Vance Astro
Encyclopedia
Vance Astro, born Vance Astrovik and going by the nickname Major Victory, is a fictional character
, a Marvel Comics
superhero
from the Earth-691
timeline of the Marvel Universe
.
, New York, the only son of a small-town butcher Arnold Astrovik and his wife Norma. Going into the U.S. Air Force at the age of 18, Astrovik (who changed his name to Astro when he was 21) became the youngest man to be accepted into the astronaut
training program several years later. In 1988, Astro volunteered for the first manned interstellar mission ever conducted by the United States, Project: Starjump.
His ship, Odysseus I, was not equipped for faster-than-light speed; hence the journey to Earth's nearest interstellar neighbor, a planet in the Alpha Centauri
system, would take about 10 centuries. To protect him from aging, Astro was covered with a skin-preserving copper alloy (which was upgraded with adamantium in the Guardians of the Galaxy series) body-suit, and his blood was transfused with a kind of preservative fluid. Astro was launched into space from the Houston Airport in the fall of 1988.
While on his way to Alpha Centauri, the ship automatically awoke him from his suspended animation in order for him to perform routine course adjustments. During the periods he was awake, sometimes for a year in duration, Astro eventually went insane from loneliness on several occasions, returning to a semblance of normality only after the ship automatically put him back in suspended animation again. During his long periods of sustained dream-state activities, Astro's latent psionic powers emerged. By the time he arrived on Centauri IV almost a thousand years later, he had full control over his psychokinetic abilities.
, one of the humanoid natives of the planet, who attacked him, but he stopped it. He kept this secret, as it was illegal for this species to attack a colonist. When the alien Badoon launched an attack on Centauri IV, annihilating the human colony and methodically eradicating the natives, Astro and Yondu attempted to escape in Astro's ship. They were overtaken and transported to Earth, where the Badoon Leader used a device to look through Astro's mind and see his origin. There they escaped in the year 3007 A.D. and joined with two other survivors of Badoon's massacre, the last Jovian Charlie-27
and the last Plutonian Martinex
to form the Guardians of the Galaxy, with himself as the leader. After liberating Earth, the Guardians set out on a random course across the galaxy, in the hopes of safeguarding freedom everywhere, and fight the Badoon conquest of Earth's solar system. It is later revealed Strahawk manipulated events to bring them together.
. The Guardians returned to 3015 A.D. with Starhawk
and the Defenders to defeat a new Badoon invasion force.
Later, Astro and the Guardians teamed with the time-traveling Thor
. They battled Korvac
and his Minions of Menace. Astro then traveled to the present alongside his fellow Guardians, and assisted the Avengers
in battle against Korvac.
Years later, on a trip to the present-day Marvel Universe
, Astro encountered his younger self and convinced him not to join the USAF. He also accidentally awoke the younger Vance's telekinetic powers, ensuring the divergence. The younger Vance Astrovik would later join the New Warriors
, first as Marvel Boy, then as Justice, and eventually became a member of the Avengers for a short time. (Because all of the Guardians of the Galaxy are honorary Avengers, Vance holds the distinction of being the only Avenger to appear twice in the roster—as himself, and as Justice.)
after she was freed from her physical merger with her ex-husband Starhawk
. Astro went on a quest to find the lost shield
of Captain America
. He battled Taserface and the Stark
during the quest, and defeated the Stark. Then, after retrieving Captain America's shield, he was critically injured in a battle with a gang that based themselves on the Punisher
. Vance was healed by Krugarr, Doctor Strange
's former apprentice and the current Sorcerer Supreme, and was freed from his containment suit. He then adopted a costume similar to that of Captain America to go with the shield and took the name Major Victory.
Shortly thereafter, Krugarr's enchantment was removed, and Vance began to age rapidly. He was saved by a symbiotic costume, seemingly of the same species as Venom
. However, it was later determined that it was not actually a life form, but engineered to respond to the wearer's biological state.
. Mantis confirms to Star Lord that Astro has been temporally displaced. The Guardians are then attacked by the Cardinals of the Universal Church of Truth
.
