Phyla-Vell is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Peter David and Paul Azaceta, the character first appeared in Captain Marvel vol. 5 #16 (January 2004). Phyla-Vell is the daughter of superhero Mar-Vell and the sister of Genis-Vell. The character has also been known as Quasar, Captain Marvel, and Martyr at various points in her history.
The character appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as a reimagined Star Child, portrayed by Kai Zen.
Publication history
Phyla-Vell first appeared in Captain Marvel vol. 5 #16 and was created by writer Peter David and artist Paul Azaceta. She is introduced as Phyla-Vell and is the daughter of Elysius, the genetically engineered woman beloved by the late Mar-Vell. When Genis-Vell went mad and destroyed and recreated the world, he created a new universe where everything was mostly the same but for some subtle differences. She was the second child created by Elysius, who also created Gen-Vell, from Mar-Vell's DNA and for a time, Phyla wore the name Captain Marvel.
The character appeared as Quasar after the previous Quasar died, in Annihilation: Conquest, featuring in her own, self-titled mini-series written by Christos Gage. Leading on from this appearance she was part of the line-up for the 2008 Guardians of the Galaxy team.
She made a deal to save the life of her partner Moondragon; in exchange she became the Avatar of Oblivion, and she started calling herself Martyr. She remained part of the Guardians of the Galaxy team until her death.
Her name is derived from the scientific classification phylum, one of the levels of organization (taxa) for classifying life. This is a reference to the fact that her brother Genis-Vell's name comes from genus, one of the other classifications for life forms.
Fictional character biography
After Genis-Vell, then known as Captain Marvel, previously destroyed and recreated the universe, the "new" version was subtly altered with Phyla-Vell's existence being one of the changes. It is revealed that she is the second artificially created offspring of Captain Mar-Vell who was created by her mother Elysius in the "new" universe because her first attempt (Genis-Vell) had been so successful. Initially, her origin conflicted with previously established storylines, but this is resolved in Captain Marvel vol. 5 #18 (Feb. 2004).
She fights her brother Genis-Vell, who was insane at the time, in the process helping to restore his sanity. She then tries to lay claim to the "Captain Marvel" title, though her brother refuses to give it up. Phyla is next seen at the trial of Starfox.
The Captain Marvel (vol. 5) series heavily hinted that Phyla-Vell is a lesbian, and in #25 (September 2004) the character admits that she is attracted to Moondragon and invites her on a tour of the "spiral nebula near Renault VII". Before Moondragon can accept, the two wander through a portal.
Annihilation
Phyla later appeared during Annihilation where she had been visiting her father's grave with Moondragon when the pair were attacked by Thanos who ripped off Moondragon's ear and gave it to Phyla, telling her to go to Drax the Destroyer and how his actions would determine Moondragon's fate shortly before teleporting away with Moondragon. Drax has indicated he will not be stopping his pursuit of Thanos.
Phyla then goes with Nova and Star-Lord to lead a final battle against Annihilus, being saved at the last second by a massive energy wave caused by the just freed Galactus, which left only the three heroes and Annihilus as survivors. Ultimately in the battle, Phyla manages to steal away the quantum bands that Annihilus took from Quasar, weakening him and allowing Nova to finally bring an end to the Annihilation Wave. She is then seen re-united with Moondragon, and deciding it's up to her to become the new Quasar.