Saturday Showcase: Starfox

I was going to showcase Eros last week, but I figured I would give it another week to allow more people to see the Eternals and catch a glimpse of Starfox on the big screen even if it was only a post-credit scene.  So, who is Eros aka Starfox and why is he important?  Well, for starters he was an Avenger back in the day.  More importantly, however, he is the brother to the mad titan Thanos.  So, let's take a look at the family tree and see what else we can discover together.

Eros is a member of the Eternals, a genetic offshoot of humanity, that left for deep space from Earth thousands of years ago and settled on Saturn's moon of Titan. Eros is the youngest son of A'lars aka Mentor and Sui-San.  He grew up on Titan and was known to be a fun-loving, carefree womanizer and adventurer in contrast to his brother Thanos, a power-hungry, nihilistic conqueror. 

Thanos wanted to rule all of Titan, so he led a campaign to destroy those who stood in his way.  Eros fought alongside Titan's handful of survivors against his brother's thirst for conquest. When all seemed lost, Eros joined the alien Captain Mar-Vell in battling Thanos's minions.  Eros was held captive by Thanos, who revealed that he had killed their mother.  A very distraught Eros was freed from captivity and met Iron Man, Moondragon, who were assisting Mar-Vell and the Avengers in the first major defeat of Thanos.

Eros then returned to Titan to help console his cancer-stricken friend Mar-Vell when he retreated to Titan to spend his final days. After Mar-Vell died,  Eros left Titan for Earth.  Why Earth? To join the Avengers of course.   They admitted him to their training program and the Wasp gave him the name Starfox, since they felt Eros was an inappropriate code-name. 

He then went on his first mission with the team, against Annihilus. He helped the Avengers vanquish the Wizard and helped resuscitate the Vision with the help of ISAAC.  He was later made a full Avenger.  Although he had many adventures with the team, he decided he had enough and journey out into the cosmos.

Eros and his brother, Thanos, have a custom, where each Eternal year (Eternal year = 1000 Earth years) they bury the hatchet and convene at a neutral place, usually bearing gifts. This was an initiative of their father, who demanded that the two would meet every year as a reminder of the blood that runs through both their veins. The meeting is called The Truce and the two meet alone, although the hero Quasar was present at one of their meetings, and they refuse to fight one another.

Publication Information:

• Publisher:  Marvel Comics
• First Appearance:  The Invincible Iron Man #55 (February 1973)
• Created by Jim Starlin
• Alter Ego: Eros of Titan, originally Eron
• Species: Titanian
• Place of Origin: Titan

Team Affiliations:

• Eternals
• Avengers
• Dark Guardians

Abilities:

• Superhuman Strength, Agility, Durability, and Longevity
• Flight
• Psychic Control (over the emotions of others)

Until next time, get your READ on!