duck-148611-sb8-fullDUCK

duck-148611-sb4-face-ducktoyReal Name: Maddie (likely short for Madeline (or some other spelling) or Madison) Felix (see comments)

Identity/Class: Alternate Reality (Earth-148611/"New Universe") human;
    alive from 1964 to 1988 A.D.

Occupation: Unrevealed;
    former a former actress (or something in which she would be in a show and have a stage name)

Group Membership:

Affiliations: Ken Connell (aka Star Brand), John Eberhardt, Myron Feldman, Rick and Shary Lawson, Jane Price, Roger Price;
    she was briefly mesmerized into some sort of a relationship with the Old Man;

Enemies: The Old Man;
    unwittingly the Starchild;
    Barb Petrovic considered her an enemy;
    she at least felt like Mrs. Connell (Ken's mother) did not like her

Known Relatives: Starchild (son);
    "Mrs. Fix" (mother; see comments; presumably deceased)

Aliases: Duck, Debbie Fix, Debbie the Duck, Debbieduck

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    died 1 mile from the western edge of the Pitt, Pennsylvania
    formerly Whitewall apartment complex, Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

First Appearance: Star Brand#1 (October, 1986)

Powers/Abilities: Duck is patient and loving, if somewhat obsessive in her love for Ken.

    She spoke in slang and in something of the relatively unique Pittsburghese dialect, saying "dint" instead of "didn't," "roon" instead of ruin, "shoont" instead of "shouldn't," etc.

    She and Ken Connell said "quack" to each other, apparently a result of a noise she sometimes made (see comments).

    Although she was frequently referred to as not being too smart, Duck was sometimes very insightful.

    She was a very nice person and almost never spoke badly about anyone.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'6")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 130 lbs.)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

History:
(Star Brand#13 (fb) - BTS) - Maddie Felix was born in 1964 A.D.

(Star Brand I#12 (fb) - BTS) - Maddie rarely drove in her entire life.

(Star Brand#12 (fb) - BTS) - When Maddie Felix was working as an actress in Pittsburgh, Ken Connell gave her the stage name "Debbie Fix," which she came to use almost exclusively. Ken even called her mom "Mrs. Fix" as something of a gag (see comments).

    Her friends Roger and Jane Price came to see one of her shows, and they met Ken.

(Star Brand I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Deb, aka Duck, had a "friends with benefits" relationship with Ken Connell.

(Untold Tales of the New Universe#1: "Star Brand" - BTS) - Ken called Deb "Duck" as a running joke because of a sound she makes sometimes made.

(Star Brand I#5 (fb) - BTS) - Deb met Ken's mother, and she got the impression that his mother did not think he was good enough for her.

duck-148611-sb1-face(Star Brand I#1) - Deb was watching the news in her apartment when Ken Connell arrived, having just battled a seeming alien warrior attempting to take his new Star Brand power by force (this was apparently in fact the same "Old Man" who had given Connell the Star Brand...and then it was subsequently revealed that the Old Man was a temporal counterpart of Connell himself...it was a whole deal, but none of that matters here...). Connell had incinerated his clothes in that battle and been given clothes by his smaller friend, psychologist Myron Feldman, Duck recognized that he was wearing "funny clothes," and Connell shared that he had lost his clothes, along with his wallet and keys. He told her it was a long story and asked if he could stay at her place (presumably since he had no keys to his own place).

    Duck happily agreed, and as she got him a blanket, he replied, "Good ol' Debbie the Duck...my favorite waterfowl..." She quacked in response, and she told him he looked cold as she brought him the blanket and told his she would make some soup; however, the exhausted Ken was already asleep.

(Star Brand I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Duck loaned Ken some money so he could pay the locksmith.

(Star Brand I#1) - The next morning, as she drove off, she told Ken, "Don'tcha worry," assuring him that as soon as she got to work, she would call his boss, John Eberhardt, and tell him Ken could not make it in to work that day. Ken thanked her for everything, and she replied with her customary, "Quack!"

(Star Brand I#1 - BTS) - As he got dressed, he thought that he had to remember on next payday to pay her back, and maybe take her out for dinner or something, too.

