Vance Astrovik

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the Avengers member, Vance Astrovik. For the
alternate timeline member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, see Vance Astro
.
This article is about the Avenger and New Warrior Justice. For the New Universe character Justice, see Justice (New Universe).
Vance Astrovik
UCWF
Avengers Academy
C.R.A.D.L.E.
Notable aliasesJustice, Marvel Boy,[1] Manglin' John Mahoney,[2] Marvel Man,[2] The Astounding Astrovik, Squire Justice,[3] Super Tights[4]
AbilitiesTelekinesis
High-speed flight

Vance Astrovik, also known as Justice[5] and formerly known as Marvel Boy, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character possesses the superhuman power of telekinesis and has often been affiliated with the New Warriors and The Avengers. He appeared in Giant-Size Defenders #5 (July 1975) for the first time, which was created by Don Heck and Gerry Conway.

Publication history

More than a decade after his creation, Vance appeared first as a mainstay in the New Warriors and later in the third volume of the Avengers titles. He usually appeared with

fiancee
.

In 1994, he had his own four-issue limited series, Justice: Four Balance and appeared in the I (heart) Marvel: Masked Intentions one-shot in 2006.

He was a major character in Avengers: The Initiative early in the series.

Justice appeared as a supporting character in Avengers Academy from issue #1 (Aug. 2010) through issue #20 (Dec. 2011).

Fictional character biography

Vance Astrovik was born in

Saugerties, New York. He was visited as a teenager by an alternate, time-travelling version of his future self, Major Vance Astro of the Guardians of the Galaxy, an astronaut who had volunteered for an experimental space flight and consequently been lost in space in cryogenic suspension for a thousand years. The elder Vance Astro convinced his younger self not to become an astronaut and, in the process, sparked the premature emergence of the younger Vance's telekinetic powers.[6] Due to the vagaries of time travel in the Marvel Universe, this did not create a paradox but instead made the Guardians' future world into a parallel timeline, to which they later returned. Although Major Vance Astro had not had a chance to fully develop his psionic power in his time in NASA
, the younger Astrovik now had the opportunity to hone his power. Astrovik soon became the costumed crime-fighter Marvel Boy.

Early adventures

After his powers developed, Vance's father, Arnold, began to physically abuse him for being "different". Running away from home, Vance wound up supporting himself as a

Thing, who at the time was himself estranged from his "family", the Fantastic Four.[7] Eventually, Vance was convinced to return home, with assurances from his parents that the abuse would stop.[8]

New Warriors

When Marvel Boy was rejected for membership in the

Firestar,[12] and his powers increased both in strength and skill. However, his costumed activities renewed Arnold Astrovik's prejudice towards Vance's powers; both Vance and his mother suffered from Arnold's abusive behavior, and Vance's instinctively protecting himself with his powers only made things worse, with tragic consequences.[13]

Murder trial

One night, Arnold Astrovik not only attacked a disadvantaged Vance (injured in a fight with

character witness for Vance and helped establish the history of abuse that he suffered, as did Vance's mother, Norma; other testimony established the good he had done as a costumed hero and his increasing competence with his powers. However, the prosecuting attorney pursued the latter angle, using testimony from Firestar and cross-examination of Norma Astrovik to establish that Vance could have used his powers to stop his father without lethal force. Finally, in her closing argument, the prosecutor drew a gun on Vance and fired a (unknown to Vance) blank round. Instinctively, Vance not only disarmed her but reacted so precisely that he contained the actual smoke from the gun, driving home the prosecution's case. Vance was acquitted of murder, but he was convicted of negligent homicide. As a result of the trial, Vance's secret identity became public knowledge.[13]

Vance was sentenced to serve his time at the superhuman restraint facility known as the

Vault. He was shown enjoying the occasional free walkabout on the long road trip to the Vault, joking and playing around with the officers. When his friends Firestar, Namorita, and Nova arrived to free him, Vance protested, declaring he would serve his time. He also said he was going to be paroled in fourteen months, so they would see him again then. Firestar, even though trying to remain restrained, was very upset, but she recognized what Vance wanted to do and came to terms with it.[14]

During his stay in the Vault, he was granted "training periods" with the

Force of Nature) access to a plant. Despite the warden's fears that Terraformer would use it in an escape attempt, the villain simply enjoyed it being with him. This calmed the other prisoners, and it was agreed that, on a case-by-case basis, their living conditions would be examined to accommodate superhuman prisoners' unique needs.[15]

Justice

After his time in the Vault, he adopted the codename Justice. He briefly went undercover working with

Shinobi Shaw
to spy on the activities in the so-called "Younghunt."

