Luna Maximoff

Luna Maximoff is a fictional supporting character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Luna Maximoff
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceFantastic Four #240 (March 1982)
Created byJohn Byrne (writer & artist)
In-story information
Full nameLuna Maximoff
SpeciesMutant/Inhuman
Place of originAttilan
Team affiliationsInhuman Royal Family
Future Foundation
Braddock Academy
Supporting character ofQuicksilver
Inhumans
AbilitiesEmpathic senses
Psychic healing
Aura vision

Publication history

Luna first appeared in Fantastic Four #240 (March 1982), and was created by John Byrne.[1] The character has subsequently appeared in a number of ongoing books including The Incredible Hulk,[2] The Avengers,[3] and Quicksilver,[4] as well as in limited series such as The Vision and the Scarlet Witch,[5][6] Son of M, and Silent War. Luna appeared as part of the "Inhumans" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #6.

Fictional character biography

The daughter of Quicksilver and Crystal, she is named after the moon, where she was born. Luna is the first child to be born to a mutant and an Inhuman; the genetic markers denoting these subgroups in humanity supposedly "cancelled out" in her, leaving her a normal human.

Quicksilver, aghast at the thought of having a flatscan, human daughter, initially sought to expose her to the Inhumans' mutagenic Terrigen Mists. He was talked out of this by Lockjaw (or possibly an impersonation by Gorgon and Karnak to make their point[7]) who, like the Thing, prompted the idea that the mists could turn her into a monstrosity like them (or the amphibious Triton).

Luna was considered an abomination by mutant extremist Exodus, who sought to murder her on several occasions. Luna was protected by the High Evolutionary and his New Men.

As seen in flashbacks, Luna and the New Men consider each other family.[8]

Son of M
Quicksilver, as viewed from Luna's altered POV post-Terrigen exposure. Art by Roy Allen Martinez.

Years later, however, when Luna was six years old, Quicksilver was depowered by the Decimation of mutantkind. Desperate to get his powers back, he exposed himself to the Mists, and subsequently talked Luna into returning to Earth with him, where he exposed her, too. Thanks to the Mists, she can now see the feelings of the people she looks at in terms of colors, as a sort of visual empathy. Having trouble dealing with this, she now must wear shades at all times. Seemingly addicted to the Mist, her continued exposure to the mutagen has apparently enhanced her newfound power to the point of being a full-fledged empath, able to sense, remove, and alter emotions at will. After the events of Son of M, Quicksilver returned her to Crystal. Currently, the Inhumans are treating her addiction to the Mists, although it is unknown how her body will react to her addiction and if she will retain her abilities longer than baseline humans.

Silent War

In the Silent War miniseries, Luna still has her aura-sensing empathic ability, and is seen using it to defeat Karnak in a training session. She is used to track Terrigen Crystals. Maximus used her to remove the mental shackles that were placed on his ability to use his mind control powers and also free the evil eye powers of Ahura. She regrets that this has allowed Maximus to take control of the Inhumans away from Black Bolt, who appears to have lost his sanity. When asking Black Bolt what she should do about Maximus and her role in his ascendance, Black Bolt opens his mouth to answer her.

Secret Invasion

Luna is endangered when one member of the invading Skrull army is disguised as one of her playmates.[9] After the Skrulls were repelled from Attilan, Luna was seen with Maximus as Medusa heads into space to look for where the Skrulls are holding Black Bolt.[10]

Dark Reign

Luna was present in Attilan when Quicksilver brings the Xerogen Crystals to Medusa on Hala and claimed that a Skrull posed as him and stole the Terrigen Crystals; but he is then confronted by his daughter afterwards. Luna tells her father that she saw through his lie. Bidding Pietro farewell, she told him that she will always love him only because he is her father (and therefore will not expose the truth about him), but she will never respect him again.[11]

Recently, when her father (now a member of X-Factor) was confronted in a press conference by Fatale about his actions, and finally acknowledged his actions and his lies, he was later visited by Luna; she was proud of him for owning up to what he did, and told him he had earned her respect back, much to his relief.[12]

Powers and abilities

Luna can read and manipulate the state of nearby beings, including their emotional state, intentions, truthfulness, mental illness, and whether a person is under the mental control of Maximus. These states are represented to her as various cascading colors that she learns to interpret and to change for various effects. Because her powers are essentially some kind of visual empathy they are generally limited to her line of sight. When her empathic powers emerged, her blue-colored eyes turned golden, and because she is forced to wear specialized shades most of the time, it is unknown if her eyes remained in this state.

Luna can manipulate these auras to effect a mental manipulation ability. She has been able to release beings from mental shackles that prevented them from using their superhuman powers. Magneto had to ask her not to remove his sense of despair at losing his powers.

Luna may be able to sense and track certain energy patterns from far distances as, from the Moon, she could track Terrigen Crystals in various locations on the Earth. However, this ability may be limited to the Terrigen Crystals because of their nature or the long period she spent inhaling Terrigen mists. Luna is able to sense from far distances whenever the crystals are being used and whether they are being used by humans, rather than Inhumans.

Other versions

In the alternate future of Earth X, Luna has sprouted colorful wings. She is engaged to be married to Ahura, the son of Black Bolt and Medusa. The planned festivities are interrupted by the Inhumans not understanding what Earth has undergone.[13]

References
  1. DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 219. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  2. The Incredible Hulk #279 (January 1983)
  3. The Avengers #234, 369, 395, Annual #12 (August 1983, December 1993, February 1996, 1983)
  4. Quicksilver #4 (February 1998)
  5. The Vision and the Scarlet Witch #2, 4 (December 1982, February 1983)
  6. The Vision and the Scarlet Witch vol. 2, #6 (March 1986)
  7. Thing #3 (September 1983)
  8. Quicksilver #7 (May, 1998)
  9. Secret Invasion: Inhumans #1-4
  10. Secret Invasion #3
  11. The Mighty Avengers #31
  12. All-new X-Factor #12
  13. Earth X #1-3 (April–June 1999)
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