Slightly Misplaced Comic Book Heroes Case File #220: Phyla

I mentioned that last week’s entry in this column, Genis-Vell, had a sister.  Her name is Phyla.

Her story is about as screwy as his is.

Yes, it seems that Mar-Vell had all kinds of kids after he died and without his knowledge.  Genis was a bit of a mess in that he went through three code names and at least two solo series before he disappeared.  Phyla…also went through three code names, but she hasn’t quite disappeared, so there’s that.  Phyla, like her brother, was the result of their mother Elysius of Titan using some of Mar-Vell’s genetic material to have a kid by him.  The thing is, Phyla was also the result of Genis restarting the universe at some point, creating some minor differences like the fact he suddenly had a baby sister he didn’t quite remember.  She, too, went by Captain Marvel, but probably for less time that Genis did, and mostly when he wasn’t using the name and may have been temporarily insane.

As it is, Phyla is probably the most forgettable of the various Captain Marvels from Marvel (there was that one guy from another publisher who could shoot his limbs and head off for some reason).  Her tenure with that title was pretty short.  No, her best known superhero codename may be her second where she became the new Quasar after original Quasar Wendell Vaughn was killed during the Annihilation story.  The first version of that story would end with Quasar’s quantum bands choosing Phyla as the new Protector of the Universe, and she’d even get a brief spin-off mini-series of her own during the Annihilation sequel.  Her most memorable period is probably when, as Quasar, she joined the new Guardians of the Galaxy.

Her second most remembered moment is probably when she started dating sometime-Avenger and daughter of Drax the Destroyer Moondragon.

Oh, I did mention she had a third codename.  That would be when she made a deal with an aspect of Death, a cosmic entity called Oblivion, and she got a lot rougher and ruder, taking on the name Martyr.  She died at least once before that was over, but it was a Marvel cosmic story, so she was just stuck inside the Soul Gem.

In fact, she seems to have returned with the latest version of the Infinity Wars and even joined the current Guardians of the Galaxy team.

So, she gets around, but only in the cosmic stuff.  That may put her a bit ahead of Genis, and possibly the original Quasar, too.

I have to cover Quasar now, don’t I?