Quasar #37
Infinity Manifestations
Quasar, Makkari, and Her have saved a massive cosmic embryo from the Soul-Killer. However, the embryonic sack for the creature was ruptured in battle and now they are struggling to find a way to heal it.[1] Suddenly, they are visited by the Elder of the Universe who calls himself the Contemplator who has come to meditate on the creature before them.[2] Learning how the fetus is in danger, the Contemplator summons another Elder name the Caregiver and she is able to use her power to heal the damage done by the Soul-Eater. Quasar thanks the Contemplator for his help, and the Elder mentions he might ask to return the favor as he recently learned someone had been impersonating him recently.[3]
That’s when Quasar gets a call from Captain America on Earth. Although Quasar had just recently resigned form the Avengers, Cap hopes that he can help them locate Eternity as he had heard rumors that the cosmic entity had been rendered into a comatose state.[4] This is a big ask for make, because although Quasar has encountered Eternity in the past it was only for a brief moment.[5] When he contacts Epoch for help, the young omnipotent doesn’t really have any means of contact. This is when the Contemplator offers his aid for a second time. Before heading off on this new mission, Quasar sends Makkari and Her back to the Mourners to inform them that they freed the souls of the Kree Empire.[6]
Back on Earth, the villain known as Quagmire has turned over Kayla Ballentine and Holly Steckley over to the entity that busted him out of prison. Recalling how he was attacked by a tiny Antibody when trying to abduct the two women he searches for the creature he stomped into the ground and finds no trace of it.[7] Believing he killed the tiny humanoid he walks off little knowing the Antibody survived and is now hitching a ride inside his body.[8]
Meanwhile, the Contemplator has Quasar assist him in a form of meditation that opens a portal to the dimension they need to go in order to find Eternity. The doorway leads to the Realm of Manifestations. There they find the form of cosmic beings such as Galactus, Master Order, Lord Chaos, the Stranger, Mephisto, the Celestials, Mistress Love, and Hate. The Contemplator explains that these are not the actual beings, but Manifest Bodies, artificial constructs used by the living concepts of the universe in order to interact with the physical world. Quasar is surprised to find one of Eon, but Epoch — communicating over his Quantum Bands — reminds it is actually a construct for her to use now that Eon is dead.[9]
From here, the Contemplator takes Quasar to meet Anthropomorpho the self-proclaimed “Prime Minister” of this dimension who provides the M-Bodies for cosmic entities to use. It explains that the M-Bodies are living fractals that provide physical bodies for abstract concepts that have no forms of their own in exchange for energy the fractals need to survive. He also says that sometimes powerful cosmic beings such as Galactus, and other Elders of the Universe employ these M-Bodies when they require proxies to conduct business from afar. That’s when Quasar notices that one of the constructs looks like his friend Kayla Ballentine back home. Anthropomorpho explains that is the M-Body for the embodiment of Love, which appears as ones heart desire, pointing out that Quasar must think of Kayla as more of a friend, something he doesn’t deny.
However, Kayla Ballentine is far from Earth, in fact she and her roommate Holly Steckley have been kidnapped and transported to an alien world. They are soon confronted by the entity that brought them there. He a being called the Chief Examiner and he explains that his home world of Scadam is under threat by the space marauders known as the Black Fleet. In order to defend his world the Chief Examiner once went to Earth to examine and copy the powers of Earth’s greatest superheroes so they could be replicated and used to fight off the invasion.[10] Kayla doesn’t understand what she has to do with any of that since she doesn’t have any powers. The Chief Examiner disagrees, telling Kayla that she actually the most powerful human being he has ever encountered.[11]
Back in the Dimension of Manifestations, Quasar asks Anthropomorpho to take him to Eternity. This is easier said than done, as Eternity has made numerous manifestations in the past and record of each reflection is kept and they will have to sort through them all in order to find the current manifestation. The first fractals they pull up is a scene where Eternity is arguing a trail against Adam Warlock for the power of the Infinity Gauntlet.[12] When Quasar tries to interrupt the proceedings so he can talk to Eternity, but the Living Tribunal orders him to leave. When he doesn’t do so quickly enough, Anomaly offers to force the intruder out. Covering himself in protective quantum armor, Quasar defends himself until he agrees to leave.[13]
Quasar and Contemplator decide to go look for Eternity in one of the other fractals. Entering the portal, they enter an area where all the different manifestation bodies for Death. In another, they find the embodiment of Infinity. However, she ignores Quasar when he tries to talk to her. In the next portal, they find another version of Eternity that is in a catatonic state. As Epoch is confirming that this is the current manifestation of Eternity, Quasar is once again attacked by Anomaly by once more for his interference in matters beyond Quasar’s ken. Quasar fights back best he can but he cannot break free and asks the Contemplator for help. The Elder of the Universe tells Quasar that Anomaly is the living embodiment of anomalies and it will take something unconventional to defeat his foe. After thinking it over for a minute, Quasar stops fighting back against Anomaly and, sure enough, the entity dissipates.
