BIOGRAPHY - Page 6
Pursued by the Guardians and Protégé’s Black Guard, Starhawk fled to a remote asteroid in a distant corner of the galaxy as a strange, dark metamorphosis began. When Aleta next regained consciousness, she was in the Great Nothing, the astral void where she and Stakar once resided in turns when they were merged and not actively controlling their shared body. Therefore, she was 
surprised to find Stakar there waiting for her. Aleta was ready to kill Stakar, but he told her a shocking story. Stakar explained that “Starhawk” had been the Hawk-God all along, acting in his place while keeping the real Stakar in the void ever since they first merged. The Hawk-God was not their patron, but their manipulator and tormentor. As Aleta tried to process this revelation, Stakar dropped his second bomb – the children, Tara, Sita and John, were alive in the void as well!
Aleta was lovingly reunited with her children as Stakar explained the dark metamorphosis the Hawk-God was undergoing in the physical plane. She began to let go of her anger towards Stakar for the children’s deaths, when really it had been her father’s machinations. The more Stakar talked, however, the more holes Aleta found in his story. She asked how they never encountered each other in the nothingness before, and Stakar lamely claimed the Hawk-God kept them apart. Aleta knew the story of Starhawk’s cyclical lifetime, and that didn’t track either if Stakar and Starhawk were separate beings. Stakar tried to explain how the Hawk-God, as Starhawk, would 
cyclically possess his infant body and displace Stakar…but the lies fell apart. Aleta realized he was lying and trying to manipulate her with the ghosts of her dead children as horrifying puppets, and she turned against Stakar. In the last moments, Stakar seemingly did become the Hawk-God and consumed Aleta’s astral form and his metamorphosis was complete, unleashing a new Dark Starhawk on the galaxy. [Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #17-21]
Stakar’s efforts to distract Aleta on the astral plane were meant to give him time to change the rules of their merger and create a new physical manifestation as Starhawk. (Why is uncertain. He spoke several times about a “dark metamorphosis,” but whether this was the will of the Hawk-God or Stakar’s own plan to create a reality divergent enough for him to avoid his fate is unclear.) Aleta’s will to survive and final struggles compromised his plans, allowing her to retain a foothold 
on the physical plane. The new Starhawk wielded darkness instead of light, able to project dark energy in all the ways Aleta and Stakar could manipulate light before. While Stakar was the dominant partner now, Aleta was not trapped in the void as before. She could see, hear and experience the waking world through Stakar’s senses, mentally communicating with him directly. She could speak through his mouth, direct his body, or even cause him psychic pain as his silent partner.
Starhawk traveled to Earth where he/they found the Guardians of the Galaxy in battle with Rancor’s lieutenants again. Aleta insisted they go to the Guardians’ aid, though Stakar was reluctant as he knew the Guardians had expelled him from their ranks after he re-absorbed Aleta. Indeed, when Starhawk intervened to rescue Nikki from the mutant Batwing, her first reaction was 
a right cross rather than a word of thanks. Aleta spoke to the others through Stakar and explained their new situation as best she could. Vance Astro had gone through changes as well, adopting the name Major Victory after the Sorcerer Supreme casting a preservation spell allowing him to exit his containment suit full time. Vance was uncomfortable with the idea of his fiancé inhabiting the body of the man he, until recently, had blamed for her death.
While Aleta and Vance struggled to find common ground, Stakar was more of an outsider than ever before among the Guardians. Despite his return, the Guardians only accepted Aleta back into their ranks, not Stakar. Starhawk appeared untrustworthy and more openly self-interested than ever before. Stakar understood that his days were numbered, as the time loop that defined his cyclical timeline was coming to a close. In every lifetime he had experienced up until this point, Stakar knew his mind would shortly be sent back in time to inhabit his infant body. And while he remained openly stoic, Starhawk was clearly worried his time was running out to make sure this alternate reality finally broke the cycle in his advantage. He helped the Guardians against Rancor, the Keeper and even Galactus at Aleta’s insistence, but Starhawk definitely had his own plans in mind. (Incidentally, Yondu would soon leave the team after finding a lost surviving tribe of his people, thus fulfilling the prediction Stakar made for him months prior.) [Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #22-25]
As Nikki and Charlie reviewed docu-chips of their origin with their new member Talon, the bitter memories of the Badoon invasion began to overtake them. Stakar chose that opportunity to spur them into a first strike mission, using Drydock’s time machine to travel back to the 21st century 
and eliminate the Brotherhood of the Badoon long before Earth and its colonies fell. They were already in transit before Major Victory found out about the scheme, and he was livid. Upon arrival, the Guardians were distracted by Talon’s sudden illness, arriving at Avengers Mansion to defend it from the Masters of Evil, and the current events of the Infinity War and Magus’ un-living doppelgangers hunting their heroic counterparts.
Stakar’s intentions at this point were uncertain. It’s clear he manipulated Charlie and Nikki to get himself back to the 21st century, as it was his destiny as part of the final chapter of his life and time loop. He alluded to still being the One-Who-Knows, contradicting previous statements about losing that “gift.” It’s unclear whether he was bluffing entirely, or if this alternate reality was still close enough to what Stakar remembered that he thought he could navigate it successfully. For instance, he initially thought merging with a Magus doppelganger would help him complete his dark metamorphosis, only to quickly realize his mistake and recognize he would lose his independence in the process.
Aleta became more aggressive towards reasserting herself in control of Stakar. When the Magus doppelganger threatened to absorb Starhawk, Aleta convinced Stakar to release her to fight the 
creature. Stakar relented, as by design the doppelganger could only merge with him and not Aleta. She attempted to remain in control of their body afterwards, but Stakar was able to suppress her again temporarily. Still, as the Guardians traveled towards Moord (homeworld of the Badoon) in Drydock, Aleta’s efforts to regain control became crippling for Stakar. He was forced to flee Drydock and struggled with Aleta in the vacuum of space.
Weakened by the doppelganger and exhausted by her constant attempts at domination, Stakar was utterly helpless before Aleta as she pulled his mind back into the astral plane. Aleta was determined to usurp their full shared power this time and would stop at nothing to achieve this end. She forced Stakar to confirm her suspicions that the children she saw in this realm were 
mere fabrications, as was the image of the Hawk-God. Stakar had created the projections of John, Tara and Sita to pacify her, and the appearance of the Hawk-God was only a ruse to intimidate her. Aleta had no mercy or forgiveness left in her for Stakar at this point as she annihilated his psychic avatar and claimed full control. [Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #26-31]
Aleta emerged from their struggle in full possession of the Hawk-God’s power, declaring herself Starhawk II. Stakar had been exorcised from her frame, reduced to a mere infant as he had prophesized from the beginning of his life. Aleta completed the cycle Stakar always lived by casting this baby Stakar back in time to Arcturus long ago. Wielding her new power, Aleta rejoined 
the Guardians on Moord where they battled a Badoon empowered as Captain Universe. Doctor Strange had joined the Guardians in her absence and extracted the Uni-Power from its host. As the Guardians returned to Drydock, Starhawk II warned Brother Royal of the Badoon against any further action. Back on board their ship, Aleta was lovingly reunited with Vance as Drydock returned to the 31st century. [Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #33]
[Note: Guardians of the Galaxy #7 and #33 contradict each other, with one saying Stakar’s consciousness was transplanted through time while the other showing Aleta physically reducing Stakar to an infant and transporting him back in time in that form. It’s unclear if this is an accidental error or a sign that Aleta DID alter Stakar’s fate by performing thusly.]