BIOGRAPHY - Page 4
The Uni-Power showed surprising diversity in its choice of hosts to prevent various dangers. When a suburbanite yuppie couple summoned demons to manipulate Wall Street for them, they lost control and the demons ran amok. The Uni-Power possessed their neighbors’ toddler Eddie as a tiny Captain Universe to protect the neighborhood. [Web of Spider-Man Annual #6]
A dog named Casey suddenly gained sapience as Captain Uni-Mutt to protect his owners when their hot air balloon caught fire. [What If...? (2nd series) #31] L’Matto of the fearsome Badoon was a curious choice for Captain Universe, but it was necessary. The time-traveling Guardians of the Galaxy intended to commit pre-emptive genocide against the Badoon for their invasion of Earth one thousand years in the future. [Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #30] Elijah Jackson was an old man trapped in a vegetative state, needing constant care from his daughter, Simone. The Uni-Power restored him long enough to defend Simone from home invaders, but also giving him a moment to tell her he was still aware inside his body and loved her for her support. [Marvel Comics Presents (1st series) #148]
An otherwise unassuming individual became the next Captain Universe when a mutant named Roger Fieldston had trouble controlling his powers. Roger induced radical mutations in other people on contact, and the new Captain Universe received the Uni-Power when Roger’s next accidental victim transformed on their bus. The X-Men had been alerted by Cerebro to Roger’s presence, but they confused the victim for the new mutant they were searching for. Gambit and Wolverine in particular were aggressive in their desire to take down the threatening mutate, but Captain Universe cautioned them that this was a normal woman who just lost control of herself. The X-Men and Captain Universe finally located Roger at a nearby shopping mall. Gambit and the others realized the truth once Rogue also transformed into a mutate after making contact with Roger. Captain Universe used the Uni-Power to alter Roger’s ability, letting him revert people to normal with a second touch. With the threat ended, the Uni-Power departed and its host returned to their normal life. [X-Men & Captain Universe: Sleeping Giants #1]
[Note: The above story was a personalized comic available as a promotion through Marvel. Fans could order a comic where they starred as Captain Universe by sending in their name, home town, etc. to be incorporated into the story. The art was the same for every version (with the exception of ordering a male or female Captain Universe), as the host was never clearly shown before receiving the Uni-Power. Text bubbles varied in order to accommodate the personalized details.]
Roland Taylor was a man who suffered from schizophrenia to the severe detriment of his work, his marriage and his life in general. He was on the brink of suicide to escape the voices in his head when the Uni-Power transformed him into Captain Universe. Seemingly free of his schizophrenia at first, Roland was eternally grateful and started trying to rebuild his life. However, Captain Universe was targeted by a mysterious government organization known as Division U, which sought to capture and control the Uni-Power. Their Wraith Squad even employed (either Steve or 
Ray) Coffin as a field agent, now desperate to reclaim his power as a former Captain Universe. Roland avoided Division U but was distraught to find his schizophrenia resurfaced after the initial transformation. The voices in his head claimed they were going to monopolize the Uni-Power for the future and keep it from transitioning to a new host. A group of Enigma Hunters from the Microverse materialized with the intent of forcing the Uni-Power’s transition, but whether they located Roland or not is unknown. [Cosmic Powers Unlimited #5]
The Uni-Power did move on eventually, but this may have been the first known instance of its power malfunctioning. The Enigma Force next chose police officer Ted Simmons to become Captain Universe, but his abilities proved unreliable. Initially bulletproof in the middle of a fire fight 
on the street, Ted suddenly became intangible and gunfire passed through him to hit and kill his fellow officer whom he was shielding. [Amazing Fantasy (2nd series) #13] Realizing it was unstable, the Uni-Power directly conversed with its next intended host, Gabriel Vargas. Gabe was a veteran who lost the ability to walk while fighting overseas. The Uni-Power could restore him, but it confessed it was afraid of further irregularities. Consequently, the Uni-Power told Gabe it would return for him once it had stabilized its own nature. [Amazing Fantasy (2nd series) #14]
The Uni-Power sought out Bruce Banner and bonded with its former host, openly explaining the situation. It asked Banner to meet with Dr. Gilbert Wiles, another former host who had performed an extensive study of the Uni-Power as a phenomenon and might have an educated opinion on the current problems. However, Dr. Wiles’ financial backer David Garrett was secretly an A.I.M. operative, and they detected the Uni-Power within Banner. This led to a fight between A.I.M. and Captain Uni-Hulk, which went about as poorly for A.I.M. as one could expect. However, A.I.M. did obscure their presence enough so that, when they killed Garrett for his failure, Dr. Wiles ended up being arrested for his business partner’s murder. [Captain Universe: Hulk] Bruce Banner arranged for Matt Murdock to defend Wiles in court, and the Uni-Power bonded with Daredevil to hunt down the A.I.M. assassin genuinely responsible for Garrett’s death. Wiles and Daredevil then suggested the Uni-Power seek out A.I.M.’s research on it for further data. [Captain Universe: Daredevil]
The mutant X-23 and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Scorpion both encountered A.I.M.’s assassins at the site of their last base, and the Uni-Power bonded with X. Laura empathized with the idea of scientists collected data on the Uni-Power for misuse, and agreed to help it seek out A.I.M.’s 
primary research hub. They destroyed A.I.M.’s lab and acquired a copy of the research data. [Captain Universe: X-23] Next, the Uni-Power visited Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four for a scientific opinion. Their tests were interrupted when Gladiator of the Shi’ar Empire arrived. He represented the fear of his people that an unstable Uni-Power was too dangerous to allow to roam free. Sue Richards bonded with the Uni-Power and fought with Gladiator, but he remained stubbornly convinced the Uni-Power was damaged. To make him see the truth, Sue released the Uni-Power and it bonded with Gladiator temporarily. Once Gladiator became more supportive, Mr. Fantastic revealed his tests could only suggest the Uni-Power’s irregularity was the result of some deliberate outside influence. Gladiator respectfully offered the Uni-Power the assistance of the Shi’ar Empire’s scientists for further experiments, and it accepted. [Captain Universe: Invisible Woman]
On the way to Chandrilar, space pirates led by the energy sponge Krosakis nabbed Gladiator and the Uni-Power. Krosakis forcibly absorbed the Uni-Power to claim its energy and abilities for himself. This violation of the cosmic ether was detected by the Silver Surfer. Norrin Radd 
confronted Krosakis and used the Power Cosmic to overload even the alien’s energy absorbing talents, freeing the Uni-Power. A merger of the Silver Surfer and the Uni-Power successfully created a “blockage” which would prevent further tampering with the Uni-Power by any outside source. The Surfer then returned to Gabe Vargas on Earth and the Uni-Power finally bonded with him, creating a new Captain Universe to fulfill its chosen mission. [Captain Universe: Silver Surfer]
[Note: The mystery of who or what tampered with the Uni-Power was never resolved. It was presumably related to the subplot in Amazing Fantasy #13-14 of aliens in the Microverse discovering a cryogenically preserved penal colony specimen two months before the Uni-Power went wonky. Also, Gilbert Wiles’ experience as Captain Universe was reportedly 22 years ago, meaning the Captain Universe phenomena predates Ray Coffin.]
Gabriel Vargas made his way out into space, using the power of Captain Universe to help others. He was captured in Kree territory after interfering with a military operation, and willingly submitted to imprisonment in order to face the Empire’s justice. However, the Kree Empire was attacked and subverted by the techno-organic Phalanx, leading to an Empire-wide uprising. Surviving agents of 
Kree intelligence scraped together a team of prisoners and criminals to serve as a disposable strike team against the Phalanx. Led by Peter Quill, the former Star-Lord, Captain Universe joined Deathcry of the Shi’ar, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Mantis the Celestial Madonna and Bug of Kaliklak for covert insertion on Hala, where intelligence indicated the Phalanx were manufacturing a bio-weapon.
Gabe was easily the most powerful of his teammates, and his military experience served him well under Star-Lord’s command. Not all of the team was as reasonable, however. Deathcry was a 
crazed berserker in combat and considered it a personal dishonor when Gabe saved her life from a Phalanx attack. When he did it a second time, she actively turned on him in a fury. Captain Universe was forced to vaporize his own squad mate in defense. Star-Lord quickly dismissed the “friendly fire” incident as necessary, but Gabe struggled with the guilt of murdering Deathcry, which hampered his effectiveness for a time. When marauding Phalanx drones started pressing the unit from their underground staging ground to the surface, Captain Universe stayed behind to cover their escape. Star-Lord and most of the others were captured by the Phalanx, leaving Gabe to fend for himself.
Mantis’ psychic abilities let her become undetectable to the Phalanx, allowing her to reconnoiter and rendezvous with Captain Universe. They made a plan where Gabe released the Uni-Power to bond with a Phalanx unit connected to research on the bio-weapon. Once linked to the Phalanx 
(and through it, the hive mind) the Uni-Power extracted knowledge of a cure for the techno-organic contagion being prepared. It then reunited with Gabe as Captain Universe and found their teammates in the midst of an escape. After fleeing from Hala, Star-Lord’s unit brought the valuable data to their Kree handlers. The Uni-Power then departed from Gabe Vargas, having completed its intended mission. Gabe’s ability to walk was restored using Kree technology, and he decided to remain with his new unit. [Annihilation: Conquest – Star-Lord #1-4] Unfortunately, Gabe did not survive the Kree-Phalanx War and was killed while trying to bring down the Babel Spire on Hala. [Annihilation: Conquest #2-3]
The Uni-Power was not infallible and sometimes it chose hosts ill-suited to complete its intended missions. Years ago, the Juggernaut was buried in cement at a construction site in Manhattan and damaged the island’s bedrock while forcing his way out underground to reach the bay. As Manhattan became seismically unstable, the Uni-Power selected William Nguyen to undo the 
damage caused by the Juggernaut. However, Nguyen lost his job as a result of Juggernaut’s rampage that day and suffered a downward spiral to his life ever since. He was in the midst of committing suicide when the Uni-Power sought him out. William Nguyen fixated on taking revenge on the Juggernaut for ruining his life rather than his intended mission. He raised Juggernaut up into orbit and then blasted him like a meteor back to Earth, knocking the unstoppable force into a coma.
Spider-Man spotted Juggernaut’s descent and tried to interview Marko in custody that night to find out what could stop the Juggernaut. However, William Nguyen manifested telepathic powers as Captain Universe and sought out the Juggernaut to finish him off. Spider-Man fought to prevent Captain Universe from killing a helpless man, and Nguyen also wouldn’t listen to the Uni-Power about prioritizing his mission over his quest for vengeance. Therefore, the Uni-Power abandoned William Nguyen and inhabited a host capable of fulfilling its request: the unstoppable Juggernaut. 
Marko was in one of his more agreeable moods at the time, vacillating between hero or villain. He didn’t particularly want everyone in Manhattan to die and was willing to take responsibility for his actions. Using the molecular powers of Captain Universe, Cain Marko sunk into the bedrock and let the Uni-Power guide him in molecularly rearranging the fractured tectonic plates back into a stable form. [Amazing Spider-Man (1st series) #627-629]
At one point, the King of the Whirldemons from times long past found the means of escaping their prison. The Enigma Force reached out to past hosts like X-23, Spider-Man and the Invisible Woman to warn them of this threat. X-23 returned the King to his dimensional exile and defeated him by channeling the power of Captain Universe once more. [X-23 (2nd series) #13-16]