Wrapped In An Enigma... Captain Universe!

One of the few Marvel characters who faced very little accountability as far as his past or his future was concerned has been Captain Universe, a force for good who isn't so much a character as he is the "Unipower"--a combination of energy and persona which is taken on by a host body in order to deal with a crisis. As such, Captain Universe can become manifest at any time, anywhere--and in anyone who is apparently in need of him. He's also very elusive as far as his readership is concerned, given how difficult it's proven to be to establish a history for him, or a pattern of behavior (beyond his obvious heroism), or even his very nature. The Unipower, for instance, implies a single, specific energy source, but has been demonstrated to have a variety of applications (ditto Captain Marvel's "uni-beam")--while its own source, the "Enigma Force," is exactly as billed: undefined and a mystery, its origin apparently relating to a time traveler who bonded with a sword of cosmic power.

That leaves the person himself--"Captain Universe," whom we know nothing of beyond the fact that he's (it's?) offering assistance to someone who is in distress, using his own standards (i.e., the writer's) to determine which person or persons should take on the Unipower. And so basically we have a set of from-the-hip powers, stemming from a force which conveniently remains an enigma, embodied in a man? being? spirit? who has not only a titular military rank (like our friend Captain Ultra) but who also claims a rather grandiose stage for himself (i.e., the universe). How did this entity get to be "Captain Universe," anyway? By the time we meet the character in a 1979 Micronauts story--a creation of Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden--he's presented to us in full-blown, here-I-come-to-save-the-day mode, having taken the form of an ordinary character who wants to save the Earth from a powerful villain from the microverse (Baron Karza).

We're shown right off the bat that a person being suffused with the essence of Captain Universe retains their own personality and thoughts--they're simply overlaid with C.U.'s sense of heroism and purpose, while also understanding something of his mission (for want of a better word) as well as the basics on how to use the powers they now possess. The interesting part of that bargain is that C.U. is placing a great deal of trust in the judgment and capability of the person being granted the power, since it stands to reason that not every "new hero" may have the confidence or instincts they need to overcome the peril they face (consider the example of Jane Foster when she became a goddess)--but that's another way for Mantlo and other writers to keep the concept fresh, since every person who has the Unipower thrust upon them will react and act in different ways each time.

In the Micronauts presentation story, we're given a bare-bones introduction of the Enigma Force (and the beings thereof), as well as the recipient of the Unipower--Ray Coffin, who attacks Karza on sight but who embraces the Captain Universe persona as his own.

With Karza dealt with for the time being, and Coffin's part in the drama done, it only remains for the Enigma Force to reclaim Captain Universe. And thus is born a formula that can handily be used in practically any story that would benefit from a surprise appearance by Captain Universe, no questions asked.

There have been quite a number of average characters who have been granted the Unipower and thereby became much more than they were, if only for the short term--which does have the potential to be intriguing and hopefully exciting, depending on the circumstances that the writer comes up with. A catchy tag that was attached to the character of Captain Universe fit his modus operandi like a glove: "The Hero Who Could Be You!" -- which took a bit of dramatic license, considering that what we're really talking about is The Hero Who Could Be Any Character In A Comics Story. Yet it was a clever way to engage the reader, particularly one who might be a firefighter, or a student, or a nurse, or simply someone who was down on his luck--anyone who could identify with the principal character.

Following his Micronauts appearances, Captain Universe struck out on his own briefly in 1980-81 with a three-issue run in Marvel Spotlight, where Mantlo teams with artist Steve Ditko to continue the character's story, this time with Coffin's son (Steve), two sisters, and a cat burglar taking on the Unipower. Yet the Unipower at times was embodied by characters who already had powerful abilities of their own. A brief 2006 series gave us stories featuring Daredevil, the Invisible Woman, the Hulk, the Silver Surfer, and X-23 as Captain Universe, though they lacked a good deal of Mantlo's original concept; after all, these people were already heroes, and any extra power they exhibited seemed almost redundant. But years earlier, there were two characters whose stories dealing with Captain Universe were notable and handled quite well: Bill Mantlo's Incredible Hulk annual from 1981 and, later, the 1989-90 crossover issues featuring the amazing Spider-Man, with twists and turns which perhaps reignited the character of Captain Universe for many readers.

In each of these stories, the Hulk plays an interesting role--but in the Annual, it's Bruce Banner who is Mantlo's focus, when he finds himself having to fend off the attack of his alter ego in order to save the entire planet from destruction. The Hulk's part in this drama is clear: Wandering into an Air Force missile installation, the base's attacks on the monster unearth one of the missile silos, where the Hulk then finds himself standing face to face with the one he hates most.

But the true danger is the minuteman missile beneath them, which has become armed thanks to an unhinged officer in the launch bunker who has misinterpreted the sounds of war from above and assumed the worst.