Vance later joined this incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy and helps to rescue Peter Quill from Blastaar
. He later joins Rocket Raccoon
's team on their mission to stop the War of Kings
. After Adam Warlock loses control and becomes Magus, Vance is killed when his shield is thrown back at him by Magus, opening his suit up and causing him to age rapidly. However, he is later seen to be alive, but in suspended animation and a prisoner of the Magus, along with Mantis, Phyla-Vell, Cosmo and Gamora. He later breaks free with the other Guardians excluding Phyla-Vell -apparently slain by the revived Thanos-, reuniting with the other half of the team. After Thanos is incapacitated by Star Lord, Major Victory and all the other Guardians reunite in Knowhere. It's also revealed, during a council of the Guardians of All Galaxies -that reunites the Guardians of the whole Multiverse- that the Major Victory currently in Earth 616 is a time displaced one from an alternate, unidentified dimension. During this council other three Major Victory appear: one identical to Earth-616 one with the original uniform, another with the symbiotic outfit of 1994-1995 and finally another with the pre-symbiotic costume appearance and the Captain America's themed uniform.
who possesses the psionic ability of psychokinesis
, the ability to affect matter with his mind. For some reason, Vance's psionic powers can only be manifested as "psyche-blasts", focused psychokinetic blasts of explosive concussive force, which can disrupt the synapses in the minds of any living being they strike. He can focus the energy at will, creating anything from a narrow 2 inches (50.8 mm) beam to a 360 degree expanding sphere of force. Vance has eventually shown some marginal improvement of the control of his psychokinesis, such as generating small psionic pulses to slow the descent of falling people, or gentle psychic bursts to move objects forwards or backwards (all without inflicting any damage on the people or objects). Vance can only employ his psionic powers at maximum exertion for about a half hour before suffering mental fatigue and a need to replenish his store of psionic energy. He was once forced to wear a copper alloy bodysuit to prevent his body from decaying on exposure to air. During the time when he carried Captain America's shield in combat, he would use his power to propel the shield and manipulate its flight path, simulating the Captain's use of the shield as a throwing weapon. All of these abilities were augmented by a transfusion of Hollywood's (a 1,000 year old Simon Williams
) ionically-enhanced blood. Vance's dependency on his suit was cured by a spell by Krugarr and the blood transfusion from Hollywood.
Astro is an above average athlete and an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, having received unarmed combat training in the U.S. Air Force circa 20th Century. Vance is also an excellent starship pilot and astronaut, and a superb leader and strategist.
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...
, a 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...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
from the Earth-691
Earth-691
In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth 691 or Earth-691 is the name used to identify a secondary continuity inhabited by Killraven and the original Guardians of the Galaxy.-Overview:...
timeline of the Marvel 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...
.
Publication history
Vance Astro first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes vol.1 #18 as a founding member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and since 2008 appears in the comic book Guardians of the Galaxy.Project: Starjump
Vance Astrovik was born in SaugertiesSaugerties (town), New York
Saugerties is a town in Ulster County, New York, USA. The population was 19,482 at the 2000 census. The Town of Saugerties contains the Village of Saugerties. The town is in the northeast corner of Ulster County....
, New York, the only son of a small-town butcher Arnold Astrovik and his wife Norma. Going into the U.S. Air Force at the age of 18, Astrovik (who changed his name to Astro when he was 21) became the youngest man to be accepted into the astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
training program several years later. In 1988, Astro volunteered for the first manned interstellar mission ever conducted by the United States, Project: Starjump.
His ship, Odysseus I, was not equipped for faster-than-light speed; hence the journey to Earth's nearest interstellar neighbor, a planet in the Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Centaurus...
system, would take about 10 centuries. To protect him from aging, Astro was covered with a skin-preserving copper alloy (which was upgraded with adamantium in the Guardians of the Galaxy series) body-suit, and his blood was transfused with a kind of preservative fluid. Astro was launched into space from the Houston Airport in the fall of 1988.
While on his way to Alpha Centauri, the ship automatically awoke him from his suspended animation in order for him to perform routine course adjustments. During the periods he was awake, sometimes for a year in duration, Astro eventually went insane from loneliness on several occasions, returning to a semblance of normality only after the ship automatically put him back in suspended animation again. During his long periods of sustained dream-state activities, Astro's latent psionic powers emerged. By the time he arrived on Centauri IV almost a thousand years later, he had full control over his psychokinetic abilities.
Arrival at Centauri IV and formation of the Guardians
Upon arrival, Astro learned that Earth had beaten him to Centauri IV by two hundred years, having developed a faster-than-light drive since the time he left. Although Earth was unable to intercept his flight, the Centaurian people afforded him a hero's welcome. Disturbed by his reputation, Astro was determined to carry out the mission to categorize the plant life he was assigned a millennium ago, even though it would now be superfluous. While engaged in a geophysical survey, he encountered YonduYondu
Yondu is a fictional superhero in the future of the Marvel Comics universe, and a founding member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.-Fictional character biography:...
