BIOGRAPHY - Page 2
As The One-Who-Knows, Starhawk knew his future was inexorably intertwined with a Terran group of heroes known as the Guardians of the Galaxy. Through his foreknowledge, Stakar actually took several steps to ensure this group formed as intended. Martian domination of Earth had ended centuries prior. By the year 3007 A.D., the United Federation of Earth had colonized its solar system with genetically-engineered citizens living on Mercury, Jupiter and Pluto, and had established its first extra-solar colony on Alpha Centauri IV. However, the Brotherhood of the Badoon invaded the solar system in a genocidal purge that destroyed the colonies and reduced the surviving human population of Earth to only a few million. Major Vance Astro was an astronaut from the 21st century who survived into the 31st century on a thousand-year voyage to the stars but could never remove the containment suit which preserved his ancient body. He met with Charlie-27, Martinex T’Naga and Yondu Udonta, the last surviving Jovian, Pluvian and native Centaurian, respectively, to form the Guardians. Working behind the scenes, Starhawk engineered a series of chance encounters and coincidences which ensured these heroes would find each other. [Marvel Super-Heroes (1st series) #18, Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #26]
For seven years, the Guardians of the Galaxy worked with human insurgents to try to retake their homeworld. The first city was reclaimed from the Badoon with the help of the time-traveling Captain America and the Thing. [Marvel Two-In-One #4-5] When it came time to free the whole planet, the Guardians transported to the Age of Heroes and recruited other 21st century legends known as the Defenders – Doctor Strange, Nighthawk, Valkyrie and the incredible Hulk. Once they returned to the 31st century, however, the two groups were scattered when the Badoon interfered with their transporter beam. [Giant-Size Defenders #5, Defenders (1st series) #26]
Starhawk first encountered Vance Astro and Valkyrie on Lotiara, homeworld and residence of the Sisterhood of the Badoon, with whom he was acquainted. Valkyrie was injured fighting feral Badoon sisters in the swamps, and Starhawk interceded to provide her and Major Astro with support. He used his healing light to restore Val and then arranged to make introductions to 
Queen Tolaria of the Sisterhood. A bizarre trick of biology meant that the Badoon sexes hated each other on sight, only entering a sexual frenzy every few years to propagate the species. Besides this meager contact, the Sisterhood knew nothing about the Brotherhood activities from their sister-world of Moord. Thanks to Starhawk, Vance Astro was able to convince the surprised queen of the plight of his people due to their male counterparts.
Once he had set in motion the accord between the Guardians and the Sisterhood, Starhawk took his leave. Stakar returned to the farm habitat and briefly reunited with Tara, Sita and John before consulting with Aleta through the empathic computer. Husband and wife could still commune in no other way, but together they agreed on the next stage of Starhawk’s mission. The Guardians and Defenders had reunited on Earth and begun their final battle with the Brotherhood. Doctor Strange in particular used his magic to engineer a series of revolts in the human slave camps around the globe simultaneously. Starhawk appeared before the Sorcerer Supreme and told him the Defenders must return to the past. They had done what was necessary, but now 31st century humanity must be responsible for liberating themselves. After looking into Starhawk’s eyes, Strange understood the One-Who-Knows spoke the truth. The Defenders wished the Guardians good luck, and the heroes of Earth were left to question Starhawk and his intentions. [Defenders (1st series) #27-29]
The final battle for Earth was violent but favored the liberators. Though the Guardians of the Galaxy and their army proved victorious, Starhawk did little to ingratiate himself with his new allies. He remained enigmatic and aloof, guiding events from a distance and taking key actions when necessary to assure the victory of Earth, but always kept his own counsel as the One-Who-Knows. As he planned, the Sisterhood of the Badoon soon arrived to take custody of the beaten Brotherhood and usher them off-planet. Humanity’s fervor almost pushed them to commit genocide against the Badoon rather than allow them to leave, and Starhawk was there as a stern patriarch to ensure mankind (and the Guardians) did not fall into the easy trap of hatred. The Brotherhood left as prisoners of the Sisterhood, and Earth was left to its own devices to rebuild.
