Published Jan 28, 2026, 9:21 PM EST
Andrew Dyce is the Deputy Editor for ScreenRant's coverage of Marvel, DC, and all other comics. Whether superheroes, sci-fi, fantasy, or any other genre, Andrew's decade in the industry and countless hours of analysis on podcasts like the Screen Rant Underground, Total Geekall, The Rings of Power Podcast, Batman v Superman: By The Minute, and more has left its mark.
With over a decade spent at GameRant and ScreenRant, Andrew has made himself known as an outspoken fan and critic of film, television, video games, comics, and more.
As the superhero who inspired the creation of the Avengers, nobody could ever blame Iron Man (or his fans) for thinking the Marvel Universe more or less revolves around Tony Stark. But the truth paints a very different picture, once fans learn about the first superhero chosen to fight the forces of evil here on planet Earth... millions of years before human beings like the Avengers even existed.
Marvel's First Superhero Was a Dinosaur, 66 Million Years Ago
First Revealed in Avengers #26 (2018) by Jason Aaron, Dale Keown, Andrea Sorrentino
Superhero fans won't hear any bragging or boasting from the hero in question, and for good reason: Earth's first superhero was a dinosaur. A Tyrannosaurus rex, to be specific, and whose origin story completely rewrites the creation of Earth, the asteroid which killed off the dinosaurs, and the world which developed in the 66 Million years that followed.
The tale might be hard to believe, but it's the true history of Earth in Marvel's Universe, revealed as part of the publisher's "Avengers One Million B.C." storyline. And while it might seem harsh, the secret history confirms the extinction-level asteroid that forever changed Earth was necessary. Not only to prepare the planet for its future, but to claim a host for the superpowered cosmic force known as The Starbrand.
The Dinosaur Starbrand Was Chosen To Be Earth's First Guardian
Unlike Most Marvel Heroes, The Dino Was Selected As Host
This will come as no surprise to longtime fans of Marvel Cosmic, who will be used to seeing Earth and humankind treated as playthings, experiments, or engineered weapons in a larger cosmic war. Whether between rival empires, cosmic entities, or just mad genetic scientists with massive budgets, Marvel's Earth has always found itself in the crossfire.
And the tradition continues with the events which produced Starbrand, as the first Earth resident chosen to inherit a superpowered mission. Still, the fact that so little is known about this Starbrand seems downright criminal, considering its unique place in Marvel history.
With only a single page of the mighty Tyrannosaurus-Starbrand in battle against the Kree Empire, the full arsenal of the Star brand's abilities, translated through the mind and will of a dinosaur, remains in fan imagination. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, every other human hero is simply several million years late to the Marvel party.
Whether Marvel has deprived fans of this Starbrand for fear of permanently making the rest of its heroes seem obsolete, or because no creative team has stepped up to do it justice, the wrong must be righted. Because if anyone can challenge Tony Stark's sense of ego and entitlement as the top Avenger, it's a building-sized, superpowered T-Rex.
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