Related
As fans of Marvel and DC will know , the two companies have a long history of copy each other ’s fighter , often to poke fun at the rival cosmos . Marvel ’s Squadron Supreme are often used to parody the Justice League , while DC ’s Retaliators are a pastiche of Marvel ’s Avengers . But while Marvel ’s Virtue , aka Ethan Edwards , is a clear parody of DC’sSuperman , he ’s also a serious villain whose Skrull origins set him at odds with multiple Avengers team .
bring in inMarvel Knights Spider - Man#13 , Ethan Edwards is a whiz reporter at theDaily Bugle- a clear reference to Superman ’s mild - mannered alter ego , reporter Clark Kent . take up a childlike place - made costume and the name " Moral Man , " Edwards quicklyteams up with Spider - Manand ask the seasoned hero for advice in establishing a grand identity .
Related : Marvel ’s Own Justice League is Going To Save America
After Moral Man meet the Fantastic Four , Reed Richards informs Peter that Ethan is a member of the figure - shifting exotic race known as Skrulls . Ethan reveals an origin that ’s extremely faithful to that of DC ’s Superman - he ’s the last Word of a die planet and raise on a farm in Iowa by the upright couple who plant his crashed spacecraft . The only difference ? Ethan is the boy of the alien who created the Super - Skrull , imbued with awesome tycoon and intentions to ruin the human race . While Marvel are poke fun at Superman ’s origins here , it ’s a neat manipulation of existing fact , as Ethan ’s rest home planet is actually the Skrull homeworld , destruct by Galactus inFantastic Four # 257 .
Breaking down at the full knowledge of his yesteryear , Ethan dons a threatening black-market costume , complete with cape , anddoes battle with Spider - Manand the New Avengers . gayly , Aunt May is able-bodied to speak Ethan down , and the floor cease with him moving overseas to perform missionary work with his healing powers . In a final winding , Reed reveals that there ’s no reason for Ethan to have any kind of mend powers , with the implication that this ability is actually a result of his personal faith .
unhappily , Ethan ’s turn to good is shortly - lived , and he reappears in Brian Michael Bendis’Avengers yearly # 1andNew Avengers Annual # 1as a member ofthe Revengers . This anti - Avengers squad was make up of Ethan - now going by the name Virtue - as well as a roll of Marvel antiheroes : Captain Ultra , Devil - Slayer , Atlas , Anti - Venom , and D - Man , direct by an ionically unstable Wonder Man . The squad easy kill the New Avengers , and they are only stopped when two Avengers team combine their forces . Ethan is aim down by Doctor Strange and Thor during a huge battle royale at the Citi Field baseball game stadium , perhaps referencingSuperman ’s famous exposure to magic .
interrogate after the battle , Ethan explicate he turned against the Avengers due to the events of theSecret Invasionstoryline , take he was seeking revenge for the injured Skrulls when the superheroes of Earth resisted their invasion . The Avengers would be knowing to appease on alarm for Ethan ’s next attack - while he may not have the moral linchpin of DC’sSuperman , he pack a similar punch , and his grudge is unlikely to go away any clip soon .
Next : Marvel ’s Version of Superman is … Just a newsperson ?
