2023’s The Marvels was a bad film. However, there was one rumor at the time that made me desperately hope for an unannounced supporting superhero role in the film. Online fans at the time said Blue Marvel might appear. That did not happen. Blue Marvel is one of the most underrated and underappreciated superheroes at Marvel. He is an athlete, veteran, and genius-level physicist with the power of Superman. He is also a tragic figure who had to sacrifice his compulsion to do right in a political era that did not appreciate him.
Marvel retroactively made him their first superhero, although many modern fans never heard of him. Blue Marvel is a brilliant character; Marvel should do more to expand his brand. So, allow me to tell you about some of the best stories featuring Blue Marvel; but first, let’s discuss his back story.
Blue Marvel was operating before his time, during the Civil Rights era, in a world that would never accept a Black man being the most powerful being on the planet. To talk about Blue Marvel we must about race, race politics, and fear of black superheroes.
Blue Marvel Origins
Blue Marvel made his debut in 2008 in Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel #1. The character was created by actor, writer, director, filmmaker, and comic book writer Kevin Grevioux. Adam Breshar is a brilliant scientist, athlete, and Korean War veteran conducting radiation experiments in 1962.
Breshear was trying to tap into anti-matter to create free energy for all. The experiment exploded and exposed Breshear to exotic antimatter radiation that gave him the power of flight, invulnerability, and the power to channel, manipulate, and direct antimatter energy.
Superman is a living battery that gains his powers from absorbing yellow sunlight. Brashear is a Superman analog who derives his power from antimatter radiation. He is a living antimatter reactor who may be more powerful than Superman.
Breshar assumes the name Blue Marvel, wore a mask and began operating as a superhero. During a battle, Blue Marvel’s mask got torn and the public saw that the hero was a black male. Additionally, Brashear was operating in an era of overt and publicly accepted institutionalized racism and segregation.
Compulsory Retirement Due to Racism
President John F. Kennedy, a year before his assassination, called Brasher into the Oval Office. He gave Brashear the Presidential Medal of Freedom and politely asked him to stop operating as Blue Marvel. Kennedy convinces Brasher that the United States and the world were not ready for a black superhero.
Kennedy tells Brashear that the world is a afraid of him. JFK says that the world fears a superpowered “negro,” with the power to take over at any moment. Imagine the President of the United States saying this you, when all you want to do is the right thing.
Breasher retreats from public life for decades. Since he may be immortal, he ages slowly. Brashear slowly rededicates his life to becoming a superhero, openly and with no helmet, in the late 1990s.
Here are a few of the best appearances of this brilliant character in Marvel Comics.
Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel (2008)
Iron Man is battling a villain known as Anti Man. Anti Man is a being of pure anti matter energy and is terrorizing New York City. Iron Man is unable to stop Anti Man. Stark does some research and learns that one hero successfully fought Anti Man back in the 1960s – Blue Marvel!
However, the hero has not been seen since the 1960s. So, Starks rallies some allies to find out about the past of Anti Man and Blue Marvel, their connection, and if the hero is still alive.
I highly recommend you buy this story. It is a pitch perfect origin story of an over-powered hero too far ahead of his time in a politically volatile world. Buy this 137-page story on Kindle for $9 now. The paperback collects all five issues of the 2008 series but can cost upwards of $700. Some sellers on Amazon are selling individual issues for thousands each.
Issue #1 of this series currently has a collectibles market value of $636, as long as it has a CGC rating of 9.8.
Ultimates By Al Ewing: The Complete Collection (2015)
In 2015, the Ultimates team features Blue Marvel, Black Panther, America Chavez, Monica Rambeau as Spectrum, and Captain Marvel as their leader. The Ultimates exist to stop impossible problems from manifesting in a way that will destroy their universe – and their first problem is to stop Galactus.
Brashear studies Galactus and finds a way to stave off his celestial hunger while also saving untold planets in the galaxy. There is also a threat to the timeline that only a genius can calculate and figure out. Also, romantic sparks fly between Brashear and Spectrum.
Punching away at the problem is not always enough to save the day. Sometimes it takes the intellect of Blue Marvel to fix problems more often than not.
Ultimates By Al Ewing: The Complete Collection collects every issue of the run. Get the 474-page story for $25 on Kindle now.
Blue Marvel Deserves Wider Exposure
Blue Marvel is a tragic, dynamic, and brilliantly poignant Black superhero. It is no happy accident that most superheroes are white. Over 86% of superheroes are white males or white in general. In Marvel Comics, the character could not exist in a racist world that would not accept him. It is crazy that Marvel Comics does not do more to market this character now, especially in live action.
Most casual readers have never heard of the character. Many hardcore fans do not appreciate the character enough. Blue Marvel is a brilliant, unsung superhero who needs wider exposure to new readers.
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