The Star Masters were formed during a time when Quasar had faked his death and exiled himself from his home, Earth. He received a transmission from Earth with a panicked message proclaiming “end of the world.” Quasar did return but kept his distance, knowing that he could not allow his enemies to know he was still alive. Upon his arrival, he noticed a message written in the Earth’s atmosphere, stating “We Come in Peace.” The message was written so that all the people in the world could read it, and it appeared to every observer in a language he or she could understand. Troubled by this unexpected event, Quasar traced the energy signal of the message back to its source, but what he found was even more alarming. A spacecraft nearly 500 miles in diameter was hovering in Earth’s orbit.
Quasar entered the ship with no hostile actions taken against him. Once onboard, he was taken to see the individual in command. Mr. Mduul, Peacekeeper-General of The Charter, explained to Quasar that this was a universal peace organization with over ten thousand worlds as members. Their presence in Earth’s orbit was merely an invitation for Earth to join the Charter. After a tour of their vessel, The Hub, Quasar was invited to stay and rest. Following some sleep and a much-needed shower, Quasar discovered the lifeless body of Mr. Mduul. Quasar immediately began to search the Hub for help, but all he found were more bodies. It appeared that some unseen force killed all the Charter’s delegates on the ship while he slept. He used their communications system to call for assistance, but he only made his troubles worse. An unknown being manipulated the face and voice patterns of Quasar to broadcast a message to interstellar space stating that the Earth would no longer tolerate the existence of alien beings. Soon after, the Charter’s military force, the Cosmic Commandos, came to arrest Quasar. Quasar escaped capture but was intercepted by the Silver Surfer and Beta Ray Bill, both of whom had also come to investigate Quasar’s broadcast. The matter at hand would have to wait, however, for a planet-sized meteor was being hurled at the Earth by unknown assailants. The three heroes set out to perform a miracle and save a planet.
Quasar, Beta Ray Bill and the Silver Surfer flew into the path of the meteor, determined to shift its course. They used the awesome powers at their disposal to chip away at the huge mass, but no matter how many chunks of rock were broken off, the meteor would pull them back and reform itself. Before the three could come up with another idea, the Cosmic Commandos had returned and ordered an immediate surrender. The Silver Surfer refused to hand over Quasar, so the Commandos attacked. Quasar managed to contain most of his assailants, but the one called Xenith evaded capture and attacked Quasar and Beta Ray Bill on her own. Even though she managed to deal a severe blow to Quasar, the power of Beta Ray Bill proved to be too much for her to handle. The other Commandos eventually broke free and assaulted the Silver Surfer, but not even their combined might could faze a former herald of Galactus.
Meanwhile, on the Cosmic Commandos' ship, Captain Morphex deciphered that the meteor would hit and destroy the Earth. He decided to help save the planet despite the orders of his superiors to ignore the situation. After disobeying Command Central, Morphex was blindsided by a Commando member, Stenth, and set adrift in space to die. Quasar, now recovered from Xenith’s assault, saved Morphex by surrounding him in an atmosphere-filled force field while he dealt with the fate of the Earth. The Silver Surfer was already forming a plan and embedded his surfboard into the meteor. The Surfer then used his power cosmic to reactivate the invisible energy barrier around the Earth that was once put there by Galactus as a means to imprison the disloyal herald. The instant the surfboard touched the barrier, it became a shield around the Earth, and the meteor was destroyed when it slammed into it. To Quasar’s surprise, a marble-sized black hole that existed in the center of the meteor managed to pass through the shield and continued heading toward Earth. Quasar teleported himself and Beta Ray Bill in its path, and Bill opened a dimensional doorway with his mallet, Stormbreaker, sending the black hole to a remote part of the galaxy. The Earth was finally safe, but Quasar still had to clear his name. Feeling betrayed by the rest of their team, Morphex and Xenith decided to help Quasar along with Beta Ray Bill and the Silver Surfer, and that was when the Star Masters was officially founded.
The Star Masters set out to find answers, and they started with the Cosmic Commandos. The Commandos were easily defeated, but Morphex revealed that an interrogation would prove nothing for they were trained to withhold information even when tortured. The group decided to head back to the Hub and search for clues. Once they arrived, the Star Masters were greeted violently by members of the alien race, the Axi-Tun. Certain members of the Axi-Tun possessed superhuman abilities and made quick work of the Star Masters. The leader of this group, Sidereus, ordered that the group be thrown into the Cauldron of Conversion, which was filled with an unknown toxin. Beta Ray Bill regained consciousness and mysteriously disappeared before being thrown in the cauldron, but the others were not so lucky. Quasar managed to wake up in time to protect the others with his Quantum Bands as they fell into the pit. He then followed up with a stealthy escape. What the remainder of the group found was that the substance in the cauldron was actually alive. The Silver Surfer went in search of Beta Ray Bill while Quasar and the others stayed behind to free the remaining prisoners of the Axi-Tun. In time, the group learned that the Axi-Tun's leader, Votan, wanted to exterminate all other species in the universe, and the toxin within the Cauldron of Conversion was actually a hybrid plague. Once a lifeform would be thrown into the toxin, the plague would mutate itself to affect all other beings of that race. The Axi-Tun pumped the plague through the air vents on the Hub, and that was what killed the delegates while Quasar slept. Quasar wasn’t affected by the disease, because a human was never dropped in the cauldron. Once the Star Masters were reunited, they brought the fight to the Axi-Tun starship. Votan had his second-in-command, Aldebron, deal with them, but the Star Masters overcame their foes and destroyed the plague. Aldebron informed her master of their defeat, and he ordered them to terminate their own lives. Quasar noticed the energy fluctuations in the ship right before it exploded and teleported his team outside, unharmed. One of The Charter’s members, Tana Nile, explained the situation to the rest of the remaining delegates, and while the Axi-Tun’s membership was revoked, Quasar was exonerated of all charges brought against him.
It was soon revealed that Aldebron, Sidereus and a few others disobeyed the orders of Votan and merely faked their deaths. Aldebron claimed that she should rule the Axi-Tun, and that the Star Masters would suffer more than any others have ever known. It has yet to be seen how Aldebron will actually follow through with her threats.
