Moondragon (Heather Douglas) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Bill Everett, Mike Friedrich, and George Tuska, the character first appeared in Iron Man #54 (January 1973).
Moondragon is a superhero who has gained extraordinary talents strictly through extreme degrees of personal regimen with the monks of Titan, with access to a wide array of psionic abilities. She is one of the most powerful telepaths on Earth, and also has telekinesis and the ability to transform into a dragon. She has been a member of the Avengers, Defenders, The Infinity Watch and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Publication history Moondragon debuted in Iron Man #54 (January 1973), created by Bill Everett, Mike Friedrich, and George Tuska. She appeared in the 2007 Annihilation: Conquest series, the 2019 Guardians of the Galaxy series, and the 2020 Guardians of the Galaxy series, by writer Al Ewing.
Fictional character biography Origin
Heather Douglas was born in Los Angeles, California, daughter of Arthur and Yvette Steckley Douglas. When Heather was still a girl, her father was driving her and her mother through the desert when they accidentally happened to see the spaceship of Thanos land; the space villain did not want any witnesses, so he destroyed their car. Heather was thrown clear and survived, but her parents were killed. She would later discover that her father's soul was bound into a new body, becoming Drax the Destroyer. She was found by Thanos' father, Mentor, who took her to his home world, Titan, to be raised by the monks of Shao-Lom.Daredevil #105
From the monks, Heather develops her body to its full potential, becoming a formidable martial artist. They teach Heather scientific disciplines such as chemistry and genetic engineering; but most significantly, they help Heather tap into the latent psionic powers present within all humans. Heather is able to develop her mental powers far beyond those of her teachers, so much so that she eventually mentally contacts a powerful entity called the Dragon of the Moon. The Dragon immediately tries to corrupt and take her over, but she fights back, driving the Dragon away. This fills her with pride and an overwhelming sense of superiority. To commemorate her victory, she takes the name Moondragon. Unknown to Heather, the Dragon continues to influence her on a subconscious level.The Defenders #138
Heather's choice of the name Moondragon causes an uproar amongst the monks of Shao-Lom, so much so that Mentor has to confront her on the matter. After the confrontation, Moondragon is approached by Runner, one of the Elders of the Universe. Runner takes Moondragon on a tour of the universe, showing her its fantastic sights and wonders. Runner eventually takes Moondragon to the surface of a sun. He informs her that the sun would go nova in several years. Moondragon points out to Runner that the sun harbored an inhabited planet and that they should warn the inhabitants. Runner regretfully responds that, when he chose the path of freedom, he lost the option to interfere with others' destinies. Moondragon argues, "What good is freedom?" when it only leads to death. When Runner fails to answer her satisfactorily, she requests to be brought back home.The Defenders #143
Sometime later, Thanos attacks Titan, destroying the monastery and the Shao-Lom monks. Moondragon escapes in her spaceship and flees to Earth.
Alliances against Thanos and Korvac She first returns to Earth under the guise of "Madame MacEvil" to develop a means to combat Thanos. This leads to the creation of villains like Angar the Screamer, Ramrod, and the Dark Messiah.Dark Messiah at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe In her first appearance, she forces Iron Man to battle Namor in order to study them.Iron Man #54 She then reveals her true identity and helps the Avengers in their first confrontation with Thanos. She battles Daredevil but is nearly killed by her ex-ally Kerwin J. Broderick. She restores Daredevil's sight briefly with her alien pressure point skills and then first meets Mar-Vell. She aids them against Angar, the Dark Messiah, and Terrex.Daredevil #106-107 She falls in love with Daredevil but then returns to outer space. She aids Captain Mar-Vell, Drax, and the Avengers against Thanos.Captain Marvel #31-33
Moondragon is one of the three candidates to be the "Celestial Madonna", who was prophesied to give birth to a universal savior, but she loses to Mantis.Giant-Size Avengers #4 She then becomes an adventurer and joins the Avengers.The Avengers #137 Her time with the team is short, ending when she meets the heroine Hellcat and takes her to Titan to train her.The Avengers #151 (September 1976) The following year Moondragon returns to help the Avengers battle Thanos.The Avengers Annual #7Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2
When the Avengers confront Korvac, Moondragon's powers allow her to see into his mind, and she decides that his goal of saving the universe by ruling it is noble. She stays out of the battle until Korvac, dejected, commits suicide.The Avengers #177 (November 1978)
Paths of corruption and redemption Moondragon leaves Earth with Drax and finds a planet immersed in war, so she decides to take mental control of all its inhabitants to force them to live in peace, setting herself up as their "peace goddess.” Drax summons the Avengers to intervene and in the resultant confrontation, Moondragon is forced to kill her father with her mental powers. Afterward, Thor takes her before a real god — his father, Odin — to be judged. Odin perceives within Moondragon a stalwart but tainted spirit. He condemns her to wear a magical headband that reduces her mental powers until she has overcome her arrogance and learned humility. He also assigns Valkyrie to be her guardian.
