and survive in the vacuum of space. By tapping into Aleta's powers (when merged with her), he can also generate solid constructs of light; it is unknown if he can do so since their separation. His natural senses, especially eyesight, are enhanced to a superhuman degree; in addition, his powers give him extrasensory sensitivity to energy patterns and fluctuations in his environment, and he can track energy trails across intergalactic distances. He has superhuman strength and durability, and he can enhance these further by reinforcing his body with light energy; on one occasion, he was able to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the thunder god

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

. He has an immunity to most known diseases and radiation sickness. He seemingly has

precognition Precognition (from the Latin 'before', and 'acquiring knowledge') is the purported psychic phenomenon of seeing, or otherwise becoming directly aware of, events in the future. There is no accepted scientific evidence that precognition is a ...

, designating himself as "One-Who-Knows", but this is actually an effect of remembering what happened in his previous life cycle. However, due to Starhawk's efforts to change events for the better in each cycle, as well as the manipulations of beings with greater understanding of the universe (such as

Mephisto Mephisto or Mephistopheles is one of the chief demons of German literary tradition. Mephisto or Mephistopheles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Méphisto'', a 1931 French film * Mephisto (1981 film), ''Mephisto'' (1981 film), a German- ...

), these memories can become unreliable; the overall thrust of events may be the same, but vital details might differ from his previous incarnation. When he forced Aleta to re-merge with him after their second separation, Starhawk's power changed from light to dark, and he was able to create constructs out of solid darkness, and fire blasts of shadowy force. Valentino had initially decided to call him

Shadowhawk ShadowHawk is a fictional antihero created by Jim Valentino. He was first advertised in the ''Malibu Sun'' free promotional magazine in May of 1992. His official Image Comics debut was in the second issue of Rob Liefeld's '' Youngblood'' serie ...

, but

Tom DeFalco Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comic book writer and editor well known for his association with Marvel Comics, with long runs on ''Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thor'', and ''Fantastic Four''. Career While in college, DeFalco "wrote fo ...

convinced him to save the name for a brand new character. Stakar has knowledge of the archaeology of the planet Arcturus IV. He also has extensive knowledge of various civilizations throughout the Milky Way Galaxy. His costume is made of alien materials, including a retracting transparent facemask and life support system, and retractable solar wind collector wings.

In other media

Film

*

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

portrays Stakar Ogord / Starhawk in live-action

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

film ''

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ' ...

''. This version is the leader of a faction of space pirates called the Ravagers and is acquainted with

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 ...

, having saved him from being a

Kree The Kree, briefly known as the Ruul, are a fictional scientifically and technologically advanced militaristic alien race appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are native to the planet Hala in the Large Magellanic Cl ...

slave. Stakar and his second Martinex T'Naga run into Yondu on the planet Contraxia, where they remind him he is in exile for breaking the Ravagers' code of never trafficking children. After learning Yondu had sacrificed himself to save

Peter Quill Star-Lord (Peter Jason Quill) is a fictional character and superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan, first appeared in ''Marvel Preview'' #4 (January 1976) ...

, the Ravagers attend the former's funeral in his honor. In a mid-credits scene, Stakar and Martinex reunite with their old teammates

Charlie-27 Captain Charlie-27 is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character usually appears in the Earth-691 timeline of the Marvel Universe as a member of the original 31st century incarnation of the tea ...

,

Aleta Ogord Aleta Ogord, briefly also known as Starhawk, is a fictional character, a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted in a future of the Marvel Universe and is the adoptive sister of Starhawk. ...

, Mainframe, and

Krugarr Kaecilius Elloe Kaifi Kala Jennifer Kale Noble Kale Kaluu Kamikaze Kamran Kamran is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by G. Willow Wilson and Takeshi Miyazawa and fi ...

in Yondu's memory. * Stallone will reprise his role in '' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3''.

Video games

* Starhawk appears as a playable character in the video game ''

Lego Marvel Superheroes 2 ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure game, action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xb ...

'' via DLC. His comic book counterpart is part of the "Classic Guardians of the Galaxy" DLC pack, while his MCU incarnation is included in the "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" DLC pack.

Publication history