THE WHITE EVENT
Instigator: The Old Man
Purpose: An attempt by the Old Man to rid himself of the Star Brand.
Participants: Charlotte Beck, Thomas Boyd, Ken Connell, Damon Conquest, Michael Crawley, Daedalus Darquill, Lenore Fenzl, Stephanie Harrington, Mark Hazzard, Anastasia Inyushin, Tyrone Jessup, Justice, Dave Landers, Kathy Ling, Darlene Magniconte, Jack Magniconte, Nightmask, Randy O'Brien, Emmett Proudhawk, Teddy Remsen, Rodstvow, Scuzz (Dennis Cuzinski), Jenny Swensen, Karl Swensen, Wayne Tucker, Philip Nolan Voigt, Jeff Walters, the Witness
essentially everyone living on Earth-148611
Opposition: None
Location: Visible simultaneously around Earth-148611 on July 22, 1986.
First Appearance: (mentioned) Star Brand I#1 (October, 1986);
(simultaneously depicted) Kickers, Inc. I#1 (November, 1986); Mark Hazzard: Merc I#1 (November, 1986); Nightmask I#1 (November, 1986); Psi-Force I#1 (November, 1986)
History:
(Psi-Force I#1 (fb)) - In 1985, C.I.A. agent Emmett Proudhawk had a dream in which a "white light filled the sky... the light passed in a moment."
(Star Brand I#12 (fb)) - On July 22, 1986, the long-lived wielder of the Star Brand known only as the Old Man sought to end his life by transferring the Star Brand to another object. In his previous attempts to rid himself of the Star Brand he had always been left with 10% of its power. He decided to transfer the Star Brand into a large nonliving object. Flying into outer space, he attempted to transfer the Star Brand into an asteroid. The asteroid exploded and caused an immense flash of white light which was visible to everyone on Earth. The energies in this "White Event" would randomly (in about 1 of every 1,000,000) cause humans to gradually develop paranormal abilities.
(D.P.7 I#12 (fb)) - Psychology professor Philip Nolan Voigt was climbing a mountain in Colorado for sport when he experienced the White Event; Voigt's mind was filled with "visions and voices" and believed that for a moment he understood the meaning of everything, but when the White Event ceased this "cosmic consciousness" faded away. Voigt proved to have been transformed into a paranormal with the parability to copy the parabilities of other paranormals.
(D.P.7 Annual I#1) - Software salesman Nelson Kohler was driving his car between Milwaukee and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, when the White Event occurred. Temporarily blinded by the flash of light, Nelson lost sight of the road, went off the highway and crashed. He was rushed to a hospital but showed no brain activity; Nelson's family chose to let him die peacefully, unaware he'd become a paranormal. When his physical body died, Nelson discovered he continued to exist as a ghost-like being. In his new state, Nelson found himself drawn to other paranormals and compelled to observe them as their parabilities manifested; he referred to himself as "the Witness."
(Psi-Force Annual I#1 (fb)) - Thomas Boyd was a junior at Miles Standish prep school in Connecticut when the White Event occurred. Thomas was temporarily paralyzed by the flash of light. The following day he would discover he'd become a paranormal.
Elsewhere in Scarsdale, New York, teenager Tyrone Jessup was riding his bicycle when the White Event occurred; startled, he fell off his bike; that evening he would manifest his parability for the first time.
In the USSR, Anastasia Inyushin was under observation at the Siberian Project when the White Event happened; fearing it was the flash from a nuclear explosion, Anastasia sat down and calmly waited to die; the following day she would discover she was a paranormal.
In Chicago, Illinois, Wayne Tucker was stealing car parts from a garage when the White Event happened; Wayne was stunned and froze for a moment. When he came to, he found a police officer had caught him with the stolen goods but Wayne, having become a telepath, unconsciously used his parability to get the policeman to leave him alone; Wayne assumed he'd simply gotten lucky.
In Wooland Hills, California, Kathy Ling was cleaning her room when the White Even happened; immediately, her parability emerged and her new telekinesis caused the blankets on her bed to levitate.
Elsewhere, Michael Crawley was at school in Vermont when the White Event occurred and he glanced out the window to see it; later that day, Crawley discovered he was a paranormal.
(Kickers, Inc. I#1) - Jack Magniconte and his wife Darlene were walking through Manhattan when the White Event occurred. Jack felt dizzy from the flash of light; Jack would not realize until years later that he had become a paranormal, instead thinking his increased physical capabilities were the result of an experiment his brother Steve performed on him.
(Nightmask I#1) - The glow of the White Event shone into a hospital ward in the University of Maryland, where Teddy Remsen was visiting her comatose brother Keith. The glare from the White Event temporarily blinded Teddy. To her surprise, moments later, Keith awoke from his coma. He would prove to have been transformed into a paranormal by the White Event. Keith's friend Dr. Lucian Ballad credited the White Event with awakening Keith.
