Guardians of the Galaxy Turns Marvel’s Worst Power into a Cosmic Upgrade

Spoilers ahead for Guardians of the Galaxy #17!

In Guardians of the Galaxy #17, on sale now in print and digital, one of Marvel’s worst powers is turned into a huge asset. The two heroes calling themselves Quasar derive their powers from the Quantum Bands. These Bands have a long history in the Marvel Universe, but the way they work could be viewed as a drawback, yet the two Quasars have figured out how to turn it to their advantage.

Quasar has a long history at Marvel Comics, first appearing in 1979’s Incredible Hulk #234. While working security detail for SHIELD, Wendell Vaughn came into possession of the Quantum Bands, fantastic weapons created for whoever is the current Protector of the Universe. The Bands fell to Vaughn, and he embarked on a heroic career as Quasar. Years later, Vaugh would retire, and the mantle would pass to Avril Kincaid. Now, both Kincaid and Vaughn share the responsibilities; both have also been recruited to the Guardians of the Galaxy. In Guardians of the Galaxy #17, readers see Vaughn and Kincaid have worked out an incredible way to share the duties—one that makes it a huge advantage in combat. The issue is written by Al Ewing with art by Juan Frigeri, colors by Federico Blee, and letters by Cory Petit.

The dread Dormammu has possessed Ego the Living Planet and has embarked on a campaign of terror across the galaxy, striking at critical targets. The Guardians are called in to assist. Avril, like Quasar, is sent to Spartax to help, but she reveals she is exhausted and needs to end her “shift.” Gamora questions this and Kincaid reveals she and Vaughn have an “arrangement: one will fight for an hour, and then use the Quantum Bands to swap places with the other, who has been resting up in another dimension. Wendell Vaughn then appears and picks up where Avril left off.

This arrangement has huge advantages in combat, as it guarantees that the two can take breaks while still fighting. After the requisite hour, a new and refreshed Quasar enters the battlefield; that one fights for an hour, and the process repeats. Despite Quasar’s great power, neither of them has been viewed as a heavy-hitter, possibly because no one saw how this arrangement could be a huge advantage. There is a huge drawback here: what happens if either Avril or Wendell is seriously hurt, and cannot perform the swap? Also, whoever is in the other dimension cannot intervene in the fight and can only look on. However, the Quantum Bands give their user great power, rendering some of these questions moot.

The Guardians of the Galaxy have shown that the arrangement the two Quasars share is a huge tactical advantage despite initial appearances.

About The Author

Shaun Corley
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Shaun Corley is a pop culture enthusiast living in the Pacific Northwest. After stints in both customer service and academia, he’s turned his attention to writing about comic books–his lifelong passion. He is a graduate of Radford University, with a degree in English. When not reading comics, he enjoys spending time with his fiance and their dog.

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