Ultimately Marvel Boy

A new combination of heroes appear as Defenders within the alternate world of the Ultimates (#21). This latest iteration of Defenders has no connection to earlier versions of the team. One of the most interesting members of the new team is Marvel Boy, a Japanese hero with a positive track record as a monster hunter.

This panel with Marvel Boy comes from Ultimates #21 (April 2026).

Princess Satana

First introduced in Vampire Tales #2 (July 1973), Satana Hellstrom might be the best-known comic book character with that first name, but she isn't the first. Marvel Boy encountered a Princess Satana of the planet Satania back in Astonishing #3 (April 1951). In the story "The Runaway Planet," inhabitants of Satania believed that their planet was heading into the Sun. Science from Marvel Boy's adopted home world of Uranus, however, proved that they were mistaken. As an aisde, there's no evidence that Princess Satana had a brother named Daimon.

Bill Everett illustrated this panel from Astonishing #3 (April 1951).

The Making of Marvel Man

Marvel Man was largely unknown when he joined the Defenders for a Day. During his debut in Captain America #217, the character had introduced himself as Marvel Boy—differentiating himself from an earlier hero with that same name—only to become Marvel Man in #218.

The original Marvel Boy had appeared in comic books published in the 1950s by Atlas Comics (the immediate predecessor to Marvel Comics). The character's origin story tied to recent history. In 1934, to escape the threat of Hitler, scientist Matthew Grayson fled Earth in a spaceship, taking his infant son with him. They arrived on Uranus, where young Bob Grayson developed intuitive telepathic abilities, like the planet's peaceful inhabitants. As a young adult, Bob returned to Earth to stop crime as Marvel Boy, wearing Uranian wristbands that could generate a blinding light.

The character made a jarring return in Fantastic Four #164-165. Now calling himself Crusader, the former hero went on a rampage and then vanished, leaving behind his wristbands. From there, Anthony Stark's crew developed the wristbands worn by the new Marvel Boy/Man in Captain America #217-218.

Following the events in Defenders #62-65, Marvel Man guest-starred in The Incredible Hulk #233, with his name highlighted on the cover. Marvel Man could use his wristbands to fly and manipulate energy in various ways. His confidence plummeted, however, when a boy told him that Marvel Man was a dopey name. In #234, the hero changed his name to Quasar, distinguishing himself from other recognizable Marvel characters, including Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel.

Star Jaws

Spidey Super Stories #31 paid homage to the 1977 film Star Wars by retelling the story with an unlikely cast of characters drawn from various media.

In this version, Dr. Doom held Moon Dragon captive aboard a space station called Star Jaws. Moon Dragon's robot companion SAM (a recurring character from Sesame Street) escaped in a rocket ship to Earth, where he enlisted the help of Spider-Man and Marvel Boy (a hero originally from the 1950s).

Once rescued, Moon Dragon used her Mind Force (or Force for short) to create an illusion that tricked the Star Jaws space station to swallow one million tons of T.N.T. instead of engulfing the Earth.

Spidey Super Stories. Vol. 1. No. 31. February 1978. "Star Jaws." Kolfax Mingo (writer), Winslow Mortimer (pencils), Mike Esposito (inker), A.J. Hays / Julie Mishkin (editors), David Kraft (consulting Marvel editor), John Romita (art director).

Though a number of villains from the live-action Spider-Man segments of The Electric Company would appear in Spidey Super Stories, the comic book series did not have inherent ties to Sesame Street, making SAM an anomaly. This image of SAM (short for Super Automated Robot) comes from an early episode of Sesame Street.