Astra (comics)

Astra is the name of two unrelated fictional characters from the Marvel Comics Universe.

Astra (Imperial Guard)

Superherobox


caption=Astra by Dave Cockrum
comic_color=background:#ff8080
character_name=Astra
real_name=
species=
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="Uncanny X-Men" #107 (October 1977)
creators=Chris Claremont
Dave Cockrum
alliance_color=background:#c0c0ff
alliances=Imperial Guard
aliases=
powers=Alter density|

Astra is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in " [Uncanny] X-Men" #107 as a member of the Shi'ar Imperium's Imperial Guard and was created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum.

Publication history

Astra first appeared in "X-Men" #107-109 (October 1977-February 1978), and was created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum.

The character subsequently appears in "X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers" #2 (June 1990), "Thor" #446 (April 1992), "Avengers West Coast" #82 (May 1992), "Inhumans" Vol. 4 #3-4 (August-September 2000), "JLA/Avengers" #1 (September 2003), "Thanos" #12 (September 2004), and "Uncanny X-Men" #477 (October 2006), and #480 (January 2007).

Astra appeared as part of the "Imperial Guard" entry in the "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition" #6.

Fictional character biography

Little is known of the origin of the alien Guardman known as Astra apart from that she is a founding member of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard. Alongside the Guard, she first clashed with the X-Men and Starjammers on behalf of D'Ken and Davan Shakari over the fate of the Shi'ar Empress Lilandra Neramani. After the battle, D'Ken was rendered comatose and Lilandra took over as Majestrix, and the Imperial Guard swore allegiance to her.

After Lilandra's exile, and when Deathbird became Empress, Astra commanded the entire Imperial Guard to fight the combined forces of the Starjammers and Excalibur on earth so that she could claim the power of the Phoenix Force for herself. During the battle, Astra surprised Shadowcat with the ability to hit her in intangible state, since she could match her molecular density. The Guard were forced to retreat when Deathbird was put in danger.

During Operation: Galactic Storm, Astra was amongst a small team of the Imperial Guard that defended Lilandra against the Kree team, Starforce. Astra was also present with the Imperial Guard when they defended Lilandra against an assassination attempt from the Inhumans, who were under the control of Ronan the Accuser at the time.

Astra was present during the battle with Vulcan and was one of the guardsmen who survived the battle with Vulcan.

Powers and abilities

Astra has the ability to alter her density.

Other versions

Exiles

:A version of Astra appeared alongside the Imperial Guard in a story arc in "Exiles".

In other media

Television

:Astra appears alongside the Imperial Guard in a few episodes of X-Men the Animated Series.

Inspiration

Several of the members of the Imperial Guard are at least partly based on members of the DC Comics team Legion of Super-Heroes. (Dave Cockrum, co-creator of the Guard, also had a long run as artist on the Legion.) Astra is based on LSH member Phantom Girl.Fact|date=June 2008

Astra (Brotherhood)

Superherobox


caption=Astra
Alan Davis, artist
comic_color=background:#ff8080
character_name=Astra
real_name=
species=Human Mutant
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="Uncanny X-Men" #366 (cameo)
"X-Men" vol. 2 #86 (1st full appearance)
creators=Alan Davis
alliance_color=background:#c0c0ff
alliances=Brotherhood of Evil Mutants
aliases=
powers=Teleportation|

Astra is a fictional character, a supervillainess in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in "Uncanny X-Men" #366 and was created by Alan Davis.

Fictional character biography

Astra is a mutant teleporter who was revealed to be Magneto's first true recruit from his original Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. With her aid, he would acquire technology from alien civilizations, which would automatically give him advantage over the contemporary human military forces. However, she did not share Magneto’s goals - merely wanting riches, not power. The two parted ways as enemies.

She resurfaced years later, reviving Magneto (who had been mindwiped by Professor X) and creating a clone of him. Astra ordered the clone to kill Magneto, but Magneto was able to take the clone down. After the battle, the clone woke up amnesiac, thinking he was the real Magneto. The clone was given the name "Joseph" by a nun, and became affiliated with the X-Men.

Astra later returned and attempted to use Joseph against Magneto and the X-Men. She had Joseph attack Magneto while he was controlling the Earth's magnetosphere, which severely disrupted Earth's magnetic field. Joseph died repairing the damage, causing Astra to flee. Before her final exit, Astra alluded to knowing of Nightcrawler since he was a child.

Astra was mentioned by Apocalypse as having been dealt with, but her current status is unknown [The Twelve storyline] . She last appeared in a flashback to her early Brotherhood days [X-Men Forever] , where it was revealed that she saw Nightcrawler while looking for potential recruits for the Brotherhood with Magneto.

Powers and abilities

Astra has the ability to teleport. She uses a shield and also wears gauntlets to fire energy blasts.

References

External links

* [http://www.marvel.com/universe/Astra Astra Bio on Marvel.com]
*http://www.marveldatabase.com/Astra_%28Imperial_Guard%29
*http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/astraimpguard.htm