Ultimate Marvel: Earth-2/Michelle Starr

"I make water a inspiration for art and beauty, but... still a force of nature. My name is Michelle Starr. And I am Wave."

- Michelle Starr / Wave Wave (Michelle Starr) is a fictional supporting character and superheroine appearing in Ultimate Marvel: Earth-2.

Earlier Life
"Water is a beautiful thing, isn't it? Refreshing, healthy..." "...and peaceful." "Like those days when we were children." "And that love of yours for swimming..." "...as big your own love for tigers. You remember, don't you? The many big wins I had in school's Olympics, the many records I broke..." "Everything. You've been the best of us all. Because I know you still are. And we still love you." "And most importantly of all... I never stopped hearing that from you."

- Michelle Starr and Mary Jane Watson Since her childhood, Michelle Starr developed a natural affinity for the water, which inspired her into becoming a dedicated professional swimmer. She grew up becoming a high school swim champion and Olympic hopeful, and won recognition for being the fastest swimmer (as she had very unbeatable records), making her parents very proud.

Over her time, Michelle also made friends with Peter Parker and his colleagues and friends in Midtown High; all recognized her swimming talents and viewed her as a role model. A closeted lesbian, Michelle also had mutually romantic feelings for Mary Jane Watson.

Becoming Wave
"You know what really bothers me? The fact that one noisy cheap crab with a Hitler face has been doing no goddamn thing better than sitting his ass in his office, writing nothing but bullshit in his journals, thinking that he's God, blaming superheroes for things they'd never do, and even saying that his son, who still wears that clown suit his mommy made for him, and that so-called 'Elite Squad' led by a cold-bloody butcher are heroes. And just like the rest of my friends, I got sick of it. Sick of hearing all that crap from Daily Bugle. And letting that asshole get away with it."

- Wave voicing her grievances on J. Jonah Jameson "You showed Jameson and his Ravagers that the city needs its true leaders and heroes, Peter. And thanks to you, we got the courage and motivation we need to continue what you started. Whatever fight you're part of, you can count on me."

- Michelle Starr after introducing her Wave alias to Peter Parker and voicing her appreciation for his success During a family trip in a Oscorp research lab, Michelle was recruited by Norman Osborn, who was looking for test subjects with swimming expertise to use in his experiments, despite the initial objections of Michelle's father Henry, who has been skeptical of Osborn's true motives. When the Punisher's Ravagers suddenly had a shootout with Crossbones and his Hydra Squad, one of the mercenaries accidentally knocked a Oscorp chemical formula at the pool Michelle was swimming at. As a result, Michelle suffered molecular mutations which soon rendered her unconscious. She was carried to hospital as her father loudly pointed both Osborn and J. Jonah Jameson responsible for his daughter's condition.

Michelle woke up from her bed and went to see Peter and the rest of his friends to comfort him and his cousin Felicia Reilly during Ben Parker's funeral. Soon after this, Michelle begun to discover that she manifested the abilities to manipulate water at will as a result of the Super Soldier formula she was exposed to during the incident in Oscorp. She was initially terrified of this until she was comforted by her father, who reminded her that water is still a part of what she is and dreamed to be.

Also inspired by Peter's actions during his first official day as Spider-Man, Michelle donned an outfit and equipment made of Stark and Atlantean technology which Peter and his friends shared with her and each other and begun fighting crime as the superheroine known as Wave, while vowing to balance her new career with her normal civilian life, still aspiring to be the successful Olympic swimmer she dreamed and trained to be. Her actions soon drew the attention of other heroes, including Captain America, and she was offered to train with her friends as well as on the tutelage of veterans like Shang-Chi.

She also came across Mary Jane Watson, whom Michelle learned to be a human/Titanian Tiger hybrid and, much like Liz Danvers Rogers and the rest of their friends, vowed to keep her secret.

