Marvelis known for playing fast and loose with the characters it brings to the screen. Some heroes and villains make the transition with stunning accuracy. They seem as if they walked directly off the page and onto a set. Others might as well be entirely new creations, save for their name and a few design elements. Phyla-Vell fits comfortably into the latter category. She first and only appeared inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3so far, but she has a lot more going on in the source material.
Of all the Marvel film adaptations, James Gunn’sGuardians of the Galaxytrilogy probably gets away with themost alterations from the canon. It accomplishes that feat by simply becoming more popular than its lesser-known source material. So many elements of James Gunn’s vision made their way into Marvel Comics. When people know and like the new take more than the old one, it becomes hard to stick to the classics. Some changes certainly deserve a bit of ire, even if they work in context. Art doesn’t always have to default to its most popular form.
Quasar, Captain Marvel, and Martyr
Peter David and Paul Azaceta
First Appearance Date
November 2003
Phyla-Vell is one ofMarvel’s more engaging cosmic heroes. She was born to Elysius, the lover of Mar-Vell. Phyla’s mother created her artificially after the overwhelming success she saw with her first son, Genis-Vell. Genis, operating under the Captain Marvel mantle, destroyed the universe and rebuilt it with many slight differences. Phyla was one of those differences. Genis’s mind broke after exposure to that level of cosmic awareness, leading him to bring shame to the Captain Marvel name. Phyla claimed it from him, dragged him into an alternate dimension, and held him down while Elysius and their family friend Starfox repaired his mind. Phyla and Genis would then work as heroes together. An early job involved a battle against Magus, anevil future variant of Adam Warlock. On that mission, she met the telepathic Moondragon, whom she would go on to marry.
Phyla-Vell returned for theAnnihilationevent, which saw herjoin forces with Star-Lordand Nova to fight Annihilus. During the battle, she stole the Quantum Bands that Annihilus stole from the hero Quasar. After they beat Annihilus, Phyla took Quasar’s mantle and kept his Quantum Bands. She could then fly, absorb energy, fire semi-transparent blasts, and summon a powerful sword. Quasar fought against many villains, including the Super-Adaptoid, from whom she stole another power boost. Unfortunately, a later conflict with Ultron left her dear Moondragon dead. She claimed vengeance with the help of Adam Warlock, but revenge wasn’t enough. After briefly joining Star-Lord’s new Guardians of the Galaxy, Phyla andDrax died at the handsof Mentor. In Oblivion, Phyla made a deal with the Dragon of the Moon, a demon who influenced Moondragon from within. The demon held Moondragon, forcing Phyla to become the avatar of the afterlife before he’d let her go. Phyla returned to the land of the living with a killer new costume and the new nickname Martyr.
Phyla’s time as Martyr was brief but impactful. She inserted herself into a war betweenthe Guardians of the Galaxyand the Inhumans, kidnapping a princess to guarantee escalation. Her scheme worked, ending negotiations and quickly causing a massive problem. The Inhumans detonated a bomb so large that it created a crack in the multiverse. Adam Warlock tried to fix this problem, but his method put him in contact with Magus, whom he would unfortunately become. Martyr believed that slaying Magus was her true mission due to some vague language from the demon that empowered her. She impaled Adam with her sword, but he survived and continued to transform. The Guardians took a second shot at stopping Magus through time travel, but that allowed Magus to turn the tables and stab Phyla. Phyla survived in Magus’s custody. Her death came shortly thereafter when she opened a cocoon she expected to contain Magus, only to find aresurrected Thanos, who quickly killed her. Her most recent appearance was in 2015’sDeadpool vs. Thanos#3, in which she tried and failed to kill Thanos from Hell.
Who was Phyla-Vell in the MCU?
Phyla-Vell’s story in the MCU is much shorter. Eleven-year-old actress Kai Zen plays the character inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Phyla is a very youngresult of the High Evolutionary’sgenetic experimentation. She lives in his lab on Counter-Earth. She appears briefly in a couple of scenes while the mad scientist runs his tests. The film ends with the Guardians of the Galaxy destroying the High Evolutionary’s lab and setting his test subjects free. Phyla escapes with countless other victims. In the film’s post-credits scene, a new Guardians of the Galaxy team forms. Phyla is a new member who works alongside Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Kraglin, Cosmo the Spacedog, and Adam Warlock.
Could Phyla-Vell return to the MCU?
Phyla-Vell could absolutely return, but that doesn’t mean she’s likely to. James Gunn intendedGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3to be his final film in the franchise. He’s been a little unclear about whether he’d come back for something else, but it seems questionable at best. It’s possible that a futureGuardiansfilm could focus on the new team, but Marvel doesn’t have anything of the sort on the slate.James Gunn is clearly busy at DCat the moment. Marvel could also, theoretically, bring Phyla-Vell into Captain Marvel’s orbit. The MCU version of Mar-Vell was Annette Bening’s character from the firstCaptain Marvelfilm, but it’s still technically in the cards that she had a daughter. The High Evolutionary could have somehow taken DNA from the character and crafted Phyla in his lab. This is all theoretical and wildly unlikely. Very few people are braying for the return of Kai Zen’s Phyla-Vell. Most of them are decrying the current take on the character.
Phyla-Vell is a fascinating part of a massive part of the Marvel Comics universe. The version of the character that appears in the MCU is utterly unrelated to her counterpart. It’s just a fun name-drop to add to the post-credits scene. It’s a shame to know that she may never get her full story on the big screen, but theMCU may go on long enoughto get around to Phyla-Vell. It’s hard not to want to see a spacefaring superhero become the avatar of death to get her girlfriend back.
