Blastaar (, ) (also known as the Living Bomb-Burst and Blasstaar) is a character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. Created by

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

and

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

, the character

first appeared In comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status. Reader interest in fir ...

in ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

'' #62 (May 1967). Blastaar is an opponent of the

and lives in the Negative Zone. He is also an enemy of

Annihilus Annihilus () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, primarily as an adversary to the Fantastic Four. The character debuted in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four Annual'' #6, which was published ...

, another Fantastic Four villain.

Publication history

Blastaar debuted in ''

'' #62 (May 1967), created by

and

. He appeared in the 2016 ''Spider-Man/Deadpool'' series.

Fictional character biography

Blastaar is a member of an alien race known as the Baluurians, of the planet Baluur in the Negative Zone (in Sector 56-D, as charted by Reed Richards). He ruled the Baluurians as their monarch ruthlessly until his subjects rebelled and rose against him. Blastaar was deposed as monarch, and became a Negative Zone outlaw. Blastaar was locked up in a special containment suit and set adrift in outer space in the Negative Zone. When he broke loose he sighted Reed Richards, who had been trapped in the Negative Zone as well and followed him and Triton back to Earth. He fought with the Sandman and Richards' group of superheroes, the

, but was driven back to the Negative Zone by Mister Fantastic. Over the following years, Blastaar would repeatedly return to Earth to attempt to conquer it and fight the Fantastic Four many times, as well as the Avengers,

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

and other superheroes. Blastaar went into a coma at one point, but was revived by Professor Paxton Pentecost and became an unwilling servant of Pentecost. Blastaar was forced to battle the

Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm) is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and ar ...

and the

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

. He was defeated and imprisoned in

adamantium Adamantium is a fictional metal alloy, most famously appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is best known as the substance bonded to the character Wolverine's skeleton and claws. First mention in Marvel comics It was ...

and sunk into the Atlantic Ocean. Blastaar was later freed from his adamantium prison, and battled the

Inhumans The Inhumans are a superhuman race of super beings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many people associat ...

. Blastaar later made his first alliance with

, another conqueror living in the Negative Zone. Blastaar utilized the

Super-Adaptoid The Super-Adaptoid is the name of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has appeared in over five decades of Marvel continuity and featured in other Marvel-endorsed products such a ...

in an attempt to regain the throne of Baluur. He was opposed by his wife Nyglar, who summoned the Thing and the Avengers to thwart Blastaar and his allies. Blastaar later did regain the throne of Baluur and started to conquer Negative Zone, only opposed by Annihilus. Blastaar led a fleet of warships to conquer Earth, and captured Reed Richards. Blastaar freed Annihilus in an attempt to prevent the Fantastic Four from thwarting his conquest of Earth. Blastaar and Annihilus battled, however. Blastaar was betrayed by his subordinate, Tanjaar, and paralyzed. Blastaar was later discovered in the Negative Zone by the Eternals. He overthrew the Eternals, but was then defeated by the Avengers and imprisoned by the Eternals. Annihilus and Blastaar have teamed up at times, but usually they are fierce enemies. Blastaar's son, Burstaar, has helped his father, but has his own ambitions and allied himself with the

Kree The Kree, briefly known as the Ruul, are an List of fictional extraterrestrials, alien race appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are native to the planet Hala in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and have a scientificall ...

Annihilation

In '' Annihilation: Conquest'', Blastaar is kidnapped and tortured by the

Phalanx The phalanx (: phalanxes or phalanges) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar polearms tightly packed together. The term is particularly used t ...

, who believe that they killed him. In reality, he entered a death-like state of hibernation that he used to fool them.''War of Kings: Ascension'' #2

War of Kings

Prior to his appearance in ''

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Comic book teams 1969 team The 1969 version of the Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), Guardians of the Galaxy were the origi ...

'' #7, Blastaar became king of the Negative Zone.''

