Quasar #48
Rune With a View
After losing them some time ago, Quasar has finally reclaimed his Quantum Bands, vowing to never lose them again.[1] In order to get his weapons back, Quasar had to travel to the reincarnated form of Origin, now a cosmic fetus, and clash with members of the Elders of the Universe. After clashing with the Judicator, Explorer, Caregiver, Obliterator, and Possessor our hero had one of his Quantum Bands stolen by an impostor posing as the Contemplator.[2]
Shocked to have an impersonator in their midst, the Judicator uses her cosmic powers to force the fake Contemplator to reveal its true identity. As it turns out, the impostor was actually one of the shapeshifting Skrulls. She then teleports away with the Skrull in order to deliver punishment. With the battle over, the Explorer leaves while the Caregiver decides to stay and care for Origin. Before Quasar and his ally Thunderstrike can leave, Caregive asks them to relocate her fellow Elders — the Possessor and Eradicator — who were knocked out in battle.
At first Quasar considers leaving the Possessor and Eradictor in the Quantum Zone, but opts for deep space since the last time he pulled that stunt didn’t go very well.[3] When they arrive, Thunderstrike suddenly strikes the Possessor again, despite the fact that he is out cold, and then begins attacking Quasar for no apparent reason.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, Kayla Ballentine and Holly Steckley have finally returned home after being abducted by aliens for weeks.[4] Needing to change clothes, they steal some off a nearby clothesline and then go to bathe in a nearby lake. As they wash up, Kayla admits that the Star Brand is more trouble than it is worth. When Holly suggests transferring it to her, Kayla laughs the idea off, pointing out Holly would be stuck with it as much as she is.[5]
Back in space, Quasar fends off Thunderstrike’s attacks until he realizes that the Possessor must have swapped bodies with his friend. Trapping Thunderstrike’s body in an energy bubble, Quasar confronts the Possessor and force him to relinquish control of his friend. However, rather than returning to his own body, the Possessor swaps with Quasar. Realizing how much of a threat Quasar poses, the Possessor begins willing the Quantum Bands to build up energy in the hopes of overloading them and incinerating Quasar in the process.
At that moment, Holly and Kayla are getting hungry and head into a nearby truck stop. There Holly tells the patrons that Kayla can beat them in an arm wrestle in exchange for a free meal. One of the truckers takes the bate and agrees to wrestle Kayla and if he wins the two women will do whatever he wants. Sure enough, with the power of the Star Brand, Kayla wins the competition with ease.
By this time, Quasar has realized what the Possessor is trying to do and the two engage in a mental battle for control of his body. He manages to win by bluffing the Possessor by threatening him with the Star Brand. Even though it is mostly spent, the fact that it is a power source from a far distant universe frightens the Possessor enough to flee back to his own body. Back in control, Quasar then uses his Quantum Bands to incinerate the Rune Staff, destroying the Possessor’s right arm in the process as well.[6] With the battle over and the Obliterator waking up, Quasar suggests to Thunderstrike that they head home. The pair then quantum jump back to Earth.
Elsewhere in space, the artificially created woman known as Kismet is heading back home to Earth. She is annoyed that none of her friends have come back for her and vows that if Quasar is back home, she will be really pissed off. She passes by an alien ship that is hidden by a cloaking device. The captain of the ship asks if the passing woman has the power source they have been tracking. When it is determine she is not, the captain orders the ship to remain cloaked as they have more reconnaissance to to.[7]
Recurring Characters
Quasar, Thunderstrike, Kayla Ballentine, “H.D. Sheckley”, Kismet, Elders of the Universe (“Contemplator”, Possessor, Obliterator, Judicator, Explorer, Caregiver), Origin
Continuity Notes
Quasar lost his Quantum Bands when he accidentally nullified himself with the Ultimate Nullifier in Quasar #40. He has been getting by with the Star Brand, a power source that he obtained from the New Universe in Quasar #31, although he didn’t realize he still had it until issue #43. He recovered his bands last issue (obviously).
Quasar encountered the real Contemplator and learned that there was an impostor about in Quasar #37. This Skrull impostor posed as the Contemplator in Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #7-9, 11-12, 20-21, and 25-31.
Quasar dumped the Presence in the Quantum Zone back in Quasar #20. This came back to bite him in the ass when the Presence got free and teamed up with Neutron to get revenge. See Quasar #45-46.
Kayla Ballentine inadvertedly had a portion of the Star Brand transferred to her by Quasar back in issue #31. Since then, she was abducted by the people of Scadam back in issue #36 in order to use the Brand to fend off an invasion of the Black Fleet. They finally got back home last issue.
This is the first hint that Holly is trying to steal the Star Brand. As we’ll learn in Quasar #49-50, she is secretly a Deviant named Erekingal who is seeking to claim the power of the Star Brand for herself.
As of this writing (April 2022) this is the last we see of the Runestaff. Some poorly-researched crowd sourced website will have you believe that it appears again in X-Force #75. But that would be incorrect. That is an unrelated object of Asgardian origins that just so happens to have the same name. As for the Possessor, losing an arm was apparently no big thing as he will have it back when he appears again years later in Contest of Champions #6.
This mysterious group is Skeletron and his crew of Starblasters who are seeking to obtain the Star Brand. See Starblast #1-4, Quasar #54-56, Secret Defenders #11, Namor the Sub-Mariner #47-48, and Fantastic Four #385-386.
