Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Last issue Quasar defeated Maelstrom and saved the universe, and used his quantum bands to create himself a new costume to celebrate. Maelstrom was the big bad that Quasar's 8 billion year-old mentor Eon made him Protector Of The Universe to face. Unfortunately Eon died during the conflict (#23).
Now Quasar transports his allies the Eternal Makkari and the adopted-Titanian Moondragon to the office in Four Freedoms Plaza that he uses as Wendell Vaughn. There they're greeted by Wendell's friends Kayla Ballantine and Ken Tanaka. Heather Douglas doesn't like the way Kayla and Wendell are hugging and gazing into each others' eyes, so she pulls the other woman off him, declaiming that *she* is the woman for Vaughn. And she mentally makes Kayla kiss Makkari and declare undying love for *him*, but Quasar makes her stop it. Moondragon tries to explain to him what makes them perfect mates, but Wendell says love has nothing to do with logic. So Moonie storms out saying he'll realise she's right eventually.
Leaving the other 3 to see what mess recent events have left his security consultancy business in, Wendell enters his private office and reopens the secret portal to Eon's pocket dimension. Recently he learned that Eon's body occupied 95% of the Eonverse (and Quasar normally only saw a small part of that body projected into the Marvel Universe). He goes through the portal hoping to find that Eon isn't really dead. The substance of his body is still there but there's no life to greet him.
However he does sense other beings and flies to a lone building where they are congregated. Their leader Fath announces that they are the Mourners who detect the passing of important things or beings and commemorate them. Another alien grills Quasar for information on the deceased that might be useful for his funeral service and their permanent records. But Wendell has to admit he knows little about his mentor including relatives, will or funeral requirements. He agrees to leave the arrangements to the Mourners. But he also has to confess that it was he himself who killed Eon, at his request to keep the secret of cosmic awareness from Maelstrom. Fath tells him the funeral will be in 3 days, and Quasar heads home.
Moondragon feels the sting of being passed over for another woman again (she's remembering the Celestial Madonna affair which Mantis 'won'). If only Quasar's mind wasn't proof against her mental 'persuasion'. She decides to abandon her current Earthly H D Steckley disguise, and summons her cloaked starcruiser and heads off to find an ally. On top of the building the being known as Her watches her leave. And Wendell goes to visit his mom.
3 days later Thanos is sitting with Mephisto on the 2 thrones in the giant palace floating in space that he created for Death (Infinity Gauntlet #1). Mephisto is sucking up as usual when the Titan laughs because he's just detected that Eon is dead. He blames Eon for making the Kree Captain Marvel an earlier Protector Of The Universe specifically to thwart Thanos' use of the Cosmic Cube (ending in CM#33). He also blames him for the creation of his nemesis Drax The Destroyer.
Quasar arrives at Eon's funeral to find the Living Tribunal, Lord Chaos, Master Order, the In-Betweener and the 3 Time-Keepers in attendance as well as the Mourners and various versions of Death. Fath delivers the eulogy in which we learn that Eon was the eldest of Eternity's children and was aligned with the Cosmic Axis. But he's interrupted by the arrival of Thanos who delivers the opposite of a eulogy. Quasar advises everyone else to leave and then a battle of cosmic powers commences which is mainly Quasar trying every quantum trick he can think of and his foe shrugging them off with ease.
There's an interlude where Her senses a cosmic-powered being similar to herself in Dr Strange's Greenwich Village Sanctum. Silver Surfer recently arrived there (end of SS#50, beginning of IG#1). He comes out to greet her and she tells him she's searching for her perfect mate. Surfer counters by inviting her to join the fight against Thanos, but she says she's sick of fighting so he dismisses her and goes back inside. But it turns out Her could detect traces of her counterpart Him on Surfer's body. (This is because Surfer was recently (SS#45-47) exiled to Soul World where Him/Adam Warlock now dwells.)
Back in the Eonverse Thanos grows tired of swatting away Quasar, and he causes 4 bodies to form out of parts of Eon's body/universe. They are copies of 4 previous users of Quasar's Quantum Bands. Apart from the Earthling Marvel Boy, the previous wearer, we meet beings who Thanos calls Ree of the Archeopians, Trantra the Trill and the Stygian Starbender, the 1st Protector Of The Universe. And Thanos leaves after saying that he's imbued them all with the desire to kill Quasar.
But we also see Thanos' revenge on Eon. He has caused Eon's extensive body, which is not quite completely dead, to spew out of portals like the 1 in Wendell's office to engulf the world outside.