Warning: Contains spoilers for Annihilation 2099 #2

Marvel just brought back a classic cosmic character as a major threat to the universe at large – as the publisher’s Annihilation 2099 miniseries has revealed that the future version of Quasar is not the humanoid hero readers are familiar with, but rather an amoral sentient star wielding incredible destructive power, which ultimately proves responsible for the destruction of several interstellar civilizations.

Annihilation 2099 #2 – written Steve Orlando, with art by José Luis García-López – continues to reintroduce readers to Marvel’s 2099 continuity, including new space-faring variants of Marvel’s most iconic heroes as they take on the dangerous cosmic forces. One of these is Quasar, who is reimagined as genocidal sentient star.

In the issue, readers are introduced to Amandla, Earth-2099’s Starlord and “Wakandan tech goddess.” Armed with cosmic powers and a weapon reminiscent of Mjölnir, Starlord fights the 2099 incarnation of Quasar.

Marvel’s “2099” Reintroduces QUASAR As A Major Threat To The Cosmos

Annihilation 2099 #2 – Written By Steve Orlando; José Luis García-López; Color By Arif Prianto; Lettering By Corey Petit

Quasar, AKA Wendell Vaughn, was once a watch guard at Stark International, assigned to protect a project studying the Quantum Bands, a pair of cosmic energy manipulating devices created by Eon to protect the universe. After a raid by A.I.M., Vaughn equipped himself with the Quantum Bands to fend off the invaders, quickly gaining mastery over the artifacts. Quasar later learned that, thanks to his intelligence, courage, and resourcefulness, he would be chosen by Eon to replace the late Captain Mar-Vell as the new Protector of the Universe.

However, in Annihilation 2099, rather than being a symbol of galactic justice, Quasar is a genocidal despot who believes that the planets and lives within his watch are nothing but objects for him to destroy as he sees fit. Known as the Living Star, Quasar-2099 is a terrifying god-like being. After the apocalyptic destruction of the planet Orkastra-1 by the hands of Quasar-2099, Starlord arrives to investigate the death of the planet. During her investigation, she witnesses the terrifying being obliterate another planet, simply because he believed them to be shamefully self-debasing.

Quasar-2099 Presents A Danger Unlike Anything Earth Has Ever Seen

Redemption Isn’t Out Of The Question

Unlike his heroic alternate self, Quasar-2099 is equipped with the cosmic force of a sun without the noble principles of a hero. The mad sun believes himself to be a god, at the peak of evolution, and is willing to make that belief evident simply to make a point. After growing unsatisfied with the state of the worlds within his grasp, Quasar-2099 exacts a terrifying plot to annihilate every world within his grasp simply, because he sees the inhabitants as an annoying minority, among billions of more lives within the universe that he could control.

However, Annihilation #2 reveals this version of Quasar may not be as evil as he seems at first glance, as Starlord discovers an artifact lodged in Quasar’s core. Initial scans from her ship indicate that it is a device from Labworld, an artificial planet home to the Stranger and his amoral experiments, and seemingly operates as the being’s brain. Developing a plan to stop the cosmic entity from taking more innocent lives, Starlord alone faces off against Quasar-2099, in a battle of cosmic proportions that could change the Marvel Universe as readers know it.