While spending a night at the beach house bought for her by her father in Malibu, Michelle soon encountered Triton, a young Inhuman Atlantean who was banished from Atlantis by Queen Namora for being an Inhuman (as Inhumans were once at war with the Mutants in the past) and forced to live in the surface world, sleeping underwater in her pool. Feeling pity of his troubles, Michelle allowed him to stay with her in her home. The two also sympathized with one another about being Homosexuals, attracting the attention of Atlantean princess Lady Elanna, who approved their growing friendship and took pleasure of training the two without Namora's knowledge.

Exploring Savage Land alongside Mary Jane / Tigra, Michelle also encountered Mary Allan, an Inhuman jungle girl known as Squirrel Girl who was romantically attracted to both girls, with Michelle accepting her as her current girlfriend.

Meeting Ant-Girl
"Why aren't you such a undeniable cutie!"

- Wave showing her soft spot for Cassie Lang Michelle was present with Triton and the rest of Peter Parker's friends when he arrived to introduce them to Cassie Lang / Ant-Girl. After spending some good time with her, Michelle developed a strong soft spot for Cassie and (viewing her as a little sister like other girls did) expressed her compassion by repeatedly kissing Cassie's cheeks and forehead and even inviting her to visit her beach house, much to Cassie's loving gratitude.

Legendary Universes
"Wow. We're a long way from New York right now. Well, at least our New York anyway..."

- Wave after entering Wave was (along with Spider-Man and Tigra) also one of the participants of an Spider-Verse event held in one of the new alternate universes during an encounter with that reality's own Spider-Man.

Powers and Abilities
"You really wanna fight fire with water? Good luck with that."

- Wave getting ready to fight Firebrand


 * Superhuman speed and agility
 * Hydrokinesis
 * Genius-level intellect
 * Acrobatic skills
 * Expert swimming skills
 * Hand-to-hand combat

Equipment and Weapons
"Surprised to see that Mr. Stark did include Atlantean technology within this suit. Without it, Namora would've eaten me alive nice and slow."

- Wave demonstrating her suit's content


 * Stark-made suit contains:
 * Underwater-breathing Mask
 * Empathic translator: Within her mask, Wave uses an empathic translator which allows her to communicate with underwater/marine animals
 * Razor-sharp blades in bracelets and leg-laces
 * Camouflage: Her suit also includes a "Cuttlefish Circuit" which enables Wave to camouflage, change her hair color and create artificial tattoos (which she creates and edits on her suit's computer) on her skin
 * Water-made constructs are normally based on:
 * Swords
 * Spears
 * Tridents
 * Hammers
 * Maces
 * Axes
 * Whiplashes