Post-war life on Earth did not suit the Guardians well, as most of them were the last of their kind and didn’t fit in as colonists on the homeworld. After giving them some months to come to this conclusion themselves, Starhawk officially approached the Guardians with a new mission to occupy their time. Aboard their starship the Captain America, Starhawk and the Guardians journeyed towards the center of the galaxy. They recruited another member, the last surviving Mercurian named Nikki, and found a true threat in the form of the Topographical Man, a humanoid the size of a star system whose “motes” were consuming life and energy from entire planets. Still, Starhawk’s attitude continued to irritate many of the Guardians as he always remained distant 
until instructing them on their next necessary move. He would hide behind his title as One-Who-Knows and his track record of typically being right in the end. Stakar was particularly good at quietly provoking Vance Astro, whose impertinence also made him the only Guardian to get a rise out of the inscrutable Starhawk as well.
As the Guardians were busy, the Arcturian Reavers came for the children. In the space habitat, John, Sita and Tara realized they were in trouble and made contact with Aleta through the empathic computer. Aleta emerged from the body in Stakar’s place aboard the Captain America, in hopes of conveying a message to him that the children needed help. She passed the message along through a very surprised Vance Astro, who knew nothing about Starhawk’s shared physical form. Astro’s own enmity with Stakar made him delay sharing the message in full until Starhawk 
came clean with the Guardians. Starhawk was drawn into conflict with the Topographical Man’s mote before they could clear the air, which greatly delayed his response to Aleta’s summons. The children were taken and Aleta had to force her way into the physical realm again to give the Guardians a second plea for aid. [Marvel Presents #3-8]
Once the Guardians made their way towards Arcturus, the Captain America was captured by the Reavers in a globe of force that began to irradiate the crew within. That and the emotional strife between Stakar and Aleta over the children’s fate seemed to be responsible when they temporarily split into two beings once more. The Guardians learned how deeply Stakar and Aleta were connected to one another as Martinex’s medical readouts indicated they each only had half t
he mass of a normal person until they managed to remerge. Starhawk recollected himself and went to free his children, but the Reavers destroyed the Captain America in his wake, forcing the Guardians to capture an Arcturian warbird on their own.
[Note: In Marvel Presents #9-10, much of Starhawk’s origins were relayed to the Guardians, while in Guardians of the Galaxy #7 Stakar acted as if he was detailing his origins to Martinex for the first time. Other facts from Marvel Presents #9 were also forgotten and rediscovered years later, such as the Arcturian Mutant couple not being Stakar’s real parents, and the idea that Stakar and Aleta could not survive apart.]
Starhawk fought his way to Ogord’s command station, ready to battle his adopted father for his children’s lives. Instead, Ogord revealed that Tara, Sita and John had been altered to develop their latent power as psychic vampires. Brainwashed into Ogord’s service, the children began leeching energy from Starhawk’s form as Stakar was weakened and unable to strike back against his own children. The trio continued to drain their father/mother even as Aleta emerged to plead with her children for their lives. By the nature of their new abilities, the children grew progressively older as they fed on more power. The Guardians caught up with Starhawk at that point, and 
Yondu’s senses determined that Ogord was controlling the children through their headbands. Vance psychokinetically removed the bands, but the shock of what they had done caused John, Sita and Tara to lose control of their new power, and they aged rapidly. Starhawk was too weak to do anything but watch as his children crumbled to dust before his eyes. [Marvel Presents #9-11]
The Guardians of the Galaxy recovered as best they could after this tragedy, though it would be some time before Aleta was willing to emerge and face any of them again after the deaths of her children. They found a lost space station and starship-yard of the United Earth Federation called Drydock and used it to fashion a new starship to replace the Captain America. [Marvel Presents #12] The Guardians were putting the Freedom’s Lady through its paces when a power beam lanced through space and damaged their ship. Following it towards its point of origin, the Guardians crossed paths with the 21st century God of Thunder known as Thor, drawn through time by the same villain who struck their vessel.
The threat was Korvac, a human scientist turned collaborator during the Badoon occupation, who was altered into an insane cyborg and living computer by their former foes. Korvac was using a time probe to acquire devices of value from history on his path towards forging an empire of his own. The madman’s power beam was intended to ignite Earth’s sun and make it go nova, annihilating the solar system while feeding its power back to his systems so he could build a utopia to his specifications. Thor joined Starhawk and the Guardians as they confronted Korvac and his Minions of Menace. Stakar and the Thunder God fought with Korvac directly, though he 
delayed them using teleportation and mesmerism technology under his control. Forced to fight, Starhawk and Thor struck each other with enough force to bring down the ceiling, making Korvac teleport away and abandon his machines. They destroyed the central console and prevented the nova-cycle from triggering at the last possible minute. The battle won, Starhawk bid Thor adieu and returned him to his proper place in the timestream. [Thor Annual #6]