(Star Brand I#1 (fb) - BTS) - When Duck called John Eberhardt, he told her that if Ken didn't come into work the next day, that he shouldn't come in ever again. Duck called Ken all day, and that evening she went to his apartment to leave a note on his door. 

(Star Brand I#1) - Finding Ken home, she first asked if he was alone, and then she told him her message. Seeing that he was upset, she asked if it was about his girlfriend, Barb, and he told her no but that he had probably screwed that up, too. She told him that she wished she could make whatever it was all better, and she assured him that he would always have her. When Duck saw the "alien weapon" that he had found in Barb's son's hands (with her son apparently having been hypnotized by the "alien" (Old Man)), the stressed Ken grabbed it and pushed her away, knocking the wind out of her.

     She started to apologize for having startled him, but Ken kissed her on the cheek, apologized and thanked her for helping him figure something out (that he could best use his power when he was confident and thinking straight). Telling her he loved her, he told Deb that she had better go (perhaps worrying that the "alien" might attack or target her).

 (Star Brand I#2 (fb) - BTS) - Having been unable to reach Ken by phone, Myron asked Deb to leave a note on Ken's door, telling him that he wanted him to come over to his house for something important the next day.

(Star Brand I#2) - Delivering the note, Deb found Ken at home and delivered the message verbally. She asked him if, since she was there, she could stay.

 (Star Brand I#2 (fb) - BTS) - Duck spent the night, and they "fooled around."duck-148611-sb3-full-prof

(Star Brand I#2) - The next day, Ken drove with Deb to Myron's, stopping on the way for gas and to call Barb. Deb apologized for having distracted him from calling Barb the night before, and she told him that she just wanted him to be happy, and that she wished she could...but he cut her off, telling her, "Cool it, Deb, huh?"

    At Myron's, they ran into Jan, one of Ken's old girlfriends, who made a catty comment about "this one" (Deb) being pretty and considering her the reason that he had been too busy to keep up with her son, who had considered Ken a surrogate father. When Myron gathered the guests and asked what they would do if they had suddenly acquired the power to control or destroy the world. Irritated by Myron's manipulation (as he was trying to provide ideas for Ken due to his new powers), Ken left with Deb, and on the way home, he tried to explain why he was upset. When Duck failed to grasp his analogy, he demonstrated his powers to her by picking his car up over his head.

(Star Brand I#2 (fb) - BTS) - Deb spent the night again at Ken's place.

(Star Brand I#2) - The next day, as Duck cooked breakfast, they heard a report about the eight-year-old Robby Donatelli, who had become trapped in a well. When Deb noted, "Poor kid. Don'tcha just wish you could help him?" Ken considered that maybe he could do something, and he departed to do just that.duck-148611-sb3-snuggle

(Star Brand I#2 - BTS) - The exoskeleton-wearing Spitfire (Jenny Swensen) rescued Robby before Ken had a chance to figure out what to do.

(Star Brand I#3 (fb) - BTS) - Deb told Ken that she would come over and do his "worsh" since she was doing hers anyway.

(Star Brand I#3 - BTS) - While talking to Myron about what to do with his powers, Ken noted that he hadn't told anyone else about them, "...except Duck, and she isn't exactly Einstein..."

(Star Brand I#3 (fb) - BTS) - Deb waited in her car outside Ken's apartment for hours while he, having forgotten that she was coming over, flew to the moon and then out into the solar system, then flew back to Earth, arriving in Afghanistan (at least that's where he thought he was) where he crippled a pair of Russian jets who were assaulting ground troops.

(Star Brand I#3) - When Ken returned home, he was surprised to see Duck and asked what she was doing there. After she reminded him, he apologized for forgetting and making her alright, but she just told him, "S'okay. Quack. You all right?" He shared what he had done while she picked up and did his laundry. She considered his special suit, and she decided that, since there was not any label inside that she should not "worsh" it, as it might shrink. She was surprised when Ken got a paper cut, and he explained that the power only protected him when he thought about it. Deciding to put off washing the clothes until the next day, she offered to take him out to a Klondike bar and throw in a back rub...or a front rub; Ken agreed, but told her he would buy the ice cream.

