STECK'EE
Real Name: Possibly Steck'ee (full or partial name vs. nickname)
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (unrevealed race; see comments)
Occupation: Waitress, dancer;
possible prostitute
Group Membership: Apparently the Universal Order of the Dedicated;
at least formerly the staff of Glib's Grog and Grub
Affiliations: Glib Arkanian, Genis-Vell (aka Captain Marvel), Marlo Jones, Moondragon (Heather Douglas), Rick Jones, Zoog
Enemies: Bel-Dann, Kree Peace Battalion, Magus (Adam Warlock's evil side), Zey-Rogg, Zey-Rogg android
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Steck
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
last seen in her apartment, presumably in Halvacenter, Calculex;
at least formerly Glib's Grog
and Grub bar and grill, Halvacenter, planet Calculex
|
 .
First Appearance: Captain Marvel III#1 (December, 1995)
.
Powers/Abilities: Steck'ee can transform between male and female forms at will.
She may or may not be able to alter her height, skin, color, or perform more variable metamorphosis.
Although terrified of the Magus, she was willing to sacrifice her own life to save Genis'.
.
Height: Unrevealed (it seemed to vary somewhat, perhaps ranging from 5'2" to 5'9"; see comments); her masculine form was likely a little taller than her feminine form
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 110 lbs. to 135 lbs. at those different height ranges); her masculine form was likely heavier
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde
Skin: Light blue
Other Distinguishing Features: Steck'ee has pointed ears |
.
History:
(Captain Marvel IV#35
(fb) - BTS) - Steck'ee's people believed that one should appreciate
others for who they were inside, not outside.
(Captain
Marvel IV#33 (fb) - BTS) - As a child, Steck'ee was told of the fearful Lurky Man, and she learned the quote, "Look away, look in fright, the Lurky Man is coming tonight!"
(Captain Marvel IV#35
(fb) - BTS) - Steck'ee first met Genis-Vell when she tripped over him
while he was sleeping off a bender in the gutter one night (presumably
on Calculex.
(Captain
Marvel III#1 (fb) - BTS) - Steck'ee worked, alongside Zoog, as "very
affectionate" waitresses for Glib Arkanian at Glib's Grog and Grub bar
and grill on the planet Calculex.
(Captain
Marvel III#1 (fb) - BTS) - Alongside Glib Arkanian and Zoog, Steck'ee
traveled to D'Bana Crux in search of their friend Genis-Vell
after he had reportedly destroyed the Shi'ar vessel Link 33 and all of
the 2000 beings aboard.
(Captain
Marvel III#1) - After Glib noted that there had
reports of him "snackin'" (enjoying the pleasure dens, etc.) there for
the last three months, Steck'ee wondered why he would hide in "old port," and what could have happened to him.
As they searched though distasteful Stim-Dens,
Steck'ee insisted that they were not leaving until they found him, and
Zoog teased her, asking if she still wanting him for the "Big Trot"
(apparently the Kymellian term for sexual
intercourse). Steck'ee insisted that they were only friends and that
Zoog knew that, and that she (Steck'ee) was only worried.
Smelling Genis, Steck'ee led the others to find him
on the floor, passed out between two
females in similar states. Zoog and Steck'ee picked Genis up, and
Steck'ee spoke to him, calling him "bright eyes" and asking why he had
done this and what he had been hiding from. Dimly opening his eyes,
Genis made some vague statements about hiding from himself and having
not
handled things the way his father, Mar-Vell would have... and then he
threw up and then apparently passed out again.
(Captain Marvel III#1 (fb) - BTS) - Zoog, Glib, and Steck'ee brought Genis back to Glib's Grog and Grub.
(Captain Marvel III#1) - Glib
prepared a pop-stim that woke up and apparently sobered up Genis, after
which Steck'ee asked what had happened, and then Genis
detailed the circumstances under which he had inadvertently destroyed
the Link 313.
Steck'ee tried to comfort Genis, reminding him
that he had been following the instructions of the Link 313's
personnel. Glib subsequently advised Genis that he had been apparently
set-up and
suggested he travel to Earth to learn more about the situation.
(Captain
Marvel III#4 (fb) - BTS) - A synthetic life form in the form of
Zey-Rogg kidnapped and assaulted Steck'ee on Calculex, perhaps
sexually, in order to try to hurt her friend Genis. On Hala at the
time, Genis returned to Calculex as quickly as he could, and he
destroyed the Zey-Rogg robot, apparently by blowing off its head.
