How Earth’s 10 Heroes Could Be the Marvel Universe’s Last Hope Against the Queen in Black
The “Queen in Black” storyline has roared into Marvel Comics, with Hela as the queen after stealing Knull’s power. However, it isn’t just Hela that is threatening the universe, as Knull also has new powers, which have put him in control of the light, the one thing that he has wanted to destroy his entire life. As a result, the heroes of Earth have to figure out how to beat two of the most powerful villains they have ever faced. It doesn’t help that no one remembers Hela, thanks to Thor and his history being erased from the memories of the heroes of Earth, but regular heroes have to deal with her and Knull at the same time.
Luckily for Earth, Iron Man is there to help coordinate the attacks on the Queen in Black and Knull, and here are the 10 integral heroes that he is working with to fight them and why they are the perfect choices.
10) Mary Jane Watson (as Venom)
Mary Jane Watson has been Venom since she found the symbiote dying in the sewers. At the time, she was known as Jackpot, and her powers involved the Jackpot Bracelet, which gave her randomized powers. However, when she found the symbiote, her Jackpot Bracelet activated and tore her molecules apart, and Venom bonded with her to save her life, which also saved its life. MJ began working as Venom, with very few people knowing her identity.
By the time of the “Queen in Black” storyline, more people know who she is, including Tony Stark and Peter Parker. This has led Tony to realize that she might be needed to fight on Earth, and since Venom has always been one of the strongest defenders of Earth against Knull, the character remains important, even if it’s not bonded with Eddie Brock anymore. It does appear this week that Eddie Brock is getting his own symbiote again, but for now, it seems Mary Jane’s Venom is going to be needed to defend Earth against the Queen in Black.
9) Darkstar
Darkstar is one of the lesser-known heroes on the frontlines in the “Queen in Black” storyline. She is Laynia Sergeievna Petrovna, a Russian hero who debuted with the old-school team, the Champions of Los Angeles. Since that time, she has been more connected with Russian superhero teams, including the Soviet Super-Soldiers and the Winter Guard. She is a mutant who was initially trained at a government-operated school for Russian mutants.
Darkstar is one of the important heroes to send up against Knull, who was resurrected as the God of Light. This makes her important in this war, as her powers involve Darkforce Manipulation. She can tap into and manipulate the Darkforce, but unlike Cloak, her manipulation of this creates mass and form, giving her more power over it than both Cloak and Shroud. As someone who has such powerful control of the Darkforce, she is a key weapon against the power of light that Knull now possesses.
8) Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch is around because the Avengers know they need someone who can combat Hela on a magical level. There isn’t a more powerful magical user on Earth right now than Wanda Maximoff, who is the current Sorcerer Supreme. Just as the battle was starting, Iron Man wanted to learn more about their enemy since no one remembered fighting Hela before and only Beta Ray Bill knew anything about her. Wanda used her magic to see her, and it backfired on the Scarlet Witch.
Hela showed that her mastery of magic and her current control of the symbiotes and the living darkness they’re made of meant she could, at least temporarily, counter the Scarlet Witch. There is no chance that Wanda takes this lying down, and while Venom will likely have a big role to play against the new queen of the symbiotes, Wanda will surely be looking for a rematch to see what kind of damage she can do to Hela when the two powerful magic users match forces again.
7) Sunfire
While it is easy to forget, when Professor Xavier created his All-New X-Men in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975), Sunfire was one of the members alongside new members like Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Thunderbird. However, Sunfire didn’t stick around because he wanted to return to Japan to remain his country’s main protector. For a time, he became an antihero, as his goal was protecting Japan, which put him at odds with people like Iron Man, but he has since made his name as a great hero to the world.
In the “Queen in Black” storyline, Sunfire is part of the team targeting Hela, using his powers to attack her symbiotes specifically. This is because his mutant powers involved solar radiation manipulation, meaning he can absorb solar energy and other forms of radiation and convert it into plasma, which lets him shoot solar fire. Since symbiotes have two major weaknesses and one of them is fire, he is the ultimate weapon against the Queen in Black’s armies.
6) Photon
Photon is Monica Rambeau, and she has been one of the most powerful superheroes on Earth since she gained her powers. She made her debut in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 (1982) by Roger Stern and John Romita Jr. She has been known as Captain Marvel, Pulsar, and Spectrum, but she now goes by the name Photon. She has served as a member of the Avengers, Defenders, Thunderbolts, and more, and she is back, now working to stop the Queen in Black.
