HISTORY: Benny Beckley is the son of scientist and astronaut Stephen Beckley. When he was nine years old, Benny and his mother visited Mission Control and saw his father's ship destroyed by a comet. Unknown to the observers, the comet was really a spaceship, and its alien Fortisque pilot Max reformed the vaporized Stephen, granting him superhuman powers similar to Max's own. Stephen returned to Earth and informed his colleague David Hilbert of his encounter, unaware Hilbert secretly reported to "the Superior" head of covert ops agency "the Bridge" and Stephen's own half-brother. Desiring to hurt the family he felt had disowned him, the Superior ordered Ann and Benny's kidnappings. Ann was fatally electrocuted in front of Benny while trying to escape. Already traumatized by his father's apparent death, his mother's gruesome passing left Benny near catatonic. Reasoning the boy had similar DNA to both Stephen and himself, the Superior had geneticist Dr. Fisher run particle acceleration experiments on the child to learn how to reproduce Stephen's powers; Benny underwent weeks of torture.

Stephen, now the Comet Man, finally tracked down his nearly dead son and used his powers to revive him, unwittingly completing the process the experiments had begun. The virtually insane Benny fought his father, and then killed Fisher when he entered the room. Benny rampaged through the facility before passing out. A penitent Hilbert took Benny to his Aunt Rosemary, while Stephen ended up stuck in space. Months later, Stephen returned and revived his comatose son, only to learn that Rosemary's new boyfriend was the Superior, whose twisted mind had arranged this incestuous relationship in hopes of manipulating Benny for his own ends. Stephen attacked the Superior, but stopped short of killing him; however, when the Superior pulled a gun, Benny used his psychic powers to force his uncle to shoot himself.

Again separated from his father and in a semi-amnesiac state in Los Angeles, Benny befriended Kelly, a reality-warping girl, and incinerated a boy that she had turned into a tree. Stephen finally located and flew to Benny, but Benny savagely attacked him. Captain Marvel, having had a vision of Benny ending all life on Earth, intervened, intending to slay the child. Genis swiftly overpowered Benny, but was convinced to spare him by Rick Jones and Stephen. Stephen then flew off with his unconscious son, hoping to heal Benny's shattered body and mind.

NOTE: In the Earth-9997 (Earth X) reality, Benny became the Skull who nearly conquered the United States with his telepathy before being slain by Cap (Steve Rogers).

HEIGHT: 4 ft. 10 in.
WEIGHT: 90 lbs.
EYES: Blue
HAIR: Black, formerly red-blond

ABILITIES: Benny is superhumanly strong and durable and can fly. He can generate powerful concussive and heat blasts, is pyrokinetic, and can telepathically control others. Still a child, his powers are likely to grow substantially as he matures.

NOTE: The above information was copied from “All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #2”