So... Why exactly did Marvel kill off Phyla-Vell?

[Superkreep]

Her death was purposefully ambiguous...really just like Star Lord's and Nova's.
She even had a monument along side theirs at the end of Thanos Imperative.
We only had Mantis' word to go off, based on what she saw....probably some barely recognizable chard remains.

I mentioned this a while back on the old CBR forum here but a few years ago I got to hang with GotG artist Brad Walker and he sort of alluded that DnA had plans for all of the recently "dead" (at the time) Guardians. The plan seemed to be that they were going to lay the seeds for their return in Annihilators; Remember it wasn't just Phy who died, and was forgotten, most of the DnA team died before/during Thanos Imperative. Pete, Drax, Rich, Phy and Adam were all planned to make a return in some manner or another, it's just the plan was side tracked due the moves in creative. In Phy's case it seemed that although her mortal form as Martyr was destroyed her body as it was BEFORE turning into Martyr was still in possession of Oblivion. That tangent was and maybe/ HOPEFULLY is still the key to her return...I just don't see some one as stubborn as Moondragon NOT going to hell and back to restore Phy.

One thing is certain, Phyla Vell (whom I think should just stay named Phyla Vell, sort of like how Jean Grey and Kitty Pryde outgrew their need for code-names) is not completely forgotten. My costuming team all met James Gunn recently (@ Dragoncon) we were all decked out in our home built GotG costumes (Annihilation era of course), we had a Phyla and Moondragon with us and as he looked us over saying "Hmmmm, now which one of you guys are gonna be in the sequel..." he pointed to our obvious group members Star Lord (me), Rocket, Groot, etc. But when he got to our Phy and Moondragon he said "You guys I'm still trying to figure out." Then he continued by saying to our Bug cosplayer "Bug! Man I'm sorry but I can't use you. We don't own you. I really tried to get you in!" Which crushed our buddy cosplaying him, lol. Anyway, the point is that Gunn has her in mind and if the theme of GotG 2 is all about confrontations between fractured and estranged families: Star Lord/his dad, Gamora/Nebula/Thanos, & Drax/Moondragon, then there's a strong possibility Phy will show up in the sequel and with that a renewed focus in the 616.

With the Drax and Moondragon relationship in particular they can easily tie in Phyla if they choose to...she even has her own heavy Family issues..a heroic dad who casts a HUGE shadow and a bat-shit older Brother. So much potential really, and that's not even scratching the surface, the fact that she'd be the first openly lesbian hero to feature prominently in a blockbuster DISNEY film is a pretty big deal.

Also, if that isn't enough to convince you Phyla is not TOTALLY forgotten, She is actually a playable character in the New Guardians of the Galaxy Mobile game. That little gem is written by none other than Dan Abnett. You know HE won't let Phyla fade away, he LOVES her.

[Mutant God]

Its a conspiracy, Marvel wants all the Vells gone lol. I thought Moondragon was a lesbian, didn't she say she only went to men because it got her power or something like that.

[THANOSRULES]

Reading back her death seemed so... Pointless. It added nothing to the narrative and seemed to be promptly forgotten in the very next issue, like she never existed in the first place. Did Marvel have something against the character?

It's no secret that Phyla-Vell was a pretty powerful cosmic character and that she's known as one of Marvel's more well-known openly Gay/Lesbian characters (Moondragon is bisexual, hate it when those that're uninformed assume she's lesbian) that was more than wallpaper.

So what was the reason to kill Phyla-Vell? Couldn't Marvel have utilized her better in a future GoTG team-up or the such due to her cosmic status?

I ask because I literally saw no point in killing her or how she was killed off (Despite how powerful she was she was pretty much OKO'd by a drowsy Thanos off-panel), especially when her death had little to no impact towards anything.

Quaser isn't an issue or a good excuse since Phyla-Vell already discarded that name long before her "death".

The issue is that their decision amounted to nothing and her death was brushed over almost immediately as well as the fact that she wasn't even shown going down fighting. A drowsy and "Newly reborn" Thanos pretty much killed her off panel without even breaking a sweat.

It doesn't really fit Marvel's profile to kill off a character like that if they wanted it to mean something, to matter, or to even be brought up again. With how hush-hush they've been about it, and trying to bury it away, it seems like they either didn't like the character anymore or they're embarrassed over how badly handled her death was.

Not going to argue with you too hard here...because basically I agree...but this Captain Marvel situation was a kill happy mess of poor character treatment...Phyla was part of this larger marvel weirdness with Captain Marvel characters...so I'm not sure why you are surprised..I hope she comes back with her bro...because I liked him too.

