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Wundarr the Aquarian

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Wundarr the Aquarian
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearance(as Wundarr) Fear #17 (Oct. 1973) (as Aquarian) Marvel Two-in-One #58 (Dec. 1979)
Created by(Wundarr) Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik
(The Aquarian) Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio
In-story information
Alter egoWundarr
SpeciesDakkamite
Team affiliationsThe Command
Initiative
Project Pegasus
Notable aliasesHerald of the New Age
AbilitiesSuperhuman strength
Limited flight, and leaping
Null energy field ("entropy field") that nullifies all forms of energy
Energy projection
Vast knowledge
Transmitting knowledge through touch

Wundarr the Aquarian is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik and first appeared in Adventure into Fear #17. A pastiche of Superman, Wundarr was created based on Gerber's "love of the Superman character and (...) desire to do a little parody/homage".[1]

Publication history

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Wundarr first appeared in Adventure into Fear #17 (October 1973), written by Steve Gerber. Before long he became a frequent supporting character in Marvel Two-in-One.[2] After Gerber's run on Marvel-Two-in-One, Wundarr mostly disappeared until the Project Pegasus saga (written by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio), in which he became "The Aquarian".[3][4]

Relaunch candidate

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In 2005, Marvel.com presented four characters to be relaunched. The Aquarian was one of these choices and took second place to Death's Head. Gerber asked his fans on the Howard the Duck Yahoo! Group to vote against a revival of the character, since he would have neither creative control nor receive financial compensation from such a relaunch.

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When Wundarr's first appearance was published, DC Comics claimed that Gerber had plagiarised Superman.[1][5] Prior to publication, editor Roy Thomas told Gerber that the character would need to be changed, but Gerber did not comply, leading Stan Lee to consider firing him.[5] Ultimately, DC agreed to let Marvel continue using the character if sufficient changes were made to distinguish him from Superman, including changing his costume from red and blue to white.[1][6][7]

Fictional character biography

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Early years

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On a distant planet called Dakkam,[8] scientist Hektu believes that his world will be destroyed when their sun goes nova.[1] He and his wife Soja launch their young son Wundarr into space to save him before being killed by the Internal Security Force. It is later revealed that Hektu's apocalyptic prediction was incorrect, and that he sent his son away for nothing.[7][3]

In July 1951, Wundarr's ship enters Earth's gravity and is exposed to cosmic rays before crashing in a Florida swamp. An unnamed elderly couple observe the crash and consider investigating, but decide to ignore it.[7] Thus, Wundarr remains in his ship for years, growing to physical maturity but retaining the mind of a child.[3] Twenty years later, Man-Thing encounters the pod and frees Wundarr, who believes him to be his mother.[7][9]

With his great leaping ability, Wundarr eventually reaches Hydro-Base, where Namor and Namorita are trying to rehabilitate the population of Hydro-Men. Namor believes that Wundarr is an invader and quickly scares him off. Two Dakkam officials, Tuumar and Zeneg, believe that Wundarr may seek to avenge his father and send a Mortoid robot to assassinate him. Wundarr then travels to New York City, where he, Ben, and Namor work together to destroy the Mortroid.[10] Reed Richards then builds Wundarr a containment suit that enables his body to expel small amounts of energy so that his body does not overload.[11][12]

The Aquarian

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Wundarr is captured by the Project Pegasus leaders to test his abilities.[13] During these tests, the project leaders decide to use his energy-dampening abilities to probe the Cosmic Cube, a device of great cosmic power. During the probing, the Cosmic Cube overloads Wundarr's mind and body, rendering him comatose.[3][14] This overload of energy greatly boosts his abilities, both mental and physical, giving him his power "dampening" field.[15] Being in communication with the Cube, even for so short a time, he is granted great knowledge and a sense of purpose. He awakens from his coma, and is further transformed by the Cosmic Cube. In light of his new knowledge, he renames himself the Aquarian. His new power allows him to defeat the Nth Man.[16] Since then, he roams the Earth, seeking to bring peace and enlightenment.[volume & issue needed]