(Captain Marvel III#4 (fb))
- Steck'ee was surprised that Genis had killed her attacker, and Genis
revealed that it had been a "synthsent" (an artificial life-form
programmed to simulate normal sentient activities and functions) all
along. She was also surprised to learn this, given the thing it did to
her, but Genis told her that it had been programmed to do what it did,
and that the "bast'jak" who sent him was using her to hurt him (Genis).
Still crying, she told him it would have been nice if he had gotten
there a little earlier. Apologizing, he flew her away to find her a
place to stay while noting that the Kree military were all over
Halvacenter in search of him. Confused, Steck'ee asked if this whole
Link-313 plot had not started with the Kree asking him for help, and he
explained what he had learned on Hala regarding the opposing Kree
Resistance Front and Kree Peace Battalion, the latter of whom was led
by Zey-Rogg.
(Captain
Marvel III#4 (fb) - BTS) - Genis took Steck'ee to Calculex's D'Bana Crux and began looking for the real Zey-Rogg. 
(Captain
Marvel III#4 - BTS) - Genis located, defeated, and arrested Zey-Rogg.
(Captain
Marvel III#5 (fb) - BTS) - Genis and Steck'ee shared a romantic evening at her place.
(Captain
Marvel III#5) - The next morning, Genis flew around, watering/feeding
her plants that were high on the wall. Greeting her, "Good morning,
Steck. Better evening," he asked why she didn't use feed sticks on the
plants as they would give them all the nutrients they needed. She
replied that he could similarly just eat protein paste every day, as it
would supply everything he needed. Teasing, "not everything," he
sprayed her with the hose and then allowed her to tackle him.
As they
started to embrace anew, Steck'ee asked him if he was sorry that they
went beyond being just friends, and when he asked if she was, she
pulled away and noted that he had not answered the question. Answering,
"No..." he told her that after her experiences with Zey-Rogg's
synthsent, he thought maybe she needed it. 
Unsurprisingly, the suggestion that she had needed
their romance did not go over well, and Steck'ee angrily asked if he
had been doing her a favor. She further criticized his typical male
thinking, and when Genis questioned her throwing gender in his face,
Steck'ee asked him why he thought she preferred being female most of
the time. He answered that he thought it was to do him a favor.
As the two stood in awkward silence, Genis dressed
and told her he had some things to do, at which point she swiftly
dressed and rushed out the door. Considering his feelings but also
worrying about her being a working girl, he watched her from the sky
above as she entered a church of the Universal Order of the Dedicated.
Surprised that Steck'ee believed in anything that
didn't pay out in cash, Genis flew away rather than consider entering a
church.
(Captain
Marvel IV#14 (fb)) - Steck'ee was present as the Grog and Grub hosted the Dead Man's Hand
poker game (which included Genis, Grandmaster, Thanos, and Zoog).
(Captain
Marvel IV#14 (fb) - BTS) - Genis cheated and won the game.
(Captain
Marvel IV#35 (fb) - BTS) - Genis and Steck'ee presumably had other romantic encounters.
(Captain
Marvel IV#33 (fb) - BTS) - Having been reduced to an immaterial
form after escaping the Soul Gem, the Magus (Adam Warlock's dark
aspect) traveled to Halvacenter on the planet Calculex and began
absorbing the life forces of others, taking that ephemeral energy and
converting it to the physical. As the number of his victims reached
dozens and possibly hundreds, although only eleven were known about
reported (as the city where so many came and went), he became known as
the "Lurky Man."
(Captain Marvel IV#32 (fb) - BTS) - The
Magus abducted Steck'ee and brought her into his lair in the pits
(the now shut-down below-city power generator stations), hoping to draw
Genis there. As she had disappeared in the same fashion as the others
who had all subsequently turned up dead, Steck'ee was believed to have
died.
Due to the
number of deaths, Glib closed the Grog and Grub, and he and Zoog
resolved to depart Halvacenter, as so many other were doing.
(Captain
Marvel IV#32 - BTS) - Returning to Halvacenter, Genis encountered
Glib and Zoog who told him of Steck'ee's apparent death. The furious
Genis asked, "Who's the walking dead man who killed her?"
(Captain
Marvel IV#32) - As Steck'ee floated, apparent unconscious, the
Magus noted how he would use the life of Captain Marvel to restore
himself to full existence.
(Captain
Marvel IV#33) - The Magus continued to rant about his existence
and then asked Steck'ee if she knew of Adam Warlock, Steck'ee begged
him not to kill her. When he asked why she trembled and averted her
eyes, she told him that she knew that he was the Lurky Man, which
caused him to burst into laughter and depart, while she collapsed to
the ground.
(Captain
Marvel IV#33) - When Genis-Vell attempted to learn what had
happened from "Lurky Man" victim Reva Centrella, he somehow contacted
the mind of the Magus that Centrella had encountered, who had not yet
abducted Steck'ee; however, aware of what he would do in the future,
the Magus showed Genis a vision of Steck'ee and told Genis to meet him
alone or he would kill her (as well as anyone Genis brought with him).
(Captain
Marvel IV#34) - As the Magus taunted Genis with the helpless
Steck'ee, he assured her that he would get her out of there, although
she instead commented that he had cut his hair and that she had liked
it longer.
The Magus subsequently noted that if Genis allowed
him to drain his life energies, as his soul was attuned to the cosmic
ether, that would be enough to restore him, while if he continued to
use his current fodder (notably Steck'ee) it would talk at least a
hundred more. Steck'ee instead urged Genis to get out of there as she
was finished anyway and that there was no need for both of them to die.
When Genis was distracted by desperate pleas for
assistance from Rick Jones as his wife, Marlo, had been abducted by
natives of the Rainbow Planet in the Microverse, Magus sucked out some
of Steck'ee's soul, causing her to scream, thereby regaining Genis'
attention. Magus offered Genis the chance to depart to a safe location,
exchange places with Rick, save Marlo, and then return to the
fight...although he would kill Steck'ee if Genis left.
Ultimately, having taken the Magus' measure, Genis
allowed him to try to consume his soul, knowing that his connection to
the cosmos would prove to be too much for him, and the Magus fled,
arriving in apparently solid form on some other world. Ecstatic,
Steck'ee embraced and kissed Genis, after which Genis used his
Nega-Bands to exchange placed with Rick...who then introduced himself
and asked her what they did for fun around there.
(Captain Marvel
IV#35) - Steck'ee brought Rick back to her place, which she
considered a dump, although when he accepted her offer for a seat and a
drink, a chair rushed up behind him as did a platter bearing a drink.
She further clarified that she and Genis weren't really ever that close
as friends but rather they were like "copulation buddies."
Noting that her place was only one room (see comments),
Steck'ee asked if it would offend his Terran sensibilities if she got
out of her grimy and sweated-up clothes. Rick told her to go ahead,
although he could not resist watching her. He asked how she had met
Genis, and she told him...
(Captain Marvel IV#35
(fb) - BTS) - Since Rick twas male and she did not know him that well,
Steck'ee switched to her male form while unclothed.
(Captain Marvel
IV#35) - Seeing male parts while looking at Steck'ee, Rick was
shocked, but Steck'ee explained the reason and his/her abilities.
After Rick checked in on Genis' progress and saw an
image -- of Marlo kissing Moondragon -- from Marlo's memories projected
by the creatures that had captured her, Steck'ee (back in female form)
appreciated that he was distraught, but Rick told Steck'ee that he was
fine.
(Captain Marvel IV#35 (fb) - BTS) - After
Genis recovered Marlo and exchanged places with Rick, Steck'ee noted
how Rick then chose to hang out by himself in the Microverse rather
than deal with situation.
(Captain Marvel IV#35) - Steck'ee
served him a non-alcoholic drink at his request, noting that she was
note sure whether to be proud of him, or wistful, or what. She then
gave him back his "Kiss me, I'm Kree" button/patch/whatever that he had
left there the last time he had left his pants behind. She then told
him not to forget his roots and who he was, telling him that she
sometimes had these dreams and...but then she dropped it, telling him
to forget it and that she was just being paranoid. She then suggested
he let Rick speak to Marlo.
(Captain Marvel IV#35 - BTS) - Rick/Genis subsequently departed.
Comments: Created by Fabian Nicieza, Edward Benes, and Mike Sellers.
In the first page of Captain Marvel III#1, the only image showing her
skin, Steck'ee had pink/Caucasian skin tones. Thereafter, she was light
blue. Maybe she can change her skin color, too...
I still can't tell what her shirt
says (and one or two other images showing it don't offer anything
else)...something "AI" something GI "something" I could believe the
second/lower word was meant to be GIRLS or GLIBS
I reread the comic Captain Marvel III#1 and have come to conclusion the shirt Steck'ee wore actually says Eat At Glibs.
--AvatarWarlord
In Captain Marvel III#1, pg.. 2, panel 1, a height comparison shows her
perhaps 4-6" taller than the Laxidazian Glib Arkanian, but perhaps a
full foot shorter than the Kymellian Zoog (in Captain Marvel IV#33.
however, Zoog and Glib were about the same height, coming up to Genis'
shoulders).
In Captain Marvel III#4, she was hugging the 6'2"
Genis and looked to only be a couple inches shorter than the 6'2" Genis
(although she could have been standing on her toes).
