Comet Man
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Comet Man (Stephen Beckley) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Comet Man #1, dated February 1987.
Creation
The character was created partly due to wide public interest in the passing of Halley's Comet.[1] It was the first comics work of Bill Mumy, who had achieved fame as a child actor, playing Will Robinson in the science fiction series Lost in Space, and his friend Miguel Ferrer - a fellow actor soon to have a major career breakthrough due to a prominent role in RoboCop.[2] Mumy and Ferrer wanted to craft a character harking back to the Golden Age of Comic Books, and started off as a fictional comic title in a script in a proposed episode of The Twilight Zone. After meeting Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter at San Diego Comic-Con they decided to try out the character as a comic; Comico also showed an interest in the project before a deal was signed with Marvel. Kelley Jones, recently of Marvel's licensed Micronauts title, was assigned as artist. He was pleased with the opportunity to draw a comic set in a quasi-realistic universe, as opposed to the science fiction stylings of the Microverse. Comet Man was planned to be part of the shared Marvel Universe, with the initial six-issue limited series featuring guest appearances from the Hulk, Captain America and the Fantastic Four.[1]
Publication history
The Comet Man limited series hit newsstands in October 1986.[3] Shortly before, the creation was noted by Rolling Stone in their 'Where are They Now?' column.[4] The series featured covers by Bill Sienkiewicz.[5] Despite Mumy and Ferrer being interested in writing further adventures for the character, no further issues of the title appeared. Instead the character would make a guest appearance the following year in Fantastic Four #315-317, written by Steve Englehart. In 1990, the original team reunited for a brief four-issue run on the character in the anthology Marvel Comics Presents #50-53.
The character was then unseen for a decade until a surprise reappearance in
Fictional character biography
Early life
Jack Beckley chose to serve as a pilot with the
Stephen Beckley became an
The pair met the Fantastic Four again while Comet Man was training on Arcturus IV, helping them defeat the alien Nuwali.[12] Comet Man returned to Earth after the Fortisque society grew wary of his human values affecting them. On returning he found out that his sister Rosemary was looking after the comatose Benny. However, he did not realise that Rosemary's husband John Gallagher was the Superior. He was able to communicate with Benny, who was able to point out John's true identity to Comet Man. Benny then used his powers to make John kill himself.[13]
Sometime later Comet Man returned to space with Max, but would once again visited Earth when Benny began using his powers, drawing the attention of the superhero Captain Marvel. After a confrontation, Captain Marvel agreed to let Comet Man take his son into space to learn more control over his powers.[14]
Later, Stephen tried to help some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents trying to take down the Superhuman Registration Act violator
Powers and abilities
Comet Man can teleport himself over vast distances, from Earth to any location in outer space. The limits on his teleportation range are as yet unknown. The ability is triggered subconsciously when he is in danger; he can utilize his teleportation power consciously through the use of a "psiamplifier" device, given to him by Reed Richards. Comet Man can teleport himself into the presence of another person by concentrating on that person, and subconsciously psionically scans the area to which he teleports himself to make sure he does not materialize within a solid object. He can also psionically project a portion of his own consciousness into the mind of another being; Comet Man refers to this power as "thought pitching." As a side effect of receiving psionic abilities, his capacity for feeling emotions himself has increased. Comet Man possesses superhuman strength, and durability, a regenerative healing factor and telekinesis which he uses to fly, create protective fields, and project destructive blasts.[17]
Reception
Adam Dennis of Comic Book Resources suggested the character could make an interesting addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[18] Following Ferrer's death, Dan Wickline commented positively on the series on Bleeding Cool.[5]
References
- ^ Fantagraphics Books.
- ISBN 9781578593972.
- ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
- ^ Wild, David (September 11, 1986). "Billy Mumy: Where Are They Now?". Rolling Stone.
- ^ a b Comments, Dan Wickline (January 20, 2017). "Miguel Ferrer's Contribution To The Marvel Universe - The Comet Man". bleedingcool.com.
- ^ a b Bill Mumy, Miguel Ferrer (w), Kelley Jones (a). Comet Man, no. 5 (June 1987). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Bill Mumy, Miguel Ferrer (w), Kelley Jones (a). Comet Man, no. 1 (February 1987). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Bill Mumy, Miguel Ferrer (w), Kelley Jones (a). Comet Man, no. 2 (March 1987). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Bill Mumy, Miguel Ferrer (w), Kelley Jones (a). Comet Man, no. 3 (April 1987). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Bill Mumy, Miguel Ferrer (w), Kelley Jones (a). Comet Man, no. 4 (May 1987). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Bill Mumy, Miguel Ferrer (w), Kelley Jones (a). Comet Man, no. 6 (July 1987). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Steve Englehart (w), Keith Pollard, Joe Sinnott (a). Fantastic Four, vol. 1, no. 315-317 (June - August 1988). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Bill Mumy, Miguel Ferrer (w), Kelley Jones (a). "Comet Man" Marvel Comics Presents, vol. 1, no. 50-53 (May - July 1990). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Peter David (w), ChrisCross (a). Captain Marvel, vol. 4, no. 7 (July 2000). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Civil War: Front Line #8
- ^ Anthony Flamini & Ronald Byrd (w), Scott Kolins (p), Scott Kolins (i). Civil War: Battle Damage Report, no. 1 (March 2007). Marvel Comics.
- ^ "Comet Man" Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update, no. 1 (April 2010). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Dennis, Adam (November 2, 2022). "An Obscure Marvel Hero is Just Right for the MCU – Here's Why". CBR.
Notes
- Comet Man at the Grand Comics Database