(Mark Hazzard Merc I#1) - The mercenary Mark Hazzard was in an unidentified country in the South Pacific where different factions were warring over control of the government. When the White Event occurred, Hazzard mistook it for a burst from one of the factions' weapons.
(Official Timeline of the New Universe) - Jenny Swensen was teaching a physics class at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but saw the flash of light from her classroom window.
Dr. Karl Swensen was completing work on his M.A.X. armor in an indoor laboratory and missed seeing the White Event.
Ken Connell was working at an auto repair garage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and missed seeing the White Event.
Stephanie Harrington was watching television at her home in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and noticed the White Event outside her window.
Dave Landers was working indoors at the Waupaca Cheese Co. in New London, Wisconsin and missed seeing the White Event.
Dr. Randy O'Brien was examining a patient at the Winnebago County General Hospital and missed seeing the White Event.
Jeff Walters was working at a Burger King in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and observed the White Event outside the window.
Lenore Fenzl was reading a book at the Sunny View Nursing Home in Green Bay, Wisconsin and missed seeing the White Event.
Dennis "Scuzz" Cuzinski was playing hooky from school in Rhinelander, Wisconsin when he saw the White Event. He convinced one of his classmates the White Event was a nuclear blast.
(D.P.7 I#5 (fb) - BTS) - Dance student Charlotte Beck was in the dance studio of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and missed witnessing the White Event; nevertheless, she would prove to be a paranormal.
(Psi-Force I#1 (fb)) - When he saw the White Event, Emmett Proudhawk was reminded of his dream from the previous year. Convinced the dream had been prophetic he soon learned he had become a paranormal and used his parability to seek out young people with parabilities similar to his own psychic gifts.
(Justice I#17 (fb)) - Justice Department narcotics agent John Tensen was going undercover in the drug empire run by Daedalus Darquill when the White Event occurred; John looked up to the sky at it happened.
(Psi-Force I#25 (fb)) - In the USSR, a Russian man went out to chop wood when he beheld the White Event; he transformed immediately into a paranormal as his new parability consumed much of his body. When his wife ran out of their cabin to help him he tried to warn her away but when she touched him she was immediately consumed by his power and incinerated. He then used his parability to kill his two daughters, who had witnessed everything; he later took the alias Rodstvow.
(Justice I#1) - The day after the White Event, Daedalus Darquill and Damon Conquest conferred about the White Event over the telephone; Darquill had become a paranormal and used his parability to cast John Tensen into an illusionary realm called the Far Place, but Tensen had likewise become a paranormal and escaped the Far Place.
(Star Brand I#1) - Descending back to Earth, still alive and retaining the Star Brand, the Old Man landed in the Laurel Mountains of Pennsylvania. On July 27, 1986, the Old Man decided to transfer the Star Brand to Ken Connell of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Claiming to be an extraterrestrial, the Old Man claimed he'd been drawn to Earth by the "bright flash" of the White Event, then gave Ken the Star Brand.
(D.P.7 I#1) - On September 26, 1986, Randy O'Brien began to realize he was a paranormal but he failed to pay attention to a news report on his television about a month-long symposium on the White Event; experts indicated the White Event had last 1.3 seconds and was definitely not the result of a supernova.
(D.P.7 I#5) - On November 7, 1986, the paranormals Charlotte Beck, Dennis "Scuzz" Cuzinski, Lenore Fenzl, Stephanie Harrington, Dave Landers, Randy O'Brien and Jeff Walters debated where their parabilities had come from. Randy suggested the White Event could have been responsible but Charlotte objected, noting she was indoors when it occurred. Lenore noted that the seven of them hadn't manifested their parabilities immediately after the White Event but instead gradually over the following months. Randy pushed the point, noting all their parabilities appeared after the White Event, none of them appeared before. Jeff scoffed, "So? They all come out after Ronald Reagan was re-elected, too. Is he responsible, maybe?"
(Star Brand I#12) - On December 19, 1988, Ken Connell learned how the Old Man had caused the White Event. Ken decided to rid himself of the Star Brand by affixing it to a barbell. Knowing this would cause an explosion similar to the White Event, he flew above the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and assumed 10 miles up would be sufficient to prevent any damage; Ken misjudged the explosion badly as this catastropic event - which would become called "the Black Event" - completely eradicated Pittsburgh, reducing it to a crater dubbed "the Pitt."
(The War I#4) - In 1990, the Starchild (a being comprised of Ken Connell, the Old Man and Connell's son) spoke to all the people of Earth at once, declaring it was the power of the Star Brand that caused the White Event, as well as the destruction of Pittsburgh. The Starchild told the people of Earth to look to their paranormals to find peace.