With the battle over, the Contemplator has divined that Eternity is in the middle of some cosmic struggle for the fate of the universe for the fate of the universe. With his mission complete, Quasar then reports his findings back to captain America.
… This story continues in Infinity War #3.
Recurring Characters
Quasar, Anomaly, Makkari, Her, Epoch, Contemplator, Caregiver, Kayla Ballentine, “Holly Steckley”, Chief Examiner, Antibody, Quagmire, Captain America, Anthropomorpho
Continuity Notes
The identity of this creature is not given here. However, in Quasar #47 it is revealed to be the reincarnation of Origin, an entity that Quasar previously met in issue #18.
The Contemplator makes an off hand comment about having come to Earth once or twice in the past. He went to Earth twice in the past to examine Captain America. First in Captain America’s Bicentennial Battles #1 and again in Captain America Annual #6.
As revealed in Quasar #47-48 a Skrull has been posing as the Contemplator to achieve his own quest for power. He had previously posed as the Contemplator in Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #7-9. 11-12, 20-21, and 25-31.
This was done by the Magus. Cap will learn about this over the course of Infinity War #1-3.
Quasar briefly saw Eternity while fighting Oblivion as an avatar for Infinity. See Quasar #19-25.
The Mourners sent Quasar and his comrades to find who stole the souls of the recent Kree dead in Quasar #36, leading to their battle with the Soul-Eater last issue.
Quagmire was freed from the Vault by the Chief Examiner in issue #35 to kidnap the two women. He succeeded last issue.
Quagmire and the Antibody form a symbiotic bond as we’ll see in Quasar #44.
Quasar was charged with protecting Eon from Quasar #2 until his death in 23. Epoch was born from the remains of Eon in Quasar #27.
The Chief Examiner’s trip to Earth was chronicled in Questprobe #1-3 and Marvel Fanfare #33.
The power source that the Examiner is speaking of is the Star Brand, a powerful energy source from another universe that Quasar brought back with him in Quasar #31. He inadvertedly transferred this power to Kayla, as will be explained next issue and in Quasar #49.
This trial over Adam Warlock was originally depicted in Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1.
Quasar recalls how Maelstrom claimed to have killed and replaced Anomaly. This happened in Quasar #20. As this story infers, Maelstrom only killed an M-Body and nothe the real Anomaly.
Infinity War Reading Order
Infinity War #1, Alpha Flight #109, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #7, Fantastic Four #366, Spider-Man #24, Captain America #408, Deathlok (vol. 2) #16, Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #42, Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #67, Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #43, Infinity War #2, Fantastic Four #367, Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #68-69, Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #44, Guardians of the Galaxy #27, Quasar #37, Infinity War #3, Marvel Comics Presents #108-111, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #8, Fantastic Four #368, Alpha Flight #110, New Warriors #27, Silver Sable and the Wild Pack #4, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #41-42, Wonder Man (vol. 2) #13, Nomad (vol. 2) #7, Quasar #38, Daredevil #310, Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #45, Infinity War #4, Alpha Flight #111, Silver Sable and the Wild Pack #5, Guardians of the Galaxy #28-29, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #9, Wonder Man (vol. 2) #14, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #43, Quasar #39, Infinity War #5, Sleepwalker #18, Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #46-47, Fantastic Four #369, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #10, Wonder Man (vol. 2) #15, Infinity War #6, Fantastic Four #370, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #44, Alpha Flight #112, Quasar #40