    However, Ken then found a personal ad for the flying man, asking him to meet her at the place where he had had a massive power flareup. He questioned whether she had told somebody, but Deb assured him, "I dint! I woont!" He decided to postpone the ice cream to investigate this, assuring the worried Deb that he couldn't be hurt and that he wouldn't blunder into trouble. She told him that she would see him the next night when she brought his clothes back, but he told her he had a date with Deb. He reminded her to take the spare key with her so she could get into his apartment with his laundry that she had done.

(Star Brand I#3 (fb) - BTS) - The next night, after putting away Ken's laundry, Deb fell asleep on his couch.

(Star Brand I#3) - Returning home after having been tricked into letting his face be seen by the unidentified woman who was trying to learn about the person with the powers, Ken woke up Deb. As he told her what had happened, Duck held his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. duck-148611-sb4-motorcycle

(Star Brand I#4 (fb) - BTS) - Ken flew down to Disneyworld and bought her a wind-up duck-woman toy.

(Star Brand I#4) - Ken met Duck for a date at Denny's, he was late (because he got the toy), but he knew she wouldn't mind. She was ecstatic to have the gift, and after dinner, they went back to his place. Ken told her that she was the best person he knew, as she never had a bad word about anyone: "Malice toward none, liberty for all..." (I think he was quoting or paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln from his second inaugural address) "...and you're always glad to see me no matter what. No questions. No conditions. You're just...glad to see me. That's nice." He further noted that her body was also nice before they moved on to some lovin'.

    Later, wearing a skimpy top and her underwear, she sat on his motorcycle and asked if she would teach him to ride it. He took a Polaroid picture of her, and while she thought she looked too fat, he told her that it looked good to him. Duck told him that he was neat and asked if he liked her..."unconditional." He told her he did, and they kissed, but then Barbed knocked on the door, and Deb quickly dressed and slipped out the back door.

(Star Brand I#4 - BTS) - Seeing the picture of Duck on Ken's motorcycle, Barb headed home, after which Ken realized that she had seen the picture.

    Seeking advice on how to deal with his powers and considering that Duck wasn't smart enough to help, Ken went to see Barb, but found her returning from a date with another guy.

(Star Brand I#5 (fb) - BTS) - Duck got a haircut and bought a flashlight and a compass to help Ken navigate when flying.duck-148611-sb5-birthday

(Star Brand I#5) - Duck showed early at Ken's apartment and woke him up, wishing him happy birthday. He flew her back into his bedroom. Afterward, she made them both some coffee, and he opened and thanked her for the presents, noting that they would come in handy. She appreciated that he was upset about something, and he explained how he had probably screwed things up with with Barb. He invited her to go with him to his friend Rick's after work.

    That evening, as they drove, she told him she thought that he had meant Rick from work, and he explained that they were going to see Rick Lawson at their new home in McMurray. En route, he stopped by his parents' place as they had received a letter for him. Feeling that his mother did not like her, Deb stayed in the car.

(Star Brand I#5 (fb) - BTS) - Hearing everyone yell surprise and seeing that Barb was there, Duck dropped to the floorboard and hid for nearly 90 minutes until Ken came back out. duck-148611-sb5-crying

(Star Brand I#5 - BTS) - Barb told Ken she loved him, and he asked to talk to her another time (as Deb was just out of sight).

(Star Brand I#5) - As he drove off, Ken told Deb she could get back up, and she told him that she hadn't minded, that she hadn't wanted to mess things up worse with Barb and that she would do anything for him. Ken silently considered that that was too much devotion and that it wasn't good or right how she let him use her.

    At Rick's house, she and Shary talked about their hair, while Ken discussed with Rick his woman issues. Notably, Ken discussed how Deb loved him unconditionally and that she was the best human being he knew, although maybe not the smartest, and he felt like he was using her. Rick, who secretly had other relationships than Shary, told him "When she don't want no more, she'll split." Rick further told him to stop worry about Deb and Barb and to enjoy life, to go out and find himself some stranger.

    A few days later, Ken patched things up with Barb and decided to propose to her. He visited Deb at her apartment and told her that he couldn't see her anymore, but she could not stand the thought, and she told him she would not survive without him. She tearfully told him that she wanted him to be happy and she didn't care if he had other girls or was married, but that he had to come and see her sometimes. Realizing that she seemed potentially suicidal, he agreed to see her once in awhile.

(Star Brand I#6) - Debbie called Ken, insisting he see her, and he agreed to meet at Denny's for a little while. There, he tried to tell her that he was committing to Barb, but she told him that that was OK as long as they could still get together and have fun. "I just want to be your duck, y'know? Always...quack." Ken asked if she had put on a little weight, and she told him that it was all in the right places, and that he should see her in the bikini he had bought her last summer. She invited him to come over to her house, and she'd show him, but he declined, telling her he had to go home (he had moved in with Barb).

    However, they were then interrupted by the Old Man who had given Ken the power. Ken introduced Deb to him, and Ken and the Old Man spoke before he departed. Seeing that Ken was worried, Deb told him everything would be alright before he left.

(Star Brand I#6 (fb) - BTS) - The Old Man hypnotized Deb.

(Star Brand I#6) - That evening, the Old Man showed up at Barb's house with Deb, and Duck told Ken that they were lovers. She snuggled up to the Old Man while he told Ken that he and the Star Brand were needed on the other side of the universe, where he was from. When Ken declined, the Old Man told him that he would just stay there, learning about human love from Deb. When Ken asked him questions, like how the denim suit the Old Man gave him was not harmed by a nuclear explosion, Duck suggested that it may have been because Ken had thought the suit was special; the Old Man hushed her, not wanting to give Ken any more clues about his power, as he was dangerous enough as it was. She kissed the Old Man, and Ken realized he had hypnotized her.

(Star Brand I#6) - Hearing the discussion, Barb came downstairs and asked who the man was and why "that woman" was in her house. The Old Man told Barb they were just leaving, and Duck added that they were going to go fool around. Ken followed them outside and insisted the Old Man release his hold on her, after which Ken told her he would not allow the Old Man to ever touch her again, and she told him, "Oh man, that was so weird. God I love you, Kenny!" Having watched and heard from just inside the house, Barb angrily slammed the door.

(Star Brand I#7 (fb) - BTS) - Feeling that the Old Man wanted to hurt Ken, Duck apparently tried to confront him, or followed him or something....

    Later, as Ken was just starting to explain to Barb what was really happening, Duck called Barb's house, asking to speak to Kenny, as it was an emergency. Barb was infuriated at the nerve of Deb calling him there, but Deb told her that the Old Man was still prowling around there, after which there was a loud crash and the call was cut off.

(Star Brand I#7 (fb) - BTS) - The Old Man touched Deb, and she felt like she was on fire.duck-148611-sb7-injured

(Star Brand I#6 - BTS) - Ken located attacked the Old Man. Their fight carried them into space.

(Star Brand I#7 (fb) - BTS) - With a neck injury, possibly a broken nose, a head wound and a broken right arm, at least, Debbie was taken to a hospital where she received multiple bandages and at least one cast.

(Star Brand I#7 - BTS) - Calling Duck's mom, Mrs. Fix (see comments), Ken learned that she had been taken to a hospital; thankful that she was still alive, he went to see her.

(Star Brand I#7) - When Ken visited her in her hospital room, Duck asked if it was him (as she couldn't turn her head), and she struggled to say "Qu...quack." After he quacked back at her, Duck told him that when the Old Man had touched her, she felt like she was on fire. Tearful seeing her like this, he told her not to try to talk, and then he added that he wished he'd never seen this Brand and that he was so afraid for her. She told him that he "shoont be 'fraid. I'm the one...should be afraid...was afraid. 'Fraid of the Old Man...so I called Barb's. Love you...so I gotta face anything...anybody tries to hurt you...even him. But you know somethin? I don't think he's rilly an Old Man...at all."

    As Ken had knelt down beside her bed, Duck asked him if he was still there, and when he confirmed, she told him, "Well, you shoont be. You got other people to check on...'sides a half-dead duck. Quack."

(Star Brand I#7 - BTS) - Ken checked on Barb, and she told him that she should have seen the handwriting on the wall when she found those photos of Debbie Fix at his place. She had him take his stuff and move out.

    The Old Man later called Ken and told him that he was with Deb and that he wanted the Brand within 10 minutes or she died.

(Star Brand I#7 (fb) - BTS) - Ken spent some time thinking about what to do.duck-148611-sb8-full-stand

(Star Brand I#7) - Two hours later, Ken showed up and greeted Duck. The Old Man assured Connell that she couldn't speak with his hand on throat, and he told him to give him the Brand immediately or he would crush her neckbrace and windpipe. Ignoring the Old Man, Ken told Duck that he had to kill the Old Man, even if he died in the process or if the Old Man killed her. He told her goodbye and that he loved her.

    Appreciating that Connell was not bluffing, the Old Man fled.

(Star Brand I#7 - BTS) - Ken pursued, battled and seemingly slew the Old Man and then hurled his corpse into space.

(Star Brand I#7) - Ken returned to Deb and apologized for risking her life, but told her that he had felt that the whole world might be at stake. He asked her if she could forgive him to give him a little sign, and she choked out "qu...quack..." He told her that he loved her and quacked back.

(Star Brand#12 (fb) - BTS) - Duck was hospitalized for a month.

(Star Brand#12) - For the next few weeks, Deb and Ken were very happy together, almost like they were honeymooners.

(Star Brand I#8) - Apparently fully recovered and presumably having assisted in the tune-up, Duck watched as Ken got ready for a road trip on his motorcycle. She questioned why he couldn't just fly around in the sky for awhile, which would still give him the wind in face and the sun at his back without having to worry about the speed limit.

    Appreciating that Ken was down about something, she asked if it was about Barb, and he told her that he was appreciating that nothing could come between a mother and her children. When he noted that he could not compete with Barb's kids for her attention, Duck reminded him that she always paid attention to him. After he acknowledged that, she reminded him that she also did his laundry and asked if Barb did that for him, and he admitted that she did not.

    Deb then suggested to Ken that -- since his shop would be closed for the rest of the week, that maybe the two of them could go away somewhere out of town, after he got back from his ride. Kissing her on the forehead, Ken told her that he didn't know how long he would be, and that he and his motorcycle might blow the whole week together. He told her that she shouldn't waste her time waiting around, but as he drove off, she told him, "Don't worry, I woon't waste my time. I'll do your laundry." duck-148611-sb10-shoved

(Star Brand I#8 - BTS) - Ken spent the next few days with the family of Tad Selby, a young boy who suffered from heart disease, apparently as a result of exposure to toxic runoff from the Axco company.

(Star Brand#10 (fb)) - While walking across the parking lot at Denny's, Duck didn't look and walked into the path of a car. Ken shoved her out of the way but unwittingly used too much power and knocked her twenty feet through the air.

(Star Brand#10 (fb) - BTS) - Deb badly bruised her ribs when she hit. The doctor confirmed that nothing was broken and said she could be up and about in a few days. While recuperating, Duck sat in bed and watched TV.

(Star Brand#10) - Using the keys Deb lent him, Ken opened her door when checking on her. She gave him a big hug and a kiss when he sat down on her bed, jokingly telling him it only hurt when she quacked. He apologized for having hurt her, but she told him that he had saved her from being run over by a car. She asked if he could use his power to save her, and while he did not know how to do that, it did make him think about the pressure of that responsibility.

    Duck was happy that Ken had brought her pizza, although she was disappointed that there were no anchovies. She then asked him to play backgammon, noting that she could not do everything she wanted while she was injured.

    After Duck beat him, Ken asked how she always won, and she figured she was lucky. They were then interrupted by Myron who had Ken watch the news about nuclear explosions in Russia, which led him to investigate.duck-148611-utonu

(Star Brand#10 - BTS) - In Russia, Ken encountered the virtually indestructible and super-strong Randy Kellog and was ultimately forced to hurl him into space to prevent him from causing World War III. The next day, Ken decided to call Duck.

(Untold Tales of the New Universe#1: "Star Brand" (fb) - BTS) - Ken let Duck borrow his car.

(Untold Tales of the New Universe#1: "Star Brand") - Telling Ken she was done with his car, Duck asked if he wanted to go to Denny's. Instead, they went back to her place (or his) and had some romance. Eventually, Duck -- not knowing how he could keep going -- told Ken she needed to take a break.

    Ken got dressed and headed for the window, and Deb asked if she could go with him, telling him she would be real quiet, but he told her he had to think about what he should be doing with his power as well as that she deserved better than his always jerking her around. Duck told him she liked being jerked around, and as he flew off, he told her that that was not what he meant.
    Neither of them were aware that their entire action was watched by Arden of Earth-62280.

(Untold Tales of the New Universe#1: "Star Brand" - BTS) - After Ken encountered Arden, she referenced "the one who likes to quack," and he told her that it was a running joke because of a sound she made sometimes...and Arden cut him off, not wanting to hear the explanation.

(Star Brand#12 (fb) - BTS) - Duck felt like Ken was having fits of depression.

duck-148611-sb11-costume (Star Brand I#12 (fb)) - Duck called Myron, expressing concern about Ken's growing despondent moods. Myron told her that having the Star Brand meant that Ken could no longer avoid his responsibilities in life as he had been doing for so long. Myron concluded that Ken needed to have people cheering him on as the super hero he longed to be.

(Star Brand I#12 (fb) - BTS) - Talking with Myron led Duck to create a superhero costume for Ken.

(Star Brand#11) - At Ken's place, Duck showed him the costume she had created and asked, "Whatadaya think?" He told her he thought it was a little big for her, and she started to explain that it was for him before realizing her was joking. "I get it! Quack! Try it on, why don'cha?" Rubbing her head, Ken told her he knew that she meant well, but he was not ready to go public and wasn't sure that he ever would be. She told him it only made sense, "all them weird powers you got...just like a comic book super hero! Only you're for real, Kenny!"

(Star Brand#11 - BTS) - Borrowing $50 from Duck (presumably to pay Myron for hist time), Ken headed out to see Myron. En route, he considered that he had always thought the Duck didn't have more than half a hemisphere of brain in her pretty little head, and he figured that the missing mass had gotten displaced to another part of her body. He considered that she had hit him with this deep philosophical gunk.duck-148611-sb13-full

    Myron urged him to use his power to its potential and help out humanity as a super hero.

(Star Brand#11) - Duck was in the bathroom throwing up when Ken got home, after she got some Listerine at his suggestion, he told her that he had determined that she was right, and that he was going to be a super hero.

    Later, after Ken had rescued a hijacked jet, Duck watched the news report with him, and he was frustrated that he was suspected of being a hoax. He asked her stitch together a new costume to replace his damaged one.

(Star Brand#11 - BTS) - Flying to the moon and returning to Earth with the Apollo Eleven landing vessel, Ken brought it to the White House lawn and introduced himself as the heroic Star Brand.

(Star Brand#11) - Deb went to a doctor's office and was confirmed at being 8-10 weeks pregnant.

 (Star Brand I#12 (fb) - BTS) - The next few weeks were very frustrating for Duck, as she wanted to tell Ken the news, but he was off playing hero all of the time.

  (Star Brand I#12 (fb)) - She finally convinced him to stay home for an evening, and she cooked him her best meal, grilled cheese sandwiches, and then told him she was pregnant. Apparently unable to accept the idea, Ken told her that she had gotten pregnant by someone else and was using the baby to try to trap him.

    After a big fight, Deb took Ken's car and drove to her mom's house. However, she decided that her mom wouldn't understand and she knew that she needed to get out of Pittsburgh, and so she decided instead to go see her old friends, Jane and Roger Price in Mansfield, Ohio.
   
(Star Brand#12) <December 19, 1987> - Early on a Saturday morning, Duck arrived at the house of the Prices, who still knew her as Maddie Felix, and she shared how she was pregnant with the Star Brand super hero's baby. After she had related the progression with Ken, Jane took her to the guest room to get some sleep. Roger suggested that when she was feeling better, they could all take a ride up to Pittsburgh and have a little chat with "this mister so-called super hero."duck-148611-sb13-starchild-birth

 (Star Brand#12 - BTS) <December 22, 1987> - Following another encounter with the Old Man on December 19 that had apparently slain nearly 5000 people, Ken tried to transfer the Star Brand power into an inanimate object, which atomized Pittsburgh and beyond, creating a massive hole which would come to be known as the Pitt.

(Star Brand#13 (fb) - BTS) - Duck's mom was apparently in Pittsburgh at the time and was slain in the process.

(Star Brand#13 (fb)) <About two weeks ago> - As Duck slept in the Price's guest room, she was visited by Ken. She told him that she had thought that he had died, and he told her that he did but had gotten better. He acknowledged that the baby was his, apologized for having denied it and told her that he had always loved her. He seemed to be haunted by the ghost of Myron, which only he could see and hear. Something Myron said made him decide to leave, but he told her to promise that she would not do anything to harm the baby, as it was all that was left of him.

(Star Brand#13) <February 29, 1988> - Duck and the Prices were stopped by a soldier three miles from the Pitt. Despite her insistence that she had to see, the soldier refused to let them pass. Fearing the effects of her emotional distress on her pregnant condition, Roger used his March of Dimes card to dupe the soldier into believe that he and his wife, who was in the Red Cross, where there on disaster relief business. As a result, he supplied them with a military vehicle, but shortly into the journey, Duck began to get a weird feeling, "kinda like when the baby moves...only...dif'rent...y'know?"duck-148611-sb13-grave-starchild

    Concerned that the baby could inherit super-powers from Ken, Jane suggested a therapeutic abortion, but Duck refused, telling the Prices about her recent encounter with what she thought was Ken's ghost. Both of the Prices dismissed this as a dream, but then their vehicle was attacked by some plant-life that had been mutated by the Pitt's environment. Duck had another strange feeling as the baby, apparently sensing the threat to the his mother, destroyed the plant-creature.

    The baby then apparently decided to exit, heedless of the consequences to his mother, and as Duck screamed in pain and begged for help, the baby tore through her abdomen and then flew away.

(Star Brand#13 (fb) - BTS) - Sensing Duck's essence departing as he freed himself, the baby absorbed it into himself.

(Star Brand#13 (fb) - BTS) - Duck died soon afterward. With the jeep nonfunctional and the Prices unable to carry her body with them (Roger walked with a cane), and with the ground likely frozen solid and not having any means to dig, they covered her body in rocks and put a handwritten sign with her name on a stick.

(Star Brand#13 - BTS) - Jane didn't feel right about leaving her like that, but Roger explained how they had no other choice. He told her that Maddie would understand, "She was a good kid, except when she got hooked up with that Connell idiot." They were next confronted by some giant canine mutate, but as it dove at them, the baby (which would later be known as the Starchild) caused the creature to explode. Greeting them in Duck's voice, the baby confirmed that he was her child, told them he had absorbed her essence and that he was projecting the image of his head while his body was actually in Bangladesh.

    Jane accused the baby of murdering his mother, and when he denied this, she asked to speak to Maddie directly. Admitting that he could not do that, the baby's essence vanished, after which the Prices were found by military personnel who took them to a military installation for observation.

Comments: Created by Jim Shooter and John Romita Jr.

    What a tragic character. Duck was young, attractive and fun, if a bit ditzy. Ken liked her as friend but largely took her for granted, using her for sex, let her her do his laundry, etc....and then she became pregnant with his child, which tore its way out of her, killing her while having no idea of the consequences of its actions until much later.
    Ken seemed like he was appreciating Duck by Star Brand#7 when she had been hurt by the Old Man, but then Jim Shooter left the series, and that kind of fell by the wayside. In #8, it seemed that he was back to the way he was in the first few issues in terms of not really caring about her and just taking her for granted. Maybe Ken really was that fickle, and he only appreciated her when she was put at risk by his actions.
    Ken's reaction to her telling him she was pregnant seemed out of character, but he definitely had fluctuated in his feelings for her before. Maybe his concerns with having gone public as hero may have just overridden his concerns for her, and he was just trying to deny the situation as he couldn't deal with it.