In Other Media and Versions

 * A version of Wave (named Michelle Jones) appears in Marvel's Red Falcon. This version, presented as the titular protagonist's best friend, is a young Inhuman with water abilities and enhanced speed running and swimming. A Lesbian, she is in love with Anya Thorsdottir / Anya Corazon / Stormbreaker.
 * Elements of Michelle Starr / Wave are incorporated in Iago PUC's version of Marvel's Spider-Man. This version's moniker is adopted by Teresa Parker (voiced by Mae Whitman), the long lost younger sister of the show's titular protagonist Peter Parker / Spider-Man.
 * Wave (also named Michelle Jones) is a major supporting character in Marvel's Spider-Man: Webbed Champion. In the show, she is Liz Allan's best friend, a Midtown High School student and an aspiring professional swimmer who (due to exposure to an Oscorp Super Soldier formula which accidentally fell in a gym pool she was swimming at in Midtown High which was accidentally dropped by Spencer Smythe) developed water-bending abilities and superhuman speed running and swimming. Despite terrified with her mutations, Michelle became inspired by Peter's heroic actions as Spider-Man and became the new heroine Wave. She also wields a pair of Atlantean nano-tech Escrima Sticks which can extend themselves into a pair of swords and (when tied together as a bo staff) can extend itself into a trident which can fire heat beams and electro-blasts. She appears as one of the featured female heroines in "What Girls Are Made Of", featured in the first segment where she and Liz / Firestar team up to defeat Sand-Girl. She is also shown to have dropped out of Midtown High (due to her belief that the school was losing its way) to enroll at Horizon High for her knowledge in Atlantean technology. Later in the "Family Business" arc, she (along with Peter Parker's friends) plays a role helping him finish his parents' scientific experiments and inventions and bring their persecutors to justice. She later appears in "Seeds of Life" helping Spider-Man's friends stop the invasion of Oscorp robots in New York before battling the Green Goblin, whom Spider-Man exposes as Norman Osborn. Later after Osborn is arrested and Peter reunites with his long lost younger sister Teresa, Wave and the rest of the young heroes become members of the newly formed New Champions. Later on, in the "Legendary Universes" arc, she accompanies the Champions' travels across the alternate universes where the projects of Peter's parents originated from, and destroy the discarded Oscorp products. She is among the young heroes who join the journey in "Part 3: Unlimited Speed", where they work alongside Sonic the Hedgehog and the Freedom Fighters of Mobius in defeating EggRobo and destroying Doctor Octopus's prototype Tentacle Harness. During the episode, she forms a strong bond and friendship with her partner Sticks the Badger.
 * The same version of the character appears in A Marvel Christmas Carol, but without dialogues.
 * She also appears in Marvel's Superhero Adventures: Infinity War, again voiced by Alanna Ubach. She is revealed in the show to be a closeted Lesbian teenager (similarly to Michelle Starr), and is secretly dating Kitty Pryde. So far, she only came out to her friends and fellow heroes, as well as her mothers (revealing that she is the daughter of a Lesbian couple). Michelle is also shown to have acquired a new upgrade for her Wave nanosuit, which allows her to manifest small wings on her foot to fly (similar to Namor). Wave was also a candidate for Tyler Hayward's Thunderbolt program, but (much like Spider-Woman, Jackpot, Hulkling and Wiccan) she rejected his offer; also critical to his use of metahumans (both heroes and villains) as living weapons; and also because she would feel like she was betraying her teammates by joining the Thunderbolts. However, she did sneak into Nighthawk's office in the Thunderbolts' headquarters, and obtain his classified files about his true motives and loyalty; by which Wave learned that Nighthawk was actually a mole working for Thanos, and also learned of the Mad Titan's creation of the Klyntauri (genetic hybrids of the Chitauri and the Symbiotes).
 * She returns in the show's Disney+ sequel miniseries Marvel's All-Star Multiverse, again voiced by Ubach. In the Free Adventures series, Michelle accompanies her friends on the world road trip onboard their personal Stark industries jet plane. She plays a role central role in the short "Under the Sea", where Michelle (during a trip on Greece) reveals to her friends details of her secret life in Atlantis during her early days as Wave. She later makes regular supporting appearances in the main episodes.
 * Wave (named Michelle Cage Jones) is a major supporting character in Marvel: All New, All Different Chronicles, voiced by Alanna Ubach. While her origins are the same as in Ultimate Marvel: Earth-2, she is presented in the series as a founding member of Spider-Man's team the New Champions, and wields a pair of Atlantean nano-tech Escrima Sticks which can extend themselves into a pair of swords and (when tied together as a staff) can extend itself into a trident which can fire heat beams and electro-blasts. She is one of Peter Parker's friends and classmates in the Baxter Institute. Also in the show, Michelle is the older daughter of Luke Cage / Power Man and Jessica Jones / Moonstone.

Trivia

 * She is an amalgam of two known Marvel female characters:
 * Michelle "MJ" Jones, a character appearing as the potential love interest of Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, played by Zendaya.
 * Wave / Pearl Pangan, a Filipina superheroine who first appeared in War of the Realms: The New Agents of Atlas #1-4, and was featured as a playable character in Marvel: Future Fight.
 * Some rivals give her the nickname "Moana", a popular reference to the titular protagonist of the same name Disney animated movie, who bares some visual resemblance to Wave and is also fond of water and ocean.