Where there is darkness there must be light. Introduced in Micronauts #8 (1979) by Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden, Captain Universe is the champion of the god of light in the Marvel Universe, the Enigma Force. For millennia, The Enigma Force has been battling Knull and his minion but when Knull was imprisoned, he became the protector of the universe, endowing individuals with its powers when a disaster threatens the entire universe. Once the task is complete the individual would return to normal.

The first known human of the mantle was Ray Coffin, when Baron Karza of the Microverse threatened the planet. When Mister E, one of Knulls minions, appeared, Ray’s son, Steve, was endowed with the powers. When the Enigma Force experienced memory loss, it bonded with Gabriel Vargas and travelled to the Microverse. It would later bond with Hulk, Daredevil, X-23 and Invisible woman. After going for the F4 for help, hit would bond with Gladiator but they were separated by the tyrant Krosakis, who forced the Uni-power to bond with him. He was defeated by Silver Surfer who bonded with it after. Returning to Earth, it bonds with Ted Simmons before bonding with Vargas, who he helped in Annihilation: Conquest.

However, Vargas was killed, and the power was given to a Phalanx. It later bonded with William Nguyen, but he only wanted to use the power in his vengeance against Juggernaut. Since Nguyen wouldn’t do the task at hand, it was given to Juggernaut. It would later bond with Tamara Devoux, who tasked her with stopping the Gardeners. It was later forced to bond with Miles Morales in order to stop the Inheritors. When Knull returned, it would bond with Eddie Brock to defeat its longtime foe.

Captain Universe hasn’t really been asked for by fans, except for the Spider-man version. However, when Hasbro made the Cosmic Spider-man figure for the Homecoming Vulture’s wings wave, they included a stand head that represents many people who were Captain Universe.