The Avengers’ Most Overlooked Member Could Be Their Most Effective

Warning: Spoilers for Thanos #2!

Blue Marvel, one of the most overlooked heroes to ever call themselves one of the Avengers, has proven to be one of the team’s most effective members. For those unfamiliar with Blue Marvel, Dr. Adam Brashear got his powers after getting caught in the midst of a Negative Reactor explosion. This allows him an array of abilities, including the power to manipulate and absorb matter and energy.

The Galactus-beating hero puts the full extent of his abilities on display during a battle with the title character of Thanos #2 by Christopher Cantwell, Luca Pizzari, Ruth Redmond, and VC’s Cory Petit. Most recently, the underrated super-genius joined the ranks of Marvel’s Illuminati, alongside the ranks of Emma Frost, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Mister Fantastic.

Recent series developments have seen the Illuminati trying to protect a young woman named Roberta Marshall, and unbeknownst to her, she’s Mistress Death, making her a target of Thanos. Blue Marvel showcases just how efficient he is in a time of crisis.

Blue Marvel Puts His Powers to Good Use Against Thanos

The beginning of the issue strongly hints that the Illuminati are all aware of Roberta’s true identity, long before the twist ending comes along. However, none of them think now is a good time to explain how “complicated” (per Reed Richards’ words last issue) the situation is. All they make crystal clear is that they need to keep a rampaging Thanos away from Roberta and the weapons system on Thanos’ scary spaceship needs to be disabled. Reed assigns that mission to Blue Marvel, and on cue, the fellow super-genius flies into outer space.

Almost immediately, Blue Marvel gets shot by the ship’s Starburster Cannon, but rather than getting his atoms ripped apart, Adam absorbs all of the energy as it supercharges him. He’s able to redirect the energy that he absorbs productively, firing it at the weapons system and completely destroying it. Once inside the ship’s interior, he quickly locates the ship’s tractor beam controls, all while disposing of Thanos’ crew with ease. The city of Fresno that Thanos had lifted into space then successfully lands back on Earth, thanks to Blue Marvel.

Blue Marvel Shows Why He Needs to Be in More Marvel Stories

For a character who is hardly used in Marvel storylines and comics, the former Mighty Avengers member proves to be pretty useful. Even as his teammates understandably get their backsides handed to them on-ground by Thanos, Blue Marvel is the one who makes a difference from outer space. Blue Marvel is still a relatively new character in Marvel lore, and thus, stories like this show how fresh he can manage to be. Taking Thanos’ best shot and getting more powerful from it alone is reason enough for creative teams to utilize Blue Marvel in more Avengers stories in the future.