In Captain Marvel IV#34, she looked a lot shorter,
jumping into the air to be a couple inches shorter than Genis.
In Captain Marvel IV#35, she looked maybe a couple
inches shorter than the 5'9" Rick Jones, but also only a little shorter
than Genis (and she was barefoot)
Maybe she can change height, too...
Or, maybe she's a complete metamorph.
Captain Marvel III#4 noted
Steck'ee to be Genis' best friend. In Fabian's run, he and Steck'ee
were friends, and that had sex once and then it got awkward. Perhaps
while Steck'ee was a friend to Genis, he was not there for her as much,
and she did not consider him that much of a friend. Or perhaps sometime
after Fabian's Captain Marvel III#5 and before Peter David's Captain
Marvel IV#1, they had a number of romantic liaisons with less
friendship involved.
Steck'ee's apartment in Captain Marvel IV#35 may
have been a studio apartment, but it's hard to believe that she would
not have a bathroom...but maybe it just had whatever sort of alien
toilet present in the main room. Or maybe she wanted to change in front
of Rick? Who knows?
Per a featurette on the letter
page of Captain Marvel III#1 "A lesson in Calculex slang," Old Port was
the first docking bay for interstellar shipping and transport located
in D'Bana Crux (which was the capital city of Calculex and was noted as
having seen better days). This city has been in a steady state of
decline for over three centuries, and is mostly used now for the
transfer of illegal cargo.
Skrulls, Chameloids
Drawn by six different pencilers,
and with each penciler who drew her in more than one issue having a
different inker each time (three different inkers for Ed Benes and two
for Patrick Zircher).
Also, there is some discrepancy in terms of numeric
designations of the Captain Marvel series. Obviously the Mar-Vell
series starting in 1968 is one; and then Monica Rambeau had a pair of
issues that I considered the second series; and then Genis has the
third series, etc. The Marvel Chronology Project considers Genis series
the second Captain Marvel series. Using numbering for series used to be
straightforward, but over time, certain characters have had series in
the teens with runs lasting a year or less so that using years of
publication is confusing...and then, Captain Marvel in particular is a
name used by multiple characters...
Anyhoo, I just wanted to clarify the system/numbering I use.
Steck'ee's race?
Steck'ee is able to transform back and forth between male and female forms.
For the sake of clarity and because Steck'ee is
female the vast majority of the time, I referred to Steck'ee as her or she in
those appearances.
However, more significantly, in Captain Marvel V#35,
Steck'ee referred to "my people," which would seem to imply that she is
a member of a race that can shift back and forth between different
sexes. I'm inclined to attribute the variation in height as artistic
license (how often is Wolverine shown to be way taller than 5'3"), and
the one Caucasian skin tone shown to be art error. It is possible that
she has much more advanced metamorphic abilities, but changing between
male and female forms seemed to be her primary ability.
What beings or
races have been known to be able to transform back and forth between male and
female form at will?
Obviously many shape-changing races can do take the form of the opposite sex, but I'm
looking for beings who could specifically only metamorph between male and
female changes? And I'm not talking about cross-dressing, surgical sex
change/gender reassignment, etc., I'm talking about metamorphs who only change
between male and female forms.
Gallifreyans
(such as the Doctor (Who)) can switch, though given they only change bodies (and not necessarily sexes) a
specified number of times (12) and then only to avoid dying when their current
body is terminal, it's not something they do casually.
--Loki
There's at least a
possibility Manphibian's species can change sex. Manphibian's mate was killed
over a thousand years ago, yet he had offspring in the modern day, when the
only other available member of his species on Earth that we knew of was his
formerly male foe. See his Appendix entry's
comments section.
--Loki
Transforming back and forth between male and female sexes in true of a few unique characters, like
Ajak, Makkari, and Sprite of the Eternals of Earth
Cloud, a sentient nebula that imprinted on the forms of Carol Faber and Danny Milligan
Her/Kismet originally started out as the male Paragon before evolving into Her.
Loki Laufeyson, a Frost giant raised as an Asgardian god, although Loki can take various forms)
Ozma of Oz was mystically transformed into the form of a small boy to hide her existence from those that might destroy her.
Starhawk
of Reality-691's 31st century (as well as other variant timelines)
exchanges forms between the male Stakar and the female Aleta, but they
are two different people who exchange places in reality, more like
Captain Marvel and Rick Jones exchanging forms.
The Microverse's Devil and Fireflyte
alternate existences, but this was more of a life cycle change. They are completely different as one is a red-pink
muscled creature and the other is flowing Tinkerbell-type.
