Avengers Unplugged #5
Legacies
Captain Marvel, aka Monica Rambeau, accepting a request to appear on a talk show to discuss her career as a super-hero, ends up falling into a trap set up by the Controller.[1][2] The villain then surgically implants one of his slave discs to the back on of her skull. Testing it out and confirming that he has complete control over Captain Marvel, he sends her out to destroy Genis-Vell, the son of his hated enemy, the original Captain Marvel.[3] With that, Monica turns into her energy form and flies off into space.
She is heading for the Saturnian moon of Titan, home of the Eternals of Titan. There, Genis-Vell is reviewing old pictures of his mother and father. He is interrupted by his friend Eros, aka Starfox, who suggests the young Genis get out and have some fun. They head out to the Cockaigne Lounge, where they get a table. Genis is bored as Eros charms a pair of women. Eventually, Starfox heads to the washroom to freshen up, leaving Genis to pick things up where he left off. In the unisex washroom, Eros is confronted by Monica Rambeau. When Starfox recognizes her as his former Avengers teammate, she uses her power to knock him out as she wishes to remain anonymous for her mission.[4]
Back in the club, Genis-Vell is chatting up the two women when Monica approaches. Using her powers to create a trick of light that makes the two women look hideous, she convinces Genis to take her back to his private quarters. Thinking this is going to lead to some romance, Monica blasts Genis while he literally has his pants down. She then hauls his unconscious form back to Earth in order to turn over to her master. However, Genis wakes up before they can get there and gets free by clashing his Nega-Bands together. While the two fight it out, Monica realizes that she has enough control over her mind to transmit a radio signal to call for help.
Deathcry is stuck on monitor duty once more and is spending the time listening to music. She is interrupted by the Vision who reminds her how important monitor duty is. Deathcry assures him that things have been quiet and that they only received a crank call about a woman claiming to be Captain Marvel and that she is fighting her own son, or something. The Vision notes that the call came in from the priority channel and deduces that this isn’t some kind of prank but a real emergency.
The pair race to the scene of the battle just as Genis-Vell incapacitates Captain Marvel. Genis tries to explain himself, but neither the Vision nor Deathcry believe him, particularly the young Shi’ar due to her prejudice toward the Kree.[5] When Captain Marvel recovers, she tells the other Avengers that it was Genis-Vell that attacked her. That’s when Starfox arrives and tells them that Genis is innocent as well. Monica struggles to find a way to tell them the truth: that she is a victim of the Controller. She quickly comes up with an idea to let off a x-ray burst which causes the Vision to see her skeleton and notice the slave disc that has been implanted on the back of her skull. He then uses his phasing powers to pluck the device that has been surgically implanted. Once she is free, she confirms that she was being forced to attack Genis by the Controller.
The five heroes race to the Controller’s hideout only to find him incapacitated by his own slave discs. As it turned out, he was merely a pawn of someone else, but they can’t find any evidence to figure out who was really the mastermind behind this plot.[6] As the heroes depart, Monica tells Genis that if anyone should carry the Captain Marvel name it should be him, as she was already contemplating on changing her name to something that better represents her power set. Genis reluctantly accepts and Monica tells him that from now on she’ll go by the name Photon!
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Vision, Captain Marvel/Photon, Starfox, Deathcry), Legacy, Controller
Continuity Notes
A footnote here references Captain Marvel (vol. 2) #2, even though that story doesn’t include a talk show as part of the plot. I think it was more likely they were referencing it as it was Monica’s previous appearance.
When we last saw the Controller, his body was failing him, as seen in Iron Man #292-293 and Annual #15. This story presents him as restored at least to his status quo without explanation. The Controller profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2 clarifies that he was restored by Eshu, the so-called Master of the World. The Collector is later shown to be in Eshu’s employ in his next appearances in Heroes for Hire #1 and 4.
The original Captain Marvel, aka Mar-Vell, was a Kree soldier who became guardian of the universe. The Controller clashed with Marv in Captain Marvel #26, 28-30. Since then, Mar-Vell had died of cancer in Marvel Graphic Novel #1. More recently, Mar-Vell’s widowed lover Elysius used Marv’s DNA to created a son she named Genis-Vell, who took on the name Legacy after his creation. See Silver Surfer Annual #6.
Starfox served on the Avengers with Captain Marvel during his entire tenure on the team which lasted from Avengers #232 to 260.
Deathcry’s dislike of the Kree stems from the fact that the Shi’ar just finished an intergalactic war with them. See Captain America #398, Avengers West Coast #80, Quasar #32, Wonder Man (vol. 2) #7, Avengers #345, Iron Man #278, Thor #445, Captain America #399, Avengers West Coast #81, Quasar #33, Wonder Man (vol. 2) #8, Avengers #346, Iron Man #279, Thor #446, Captain America #400, Avengers West Coast #82, Quasar #34, Wonder Man (vol. 2) #9, Avengers #347, Captain America #401, Quasar #35.
The identity of the mastermind who was really targeting Genis-Vell is, as of this writing in January, 2023, remains unrevealed.
Topical References
When in the monitor room, Deathcry is singing a song, where she mumbles some of the lyrics. I think she is trying to sing along to “Corduroy” by Pearl Jam from their 1994 album Vitalogy. A recurring theme (or even a joke) about Pearl Jam is that people often mishear lead singer Eddie Vedder’s lyrics hence why she mumbles some of the lyrics and why some of them might not actually be correct.
