Who is Marvel’s Starfox? Thanos’ Eternal Brother Explained

With Marvel’s upcoming film, Eternals, premiering next year, the idea of Starfox, swashbuckling Eternal and brother of the Marvel Cinematic Universe ultimate villain Thanos appearing in the film is a real possibility. With stories that actor and singer, Harry Styles, will play the part, it’s time to look into the dashing rogue who’s the exact opposite of Thanos, and yet somehow just as dangerous.

The Origin of Starfox in Marvel Comics

Starfox was introduced into the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe back in the 1970s. After a stint at DC Comics, where Jack “King” Kirby created The Fourth World universe (which introduced Darkseid and the New Gods), Kirby returned to Marvel Comics and immediately added new wild ideas to the universe he created with Stan Lee. With the publication of The Eternals #1 in the summer of 1976, Kirby introduced a cosmic cast made up of Eternals, Deviants, and their creators the Celestials, which are a race of massive, towering gods who planted the seeds of sentient life throughout the universe.

The MCU already teased the Celestials in Guardian of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The trading post of Knowhere is the severed head of a Celestial, and Ego the Living Planet, Star Lord’s dad, was revamped as one in the MCU. The Celestials created the Eternals to be Earth’s defenders and they found themselves in constant conflict with the monstrous Deviants. Unfortunately, The Eternals initial run lasted only nineteen issues.

Like so many other creations of Jack Kirby, other writers and artists would expand on them further down the line. Starfox first appeared in Iron Man#55 (February 1973), created by Mike Friedrich and Jim Starlin. That issue also had the first appearance of Starfox’s brother, Thanos. Starfox, aka Eros of Titan, is a member of a colony of Eternals who colonized Saturn’s moon, Titan. As the youngest son of Mentor and Sui-San, Starfox grew up to be a fun-loving and carefree, making him the polar opposite of his older brother, Thanos, who is power-hungry and obsessed with Death. Only when Thanos launched his first major attack on Titan did Eros begin to take life a bit more seriously.

Another factor that separates the two brothers is that Starfox, like his parents, resembles an Eternal. But, Thanos, even though he’s the son of Eternals, has the frightful appearance of a Deviant. This marked him for persecution, and his subsequent murder of their mother drove the two brothers even further apart. To save their home from destruction, Starfox and his father joined forces with the original Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell, to defeat Thanos. After rebuilding Titan society, Starfox went in search of adventure, visiting Earth – something he had done thousands of years ago, thus inspiring the myth of Eros. He joined the Avengers as a member-in-training and, since the Wasp felt Eros was a publicity scandal waiting to happen, she jokingly rebranded him “Starfox.”

Starfox’s Eternal Powers Explained

Like other Eternals, Starfox’s body processes cosmic energy, hugely enhancing his longevity. He also has the basic Eternal abilities of superhuman invulnerability, super strength, healing capabilities, and flight. The centerpiece of his powers is his psychic control over the emotions of others. He can psionically stimulate the pleasure centers in someone’s brain, making them calm and open to suggestions. This influence causes a person or persons to become infatuated with him, objects, or people of Starfox’s choosing. His powers might appear simple but, if used with ingenuity, they can be extremely effective.

Despite the potentially risque applications of this power, Eros claims to have enough restraint over his abilities that he only uses them actively. Once confronted and beaten up by She-Hulk, who suspected he’d used his powers to get her into bed, Starfox was able to prove to the Avenger’s satisfaction that his powers can be kept under control and only utilized when needed, motivating her to defend him in a court case in which a villain claimed to have been rendered obsessed with Eros against his will. This was something of a retcon, as previous to this story there was always the suggestion that Eros possessed a supernatural level of charm.

The tragic aspect of his main power is that it doesn’t work on Thanos. While Thanos once tried to frame Starfox as the individual who prompted him to become obsessed with Death, this was later proved to be a deliberate deception. Starfox can calm almost any being in the universe, persuading them to like him so much they’ll betray their own interests, but the one individual he can never change is the one with the best chance of bringing the universe itself to an end.

Starfox’s Role in The Modern Marvel Universe

With the introduction of Thanos as the main villain in the MCU, Marvel brought back Jim Starlin for a series of graphic novels that were supposedly the final chapters in the brothers’ conflict. With Alan Davis on pencils and Mark Farmer on inks, Starlin delivered the three graphic novels Thanos: The Infinity Siblings, Thanos: The Infinity Conflict and Thanos: The Infinity Ending. Starfox features in the time-hopping adventure that includes Marvel’s cosmic cast of who’s who, including Kang the Conqueror, Adam Warlock, Annihilus, and even the Living Tribunal.

Over the course of the three graphic novels, Starfox seems to finally eliminate Thanos’ threat to the universe and bring closure to the destructive sibling rivalry he has with Thanos. Unfortunately, it is revealed later that the seeds to Thanos return to the Marvel Comics Universe were planted within him. It will be very interesting to see if the stories are true about Starfox‘s appearance in Eternals, and if the MCU will follow the roadmap to bring back Thanos too.

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