Shape-changing races in the Marvel Universe include the Skrulls, Xartans, Chameloids,
and Dire Wraiths, Kakarantharans/Makluans, and numerous aliens from the Atlas age, like Zogg and the "Night Watcher."
Steck'ee's blue skin makes me wonder if she
could possibly be some Kree offshoot, like the Eternals, although
Ultimus (the only known Kree Eternal) does not have this ability.
She is also somewhat
elven looking, and the blue skin reminds me of the Dark Elves of
Svartalfheim...but there's nothing else to support that, and she is an
extraterrestrial from space in Earth's dimension than one of the Nine
Worlds associated with Asgard.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Steck'ee should be distinguished from:
- STECKLER - Bard college classmate and football teammate of Hank McCoy--X-Men I#50/2;
- STECKLEY, H.D. - see
MOONDRAGON--Quasar I#11
- STECKLEY, H.D.
(Holly Deborah Steckley)
- see ERESHKIGEL identity used to infiltrate Vaughn Securities
to tap into power--Quasar I#30
- Other "Steck" characters, groups, items, events, races, or places...
Universal Order of the Dedicated
 A religion based on (at least Calculex's Halvacenter)
(Captain
Marvel III#5) - After a fight with Genis, Steck'ee left the apartment and entered a church of the Universal Order of the Dedicated.
Surprised that Steck'ee believed in anything that
didn't pay out in cash, Genis flew away rather than consider entering a
church.
--Captain Marvel III#5
Note: We know nothing else about this church.
The name reminds me of the Universal Church of Truth, but there is not evidence of any connection.
|
  Presumably located on Calculex's Halvacenter.
(Captain Marvel IV#35) - Steck'ee
brought Rick back to her place, which she considered a dump, although
when he accepted her offer for a seat and a drink, a chair rushed up
behind him as did a platter bearing a drink.
After Genis rescued Marlo Jones from the
natives of the Rainbow Planet in the Microverse, he brought Marlo back
to Steck'ee's apartment. Moondragon subsequently arrived there, and
after a couple hours, Rick was ready to confront Marlo over her
romantic interest in Moondragon.
Steck'ee and Genis said their goodbyes, and
Rick and Genis departed after Rick had agreed to allow Marlo to figure
things out.
--Captain Marvel IV#35
Note: I don't think this was the same place as the one where Genis and Steck'ee had their hook-up in Captain Marvel III#5.
|
images: (without ads)
Captain Marvel III#1, pg. 1, panel 4 (Caucasian appearance);
pg. 2, panel 1 (relative height compared to Glib & Zoog);
panel 2 (face, profile);
#4, pg. 1, panel 1 (over destroyed Zey-Rogg synthsent);
pg. 3, panel 2 (tearful profile);
#5, pg. 2, panel 1 (face);
pg. 3, panel 4 (storming out);
pg. 4, panel 4 (church);
Captain
Marvel IV#14, pg. 6, panel 4 (tiny image at Glib's);
#32, pg. 22, panel 1 (floating inert);
#33, pg. 4 (terrified);
#34, cover (in Captain Marvel's arms);
pg. 4, panel 5 (upper);
pg. 13, panel 4 (soul being drained by Magus);
pg. 20, panel 5 (kissing Genis);
pg. 21, panel 3-4 (full body, tiny);
#35, pg. 9, panel 1 (apartment, exterior);
panel 2 (apartment, interior; and full body, distant, different outfit);
pg. 11, panel 1 (male form);
pg. 19, panel 6 (face)
Appearances:
Captain Marvel III#1 (December, 1995) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Edward Benes (penciler), Mike Sellers (inker), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Captain Marvel III#4 (March, 1996) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Edward Benes (penciler), Joe Pimental (inker), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Captain Marvel III#5 (April, 1996) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Edward Benes (penciler), Daerick Gross (inker), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Captain
Marvel IV#14 (February, 2001) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Patrick
Zircher (penciler), Walden Wong (inker), Mark Sumerak (assistant
editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Captain Marvel IV#32 (July, 2002) - Peter David (writer), Jim Caliafore (penciler), Mark McKenna (inker), Marc Sumerak (assistant editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Captain Marvel IV#33 (August, 2002) - Peter David (writer), ChrisCross (penciler), Rich Perotta (inker), Marc Sumerak (assistant editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Captain Marvel IV#34 (September, 2002) - Peter David (writer), JJ Kirby (artist), Marc Sumerak (assistant editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Captain Marvel IV#35 (October, 2002) - Peter David (writer), Patrick Zircher (penciler), Rich Perotta (inker), Marc Sumerak (assistant editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)
First posted: 07/28/2023
Last updated: 08/20/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
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