The Stillness of the Earth

Prolog V:

The Recent Past…

After following the Squadron Supreme to the Stranger’s world, Maelstrom sought allies to help him gain power enough to collapse the entire universe in tribute to Oblivion. Following the battle between the Overmind and Stranger, Maelstrom appears before the Presence and Starlight, two prisoners on the Stranger’s planet.

Claiming to be another prisoner, he tricks the pair into thinking that Eon and his champion Quasar pose a threat to the universe. This spurs the pair to begin working with the other prisoners from Earth to pool their resources together to return home. This is all part of Maelstrom’s plan as he already planted his Weird Sisters among them to monitor things for their master.[1]

The Stillness of the Earth:

The Present

The Ghost Rider has sensed the spilling of innocent blood and tracked it to its source, the mansion of the wealth Malcolm Stromberg, the site where Quasar has just been killed. His arrival has set off the alarms prompting Maelstrom’s minions — Phobius and Helio — to come out and confront the intruder. They are quickly defeated by the Spirit of Vengeance, particularly Phobius who falls victim to the demonic biker’s penance stare. Entering the mansion, Ghost Rider quickly finds Quasar’s body strung up to the wall in the dining room. However, before he can take it down, he is attacked by Deathurge.

Meanwhile, in Eon’s pocket dimension, Maelstrom has put on Quasar’s Quantum Bands giving him even more power to burrow through Eon’s massive body in an effort to kill the centuries old cosmic being.

As all this is happening, the spirit of Quasar wakes up in a black void with only Kid Reaper — his personalized personification of death — to keep him company. Wendell figures that he has been re-animated by Eon just as he had done with Captain Marvel and his father in the recent past. That’s when he hears Eon calling out to him for help. The voice appears to be coming from the backside of his cape, which now projects the image of a starfield. Asking Kid Reaper to hold it up for him, Quasar discovers that this is a portal that he can travel to.

Back in the land of the living, Maelstrom’s minions the Weird Sisters go down into the Stromberg’s wine cellar to eliminate the last of Quasar’s friends: Kayla Ballentine, Ken Tanaka and Moondragon. However, Moondragon won’t surrender without a fight and keeps Beauty, Charm, and Truth busy while Kayla and Ken make a run for it.

At that same moment, Quasar and Kid Reaper find themselves transported to Eon’s pocket dimension. There, Eon grows a face in the wall of his being to speak to them directly. He tells them that he has expanded to his maximum size of ninety-thousand miles, which is slowing Maelstrom’s attempts to reach Eon’s brain due to the sheer immensity. He tells Quasar that the only way to stop Maelstrom from stealing Eon’s Cosmic Consciousness is by killing Eon before that happens. Quasar is reluctant to kill the entity he has been charged with protecting, but Eon insists that this is the only way to assure victory. Eon guides Quasar and Kid Reaper to his brain where Maelstrom has already used the Quantum Bands to interface with it and steal the Cosmic Consciousness. Luckily, Quasar has enough time to channel a powerful bolt of energy, destroying Eon’s brain.

While at the Stromberg mansion, the battle between Ghost Rider and Deathurge rages on. Deathurge’s dark force weapons have no effect on the Spirit of Vengeance, and the emissary of death is forced to retreat when Ghost Rider unleashes his penance stare on him as well. With the battle over, Ghost Rider removes Quasar’s corpse from the wall and vows to track down the one responsible for killing him and getting vengeance.

Back in Eon’s dimension, Quasar wonders if he is successful in stopping Maelstrom when the villain angrilly confirms that Eon is dead. Suddenly, the Cosmic Consciousness transfers over to Quasar allowing him to know everything. Maelstrom demands that Vaughn hand over the power, but it cannot be taken from Quasar in his spirit form. Frustrated at being denied this ultimate power, Maelstrom uses the Quantum Bands to teleport away. However, Quasar knows exactly where his foe is going and follows after him, taking Kid Reaper along for the ride. They appear in Earth’s orbits where Quasar is horrified to discover that Maelstrom is using the Quantum Bands to boost the power of his kinetic powers and using them to stop the Earth’s rotation. This does not go unnoticed on the planet’s surface as the sudden upheaval is detected by the like of Mister Fantastic, Moondragon, Doctor Druid, Origin, the Phoenix, Doctor Strange, Moonglow, the Black Crow, Talisman, Shaman, and Spider-Man.

With all life on Earth facing extinction, Quasar has no choice but to surrender the Cosmic Consciousness to Maelstrom. However, Maelstrom reneges on his promise to spare the Earth. Using his increased power to banish Kid Reaper, and takes off for the center of the universe. He is joined by Deathurge who asks what Maelstrom plans to do now that he has ultimate power. He explains that he now has the knowledge he needs to stop all kinetic motion in the universe and cause it to collapse on itself, plunging all existence into oblivion.

Recurring Characters

Quasar, Ghost Rider, Kid Reaper, Moondragon, Kayla Ballentine, Ken Tanaka, Eon, Anomaly, Phobius, Gronk, Helio, Weird Sisters (Beauty, Charm, Truth), Deathurge, Mister Fantastic, Origin, Phoenix, Doctor Strange, Doctor Druid, Moonglow, Shaman, Spider-Man, Black Crow, Talisman

Continuity Notes

1. This flashback happens during the battle between the Overmind and the Stranger as detailed in Quasar #13-16.