I liked her as Phyla Vell though... I didnt like the EMO Martyr aspect...although it could have worked as like a space paladin type thing.

At least she got a statue?

Nice insight from SK there...It makes a lot of sense..

[davew128]

I thought Moondragon was a lesbian, didn't she say she only went to men because it got her power or something like that.

I don't think so. She certainly used her sexuality against men, but she certainly enjoyed the physical aspect. She nailed (raped) Thor, wanted Quasar, and definitely wanted Daredevil and there are probably others I'm neglecting.

[TakoM]

I don't think so. She certainly used her sexuality against men, but she certainly enjoyed the physical aspect. She nailed (raped) Thor, wanted Quasar, and definitely wanted Daredevil and there are probably others I'm neglecting.

I know she was power hungry but that is very aggressive and got kicked out of the Avengers because of this but Thor's reaction to her in Avengers of Infinity makes much more sense now.

[CraigTheCylon]

She's a part of the Vell family. Her fate was pretty much sealed from the get go.

Depressingly likely.

I'll be honest: there is not a single Marvel Comics death that upset me like Phyla's did. Mainly because, as Sardorim says, it was ****ing pointless. Yes, I get that she was being used as a pawn by Oblivion, who really wanted to restore Thanos, since he's the typical avatar of Death, and Oblivion is basically just Death with a different wig. But she didn't need to die to do it, and Thanos certainly didn't need to kill the first person in front of him after waking up to 'get his heat back' or whatever. He's THANOS. You don't need to show us he's badass, we know that already.

Not to mention the whole thing was anticlimactic as hell since she's slotted off-panel and had already visibly 'died' twice, at the hands of both Gamora and Magus, only a few issues beforehand.

And yes, it is questionable in the extreme that one of Marvel's scarce few gay characters got used as a sacrificial lamb. I suppose someone will say 'but such-and-such hetero character also died, so it's not a big deal!' - no, sorry, it IS a big deal. You can't compare the two because there are vastly more hetero characters out there, and barely any gay ones. Especially openly gay ones. Phyla didn't just wear homosexuality as a badge; her relationship with Moondragon was tacit, physical and passionate, and absolutely vital to her persona. Her death was a huge loss to the LGBT minority of the MU.

Maybe, as some others in the thread have said, DnA had a plan to bring her back along with the other dead Guardians. Alas, it doesn't matter now - the series is out of their hands, and unless James Gunn decides to put her in the movie sequel, I fully expect Phyla to remain dead. And I will never stop being bitter about it.

[norj]

I know she was power hungry but that is very aggressive and got kicked out of the Avengers because of this but Thor's reaction to her in Avengers of Infinity makes much more sense now.

She wasn't power hungry merely slowly turned evil by the cosmic force of destruction inhabiting her mind.

[megaharrison]

They'll bring her back as soon as they decide to do something with her in the movies.

[HUTHAIFA]

You're assuming there's some gestalt entity called "Marvel" that's directly responsible for everything that happens. In reality, there are different people making different decisions at several levels. Abnett and Lanning (can't believe I called him "Landing") wrote a death scene, the editor rubber-stamped it, it was drawn and printed, and then the book was cancelled. Those are the facts we have. You're imputing motives based on your personal feelings about the story and the character.

God Bless You. It's rare to get responses lately not based in conspiracy just pure not so common sense

[Kieran_Frost]

They'll bring her back as soon as thy decide to do something with her in the movies.

Marvel? Including an LGBT character in their movies? That's gonna be a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooong wait!

[THANOSRULES]

They'll bring her back as soon as they decide to do something with her in the movies.

Well thats not helping the Nova Corps much

[XPac]

They'll bring her back as soon as they decide to do something with her in the movies.

Phyla Vell is a pretty complicated character to use in the movies though. Her origin is kinda weird. I'm not sure they'd go there.

[Juggernaut Punch]

Phyla Vell is a pretty complicated character to use in the movies though. Her origin is kinda weird. I'm not sure they'd go there.

Drax's origins are pretty weird too. They can simplify it.

[Vic Vega]

She's dead because the writers needed her dead for the story.

She hasn't been brought back yet because no body has found a use for her yet. As
long as Carol Danvers is using the Captain Marvel name, she is sort of redundant.

There is always hope that Phyla (and Moondragon) get added to the next GtoG movie.

[XPac]

Drax's origins are pretty weird too. They can simplify it.

True. Though one can argue you might as well just use Carol if you're in need of a simplifed female Captain Marvel.

Still, ya never know.