I had high hopes for Marvel Cosmic Invasion. A throwback cosmic game sounded great. But of course, they couldn’t help themselves — they went full woke.
My first red flag was seeing Phyla as a playable character. Anyone who follows Marvel Cosmic knows she’s one of the most disliked additions to the lore. But the devs clearly needed an LGBTQ+ character in the lineup, and instead of using someone already established like Moondragon, they forced in Phyla-Vell.
At first, I didn’t care. They were only calling her “Phyla,” which I could live with. But then the devs revealed her movesets — and that’s where everything fell apart.
If you’re not familiar with the history: Phyla was the poster child of Marvel’s early “replacement” era. She replaced Wendell Vaughn as Quasar, and Marvel rewrote everything about the character to make her fit.
They killed off Wendell, they altered the well-established power system created by the late Mark Gruenwald, and they tossed decades of lore out the window. Gruenwald himself used to mail fans a packet explaining exactly how Quasar’s powers worked. Marvel ignored all of it.
That all happened around 2006. And that’s when I — along with like-minded fans — pushed back. It led to the creation of this very site. We petitioned Marvel, sent them shirts, fan art, and the legendary Quasar cake. Nova fans mailed Kevin Feige a Nova care package. It was a different time.
Marvel actually listened.
They brought Wendell Vaughn back as Quasar. They renamed Phyla to Martyr. And for a moment, the entire cosmic fandom was on the same page. Imagine that.
Then Disney bought Marvel, and the whole thing slid downhill. Replacing characters went into overdrive. Eventually, they replaced Quasar again — not once, but multiple times — with more “modernized” female versions. And here we are.
In Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Phyla’s moveset includes “Quasar Blitz.” She’s wearing the Quasar costume. She’s using the Quasar sword. It’s the same tired rewrite all over again.
Wendell Vaughn is not in the game.
And to be blunt: when I first started this site, we helped Marvel promote the cosmic line. Guardians of the Galaxy. Nova. More. That whole revitalization era. The editor who championed it came over from Joe Quesada’s street-level office, didn’t know Cosmic at first, but learned. He understood the fans. He was the one who brought Wendell Vaughn back as Quasar. He now happens to be the VP of Creative at Marvel Games.
So thanks, Bill.
You’ve made my decision to skip this game loud and clear.
