Vance Astro
Vance Astro | |
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(modern day) | |
Notable aliases | Major Victory |
Abilities |
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Vance Astro, born Vance Astrovik and going by the code name Major Victory, is a
Astro first appeared in January 1969 as a founding member of the Guardians of the Galaxy in the partial reprint title Marvel Super-Heroes with issue #18.[1]
Vance Astro is a mutant who possesses a
Publication history
Vance Astro first appeared as a founding member of the
This was followed by a series of appearances in Thor Annual #6 (1977), The Avengers #167-177 (Jan.-Nov. 1978) and #181 (March 1979), Marvel Team-Up #86 (Oct. 1979), and Marvel Two-in-One #69 (Nov. 1980). Marvel Two-in-One #69 effectively split Vance Astro into two characters, from alternate timelines: Vance Astro/Major Victory and Vance Astrovik/Marvel Boy.[2]
In the 1990s Astro starred in Guardians of the Galaxy, which ran for 62 issues. It was initially written and illustrated by Jim Valentino. Valentino still found Vance's containment suit a problem:
The containment suit made absolutely no sense any way you turned it. So I knew I wanted to get him out of it from the start, but I also knew it had to be a process. His relationship with Aleta, which was started very early on, was part of the process Vance had to go through. The suit, the romance, losing her, getting out of the suit, becoming the ersatz Captain America - all of it was Vance's arc on his way to becoming a hero and a leader. He had to become Major Victory before he could become Major Astro, but that's where he was heading.[2]
Michael Gallagher commenced writing the title from issue #29 (Oct. 1992) until cancellation in July 1995.
Beginning with the second issue (June 2008) of Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2, Astro joined a different team with the same name. He remained a member through the series' cancellation with issue 25 (April 2010), but the team disbanded after The Thanos Imperative (Dec 2010).
Vance Astro appeared along with the rest of the original Guardians of the Galaxy team in the 2014 series
Fictional character biography
Project: Starjump
Vance Astrovik was born in Saugerties, 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 crewed 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.[4] 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
Return to the 20th century
Eight years later, Astro and the Guardians of the Galaxy time-traveled to the 20th century, and met the
Later, Astro and the Guardians teamed with the time-traveling Thor. They battled Korvac and his Minions of Menace.[7] Astro then traveled to the present alongside his fellow Guardians, and assisted the Avengers in battle against Korvac.[8]
Years later, on a trip to the present-day Marvel Universe, Astro encountered his younger self and convinced him not to join the USAF.[9] 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.)
Quest for the Shield and release from containment suit
After returning to his own time, Astro became involved with his teammate
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
Discovery by Earth-616 Guardians
Vance is discovered encased in ice on the asteroid Hydronis by the new
Vance later joins this incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy and helps to rescue Peter Quill from Blastaar.[14] He later joins Rocket Raccoon's team on their mission to stop the War of Kings.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17] 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 three other versions of Major Victory appear: one identical to the 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-themed uniform.
Vance later worked with a time-displaced Namorita to safeguard a mission into the 'Cancerverse', a realm threatening the known universe.[18]
Powers and abilities
Vance Astro is a
Astro is often seen wearing a copper alloy bodysuit, which preserved his body on his 1,000-year journey through space, and prevents his body from decaying when exposed to air. Vance's dependency on his suit was cured by a spell by
Astro is an above average athlete and an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, having received unarmed combat training in the U.S. Air Force in the 20th century. Vance is also an excellent starship pilot and astronaut, and a superb leader and strategist.
Reception
Accolades
- In 2018, CBR.com ranked Vance Astro 3rd in their "Guardians of the Galaxy Members Through the Years" list.[20]
- In 2020, CBR.com ranked Vance Astro 2nd in their "10 Of The Most Powerful Original Guardians Of The Galaxy Members" list.[21]
Other versions
In other media
- Major Vance Astro was added to the board game better source needed]
- Vance Astro appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 as part of the Classic Guardians of the Galaxy DLC pack.[24]
References
- ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
- ^ a b c d Buttery, Jarrod (July 2013). "Explore the Marvel Universe of the 31st Century with... the Guardians of the Galaxy". Back Issue! (#65). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 24–35.
- ^ "Marvel | GamesRadar+". 3 March 2023.
- ^ a b c Marvel Super-Heroes #18
- ^ Guardians of the Galaxy #26
- ^ Giant-Size Defenders #5; The Defenders #26-29
- ^ Thor Annual #6
- ^ The Avengers #167-168, 170, 173, 175-177
- ^ Giant-Size Defenders #5
- ^ Guardians of the Galaxy #1-4
- ^ Guardians of the Galaxy #19-20
- ^ Guardians of the Galaxy #62
- ^ DnA: Whose Shield Was That? Guardians of the Galaxy Secrets, Newsarama, June 25, 2008
- ^ Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 #10
- ^ Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 #13
- ^ Guardians of the Galaxy, Issue #19, December 2009
- ^ Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 #22
- ^ The Thanos Imperative" #1-6 (2010)
- ^ Guardians of the Galaxy #20
- ^ C. B. R. Staff (2018-12-01). "Guardians of the Galaxy Members Through the Years, Ranked". CBR. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
- ^ Allan, Scoot (2020-04-22). "10 Of The Most Powerful Original Guardians Of The Galaxy Members, Ranked". CBR. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
- ^ "HeroClix". 10 November 2014.
- ^ "Marvel HeroClix Fan Vote – FINAL DECISION!". Archived from the original on 2013-12-12.
- ^ "Classic Guardians of the Galaxy Character Pack | Xbox". www.xbox.com. Retrieved 2021-11-01.
External links
- Major Vance Astro, extensive biography with exhaustive references