The need for Captain Universe is clear; but as for Banner, who is still struggling to ascertain just what has happened to him and how, he also finds himself misinterpreting events. Regarding Captain Universe, he has a moment of clarity in that respect at least when the character's raison d'être kicks in, providing his host with the usual background info on his purpose; but from that point, it then falls to the host to put two and two together as far as what actions they need to take to rectify the situation they're in. Yet Banner, having no knowledge of Custer's actions below, makes the most likely assumption he can, given the circumstances of his tragic association with the engine of destruction that is the Hulk.

Evading the Hulk as best he can, Banner rejects the notion that he must destroy himself, while reasoning that he of course must prevent the Hulk from doing the same. But when the missile silo opens, and the base's troops respond to Custer's mad initiative, Banner makes the correct assessment as to what constitutes the real danger here, if not the cause--while the Hulk's continued attack adds a significant complication to its resolution.

From here, courtesy of artist Rick Leonardi, we're provided with passable battle scenes between these two powerful characters--though if Captain Universe is a match for the Hulk, we won't be seeing evidence of it with Banner in the driver's seat since he's in the uneviable position of having to hold the hulk at bay rather than harming him. Given the high-stakes situation of the missile's imminent launch, it would at least make sense for Banner to use the Unipower to knock him out long enough to deal with the crisis--but it seems both Leonardi and Mantlo will be keeping the Hulk around for the duration. (And it is his name on the book, after all.)

Custer, on the other hand, has no place at all on the book's marquee--and his number is decidedly up.

With that, the missile is launched, and Banner's path is clear. But the Hulk makes a similar choice, though for an entirely different reason--for with the absence of Banner's rationale helping to mitigate his actions, the Hulk has no purpose but mindless destruction, and revenge.

Before Banner can complete his task, however, the Hulk hurls him from the missile. Soaring back, Banner's next move is born of desperation--and even as you and I are likely throwing up our hands and exclaiming "What else were you expecting from that kind of reasoning!?", he receives a swift and brutal answer for his trouble.

With Banner out of options, he knows he must act before the missle plunges back to Earth. As a result, the missile's subsequent detonation triggers the withdrawal of Captain Universe, even though the crisis has not passed for Earth--a curious development in light of what we understand to be the reason for Captain Universe manifesting in the first place. Fortunately, Banner has the presence of mind to act before the Unipower has deserted him.

As for Custer--well, the makeshift eulogy he receives stands the test of time, doesn't it.

Over in the Spider-Man mags, the Captain Universe phenomenon is given an interesting twist in that Spider-Man's unusual power spike is at first attributed to Peter Parker's exposure to a physics experiment gone wrong--which results in Spider-Man attempting to deal with his incredible new abilities on his own, without having the benefit of Captain Universe entering the picture for quite some time. The upside, in terms of sales, is that the delay takes the Spider-Man mags comfortably through the "Acts Of Vengeance" crossover storyline, in which the villains' strategy of having their targets encounter opponents whose tactics they aren't prepared for runs up against a web-spinning hero who now has a repertoire of incredible powers which they had no knowledge of.

For instance, enter Sebastian Shaw, who pays the incredible Hulk--now in his gray, irascible state--a considerable sum to tackle Spider-Man. And as they say, money talks--for all the good it does Shaw or the Hulk.

When he's successfully rescued by Spider-Man and returned to Earth, the Hulk decides to cancel his agreement with Shaw and walk away, leaving Shaw to turn to his prototype Sentinels he'd been developing for the government's "Project Nimrod." But unknown to Shaw, a vengeful Loki, having failed with his cabal of villains, merges the units into a "Tri-Sentinel" which immediately heads to destroy a nuclear plant on Long Island.

It's then that we discover crucial details in regard to the "absence" of Captain Universe--specifically attributing Spidey's incomplete transformation to the failed physics experiment which acted instead to partially block the transfer of the Unipower, providing Spider-Man with the Unipower but none of the Captain Universe persona that would have cleared things up for him. The situation changes for the wall-crawler when Shaw, with the grudging help of the physics professor who headed the original experiment, produces an energy projector designed to negate Spidey's new powers--yet exposure to its discharge has an altogether different effect on him.

Even wielding the unrestrained might of the Unipower, Spider-Man has his hands full with the Tri-Sentinel which relentlessly presses forward toward the power plant. The Tri-Sentinel's presence on Long Island is news to Shaw, who realizes the danger it poses--and so he activates a fail-safe program in it which temporarily freezes it in place. When it breaks free of that control, Spider-Man--Captain Universe--is ready.

The "Acts Of Vengeance" crossover may have had its problems due to being spread so thin, but it did allow the plot involving Spider-Man's new and enhanced powers to be properly explored (as best he could manage) in a way that was consistent with his character. And for the cocksure villains who were assigned to take him out, having what they thought was the element of surprise, their surprise to the contrary certainly made for delightful reading.

BONUS!

From the UK's Arnold Book Company, 1954:

When scientist Jim Logan spoke the acronym "GALAP" (shorthand for Galileo, Archimedes, Leonardo da Vinci, Aristotle, and Pythagoras), he was transformed into: