PREAMBLE
The Star Brand is one of the primordial forces of the multiverse. It is often described as a planetary defense system, empowering a host with the strength to defend a planet… or destroy one. The power of the Brand originates from the Superflow, an extra-dimensional space which borders the thoughts and ideas of sentient beings. The Star Brand typically emerged from the Superflow to empower a host during what’s known as a White Event. It takes the form of a glyph or tattoo shaped like a star, “branded” on the host’s skin. Other glyphs sometimes come from a White Event, such as a Justice, Cipher or Nightmask glyph. [Newuniversal #2]
The Builders (possibly the oldest surviving advanced civilization in the multiverse) claim the White Event is one of their “Systems,” a cosmic mechanism designed to induce a paradigm shift on a planet which progresses the societal development of a species. The Builders maintained sentient stations in the Superflow to trigger and monitor White Events prior to the Incursion crisis. [Avengers (5th series) #6-8] However, the self-important Builders may have merely discovered the power behind the Star Brand and the White Events, and harnessed it for their own purposes.
The first known White Event on Earth-616 happened 66 million years ago. After the Celestial Progenitor infused the Earth with its own miracle essence, the planet drew an asteroid from space to impact on its surface. This caused an extinction-level event which produced enough power to crack open the Superflow and imbue the last surviving dinosaur with the power of the Star Brand. (The origin of the first Star Brand claims “the planet” did this, though whether this means one of the known embodiments of Earth like Gaea or the Demiurge was responsible is unknown.)
Eventually the dinosaur passed on, and its fallen body’s energies produced a garden which attracted the attention of Brrkk and Vnn, two early humans. During a struggle with Deviants, Brrkk was killed and Vnn discovered the Tyrannosaur’s corpse. The Star Brand demonstrated its power to transfer itself to another host, and Vnn soon became the Starbrand of the Avengers 1,000,000 B.C. [Avengers (7th series) #26, Marvel Legacy #1]
Throughout the multiverse, a White Event often triggered during the modern era and the Star Brand found a man named Kenneth Connell. [Star Brand #1, Newuniversal #1] The first appearance of the Star Brand on Earth-616 in the modern era actually came from another such reality. Quasar-616 found himself lost in a New Universe, Earth-148611, and convinced the last bearer of the Star Brand to transfer it to him as a means of traveling home. [Quasar #31] Wendell Vaughn used the Star Brand as his primary power source for a time while separated from his Quantum Bands. However, he also discovered the Star Brand was a finite power outside of its home universe, and he exhausted his share of its energies. [Quasar #47-48] Quasar inadvertently transferred the majority portion of the Star Brand into his girlfriend, Kayla Ballantine, which led to a return to Earth-148611 as Kayla (and her Star Brand) ultimately remained behind in the New Universe’s Earth. [Starblast crossover]
The first modern White Event native to Earth-616 happened during the Incursion crisis. The compression of the multiverse led to the collapse of the Superflow, destroying the Builders’ stations regulating the White Events throughout the multiverse. Their last command was to fire off as many White Events as possible before total collapse, triggering an irregular White Event on Earth-616. A college student named Kevin Connor became the new Star Brand, and eventually joined the Avengers. [Avengers (7th series) #7-9, 17] However, the impending arrival of the Dark Celestials to Earth and the stirring of the primordial forces pushed him into a state of madness. While trying to deal with these phenomena, he died fighting Robbie Reyes, the Ghost Rider. [Marvel Legacy #1]
BIOGRAPHY
Suzanne Selby of Kansas City lost her job when RoXXon moved their local plant to Madripoor. She and her boyfriend got jobs as migrant workers for intergalactic “space coyotes,” performing menial labor in the Shi’ar Empire. Unfortunately, Suzanne was pregnant, and she and her boyfriend were separated during their work shifts. She was picked up by Shi’ar border patrols and sentenced to three years of hard labor in the Ravenstarr Prison-Galaxy.
Her unborn child was sentenced to two years, pending birth. Miraculously, Suzanne’s child was the next intended host for the Star Brand, following Kevin Connor. As the baby grew, Suzanne Selby preemptively manifested the power of the Star Brand through her child. She destroyed her prison transport in a flash of energy and went on an unintended rampage through Ravenstarr, fighting both an uncontrollable cosmic power and labor pains at once.
Gladiator of the Shi’ar Empire came looking for the Star Brand, as did the Heralds of Galactus
known as Silver Surfer, Terrax and Firelord. The Avengers of Earth were alerted as well, and they also arrived in Ravenstarr. As the various powers fought over whether the fetal Star Brand was too dangerous to live, Captain America himself helped Suzanne Selby through childbirth. Suzanne died in labor, but her final wish was for her baby to go home. Gladiator chose to cede Shi’ar justice to the Avengers and custody of the baby. The Heralds chose not to go through with executing the Star Brand, but instead bestowed her with gifts – Terrax gave her the gift of Life, for he still thought killing her was the best choice; Firelord gave her the gift of Time, to grow and prove herself worthy of the first gift; and the Silver Surfer gave her the gift of Hope, and prayed she would use it well. Back on Earth, in Avengers Mountain on the top of the world, the Avengers prayed too, that they would be able to raise the Star Brand baby well. [Avengers (7th series) #27-30]
Raising baby wasn’t easy, especially when Moon Knight, the Fist of Khonshu, took action on behalf of his god. Khonshu was a forgotten member of the primordial forces, who knew of the coming threat which Mephisto posed to all of reality. In his hubris, Khonshu commanded his Fist to assemble the primordial forces so that Khonshu alone would be powerful enough to personally oppose the Devil’s machinations. Moon Knight quickly claimed the power of the Iron Fist, the Sorcerer Supreme, the Spirit of Vengeance, and even Mjolnir before the Avengers understood what was happening. Iron Man and Captain Marvel were forced to flee Avengers Mountain with the Star Brand baby to avoid Moon Knight and worshippers of Khonshu attempting to claim her.
“Brandy” was growing at an accelerated rate and grew comfortable in the arms of Tony and Carol. 
It was all they could do to keep her away from Moon Knight and his growing collection of primordial powers. Khonshu himself got involved in the hunt and ensnared Iron Man, holding him prisoner with a set of hellfire chains. The Star Brand already made Brandy quite powerful, and she was willful enough to resist Carol’s efforts to take her to safety. Instead, the baby Star Brand remained behind to defend Iron Man against Khonshu’s attack. Khonshu was God of the Moon and the night, the time away from the sun, and the starlight emanating from Brandy weakened him for his encounter with the Avengers. The team soon reclaimed their stolen powers and imprisoned Khonshu, ensuring that the primordial powers would stand together when Mephisto made his move, rather than fighting amongst each other. [Avengers (7th series) #34-38]
Brandy’s upbringing took a sudden shift when Phil Coulson used the Pandemonium Cube to re-write reality. His master Mephisto empowered Coulson to create a world where the Avengers were never formed, and the fascist Squadron Supreme of America viciously defended America’s interests and borders… even from space. Doctor Spectrum brought xenophobia to the stars, blinding the Watcher, torturing Ego and rallying the various space empires against him. They hired the galaxy’s greatest bounty hunter, Rocket Raccoon, to kill Spectrum. Meanwhile, Rocket and his best friend Groot found the Star Brand baby adrift in space and raised her into a cosmically 
powerful prepubescent child. Even when Brandy lent the strength of the Star Brand to him, however, Rocket died trying to execute his contract against Doctor Spectrum.
In search of revenge, Brandy made for Earth and was located by the Wakandan space fleet. The scattered Avengers were slowly beginning to remember the true history of Earth, and they congregated in Wakanda to oppose Coulson and the Squadron Supreme. The fierce and foul-mouthed Star Brand fought by their side, ready to make Doctor Spectrum cry for what he did. She destroyed Spectrum’s Power Prism, leaving him powerless. Moving on, Star Brand teamed up with Maya Lopez, the new Phoenix, to defeat Power Princess, as they realized their primordial powers worked well together. Instinctively, they came together and used their might to destroy the Pandemonium Cube, causing reality to shift back to what it was originally. Mostly. Brandy’s extra time in the care of rough-and-tumble alien bounty hunters remained, and the Avengers found their baby growing up faster than expected. [Heroes Reborn event]
With more of Mephisto’s plan starting to come into view, Black Panther wanted to expand the Avengers’ ranks to include more of the primordial powers, like Star Brand and Phoenix. Captain America was hesitant about putting a young child into the field, though, even one as cosmically capable as Brandy. [Avengers (7th series) #46] The Star Brand was Earth’s planetary defense system, though, and didn’t need the Avengers’ approval to carry out her duties. Brandy was 
uniquely sensitive to alien incursions on Earth, able to “sniff out” invasions as they happened. Star Brand secretly left Avengers Mountain at night after being tucked into bed, traveling the planet to fight invaders and ensure its safety. [Avengers (7th series) #52] She was still a child at heart, though, as seen when the Eternals infiltrated the Celestial Progenitor of Avengers Mountain for their own reasons. Starbrand’s enhanced senses saw through the Eternals’ cloaking, but the perennial child-Eternal Sprite transformed themselves into Brandy’s favorite imaginary playmate. The Eternals didn’t “smell” alien, and so this was enough to distract her. [Eternals (5th series) #10-12]
Captains America and Marvel caught on to Star Brand’s night-time alien-busting, and they tried to reach out to her. As tough as Brandy was, they wanted her to remember her humanity instead of merely acting as a planetary weapon. Steve and Carol brought a gruff Brandy to her mother’s house in Kansas, the home where Suzanne Selby was born and grew up. Brandy was responsive, but the touching moment was interrupted by the arrival of Deathloks. Reportedly servants to Avenger Prime, guardian of the God Quarry, the Deathloks identified Star Brand as an Omni-Avenger of great importance, whose strength was necessary to defeat the Council of Red and their pawns, the Doom Above All and his Multiversal Masters of Evil.
The Deathloks were destroyed before they could deliver their full message, incinerated by the Masters hunting them, Ghost Goblin and the Black Skull. These Masters were horrific villains, a cursed version of Norman Osborn who used the skulls of his Ghost Rider victims as hellfire bombs, and the Nazi Red Skull with a Venom symbiote. Star Brand saw the two men who died just trying to reach her, and reacted explosively. She burned the Klyntar off of the Black Skull, then contained the Rider skull bombs left by the Goblin as they fled. When the smoke cleared, however, Brandy Selby was suddenly a significantly older woman in her late teens or early 20’s. Star Brand and the Captains returned to Avengers Mountain, which had been further damaged by the Masters. One Deathlok was barely preserved, his mind linked with the Celestial Progenitor in the hopes of restoring him, given time. [Avengers (7th series) #52-55]
By this point, the Avengers understood that using her powers was causing Brandy to age prematurely, and there was no stabilizing it. As they prepared to chase Mephisto and his Masters through time, the team tried to bench Star Brand, for fear she would burn out like a mayfly on the mission. The Celestial Progenitor controlled the time travel / teleporter chamber, though, and Brandy petitioned the Celestial to send her with the team despite their orders. They reluctantly kept Star Brand with them as the time jumps became erratic, with Mephisto’s antics influencing the timeline from World War II to the Old West to feudal Japan to the age of Vikings.
Realizing that her time on Earth was going to be limited, Brandy aggressively hunted down and attacked the Mephistos manifesting at each time zone. She seemed determined to burn herself out, going down in a blaze of glory. After fighting alongside the original Star Brand Tyrannosaur 66 million years ago, Brandy was pulled aside by Jane Foster, the Valkyrie. Jane knew the feelings that all things had at death, and she encouraged Star Brand to cherish the life she had left and the experiences she was ignoring. Brandy pushed back, claiming it was just the nature of Star Brands to burn out fast. To rebut this, the Tyrannosaur mind-linked with Brandy, showing her his regret at outliving everything he had ever known, and telling Brandy she was lucky to have those like her.
Star Brand finally took the lesson to heart and began learning things from the other Avengers, and the heroes they met while traveling through time. She learned engineering from Iron Man and astronomy from Captain Marvel. She asked Thor about godhood, arm-wrestled with Namor, and finally spent time with Captain America learning all he remembered about meeting her mother. When next they encountered Mephisto, Star Brand went right at the Devil. She unleashed her full power again, overcoming whatever spell he used to prevent the Avengers from reaching their target era, home of the prehistoric Avengers from 1,000,000 B.C. It was at great cost, though, for Brandy had gone from prematurely adult to prematurely old, now well past her prime and with only a trickle of power available to her. [Avengers (7th series) #58-61]
Brandy was too weak to participate in the battle that followed, as two Avenger teams from one 
million years apart faced off against the Multiversal Masters of Evil. To Brandy’s horror, the Doom Above All casually murdered the Star Brand of 1,000,000 B.C. first. The fighting escalated, as the Avengers moved on to the God Quarry, where the Omni-Avengers of Infinity’s End fought to prevent the essence of the First Firmament from escaping the Quarry. The Doom Above All and Mephisto’s Council of Red fought waves of Avengers as they coveted the power of the Firmament. Brandy sat on the sidelines with Robbie Reyes, the Ghost Rider. Robbie possessed the multiversal Spirit of Vengeance known as the All-Rider, which also marked him as an Omni-Avenger like Brandy. He, too, feared losing himself to his power if he unleashed it again. Nevertheless, Brandy and Robbie marshaled each other’s courage and re-entered the fray, no matter the toll exacted by their powers.
Mephisto and Doom were beaten, but not before the God Quarry was breached and the dead universal forces of the Firmament began to bleed through. Trial and error proved that none of the primordial powers could close the breach from this side… someone needed to collapse the gateway to the Firmament from within. Star Brand was ready to sacrifice herself, but the All-Rider beat her to it as Robbie gave his life to save all that is.
In the aftermath, the Omni-Avengers explained how the Multiversal Masters of Evil cut a swath across the cosmos, murdering 615 versions of the prehistoric Avengers to prevent the rise of “heroes” on each of those worlds. As the Omni-Avengers debated how to proceed, the Phoenix of 1,000,000 B.C. met with Star Brand. The First Phoenix and the Last Star Brand recognized they had the power to restore all those Earths at once, but it would be the last act for them both. Brandy reflected upon her short, aborted existence, but sacrificing herself to bring the gift of life back to hundreds of worlds and trillions of people was exactly how she wanted to go. Star Brand and Phoenix joined powers and burned away as they reset hundreds of realities back to their intended course.
At the spot where Avengers Mountain once stood, Brandy’s teammates erected a statue to commemorate the sacrifices made by Ghost Rider and Star Brand. [Avengers Assemble crossover]