Origin

Ava Starr comes from a future where Doctor Doom installed himself as world emperor at the expense of the world. When she was 14 years old, she was imprisoned in a Negative Zone gulag and tormented by the warden, Ghost. She would be locked up for almost a decade, birthing a son behind bars. During an escape attempt, the prison was attacked by the Annihilation Wave and her son was possessed by one of the bugs. In the chaos, Ava attacked Ghost and stole her power suit to aid in her escape. She assumed Ghost's identity and joined Doom's other acolytes when they time traveled to the present where Doom had just taken the title of Sorcerer Supreme. They formed the Superior Avengers and served as an example that Doom's reign was worth it.

Creation

Ghost was introduced in Superior Avengers #1 by Steve Foxe and Kyle Hotz. Her name and design are inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of Ghost (John Morley).

Major Story Arcs

One World Under Doom

In their future, the Superior Avengers were left defenseless against an invading Annihilation Wave, because Doom had destroyed all sources of magic. When Kristoff Vernard, son of Doom, invited them to the present, they saw their chance to horde magical artifact and create an arcane warhead they could use to destroy Annihilus. They would store these artifacts and build their weapons in the ruins of Prison 42 in the Negative Zone, far from the prying eyes of World Emperor Doom. As a distraction, Killmonger would seduce Kristoff so Doc Ock could replace her teammates with robot doubles.

To keep up appearances, they would still often go on missions doing good. When they tried to stop fugitive supervillain Graviton, they came into direct confrontation with the present's actual Avengers. In the ensuing fight, Vision seemingly mortally wounded Ghost, only to reveal that she had sent one of Doc Ock's robot doubles in her place. Ghost had secretly been a victim of these Superior Avengers, killing and switching places with the team's real Ghost before they were brought to the present. The Superior Avengers went looking for her before she blew their cover, but their hand was forced. They killed Kristoff and left him for dead, if not for being saved by Ghost, who believed Doom was a safer bet to end the Annihilation Wave in her future than the arcane warhead.

The Superior Avengers were about to take their warhead to the future when teammate, Abomination revealed he had been possessed by Annihilus the whole time. Annihilus rips out of Abomination's body and attacks these Avengers, eating Doc Ock. Onslaught and Malekith attempt to attack the enemy, but Doctor Doom arrives sacrificing both of those Avengers for weapons against the dragon. Killmonger, as the final Avenger, abandons the battlefield to go for the time platform. She is taken out by Ghost who phased her thirty feet into the dirt and trapped her in an air pocket, before running off entirely.

Powers, Abilities, & Weapons

Ghost Suit: Ghost has a suit that allows her to become intangible and invisible.

• Energy Blasts: Her gauntlets are capable of firing energy blasts
• On-Board Computer: The original Ghost was paranoid and kept detailed files on the other Doom acolytes on her the computer in her mask. This aided in Ava's ability to assume Ghost's identity.

Other Media

Marvel Cinematic Universe

A version of Ghost who was female and named Ava Starr preexisted this similar comic version in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She appeared in:

• Ant-Man and the Wasp
• Thunderbolts*
• Avengers: Doomsday.

Because she pre-existed this version, the profile of the more common John Morley version of Ghost is referenced on her individual MCU appearances. She was played by Hannah John-Kamen.

Ava was the daughter of Elihas Starr, a rival of Hank Pym, whose own experiments into the Quantum Realm backfired, quantum entangling his daughter. She would be raised by SHIELD and trained as an assassin thanks to her ability to become intangible and invisible. She would be cared for by Bill Foster, a student of Hank Pym, and eventually fell in with a group of burned OXE group black ops agents, who would eventually be announced as the New Avengers.