Comments: Created by Mark Gruenwald; established by Jim Shooter, John Romita Jr. and Al Williamson.
The distinctive house ad for the New Universe (shown here as the main image) was visible in most Marvel publications of 1986 but I can't find a source for who drew it; it looks like Walter Simonson to me.
In Marvel Age I#131, Mark Gruenwald explained: "I thought of the famed White Event, borrowing it from an unpublished 'visual novel' I wrote back in high school." Archie Goodwin verified this in Comics Interview I#36; as in D.P.7 I#1, Goodwin confirmed the White Event was "...an astronomical phenomena - a flash of white light that lasts 1.3 seconds. That's Mark Gruenwald's contribution. You'd expect someone who does the MARVEL UNIVERSE HANDBOOK would know to the microsecond how long something like this happens."
Although the White Event was depicted in the preview art for the New Universe, none of the articles in Marvel Age promoting the new books talked about it as a unifying concept. It was, however, talked up by Gruenwald in an article found in Fantagraphics' Amazing Heroes I#101, just prior to the imprint's launch, and by Goodwin in the aforementioned Comics Interview article. It's strange that Marvel Age didn't talk about it until after the launch.
In Star Brand I#1, the Old Man claimed he'd come to Earth because "a peculiar interstellar phenomenon-- a bright flash-- drew my attention to this area of space!" This was when the Old Man was claiming to be an extraterrestrial; the "bright flash" would have to be the White Event. Of course, we'd later learn everything about the Old Man was a lie; he was human and he'd caused the White Event. Still, this reference to the "bright flash" is the earliest published reference to the White Event.
In Marvel Age I#76, Mark Gruenwald noted one of the elements he liked about the New Universe was: "...anyone could acquire super-powers, no matter how ordinary you may be, no matter how old you may be, no matter anything. You don't need to be a brilliant scientist, you don't need to be a test pilot, surgeon, circus performer, or computer whiz. You could be just plain you and whoops! The White Event energy activates some super-power in you. The common origin phenomenon of the New Universe was the best premise for super hero reader identification ever invented-- it discriminated against no one. Everyone had an equal chance to become paranormal. For an equal opportunity kind of guy like me, this was a very appealing fantasy. And for the most part, the New Universe heroes were pretty darn ordinary people before becoming paranormal."
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The White Event should not be confused with:
images: (without ads)
New Universe promotional ad (main)
Star Brand I#12, page 17, panels 8-9 (asteroid explosion)
Kickers, Inc. I#1, page 7, panels 4-7 (in Manhattan)
Appearances:
Star Brand I#1 (October, 1986) - Jim Shooter (writer), John Romita Jr. (penciler), Al Williamson (inker), Michael Higgins (editor)
D.P.7 I#1 (November, 1986) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Ryan (penciler), Romeo Tanghal (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Justice I#1 (November, 1986) - Archie Goodwin (writer), Geof Isherwood (artist), Joe Delbeato (artist), Jack Fury (artist), Michael Higgins (editor)
Kickers, Inc. I#1 (November, 1986) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (penciler), Sal Buscema (inker), Michael Higgins (editor)
Nightmask I#1 (November, 1986) - Archie Goodwin (writer), Tony Salmons (penciler), Bret Blevins (inker), Michael Higgins (editor)
Mark Hazzard: Merc I#1 (November, 1986) - Peter David (writer), Gray Morrow (artist), Jim Owsley (editor)
Psi-Force I#1 (November, 1986) - Steve Perry (writer), Mark Texeira (penciler), Kyle Baker (inker), Bob Budiansky (editor)
D.P.7 Annual I#1 (1987) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Lee Weeks (penciler), Tony DeZuniga (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
D.P.7 I#5 (March, 1987) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Ryan (penciler), Romeo Tanghal (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
D.P.7 I#12 (October, 1987) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Ryan (penciler), Danny Bulanadi (inker), Howard Mackie (editor)
Psi-Force Annual I#1 (1987) - Danny Fingeroth (writer), Mark Texeira (artist), Bob Budiansky (editor)
Justice I#17 (March, 1988) - Peter David (writer), Lee Weeks (penciler), Tony DeZuniga (inker), Howard Mackie (editor)
Star Brand I#12 (March, 1988) - John Byrne (writer, breakdowns), Tom Palmer (finished art), Howard Mackie (editor)
Psi-Force I#25 (November, 1988) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Graham Nolan (penciler), MIke Witherby (inker), Howard Mackie (editor)
The War I#4 (1990) - Doug Murray (writer), Tom Morgan (artist), Howard Mackie (editor)
First posted: 10/14/2025
Last updated:
10/14/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel
Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you
should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to http://www.g-mart.com/ for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!