Three Men and a Cocoon!

For the past month, Project PEGASUS has been caring for the regenerative cocoon containing the body of Kismet.[1] Suddenly, a portal opens in the middle of the lab, setting off the alarms, prompting Blue Shied — the head of security — to send the Squadron Supreme’s Whizzer to investigate. Unfortunately, despite his super-speed he fails to stop two beings from pulling the the cocoon through the portal.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the galaxy, Quasar’s war with the Starblasters has come to a bizarre end when the Earth from the Star Brand’s native universe being transported to this one.[2] As Quasar and his allies — Ikaris, Captain Marvel, Perun, Black Bolt, Lockjaw, Binary, Solar Wind, Moondanger, Coyager, All-American, Psi-Hawk, Captain Manhattan, Nightmask, Chrome, Metallurge, Justice, and Pit-Bull — are coming to terms with what happened. While the Stranger intends to take this other Earth away to examine it, they are then joined by the Living Tribunal who orders eveyone to stop what they are doing.

Back on Quasar’s native Earth, Kismet’s cocoon arrives at the hideout of the Enclave, the rogue scientists who created her as well as Adam Warlock.[3] Carlo Zota and Maris Morlak have sought out Kismet so they can use her restorative cocoon to heal their colleague, Wladyslav Shinski, who had suffered a serious stroke. Low on funds, the three scientists were forced to enter a deal with Advance Idea Mechanics to get the funding needed to pull this off.[4] They manage to surgically remove the cocoon and wrap it around Shinski, whose damaged mind begins to heal. Disorientated by being removed from her cocoon, Kismet is convinced to help the Enclave with their experiment when Wladyslav refers to her as his daughter.

Meanwhile, on the Stranger’s world, the Living Tribunal is about to decree the fate of the alternate Earth, but does not wish to discuss it among lesser beings and uses his immense power to teleport Quasar and his allies away. The Watcher is able to avoid this but does not escape the Tribunal’s notice. He tells Uatu that he has no permission to watch, prompting the Watcher to teleport away. Now alone with the Stranger, the Living Tribunal decrees that the alternate Earth is a danger to this universe and needs to be sealed away to prevent further contamination.[5] When Quasar and his allies materialize on their own Earth, he refuses to let things go until he succeeds in rescuing Kayla and quantum jumps back to the Stranger’s world.

Later, as the Enclave begin caring for Wladyslav, their AIM assistant attempts to kill Shinski by injecting an air bubble into his veins. Luckily, Carlo and Maris stop him before he can kill their colleague. The AIM operative suddenly transforms his hand into a blaster and shoots the pair, revealing that he is actually a Super-Adaptoid who was planted by AIM to steal a genetic sample of Kismet. When Kismet tries to fight back, the Adaptoid copies her abilities and transforms himself into her previous male form of Paragon.

Meanwhile, Quasar appears in orbit over the alternate Earth and discovers that an energy barrier has been erected around out. He attempts to pierce it with his Quantum Bands, but nothing he does works. When he returns back to the Stranger’s world and demands to know what happened, he learns that the Living Tribunal sealed the planet off and Kayla is trapped there forever.

Back on Quasar’s homeworld, the battle between Kismet and Paragon rages on. However, the pair are stuck in a stalemate because they are evenly matched. However, this battle creates en enough of a distraction that Shinski is able to blast Paragon with a genetic virus that causes him to melt into a pool of goop on the floor. Kismet thanks Wladyslav for his assistance and helps him back into his cocoon to continue healing. She then weaves two more so she can restore both Maris and Carlo, promising to remain by their side until they fully recover.

On the other side of the universe, Quasar keeps a silent vigil over the alternate Earth. He blames himself for everything that happened because he was responsible for first bringing the Star Brand to his universe.[6]

However, on the planet’s surface, Kayla is visited by Metallurge who informs her that the war is over and his planet is safe. He figures she has probably gotten sick of waiting around in a barn and offers to show her around his world, an offer she gladly accepts.

Recurring Characters

Quasar, Enclave (Wladyslav Shinski, Carlo Zota, Maris Morlak), Squadron Supreme (Whizzer, Haywire, Skylark), Blue Shield, Ikaris, Captain Marvel, Perun, Lockjaw, Binary, Black Bolt, Solar Wind, Voyager, Moondancer, All-American, Psi-Hawk, Captain Manhattan, Nightmask, Chrome, Metallurge, Justice, Pit-Bull, Kismet, Kayla Ballantine, AIM, Stranger, Living Tribunal

Continuity Notes

1. Kismet has been in her regenerative cocoon since she was injured battling a Star Brand empowered Kayla Ballentine in Quasar #49.

2. This Earth is from the so-called New Universe, which Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005 #1 has been designated Reality-148611. It was transported to Earth-616 in Starblast #4.

3. The Enclave had this nasty habit of creating artificial beings they hoped would replace the human race. See Fantastic Four #66-67 and Incredible Hulk Annual #6.

4. When recounting their origins, the Enclave mention that their colleague Jerome Hamilton died during the creation of Adam Warlock. It’s later revealed that Hamilton actually survived and became Blind Justice, as seen in Solo Avengers #8-9. However, this will not be revealed until Marvel Comics #1000.

5. The Living Tribunal and Stranger act as though the Star Brand is unique to the New Universe and does not exist in the Prime Marvel universe. This has since been refuted in Avengers (vol. 5) #7, (vol. 8) #26, and Marvel Legacy #1. An explanation as of this writing (April, 2022) has yet to be provided. I have a theory on that here.

6. When Quasar was trapped in the New Universe, he used the Star Brand to escape and accidentally transferred it to Kayla setting these events into motion. See Quasar #31.