Noh-Varr
Noh-Varr is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Grant Morrison and artist J.G. Jones, the character first appeared in Marvel Boy #1. He later appeared in the Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways and the New Avengers: Illuminati limited series. After his appearance in Secret Invasion, he joined the Dark Avengers. He was a member of the main Avengers team. He was a part of the Young Avengers, West Coast Avengers, and Guardians of the Galaxy. The character has also been known as Marvel Boy, Captain Marvel, and Protector at various points in his history.
Noh-Varr has been described as one of Marvel's most notable and powerful male heroes, being labeled as a queer sex symbol.
Publication history
Marvel Boy was a 6-issue limited series published from August 2000 to March 2001, as part of the experimental Marvel Knights line. The series was written by Grant Morrison, illustrated by J.G. Jones and colored by Matt Milla of Avalon Studios. In a 2000 interview, Morrison described their stylistic intentions for the book:Following his own mini, he was featured in Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways and the New Avengers: Illuminati. He took a big part in the finale of the Secret Invasion, which leads into his new role as Captain Marvel in the Dark Avengers title. The writer Brian Michael Bendis has said "what he represents is Norman can put an alien on the team, whose one of the Anti-Skrulls. It's like, 'You hate Skrulls? Well this guy kills Skrulls for a living! He came to our planet to kill Skrulls!'." He appeared as a regular character in the Dark Avengers series from issue #1-6.
In the Dark Avengers Annual, Noh-Varr changed his codename to the Protector. As Protector, he appeared as a regular character in the 2010-2013 Avengers series, from issue #2 through his dismissal from the team in issue #27 during the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline.
Noh-Varr appeared as Marvel Boy in the 2013 Young Avengers series by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie where he begins to date Kate Bishop and reveals that, like the majority of the team, he is "not completely straight".
Marvel Boy starred alongside the Inhumans in 2017's Royals written by Al Ewing and drawn by Jonboy Meyers.
In 2019, he returned in the third volume of the West Coast Avengers, he met the team while he was masquerading as Graviton, who was a member of the Masters of Evil, he would aid the team and eventually join them in the last story-arc. It was written by Kelly Thompson It was during this run that it was confirmed Noh-Varr is bisexual, since he started dating Kate Bishop's former boyfriend and teammate, Fuse.
In 2020, Marvel Boy was featured as a member of a new Guardians of the Galaxy team alongside Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Moondragon, Phyla-Vell, Hercules and Nova.
Fictional character biography
Noh-Varr serves as an ensign aboard the 18th Kree Diplomatic Gestalt interstellar schooner the Marvel, which traverses millions of alternate dimensions on its way home. The ship is drawn toward the Marvel Universe and shot down by the forces of Doctor Midas, a multi-trillionaire obsessed with gaining powers through the absorption of cosmic rays. Midas blasts the Marvel out of the sky in an attempt to acquire the ship's cosmic ray-powered engines. His friends and comrades killed, Noh-Varr emerges as the only survivor.Noh-Varr then encounters the sentient corporation known as Hexus. Accidentally released from a containment cell when the Marvel crashed, Hexus begins to take over world-wide commerce in an attempt to subjugate the human population and ultimately control Earth. Noh-Varr invades the control center of Hexus and ultimately destroys the "social parasite" by releasing all of its trade secrets to its competitors.
Noh-Varr finds himself pursued by Doctor Midas and his minions, and upon striking an alliance with Midas' daughter Oubliette, Noh-Varr defeats the megalomaniac. After the battle, agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. capture Noh-Varr and incarcerate him in a seemingly inescapable prison known as the Cube. While in custody, Noh-Varr declares war on Earth and the human race.
New Avengers: Illuminati
Noh-Varr at one stage gets the attention of the Illuminati. Its members: Professor X, Mister Fantastic, Black Bolt, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Namor are worried about the fact Noh-Varr has declared war on the entire planet and try to change his mind. They visit him at the Cube in the form of a mental projection, and speak to him in turn, explaining the legacy of Captain Marvel and telling Noh-Varr that he can choose to live as a hero or spend the rest of his life in the Cube. They ultimately leave him with the choice and tell him to earn his way out.Civil War
Noh-Varr is brainwashed and ordered to capture the Runaways by S.H.I.E.L.D. director Maria Hill.After being released for his mission by the cruel warden of the Cube, Noh-Varr brutally subdues the Runaways and the Young Avengers. When the warden of the Cube feels the mission has finished successfully, he orders Noh-Varr's retrieval. As the Young Avengers and the Runaways assault the Cube, he engages them in battle. After a brief fight, Noh-Varr is defeated and the Vision reverses the Cube's mental control over him. He is seen taking control of the Cube, declaring it to be the capital city of the new Kree Empire.
