Back in November 2021, I took a look at Quasar #10 (May 1990). I enjoyed it. In fact, I think Mark Gruenwald's Quasar run is a rather underrated piece of Marvel's publication history. As such, I thought I'd return to it this week. So, let's take a look at Quasar #11!
The cover is a Mike Manley and Christopher Ivy piece. It depicts our man Quasar getting blasted by Rachel Summers, aka the Phoenix. It does do a good job of showing just how powerful the Phoenix (then hosted by Rachel Summers) is, and just how much Quasar is in over his head.
"By the Time I Get to Phoenix"
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciler: Mike Manley
Inker: Fred Fredericks
Colorist: Paul Becton
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Editor: Howard Mackie
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
The story begins with our man Wendell Vaughn in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. He's on another assignment from Eon to find a pair of potential alien menaces to Earth. They've split up and left Quasar in the dust, as it were.
He decides to give up and look for them another day. After all, they likely aren't this great threat that Eon claims they are. He emerges from the water, thinking about how he prefers the expanses of space. Why? Well, space is open, space is wide, and space is big. Oceans are big, but they make Wendell feel like he is trapped. Water everywhere.
Wendell then gets hit with a tidal wave, like the ocean itself knew what he was thinking and decided to flip him the metaphorical bird. Wendell spots a wake indicating something was moving very fast across the water, as in on top of the water.
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| "Hey, I was looking for that sunken ship!" |
Wendell pursues the wake, noticing tachyons are being emitted. Wendell can't fly fast enough to catch up with whatever is moving at that speed. However, he can create something that can slow it down. He blasts the figure with a bit of his Q-Energy that creates a parachute. Quasar hopes that whoever he's caught hasn't drowned.
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| "Hey, isn't this that guy from that show?" |
Thankfully, as can be seen here, he's breathing.
Our man Wendell hasn't been studying much of the Avengers' files, as he has no idea who this being is. Since the West Coast Avengers' HQ is closer (and had medical facilities specially made for superhumans), he takes the being there. While that is being taken care of, let's look in Jolly Ol' England, shall we? In particular, the lighthouse headquarters of the X-Men spin-off team known as Excalibur.
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| "Awww, super-team bonding. Disgusting." |
They're enjoying a night of relaxation after the whole "Cross-Time Caper" thing. A pair of evil magical eyes are watching the group, and looks them over. The eyes' magic has no effect on Captain Britain. Nightcrawler's teleportation power is too limited. Meggan is a shapeshifter, so there are possibilities there...adn then the eyes turn to Rachel Summers, the young extradimensional mutant. She is the powerhouse of the group, thanks to her being able to channel the Phoenix Force. Yes, she is perfect! The magic eyes possess Rachel, seeing her as the key to the eyes' freedom...and revenge.
Quasar drops the figure off at the WCA headquarters, Wonder Man recognizing him as Makkari, one of the Eternals. He then heads back to his office in New York City. And just in time, too. You see, his small company has someone applying to join them.
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| "I also make a mean sub sandwich." |
The mysterious lady is named H.D. Steckley. An engineer with systems technology and design experience, she thinks Vaughn Security Systems has potential to be one of the titans in the security field. She is so confident she'd be a boon to the company that she makes Vaughn a proposition: If she can get the firm five more clients in the next week, then he hires her. Wendell reluctantly agrees.
He heads to his office and checks in Eon, his boss when it comes to protecting Earth from alien threats. The two look at a projection of Earth, showing where there are still potential alien threats. The two see an image of the Phoenix Force, and Wendell goes to check it out.
In the skies north of London, Rachel is fighting the presence in her head. She's a tough girl, but eventually the presence wins out. They tell her to concentrate her energies on a point where the fabric between Earth and their extradimensional prison is at its weakest, while they use their own energies at their end to do the same. This works, and the figure is freed.
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| "And Merlin will also pay for EATING MY PIZZA!" |
Quasar arrives. He recognizes Rachel, but naturally, Modred is unknown to him. The mad mystic orders Rachel to make Wendell into cosmic toast.
Wendell finds himself feeling slightly overwhelmed by the sheer power Rachel is putting out. He gets his Quantum Bands working on analyzing her energies. If they fall under the electromagnetic spectrum, he could use his Q-Bands to control it. He's not able to control all of it, but he is able to blunt some of the potential damage she could cause. Modred steps in, binding Quasar with the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak. He and Rachel take their leave as Quasar struggles to free himself. Wendell remembers from his college days that iron is supposed to interfere with magic. But he's not going to need it, as he's got himself some backup.
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| "🎵Here we come to save the dayyyy...🎵" |
Wendell and Excalibur pursue Modred and Rachel. Quasar captures Modred, but Rachel attacks him. He's having trouble concentrating, and it causes him to drop Excalibur into the water.
Modred also breaks out of his bonds. But Quasar's brain works fast. He creates a funnel that allows him to blast Rachel's attacks back at him.
As Modred is distracted, Kurt calls upon his fellow Excalibur member Widget to create a portal to send Modred packing. And it works. With Modred gone, Rachel's mind is free. The story ends with Quasar fliying off, feeling down about himself. He feels he's not the best man to be Protector of the Universe. If Modred can get one up on him, what chance would he have against any of the major threats of the Marvel Universe?
I enjoyed this issue, but then again, I always felt Mark Gruenwald's Quasar stuff was very underrated. This issue helped emphasize how much of a rookie Quasar is at this point. Keep in mind, he hasn't been a superhero for very long at this point, despite his history connecting him to other heroes like the Thing. His whole thing is that he's, in the Marvel tradition, an everyman who ended up being given great power and a big responsibility. Of course he's going to feel overwhelmed and question whether he's up for the job. But that's part of his arc. I would have liked to have seen Excalibur give him a pep talk. That would have been nice.
I think Mike Manley is an underrated artist as well. His art is very nicely done, with good storytelling.
If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2018 trade paperback Quasar: Cosmos in Collision. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off!Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!
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