For a time, he leads the Water-Children, a philosophical cult dedicated to pacifism and awaiting the coming of the Celestial Messiah. During this time, he is attacked by fellow Dakkamite Quantum, but saved by the hero Quasar.[17]

Aquarian serves as a psychic "nesting place" for the Cosmic Cube before it obtains sentience.[18] Aquarian also aids Doctor Strange in preventing planet-wide disasters on Earth.[19]

The Initiative

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After joining the Initiative program, Wundarr joins Florida's team, the Command, with Jennifer Kale and Siege. This team is the first to encounter the Marvel Zombies, who have entered the Marvel Universe through the Nexus of Realities. He is then bitten by a zombified Deadpool and enters hibernation in an energy cocoon to recover.[20] After recovering, he defends Florida during the Skrull invasion of Earth,[21] and later attends Ben Grimm's bachelor party.[22][23]

Powers and abilities

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Wundarr possesses various superhuman abilities derived from cosmic rays and solar radiation. He has superhuman strength as well as the ability to absorb energy to empower himself further. Exposure to the Cosmic Cube amplified these abilities, giving him a permanent energy-negating field around his body as well as advanced knowledge of the universe and the ability to fly by negating gravity.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Steve Gerber Interview, in The Krypton Companion, edited by Michael Eury; published by TwoMorrows Publishing, 2006
  2. ^ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  3. ^ a b c d Lord-Moncrief, Devon (August 28, 2024). "10 Forgotten Marvel Characters Who Deserve A Comeback". CBR. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  4. ^ Sanderson, Peter; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1970s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. Dorling Kindersley. p. 191. ISBN 978-0756641238. In this finale of the 'Project Pegasus' saga, Wundarr became the Aquarian, a prophet of peace and spiritual enlightenment. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b Slugfest: Inside the Epic, 50-year Battle between Marvel and DC, by Reed Tucker, published October 3, 2017, by Da Capo Press
  6. ^ Harn, Darby (April 24, 2020). "Marvel: 10 Famous Heroes From The 70s That Have Been Forgotten". CBR. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d Cronin, Brian (July 11, 2024). "Why Marvel Was 'Forced' to Change Its Weirdest Take on Superman For Fear of a DC Lawsuit". CBR. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  8. ^ Metropolis Marvels: 18 Marvel Characters That Are Just Superman Rip-Offs, by Octavio Karbank, at Comic Book Resources; published May 16, 2018; retrieved November 18, 2018
  9. ^ Adventure into Fear #17 (Oct. 1973). Marvel Comics.
  10. ^ Marvel Two-in-One #2 (Mar. 1974) and Marvel Two-in-One #4 (July 1974). Marvel Comics.
  11. ^ Marvel Two-in-One #3 (May 1974). Marvel Comics.
  12. ^ Ms. Marvel #15 (March 1978). Marvel Comics.
  13. ^ implied to have occurred some time before the events of Marvel Two-in-One #42 (Aug. 1978). Marvel Comics.
  14. ^ Marvel Two-in-One #42 (Aug. 1978). Marvel Comics.
  15. ^ Marvel Two-in-One #53 (July 1979). Marvel Comics.
  16. ^ Marvel Two-in-One #55-58 (Sept.–Dec. 1979). Marvel Comics.
  17. ^ Quasar #4 (Dec. 1989).. Marvel Comics.
  18. ^ Captain America Annual #7 (1983). Marvel Comics.
  19. ^ Quasar #25 (Aug. 1991) and Quasar #28 (Nov. 1991). Marvel Comics.
  20. ^ Marvel Zombies 3 #1 (Dec. 2008). Marvel Comics.
  21. ^ Avengers: The Initiative #19 (Jan. 2009). Marvel Comics.
  22. ^ Ashford, Sage; Stanford, Jerry; Garcia, Mayra (April 24, 2021). "15 Superheroes Marvel Doesn't Use Anymore (& Why)". CBR. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  23. ^ Fantastic Four vol. 6 #5 (Feb. 2019). Marvel Comics.
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