History ComicBook / StarBrand

* ArtifactOfDoom: The Star Brand is exactly like this. A limitless power only held back by one's imagination, it can only be used by living things. The first time someone tried to place it into a inanimate object to get rid of the power, it initiated the White Event, the world's biggest SuperpowerLottery. The second time, it ''[[NiceJobBreakingItHero vaporized]] UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}!'' Even worse, even if you do get rid of it, you're keeping a portion of the power that will recharge itself back to full.

Ken Connell, a mechanic from Pittsburgh, encounters a disguised, dying alien (the Old Man) and is gifted the titular ArtifactOfDoom, which grants him vast cosmic powers. After clashing with another alien, he initially attempts to become a genuine superhero, but discovers that’s going to be much more complicated than he expected.

* ResurrectiveImmortality: Anyone with the Star Brand (including the former wielders who've kept a percentage of the power) will keep coming back from the dead, temporarily adopting a monstrous form while they regenerate. The Old Man, Connell and Burnley all do this at least once during the series.

* ApocalypseHow: Ken Connell accidentally obliterates UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}} and everything 50 miles across trying to get rid of the Star Brand.

* CruelMercy: Gladiator is strong enough to hurt Ken despite the Star Brand, seems to be ''completely'' invulnerable, and is determined to march into Moscow and kill the Soviet leadership, potentially starting World War III. As the Star Brand grants the power of flight and Gladiator can't fly, Ken lifts him into orbit and considers [[ThrowItIntoTheSun throwing him into the sun]] - but then decides he doesn't want to kill him, so throws him into deep space instead.

* TheowItIntoTheSun:

''Star Brand'', with its aliens and transferable powers, didn't initially fit well with those guidelines, so later stories revisited the events of the first few issues to show them in a very different light. The Old Man and his inhuman pursuers weren't actually aliens, and were manipulating Ken. As for the Star Brand itself, it didn’t follow the same rules as every other power bestowed by the White Event because it wasn’t a consequence of that event. Instead, the Star Brand itself was the thing that ''caused'' the White Event, a twist that reinforced Ken's role as the most powerful paranormal on Earth.

* UpToEleven: Philip Nolan Voigt (aka "Overshadow") can duplicate any paranormal's powers, but ''amplified''. One of the Star Brands eventually depowers him by overloading him and causing a SuperPowerMeltdown.

* SphereOfDestruction: What Ken Connell made when he tried to get rid of the Star Brand. It was ''The SOD That Ate Pittsburgh''.

* ThrowAwayCountry: Pittsburgh is vaporized because Ken Connell gets careless with the Star Brand.

* ArmedWithCanon: When John Byrne took over the series back in TheEighties, he proceeded to launch one TakeThat after another at the departing figure of ousted Creator/MarvelComics editor-in-chief Creator/JimShooter. ''Star Brand'' was one of the Shooter-initiated ''ComicBook/TheNewUniverse'' titles, and was the one that Shooter himself wrote personally. Byrne not only took ''ad hominem'' shots at Shooter personally, but had exposition characters [[LampshadeHanging hang lampshades]] on how implausible the events of Shooter's run was, and how [[IdiotBall stupid]] the protagonist Ken Connell had been. Early on in Byrne's run, Connell's girlfriend (a major cast member) got killed off; Connell later broke down and [[IJustWantToBeNormal tried to get rid of his powers]], destroying UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}} (the hometown of both Connell and Shooter) in the process. This was referred to slightly in the ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfTheNewUniverse'' story "Tales of the Mulletverse".
* ArtifactOfDoom: The Star Brand is exactly like this. A limitless power only held back by one's imagination, it can only be used by living things. The first time someone tried to place it into a inanimate object to get rid of the power, it initiated the White Event, the world's biggest SuperpowerLottery. The second time, it ''[[NiceJobBreakingItHero vaporized]] UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}!'' Even worse, even if you do get rid of it, you're keeping a portion of the power that will recharge itself back to full. It's so dangerous that, when the New Universe Earth was transported to the mainstream Marvel Universe, the Living Tribunal erected an impenetrable barrier so it won't contaminate the rest of the universe with its power.
** Alterations made to the Star Brand mythos later, by Warren Ellis and Jonathan Hickman change this. The Star Brand isn't necessarily a AOD. It's supposed to be a planetary defense system. "But a hammer can build a home or break a skull." Not helping is that it has a bad tendency to wind up with people who shouldn't have it, or aren't adjusted enough to handle it.