When Valkyrie rejoins the Defenders, Moondragon is forced to come along. At first, she sends out low level telepathic signals, luring threats to the vicinity of the Defenders' headquarters, hoping that one of these threats would remove her headband or force the Defenders to remove the headband so she may use her powers to aid them unhindered.
Despite the fact that Moondragon resents being with the Defenders, she wants to be accepted by them as a good person. In an encounter with Asgardian trolls, Moondragon resists the temptation of letting the trolls and the Dragon of the Moon remove her headband, thus proving herself to Odin, who promptly lets the headband fall off.
This personal victory is short-lived, for soon afterwards the Defenders have to fight the spawns of the mutated spores they fought months before. The spawns soon coalesce into a single gargantuan monster, which Moondragon vanquishes with the help of the Gargoyle. Unknown to Moondragon, in doing so, she is infected with the mutated spores. She does not find out about the infection until weeks later, when the spores have supplanted a good portion of her own internal organs. The Dragon of the Moon appears again and tells her it can save her life, but only if she agrees to be its host. Moondragon initially turns down its offer, knowing that it will use her to kill the Defenders. The Dragon then mocks Moondragon's sentimentality by showing her what the other Defenders are saying about her behind her back even though she has reformed. Finally overwhelmed with pain, she accepts. Now totally corrupted, Moondragon battles the Defenders until Andromeda, Interloper, Manslaughter, and Valkyrie sacrifice themselves to kill both her and the Dragon.
Heather's soul and consciousness manages to survive by sharing the mind of her cousin Pamela. By travelling to Titan in Moondragon's spacecraft, Moondragon is able to obtain an infant clone body created on Titan by the living computer Isaac.
Heather becomes jealous of her cousin and teleports her out of the ship to die. With the help of Cloud and Gargoyle (whose consciousness is being held within a gem Pam wears around her neck), she focuses her power near the sun and becomes a dragon. Cloud names Pam Sundragon. Sundragon, Gargoyle, and Demeityr stay on Titan while Moondragon returns to Earth.
Cosmic cohort
After Quasar is appointed Protector of the Universe, Moondragon insinuates herself into his life. Using the pseudonym H.D. Steckley she becomes an engineer and saleswoman for Vaughn Security Systems.Quasar #11 She is convinced that in time Quasar will realize they are eminently qualified to form the universe's most cosmic coupling. Quasar, however, asserts that qualifications have nothing to do with feelings and rebuffs her. She persists for a time, but eventually gets the message and loses interest.Quasar #11-29
When Adam Warlock seeks people to help him safeguard the Infinity Gems, he chooses Moondragon to keep the Mind Gem—but only after erecting safeguards so Moondragon cannot exploit the gem's full power. Still, she agrees to join his team, the Infinity Watch.Warlock and the Infinity Watch Volume 1 issue 2 She is severely injured in a battle with Domitian.Warlock and the Infinity Watch #39 She is seen in a deep coma, though still able to communicate telepathically.Warlock and the Infinity Watch #40 All of the Infinity Gems leave their bearers and disappear.Warlock and the Infinity Watch #42
Moondragon later becomes an associate of Genis-Vell (the third Captain Marvel), determined to help him control his cosmic awareness. During this time, she falls in love with Marlo Chandler, the wife of Rick Jones (whom Captain Marvel was bonded to). The two elope on a lesbian relationship to the reluctant understanding of Rick, with whom Marlo is having marital problems anyway. Sometime later, Marlo gets over her feelings for Moondragon and decides to return to Rick. Moondragon tells her she must have accidentally prodded her telepathically into the relationship, but this is a lie to make the break-up easier. In truth, Moondragon is heartbroken; she leaves shortly after with Phyla-Vell.Captain Marvel vol. 4 #25
Annihilation In the Annihilation miniseries, Moondragon and Phyla-Vell return. Phyla is seen going to Drax, telling him Moondragon has been kidnapped. Phyla tells Drax they were visiting the graves of Mar-Vell and Genis-Vell, when Thanos appears and kidnaps Moondragon, ripping off her ear and giving it to Phyla to give to Drax the Destroyer as a warning to stay away.Annihilation #2 While on Thanos' ship, Moondragon is infected with the Annihilation Wave parasites. She is forced to reveal Annihilus' plan to destroy all life in the universe. After learning of Annihulus' plan, Thanos causes her to regurgitate the parasites, wanting no further dealings with Annihulus. Thanos reveals that Galactus and Silver Surfer are powering the ship, but he plans on releasing them both so they can deal with Annihilus. However, Thanos' plan is cut short as Drax arrives to save his daughter, which he does by ripping Thanos' heart out.Annihilation #4
However, Drax and Moondragon then manage to free the Silver Surfer, who in turn helps free Galactus, who Drax makes promise to ensure Moondragon's safety once he is freed.Annihilation #5 Galactus then teleports Drax and Moondragon off the ship. Moondragon loses track of Drax and is reunited with Phyla-Vell.Annihilation #7
Annihilation: Conquest