Secret Invasion
When the alien virus the Skrulls upload releases all the prisoners within the Cube, Noh-Varr announces that it is "time to go." Later, while escaping on a stolen S.H.I.E.L.D. minijet, he's stopped by a dying Khn'nr. At first mistaking him for the original Captain Marvel, Noh-Varr stops to listen to his final words, as Khn'nr appoints him as the new Protector of the Earth, spurring him to fill in the role once covered by Mar-Vell himself, and stop the Skrulls, perceived as liars and honorless beings. Noh-Varr is left shaken by the revelation, after witnessing the dying Khn'nr reverting to his alien Skrull appearance.Finally deciding to take a side in the war, Noh-Varr uses the solar energies of Captain Marvel's Nega-Bands, causing a huge explosion in the middle of the battle in New York. Then he declares to the Skrull army that their invasion is over.
Dark Avengers
Noh-Varr is told by Norman Osborn that he is a war hero and he wants him to be who he truly is. He is recruited to Norman Osborn's Avengers team, and takes on the mantle of the new Captain Marvel.When the Church of Hala branch in Charleston, South Carolina commit mass suicide due to Noh-Varr taking Captain Marvel's name, Carol Danvers goes to investigate. While looking around, she finds Noh-Varr in an alley behind the church. After Carol tries to attack Nor-Varr twice and blames him for what the church has done in the original Captain Marvel's name, he explains that the Captain Marvel they founded this church for was a Skrull and he died in his arms, claiming his love for this world and her people and asked he protect this world from those who wish to harm it. Carol does not believe it and Noh-Varr flies away, telling her to believe what she will and to remember this meeting, because he never threw a punch.
After their first mission Noh-Varr shows an attraction to teammate Ms. Marvel, which is noticed by teammate Ares, much to his amusement. The team then decide to relax in the Avengers Tower once they have returned. In the evening, Noh-Varr is walking back to his room from a shower, when Karla invites him into her room. After having sex with Noh-Varr, Karla turns on the television, telling him she wanted to see how Norman would explain why his "Avengers" are full of criminals. Noh-Varr is shocked at the news that the rest of his teammates are all criminals pretending to be heroes. He then goes missing.
Post-Dark Avengers
Since abandoning the team, Noh-Varr has kept a low profile to elude the Dark Avengers and has been trying to determine what his role is while he is living on Earth. In Dark Reign: The List - Wolverine, it is revealed that one of Noh-Varr's missions as a Dark Avenger was to capture the World facility. He goes to Wolverine and warns him of Osborn's plan and together, they take the World facility from Osborn's grasp, leaving it in the hands of Fantomex. Later, Noh-Varr befriends a young woman named Annie at the same time he is found by the Sentry, who has come to take him back to Osborn. A battle ensues in the middle of Manhattan with Noh-Varr on the verge of losing when Annie intervenes and fires on the Sentry with one of Noh-Varr's Kree weapons, distracting him. Noh-Varr flees and returns to an abandoned building where he has been building a Kree communicator to contact the Kree Supreme Intelligence.In Dark Avengers Annual #1, a holographic message sent by the Supreme Intelligence tells Noh-Varr that the actions of the Skrulls during Secret Invasion have left Earth in more danger than ever before and that Noh-Varr is the planet's new protector. The Supreme Intelligence then grants him the power needed to carry out his mission in the form of a set of Nega-Bands, more advanced than the ones worn by Captain Marvel. The bands also provide him with a new costume and prevent the Dark Avengers from detecting his presence. After finding Annie and thanking her for her help, he teleports away. Unbeknown to Noh-Varr however, he was being observed by Captain America and Steve Rogers, who are trying to determine if he could be a potential ally against Osborn.