Origin
Originally from an alternate future timeline (Earth-7643), Monark was a rigger (a pilot whose nervous system is linked to the ship’s computer for better control) during a space war.
Creation
Monark Starstalker was created by Howard Chaykin and first appeared in Marvel Premiere Vol.1 issue 32 (1976).
Major Story Arcs
The War
Monark’s ship was attacked, the feedback from which fried his nervous system, destroying his senses and memories. Monark’s stricken vessel drifted until found by an alien race known only as the Technos, who restored his senses through a golden mechanical falcon called Ulysses.
Seven years later, with the war ended, Monark made a name for himself as a bounty hunter. Spinning tall tales to impress women about how his injuries were caused by a near collision with a nova (which only his superlative pilot skills managed to avoid), Monark crafted a more fitting origin tale to complement his fearsome reputation.
616 Universe and Nova
Recently, Monark has appeared in the mainstream Marvel Universe (Earth-616), battling members of the revived Nova Corps. It has not been revealed whether or not this is the same Monark from the alternate future timeline.
Powers
Due to the damage sustained by his nervous system, Monark seems to be immune to pain and weapons that affect the nervous system, likes his own Vortex pistol. Since he has no functioning eyesight of his own, he depends on the robotic bird Ulysses for sensory input. With Ulysses’s augmented eyesight, Monark can see remote locations and beyond the field of vision available to a normal human. Ulysses can also cloak Monark from detection by machines and increases his reaction time and speed. The bird can also be used to attack opponents, although this puts Monark at considerable risk since damage to the falcon would leave him at the mercy of his injuries.
Monark’s arsenal includes a nano-sword whose monomolecular edge can make short work of most materials, as well as a ‘Vortex Pistol’, which causes blindness, nausea, and vertigo.