Moonstone, Meteorite, Ms. Marvel--call her whatever you want,
as long as you always watch your back.
Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we will explore the comic book origins of Karla Sofen,
the villainous Moonstone.
IRON MAN: We need to get that core out!
No time.
Anything I'm holding phases with me.
As with most comic book characters, there are often reimaginings and different versions to a character's past.
We have chosen to primarily follow the storyline which was set up in 1974's Captain America #170
and 1975's Captain America #192,
which was expanded upon in 1978's Incredible Hulk #228
and again in 1999's Thunderbolts #25
and lastly in 2009's Dark Avengers #1.
Karla Sofen has taken on a number of identities throughout her career
and her powers have changed somewhat throughout the years.
But Sofen is almost always identified with her ability to phase through matter,
fly, and deliver devastating blasts of power.
[grunts]
Even the Hulk has had a hard time battling this blonde powerhouse.
Sofen herself first appeared as Moonstone in a 1978 issue of The Incredible Hulk,
but her origin goes back a little further.
In 1974, another character named Moonstone fought Captain America.
This Moonstone was originally a smalltime criminal named Lloyd Bloch.
When he attempted to steal a moonstone, it fused into his hand,
granting him mighty powers.
He was eventually defeated by Captain America and put in jail.
A year or so later, Captain America,
in his, at the time, still-secret identity of Steve Rogers,
found himself on a charter plane filled with criminals and headed by the villainous Doctor Faustus.
The woman assisting Faustus on this flight was Karla Sofen,
although that fact would not be revealed for a few years.
When Sofen finally appeared again,
it was now as a psychologist who was allegedly trying to help the Hulk.
In fact, Sofen was the new Moonstone
and was actually trying to steal a secret weapon kept at the facility where Hulk was being treated.
During a fight with the Hulk,
she revealed a keen ability to use psychology to manipulate people,
as well as an expertise at voice control.
Sofen also revealed how, after leaving Doctor Faustus,
she had visited Lloyd Bloch in jail in her civilian profession as a psychologist.
Using her skills and a hallucinogenic gas on him,
she convinced him that his moonstone made him a monster.
She forced him to give her the moonstone,
resulting in his death.
Over the years, Karla's powers changed and increased somewhat.
Actually, so did her secret identity.
In 1997, a new group of superheroes named the Thunderbolts arrived on the scene.
This is the third time this week we've run into these guys!
Who are they?
CITIZEN V: Thunderbolts, strike!
A member of this team, Meteorite, was none other than Karla Sofen using a new name.
It turned out the whole crew was actually a bunch of villains posing a heroes,
put together by the evil Baron Zemo.
But the Thunderbolts eventually did try to go straight and be real heroes.
In one of their 1999 adventures,
Karla revealed even more details
about her pre-Moonstone past.
She was the daughter of a butler and a maid,
who worked for a Hollywood millionaire.
Karla herself was the paid playmate of the millionaire's daughter, Deanna Stockbridge.
When Karla's father died,
her mother worked multiple jobs to put Karla through school.
But Karla didn't feel gratitude,
only contempt and a determination to always put her own needs first,
and it was that determination that led to her life of crime.
IRON MAN: You need to watch where you're going!
Oh, do I?
Whoa!
Karla underwent yet another change to her public persona in 2009.
Norman Osborn, now the director of a reformed S.H.I.E.L.D.,
was creating a new team of Avengers,
and chose Karla to become the new Ms. Marvel.
He ordered her to undergo a psychiatric evaluation
with a psychic named Gerald Wright.
During that evaluation,
Karla revealed that she had killed her mother soon after becoming Moonstone.
The reason she gave is that she couldn't stand her mother thinking of her as a criminal
and so, she suffocated her and set her house on fire.
These additions to Karla's origin certainly demonstrated her selfishness
and one-track mind when it came to doing whatever she needed
in order to get ahead.
But they also indicated that, deep down inside,
she might just feel some sort of guilt and remorse.
Nonetheless, Karla Sofen is decidedly ruthless
and a master of manipulation,
yet she does seem to have some conflicting feelings
when she's posing as a hero.
Who knows what's really going on inside that head of hers?
Are you a fan of Moonstone?
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MOONSTONE: Let's grab what we came for
and get out of here!
BARON ZEMO: No!