, one of the humanoid natives of the planet, who attacked him, but he stopped it. He kept this secret, as it was illegal for this species to attack a colonist. When the alien Badoon launched an attack on Centauri IV, annihilating the human colony and methodically eradicating the natives, Astro and Yondu attempted to escape in Astro's ship. They were overtaken and transported to Earth, where the Badoon Leader used a device to look through Astro's mind and see his origin. There they escaped in the year 3007 A.D. and joined with two other survivors of Badoon's massacre, the last Jovian Charlie-27
Charlie-27
Captain Charlie-27 is fictional character in the Earth-691 timeline of the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:Charlie-27 first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #18 , and was created by Arnold Drake and Gene Colan....
and the last Plutonian Martinex
Martinex
Martinex T'Naga is a fictional character, a superhero from an alternate future version of Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe. Most of Martinex's adventures take place as a member of the 31st century Guardians of the Galaxy....
to form the Guardians of the Galaxy, with himself as the leader. After liberating Earth, the Guardians set out on a random course across the galaxy, in the hopes of safeguarding freedom everywhere, and fight the Badoon conquest of Earth's solar system. It is later revealed Strahawk manipulated events to bring them together.
Return to the 20th century
Eight years later, Astro and the Guardians of the Galaxy time-traveled to the 20th Century, and met the DefendersDefenders (comics)
The Defenders is the name of a number of Marvel Comics superhero groups which are usually presented as a "non-team" of individualistic "outsiders," each known for following their own agendas...
. The Guardians returned to 3015 A.D. with Starhawk
Starhawk (comics)
Starhawk is a fictional character created by Steve Gerber and Sal Buscema . He is an antihero in the Earth-691 timeline of the Marvel Comics universe....
and the Defenders to defeat a new Badoon invasion force.
Later, Astro and the Guardians teamed with the time-traveling Thor
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
. They battled Korvac
Korvac
Michael Korvac is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Giant-Size Defenders #3 Michael Korvac (often called Korvac or The Enemy) is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character...
and his Minions of Menace. Astro then traveled to the present alongside his fellow Guardians, and assisted the Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
in battle against Korvac.
Years later, on a trip to the present-day Marvel 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...
, Astro encountered his younger self and convinced him not to join the USAF. He also accidentally awoke the younger Vance's telekinetic powers, ensuring the divergence. The younger Vance Astrovik would later join the New Warriors
New 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:...
, first as Marvel Boy, then as Justice, and eventually became a member of the Avengers for a short time. (Because all of the Guardians of the Galaxy are honorary Avengers, Vance holds the distinction of being the only Avenger to appear twice in the roster—as himself, and as Justice.)
Quest for the Shield and release from containment suit
After returning to his own time, Astro became involved with his teammate AletaAleta Ogord
Aleta Ogord, briefly also known as Starhawk, is a fictional character, a superheroine in a future of the Marvel Comics universe.-Fictional character biography:...
after she was freed from her physical merger with her ex-husband Starhawk
Starhawk (comics)
Starhawk is a fictional character created by Steve Gerber and Sal Buscema . He is an antihero in the Earth-691 timeline of the Marvel Comics universe....
. Astro went on a quest to find the lost shield
Captain America's shield
Captain America's shield is a fictional item, the primary defensive and offensive piece of equipment used by the Marvel Comics superhero Captain America; he is seldom seen without it. Over the years, Captain America has had the use of several different shields of varying composition and design...
of 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...
. He battled Taserface and the Stark
Stark (species)
The Stark are a matriarchial purple-skinned alien species of warriors in the Earth-691 timeline of the fictional Marvel Universe. They are named for Anthony Stark, commonly known as Iron Man, on whose technology their society is based. Their society seems to be run by females. With female Starks...
during the quest, and defeated the Stark. Then, after retrieving Captain America's shield, he was critically injured in a battle with a gang that based themselves on the Punisher
Punisher
The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
. Vance was healed by Krugarr, Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
's former apprentice and the current Sorcerer Supreme, and was freed from his containment suit. He then adopted a costume similar to that of Captain America to go with the shield and took the name Major Victory.
Shortly thereafter, Krugarr's enchantment was removed, and Vance began to age rapidly. He was saved by a symbiotic costume, seemingly of the same species as Venom
Venom (comics)
Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
. However, it was later determined that it was not actually a life form, but engineered to respond to the wearer's biological state.