    She originally was just called Duck (or Debbie the Duck), and she and Ken said "quack" to each other. I don't know that Jim Shooter had anything deeper than just showing that she was a silly person.
    Untold Tales of the New Universe#1 had Ken noting that she got the name from a noise she sometimes made. It seemed to imply a bodily function, although the discussion was interrupted.
    You can probably figure out what they were hinting at, and if you can't, it's probably best that I don't state it in this profile.

    I don't really understand why John Byrne changed her name to Maddie Felix. He at least did the research to know that Ken had called her mom "Mrs. Fix," but it just complicated things. That's why I titled the profile Duck...she doesn't seem like Maddie Felix to me, and Debbie Fix is just an alias, so Duck seemed to be the best option to me.

    Jim Shooter was from Pittsburgh, so it was probably a lot of fun for him to use the local geography, dialect, etc. I'm from central Pennsylvania originally and I lived in Pittsburgh for a couple of years (about 15 years after the Star Brand series), and re-reading it with a knowledge of Pittsburghese has made it a lot of fun. I particularly liked it when Ken's boss, John, called Ken's co-worker, Rick, a "jag."

    This profile was completed 09/06/2025, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the New Universe's 40th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Duck, Maddie Felix, aka Debbie Fix, should be distinguished from:

images: (without ads)
Star Brand#1, pg. 20, panel 5 (face);
    #3, pg. 24, panel 3 (seated, full profile);
          panel 5 (snuggling up to Ken);
    #5, pg. 1, panel 4 (happy birthday, Kenny);
       pg. 19, panel 6 (crying);
    #7, pg. 4, panel 4 (hospitalized face);
    #8, pg. 1 (full, seated);
       pg. 2, panel 5 (full, standing);
    #10, pg. 5, panel 6 (shoved by Ken);
    #11, pg. 1 (costume);
    #13, pg. 1 (full);
       pg. 11, panel 3 (Starchild tearing out through her abdomen);
       pg. 18, panel 6 (Starchild by grave);
Untold Tales of the New Universe#1: "Star Brand," pg. 7, panel 6 (sitting in car)
Appearances:
Star Brand#1-2 (October-November, 1986) - Jim Shooter (writer), John Romita Jr. (penciler), Al Williamson (inker), Michael Higgins (editor)
Star Brand#3 (December, 1986) - Jim Shooter (writer), Alex Saviuk (penciler), Vince Colletta (inker), Michael Higgins (editor)
Star Brand#4-5 (January-February, 1987) - Jim Shooter (writer), John Romita Jr. (penciler), Al Williamson (inker), Michael Higgins (editor)
Star Brand#6 (March, 1987) - Jim Shooter (writer), John Romita Jr. (penciler), Al Williamson, Rick Bryant & Al Milgrom (inkers), Michael Higgins (editor)
Star Brand#7 (May, 1987) - Jim Shooter (plot, editor-in-chief), Roy Thomas (script), John Romita Jr. (penciler), Art Nichols (inkers), Michael Higgins (editor)
Star Brand#8 (July, 1987) - Cary Bates (writer), Arvell Jones (penciler), Danny Bulandi (inker), Michael Higgins (editor)
Star Brand#10 (November, 1987) - George Caragonne (writer), Mark Bagley (penciler), Pablo Marcus (inker), Howard Mackie (editor)
Star Brand#11 (January, 1988) - John Byrne (writer & penciler), Tom Palmer (inker), Howard Mackie (editor)
 Star Brand#12 (March, 1988) - John Byrne (writer & penciler), Tom Palmer (inker), Howard Mackie (editor)
 Star Brand#13 (May, 1988) - John Byrne (writer & penciler), Tom Palmer, Danny Bulanadi & Joe Rubinstein (inkers), David Wohl (assistant editor), Howard Mackie (editor)

Untold Tales of the New Universe#1: "Star Brand" (May, 2006) - Jeff Parker (writer), Javier Pulido (artist), Nathan Cosby (assistant editor), MacKenzie Cadenhead (consulting editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)

First posted: 10/01/2026
Last updated: 09/06/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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