Monica has the ability to change her body mass into any form of energy in the electromagnetic spectrum. There is a rumor that she gains her powers using the Light Dimension, drawing her energy from it and replacing it with the corresponding amount of energy she wants to use. She also has an unlimited amount of time she can remain in this state. With Hela using the symbiotes and the living darkness, Photon is one of the most powerful heroes standing in defense of Earth.
5) Cable
When Iron Man was putting a team together to fight Knull and Hela, he brought in several heroes who had powers of light and darkness. However, Iron Man knew that he needed more than just those brute-force fighters. He also knew that he needed someone to lead these warriors into action, so he called on the one person who grew up in a world that knew nothing but war. He called upon Cable.
While Cable was the hero Iron Man asked to prepare to lead these heroes into battle, he isn’t just a military tactician. Cable is a mutant who has immense powers of his own, although the Techno-Organic Virus flowing through his body limits what he can and can’t do. Despite this, he does have powerful telepathic and telekinetic powers, and as the son of Madelyne Pryor, he would be an Omega-level mutant if not for those limitations.
4) Dagger
Iron Man went to two young heroes to help out in this war because they have opposite powers from each other, one controlling the Darkforce and the other controlling the Lightforce. This meant that Iron Man had to separate them from each other, since one was needed to fight Knull as the God of Light and the other against Hela as the Queen in Black. Dagger, of course, controls the Lightforce, which makes her a strong weapon against Hela and her symbiotes.
Tandy’s body endlessly generates a form of Living Light known as the Lightforce. This makes her the living personification of Light and gives her the primordial powers over the very concept of Light. With Hela controlling the darkness, Dagger is one of the most powerful enemies Hela can have. However, she draws strength from Cloak, and with them separated, they are that much weaker than they normally would be.
3) Cloak
Cloak is the other half of Dagger, and the two close friends and former teenage runaways control lightness and darkness in equal measure. These two gained their powers from an experimental drug and the fear Lord known as D’Spayre. When it comes to Cloak, he pulls his power from the Darkforce Dimension, and he is the living personification of that dimension, which, like Dagger, gives him the power over the concept of Darkness.
This means that Cloak was sent to fight Knull, separating him from Dagger, who was sent to fight Hela. Breaking up the two was a mistake, and it was made even worse when Cloak went off on his own when he arrived with Iron Man and that team. Cloak’s rash decision-making caused Knull to lash out with his godlike powers of light and not only injure Cloak, but also indirectly injure Dagger as well. While it seemed Cloak died, these two are likely not out of action, and both could play a role in the final battle because of who they are.
2) Iron Man (Knullbuster Armor)
Iron Man is arrogant enough to believe he can be the deciding force in any battle. This is no different because, even though he doesn’t remember who Hela is, he believes he is a hero who can stand up against Hela and Knull. Of course, Iron Man has been there to fight in the Secret Wars, the Civil War on Earth, and even took on an ultimate mutant villain in Onslaught. This time around, Iron Man is there to lead the attack against two godlike enemies.
For Iron Man, this involved creating new armor, which he called the Knullbuster. This is similar to his Hulk Buster armor, which was made to fight a bigger, seemingly unstoppable enemy, and it seems that this armor is powered by something that should counter Knull’s light powers, and it looks big enough to take the battle to anything Knull throws his way. Iron Man is there to lead the battle, and it remains to be seen if he helps pull out the win.
1) Beta Ray Bill
Beta Ray Bill is the only hero on Earth who knows how dangerous Hela is without the power of the living darkness they’re made of. He is the only hero who remembers Asgard and the damage that Hela has inflicted on the Earth. Hela also has Tyr on her side, and once again, only Beta Ray Bill understands this threat. That makes him one of the most important heroes when it comes to battling Hela, as well as a solid ally against Knull.
For anyone not caught up, Thor died, and the world forgot he existed. Instead, Beta Ray Bill replaced him in history, and he is the one that the heroes of Earth believe fought by their side during all the major events in modern times, including making him a founding member of the Avengers. As the modern-day version of Thor, he is on the front lines of the fight with the Queen in Black and Tyr, and he will surely be one of the biggest heroes in the conflict, and he should play into how the heroes will finally hold back Hela and Knull.