* Capepunk: Ken Connell briefly tried to be a traditional superhero, but it didn't work; in one memorable scene, he met an AuthorAvatar of writer Creator/JohnByrne, who explained to him that it would be easy for someone to learn his SecretIdentity.

* GivingTheSwordToANoob: The Star Brand, one of the most powerful forces in all creation, has a habit of being given to noobs. In the original ''New Universe'', it was given to Kenneth Connell, who repeatedly screwed up with it and tried to get rid of the damn thing (which didn't work). In the remake ''ComicBook/{{Newuniversal}}'', it was given to a different Ken Connell, who was ''very'' drunk at the time, and unlike the others given powers during the White Event, he doesn't manage to acclimatise anywhere near as quickly. And in ''ComicBook/TheAvengersJonathanHickman'', a third Ken Connell is given a Star Brand... instead of the person who was ''supposed'' to get it, and as a result he causes a lot of damage and destruction before getting a handle on the brand's power.

* ImaginationBasedSuperpower: The Star Brand easily fits this trope. It can do just about anything the user wants, from flying to immortality. However, it has a tons of downsides to it, including being unable to be fully rid of the power (passing it leaves you with 10% of the power and you can drain it completely, but there's the possibility that you'll get it back or accidentally pass it on) and it can only be held by living beings (the two times it was placed on inanimate objects? Gave people superpowers and turned Pittsburgh into a crater, respectively). When the New U's Earth was brought to the Marvel U, it was placed in quarantine because the Star Brand ''upset the balance of the universe''. Its main depicted wielder, Ken Connell, was severely lacking in imagination and functioned mostly as a FlyingBrick.

* StoryBreakerPower: The Star Brand, a mysterious power that can do anything, can regenerate from virtually nothing and has the potential to do bad things when mishandled. When the power was brought over along with the rest of that universe's Earth into the Marvel-616 universe, the Living Tribunal erected an impenetrable barrier because a power like that would upset the cosmic balance irreversibly. When the Star Brand made its official first appearance during [[ComicBook/TheAvengersJonathanHickman Jonathan Hickman's ''Avengers'' run]], that power was toned down considerably.

** Even after the title's finale it continued in a comic book of ''another company'': In the Creator/DCComics mini [[ComicBook/LegendsDC Legends]], drawn by Byrne, Guy Gardner beats a villain named Sunspot, who is a transparent {{Expy}} of Star Brand. Guy doesn't even break a sweat, and Sunspot ends the fight by shooting himself in the foot while ranting about why the New Universes he tries to create keep exploding.

* ThereAreNoTherapists: Averted in ''Star Brand'' because the {{Jerkass}} is friends with a therapist, but constantly ignores or runs away from his sound advice.

''Star Brand'' is a 1986 comic book series published by the Creator/NewUniverse imprint of Creator/MarvelComics.

* PersonOfMassDestruction: Ken Connell discovers his POMD potential when he accidentally annihilates the city of Pittsburgh by trying to transfer the Star Brand to an inanimate object ten miles in the air over the city.

Another Starbrand appeared in Creator/JonathanHickman's run on ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengersJonathanHickman The Avengers]]'' and then went on to co-star in ''ComicBook/StarbrandAndNightmask''.