'' #7 He and his forces seize control of Negative Zone Prison Alpha and recruit a number of the imprisoned Earth superhumans there into his army. Later he is approached by the Raptors Talon and

Razor A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors. While the razor has been in existence since be ...

, who offer Blastaar the Cosmic Control Rod they took from Catastrophus, in exchange for his assistance in influencing the outcome of the War between the

Shi'ar The Shi'ar ( ) are a fictional species of aliens appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Shi'ar Empire (or Imperium) is a vast collection of alien species, cultures, and worlds situated close to the Skrull and Kree Em ...

and the Inhumans. The prison is taken away from Blastaar by super-powered forces of the US Government. The convict Hardball assists in this setback for Blastaar. Following the climax of the war, Blastaar had an encounter with Nova and his fellow Centurions who were in the process of battling renegade Kree and Shi'ar soldiers. Blastaar wished to capture the soldiers for himself to further assert his own position as ruler over Kree territories. Avoiding a fight, Nova appealed to Blastaar's desire to be seen as a legitimate king and ruler and convinced him to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the Nova Corps.

Thanos Imperative

Blastaar and his forces allied with the consortium of galactic rulers who fought off infection from the Cancerverse. Although he regularly antagonized his more heroic and altruistic allies such as

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; ), also called Gorgo () or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her wa ...

, the Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova. Eventually, he opted to retreat his forces in an act of self-preservation and no longer aid the heroes.

Annihilators

Blastaar made a bid to become King of the Kree, Shi'ar and Inhumans by staging a coup against Medusa shortly after the depletion and exhaustion of her armies following Thanos Imperative. He beat Medusa, but was defeated by the Annihilators and returned to the Negative Zone.

Bane of Blastaar

In the one-shot ''

: Bane of Blastaar'', Blastaar plans to conquer the

Milky Way The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the #Appearance, galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galax ...

using anti-matter and comes into conflict with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Powers and abilities

Blastaar has superhuman strength and endurance, being unaffected by conventional weaponry and extreme variations in temperature and pressure. He can live without nourishment for several weeks and survive in the vacuum of space by entering a state of hibernation. Blastaar can project blasts of concussive kinetic force from his hands, enabling him to fly via self-propulsion. He is also highly trained in the arts of warfare of and by his race and has access to advanced technology from his home world such as starships and plasma-based weapons. Most often, however, he only uses his powers without augmentation.

Reception

In 2022, ''Comic Basic'' ranked Blastaar sixth in their "Top 10 Most Feared Nova Villains of All Time" list.

In other media

Television

* Blastaar appears in ''

'' (1967), voiced by Frank Gerstle. * Blastaar appears in '' The New Fantastic Four'', voiced by

Ted Cassidy Theodore Crawford Cassidy (July 31, 1932 – January 16, 1979) was an American actor. He tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction works, such as ''Star Trek'' and ''I Dream of Jeannie'', and he played Lurch on '' The Addam ...

. * Blastaar makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the '' Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' episode "Attack of the Arachnoid". * Blastaar appears in ''

'' (1994), voiced by Ron Friedman. * Blastaar appears in the ''

Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate Ma ...

'' episode "Contest of Champions", voiced by James Arnold Taylor. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. * Blastaar appears in '' Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.'', voiced again by James Arnold Taylor. This version wields Negative Zone snakes with petrifying venom. In his most notable appearance in the episode "Monsters No More", he joins the

Leader Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

's Agents of C.R.A.S.H. to discredit the eponymous Agents of S.M.A.S.H.

Video games

Blastaar appears in ''

'' (2005), voiced by Bob Joles.

Collected editions

The following trade collections contain appearances by Blastaar.

References

External links

Blastaar
at Marvel.com {{Jack Kirby Comics characters introduced in 1967 Characters created by Jack Kirby Characters created by Stan Lee Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional kings Marvel Comics aliens Marvel Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics extraterrestrial supervillains Marvel Comics supervillains