Discovery by Earth-616 Guardians
Vance is discovered encased in ice on the asteroid Hydronis by the new Guardians of the Galaxy team lead Star Lord. Astro confirms his identity to the band of aliens and later converses with Mantis at the Guardians' home base, KnowhereKnowhere
Knowhere is a fictional location in the Marvel Comics universe. It is an interdimensional crossroads and scientific observatory. It was created by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and first appeared in Nova #8 .-Development:...
. Mantis confirms to Star Lord that Astro has been temporally displaced. The Guardians are then attacked by the Cardinals of the Universal Church of Truth
Universal Church of Truth
The Universal Church of Truth is a star-spanning religious empire in Marvel Comics' fictional shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe. Composed of diverse alien species, it first appeared in Strange Tales vol 1 #178 , written by Jim Starlin.In the original stories, its seat of government was...
.
Vance later joined this incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy and helps to rescue Peter Quill from Blastaar
Blastaar
Blastaar, sometimes called the Living Bomb-Burst and Blasstaar, is a Marvel Comics supervillain. Blastaar is an opponent of the Fantastic Four and lives in the Negative Zone...
. He later joins Rocket Raccoon
Rocket Raccoon
Rocket Raccoon is a fictional character, a superhero in the . He first appeared in Marvel Preview #7 . Rocket Raccoon is an intelligent, anthropomorphic raccoon.-Publication history:...
's team on their mission to stop the War of Kings
War of Kings
"War of Kings" is a comic book crossover storyline written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, published by Marvel Comics, and set in Marvel's main shared universe. The six issue limited series was published between March and August, 2009....
. After Adam Warlock loses control and becomes Magus, Vance is killed when his shield is thrown back at him by Magus, opening his suit up and causing him to age rapidly. However, he is later seen to be alive, but in suspended animation and a prisoner of the Magus, along with Mantis, Phyla-Vell, Cosmo and Gamora. He later breaks free with the other Guardians excluding Phyla-Vell -apparently slain by the revived Thanos-, reuniting with the other half of the team. After Thanos is incapacitated by Star Lord, Major Victory and all the other Guardians reunite in Knowhere. It's also revealed, during a council of the Guardians of All Galaxies -that reunites the Guardians of the whole Multiverse- that the Major Victory currently in Earth 616 is a time displaced one from an alternate, unidentified dimension. During this council other three Major Victory appear: one identical to Earth-616 one with the original uniform, another with the symbiotic outfit of 1994-1995 and finally another with the pre-symbiotic costume appearance and the Captain America's themed uniform.
Powers and abilities
Vance Astro 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...
who possesses the psionic ability of psychokinesis
Psychokinesis
The term psychokinesis , also referred to as telekinesis with respect to strictly describing movement of matter, sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term...
, the ability to affect matter with his mind. For some reason, Vance's psionic powers can only be manifested as "psyche-blasts", focused psychokinetic blasts of explosive concussive force, which can disrupt the synapses in the minds of any living being they strike. He can focus the energy at will, creating anything from a narrow 2 inches (50.8 mm) beam to a 360 degree expanding sphere of force. Vance has eventually shown some marginal improvement of the control of his psychokinesis, such as generating small psionic pulses to slow the descent of falling people, or gentle psychic bursts to move objects forwards or backwards (all without inflicting any damage on the people or objects). Vance can only employ his psionic powers at maximum exertion for about a half hour before suffering mental fatigue and a need to replenish his store of psionic energy. He was once forced to wear a copper alloy bodysuit to prevent his body from decaying on exposure to air. During the time when he carried Captain America's shield in combat, he would use his power to propel the shield and manipulate its flight path, simulating the Captain's use of the shield as a throwing weapon. All of these abilities were augmented by a transfusion of Hollywood's (a 1,000 year old Simon Williams
Wonder Man
Wonder Man is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in The Avengers #9 .-Publication history:Wonder Man debuted in the superhero-team title The Avengers #9 Wonder...
) ionically-enhanced blood. Vance's dependency on his suit was cured by a spell by Krugarr and the blood transfusion from Hollywood.
Astro is an above average athlete and an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, having received unarmed combat training in the U.S. Air Force circa 20th Century. Vance is also an excellent starship pilot and astronaut, and a superb leader and strategist.
External links
- Major Vance Astro, extensive biography with exhaustive references