There are a LOT of subplots and minor characters in the Quasar comic, and my site is not about minuscule trivia that can make for fun reading but doesn’t have any kind of real impact or add value to the Marvel Universe, so I’m skipping over it. Big picture, these issues revisit the villain who killed a previous wearer of Quasar’s bands: Cancer.
In this case, it’s Quasar’s mom. He scours the universe for a cure, and learns there’s none. Anywhere.
Some of the air is taken out of this story when, in fact, she responds to traditional medical treatment and is given a good prognosis.
It all gets very complicated when a villainous character I’d never heard of gets the Starbrand, uses it to open the Nexus of Realities, and a TON of mystical, cosmic, and alternate-reality characters (including some of the Squadron Supreme, a favorite of Mark Gruenwald), all come together.
None of it is badly written or executed, but you have to read it very, very carefully in order for it to make sense. Actually, I’m assuming that fact—I didn’t follow a lot of the plot elements, but I enjoyed some of the interactions.
Honestly, I saw that the last pane of issue #50 says “end” in the lower left corner (see picture above), but the story directly flowed into #51 with the Squadron still hanging out with Quasar and several other storylines continuing. So, I grouped all these together. The second half (issue #51 on) is really just Quasar teaming up with the Squadron to fight Angler.
They’ll still be here for the first issue in 1994, but I’m ending this review here because I don’t want to reach into next year yet.
Meanwhile, Kismet hibernates in a cocoon.
Quasar continues to be very weird, but often fun.