* GivingTheSwordToANoob: The Star Brand, one of the most powerful forces in all creation, has a habit of being given to noobs. In the original ''New Universe'', it was given to Kenneth Connell, who repeatedly screwed up with it and tried to get rid of the damn thing (which didn't work). In the remake ''ComicBook/{{Newuniversal}}'', it was given to a different Ken Connell, who was ''very'' drunk at the time, and unlike the others given powers during the White Event, he doesn't manage to acclimatise anywhere near as quickly. And in ''ComicBook/JonathanHickmansAvengers'', a third Ken Connell is given a Star Brand... instead of the person who was ''supposed'' to get it, and as a result he causes a lot of damage and destruction before getting a handle on the brand's power.

* ArtifactOfDoom: The Star Brand.
* SelfInsertFic: John Byrne inserted himself in an issue, when Starbrand attended a comic-con Byrne was in. Check GenreSavvy and TakeThat entries below for details.
* TheBabyTrap: In ''Star Brand'', Ken clearly ''wrongly'' accuses his girlfriend Debbie of this.

* {{Jerkass}}: Kenneth Connell in ''Star Brand''.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Ken Connell in ''Star Brand''. He accidentally vaporizes Pittsburgh.
* PowerTattoo: The Star Brand, literally.

* SuperEmpowering: Anyone that the possessor of the Star Brand touches can get the Brand, too.

* TakeThat:
** After Creator/JimShooter left Marvel Comics, Ken Connell was depicted as an unrepentant JerkAss, a trend taken UpToEleven in the ''Star Brand'' issues written by longtime critic John Byrne. With Ken being an AuthorAvatar of Shooter, this was obviously the remaining Marvel creators getting some licks in on their former boss.
** Then, ''Byrne's'' AuthorAvatar (as himself) in the comic-con criticized Starbrand face-to-face.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/star_brand_1986_1.jpg]]

* AuthorAvatar[=/=]SelfInsertFic:
** It is widely believed that Creator/JimShooter based Ken Connell on himself, making the first seven issues of ''Star Brand'' (written by Shooter) one big SelfInsertFic. Among the similarities between Shooter and Connell were their physical appearances (except for hair color), a hometown of Pittsburgh, and a self-centered ego. Shooter himself even admits Ken's girlfriend Debbie "the Duck" was based on an old girlfriend of his.
** John Byrne inserted himself in an issue, when Starbrand attended a comic-con Byrne was in. Check GenreSavvy and TakeThat entries below for details.

After the Black Event, the Star Brand was passed on to other welders and the comic's storylines no longer focused on Ken. The final arc revisited Ken, the Old Man and the Star Brand's history, revealing what was ''really'' going on and bringing the saga to a definite conclusion.

Faced with such a huge responsibility, Ken eventually decides to get rid of his powers and lead a normal life. However, his attempt to do so goes horribly wrong, resulting in the "Black Event” - a second world-changing MassEmpoweringEvent, but 5is time with tragic, devastating consequences.

Kenneth Connell, a mechanic from Pittsburgh, is given vast cosmic powers by the titular ArtifactOfDoom. He initially attempts to use them as a genuine superhero, but that doesn't work in this kind of world. He eventually decides to [[IJustWantToBeNormal get rid of his powers]] and lead a normal life. However, his attempt to do so results in the aforementioned destruction of Pittsburgh. It's later revealed that due to a StableTimeLoop, the White Event was caused by Connell's older self making an earlier attempt to get rid of the Star Brand. Storylines eventually explored other wielders of the Star Brand. The series lasted for 19 issues, from October, 1986 to May, 1989.

The series was one of eight titles launched to introduce the New Universe, a shared world unrelated to the existing Franchise/MarvelUniverse. It was initially billed as “the world outside your window”, a setting which only diverged from the real world when a single MassEmpoweringEvent granted some people superpowers.

* SuperPowerMeltdown: One of the Star Brands depowers Philip Nolan Voigt by overloading him with ''all'' the paranormal abilities on Earth.

[[redirect:ComicBook/TheNewUniverse]]