When the

heterosexual lifestyle by his own abusive father. Understanding that his father was as much a victim as he was, Vance attempted to change history by threatening his grandfather but stopped when he realized that he was, in his own way, perpetuating the cycle of violence handed down from father to son. Though history remained unchanged, this new knowledge allowed Vance to make a measure of peace with the memory of his father.[16]

Justice spent some time in a leadership role with the New Warriors and talked about marriage with Firestar. However, when she learned her microwave powers might render her infertile, such plans were endangered.

The Avengers

A mystical incident had caused all those who were once Avengers to be targeted by creatures and monsters. Vance and Angelica accompanied their friend

Rage, who had been an Avenger, to a meeting at Avengers Mansion.[17] They willingly helped out in various ways before Morgan le Fay attacked, altering reality. Vance and Angelica were caught up in the literal mystical maelstrom and were turned into super-powered enforcers under the command of le Fay. However, several Avengers managed to break free of the control based on their deep belief in the team itself. Vance found himself coming to his senses despite never being an Avenger, a fact that surprised the remaining heroes; thus, he joined the resistance.[18]

After the threat of le Fay was ended and the two proved themselves by defeating

Triune Understanding, a cult-like movement with seemingly good intentions but villainous leadership.[21][22][23]

After the House of M ended, Justice and Firestar were unaffected by the global depowerment of mutants and thus retained their powers.[24] Vance's wish for more in their relationship, as opposed to Firestar's wish for less (being ages 22 and 19, respectively), ended their engagement and their relationship.[25]

Civil War

Justice and former teammate

Hindsight
) was responsible for the persecution and exposure of their teammates, operating a website that was slowly outing the identities of the twenty or so remaining Warriors.

Both Rage and Justice refused to go along with the proposed super-human registration act. This is further evidenced when they join Captain America's Secret Avengers during the

Bill Foster.[27]

The Initiative

After the Civil War, Justice was recruited by

Ultra Girl, a trainee with the Initiative and former New Warriors associate.[29]

Justice's personal investigation into the fate of Initiative recruit

Counter Force, a form of independent oversight for the program; as the group is all registered superhumans, Iron Man is unable to act against Justice's team unless they commit an illegal act. However, Ultra Girl decides to return to the Initiative, apparently ending her relationship with Justice.[31]

Secret Invasion

During the

Donyell Taylor) at the old New Warriors, looking for a DNA sample to prove whether or not the Night Thrasher that died at Stamford was a Skrull imposter. Counter Force initially believes that Donyell is a Skrull due to his reluctance to reveal his identity, and comes into conflict with Donyell's New Warriors.[32] When Donyell finally reveals his identity the two teams join together to storm the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier where the deceased New Warriors bodies were being held and recover them. The corpse of Night Thrasher is proven to be of human composition, and the two teams bury the bodies outside the old base.[33]

Dark Reign

When Ragnarok, a deranged clone of Thor, attacks Camp Hammond, Counter Force (Now calling themselves "The New Warriors" and boasting Night Thrasher as a member) arrives to help.[34] During the fight, Ragnarok kills one of the Scarlet Spiders and nearly kills Vance, who is saved by Ultra Girl. After the battle, Vance retrieves the corpse of the original MVP, seeking to give him a proper burial.[35] However, their actions in exposing the duplicity to the public allowed H.A.M.M.E.R. director Norman Osborn to shut down Camp Hammond and reorganize the Initiative, placing villains on Initiative teams. The New Warriors rescued Gauntlet and Tigra from the Hood's gang and formed the Avengers Resistance.[36]

Siege

Things hit the tipping point for the Resistance when Osborn orchestrates a siege on Asgard by creating an incident similar to Stamford. Justice declares that while most of the Initiative is busy with the Siege, the Resistance will take down Camp H.A.M.M.E.R. in order to expose Osborn once and for all.[37]

Heroic Age

Vance becomes one of the teaching staff of "

Ultra Girl. His relationship with Ultra Girl is further complicated during the Avengers Academy Prom Night when Firestar appears.[39]

During the "Outlawed" storyline, Vance appears as a member of C.R.A.D.L.E. when a law is passed that forbids superheroes who are below the age of 21.[40]

Powers and abilities

Justice is a mutant who possesses telekinesis. By using his powers to lift himself, he can levitate and fly at high speed. He has shown the ability to hold a large number of people. Initially, Justice's telekinesis was limited in its scope, and using them at the peak level of his power would cause him headaches and nosebleeds.[9][41][42] However, his powers later increased dramatically, and he was no longer hindered by the physical symptoms he had once suffered from.[43]

Other versions

The Vance Astrovik character in an alternate timeline became a founding member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, calling himself Vance Astro. Marvel has treated this as a separate character from the alternate Earth-691, and the two have even met on occasion.[44]

In other media

References

  1. ^ Thor #411
  2. ^ a b The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Avengers 2005
  3. ^ The Avengers vol. 3 #2
  4. ^ The New Warriors #2
  5. ^ The New Warriors #43
  6. ^ Marvel Two-In-One #69. Marvel Comics.
  7. ^ The Thing #23. Marvel Comics.
  8. ^ The Thing #32. Marvel Comics.
  9. ^ a b The New Warriors #1. Marvel Comics.
  10. ^ The New Warriors #10. Marvel Comics.
  11. ^ The New Warriors #19. Marvel Comics.
  12. ^ The New Warriors #14. Marvel Comics.
  13. ^ a b The New Warriors #20-25. Marvel Comics.
  14. ^ The New Warriors #26. Marvel Comics.
  15. ^ The New Warriors #36. Marvel Comics.
  16. ^ The New Warriors #47-49. Marvel Comics.
  17. ^ The Avengers vol. 3, #1. Marvel Comics.
  18. ^ The Avengers vol. 3, #2. Marvel Comics.
  19. ^ The Avengers vol. 3, #4. Marvel Comics.
  20. ^ The Avengers vol. 3, #19–22. Marvel Comics.
  21. ^ The Avengers vol. 3, #28. Marvel Comics.
  22. ^ The Avengers vol. 3, #48. Marvel Comics.
  23. ^ The Avengers vol. 3, Annual 2001. Marvel Comics.
  24. ^ X-Men: The 198 Files #1. Marvel Comics.
  25. ^ I ♥ Marvel Marvel: Masked Intentions #1 Marvel Comics.
  26. ^ She-Hulk vol. 2 #8 (July, 2006). Marvel Comics.
  27. ^ Civil War #4. Marvel Comics.
  28. ^ Avengers: The Initiative #1. Marvel Comics.
  29. ^ Avengers: The Initiative #6. Marvel Comics.
  30. ^ Avengers: The Initiative #10. Marvel Comics.
  31. ^ Avengers: The Initiative #12. Marvel Comics.
  32. ^ New Warriors vol. 4 #15. Marvel Comics.
  33. ^ New Warriors vol. 4 #16. Marvel Comics.
  34. ^ Avengers: The Initiative #21. Marvel Comics.
  35. ^ Avengers: The Initiative #22. Marvel Comics.
  36. ^ Avengers: The Initiative #24-25. Marvel Comics.
  37. ^ Avengers: The Initiative #32. Marvel Comics.
  38. ^ Avengers Academy #1 (2010). Marvel Comics.
  39. ^ Avengers Academy #13. Marvel Comics.
  40. ^ Outlawed #1. Marvel Comics.
  41. ^ The New Warriors #3. Marvel Comics.
  42. ^ The New Warriors #5. Marvel Comics.
  43. ^ The New Warriors #11-13. Marvel Comics.
  44. ^ The New Warriors #68. Marvel Comics.
  45. ^ "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2: NPC Spotlight on Firestar and Justice | Marvel Heroes Games | Games News | News". Marvel.com. 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
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