As fans of Marvel and DC will know, the two companies have a long history of copying each other's heroes, often to poke fun at the rival universe. Marvel's Squadron Supreme are often used to parody the Justice League, while DC's Retaliators are a pastiche of Marvel's Avengers. But while Marvel's Virtue, aka Ethan Edwards, is a clear parody of DC's Superman, he's also a dangerous villain whose Skrull origins set him at odds with multiple Avengers teams.
Introduced in Marvel Knights Spider-Man #13, Ethan Edwards is a star reporter at the Daily Bugle - a clear reference to Superman's mild-mannered alter ego, reporter Clark Kent. Adopting a simple home-made costume and the name "Moral Man," Edwards quickly teams up with Spider-Man and asks the veteran hero for advice in establishing a heroic identity.
After Moral Man encounters the Fantastic Four, Reed Richards informs Peter that Ethan is a member of the shape-shifting alien race known as Skrulls. Ethan reveals an origin that's extremely close to that of DC's Superman - he's the last son of a dying planet and raised on a farm in Iowa by the upright couple who found his crashed spacecraft. The only difference? Ethan is the son of the alien who created the Super-Skrull, imbued with amazing powers and intentions to destroy the human race. While Marvel are poking fun at Superman's origins here, it's a neat use of existing facts, as Ethan's home planet is actually the Skrull homeworld, destroyed by Galactus in Fantastic Four #257.
Breaking down at the full knowledge of his past, Ethan dons a threatening black costume, complete with cape, and does battle with Spider-Man and the New Avengers. Happily, Aunt May is able to talk Ethan down, and the story ends with him moving overseas to perform missionary work with his healing powers. In a final twist, Reed reveals that there's no reason for Ethan to possess any kind of healing powers, with the implication that this ability is actually a result of his personal faith.
Sadly, Ethan's turn to good is short-lived, and he reappears in Brian Michael Bendis' Avengers Annual #1 and New Avengers Annual #1 as a member of the Revengers. This anti-Avengers team was comprised of Ethan - now going by the name Virtue - as well as a roster of Marvel antiheroes: Captain Ultra, Devil-Slayer, Atlas, Anti-Venom, and D-Man, led by an ionically unstable Wonder Man. The team easily defeat the New Avengers, and they are only stopped when two Avengers teams combine their forces. Ethan is taken down by Doctor Strange and Thor during a huge battle royale at the Citi Field baseball stadium, perhaps referencing Superman's famous vulnerability to magic.
Interrogated after the battle, Ethan explains he turned against the Avengers due to the events of the Secret Invasion storyline, claiming he was seeking revenge for the injured Skrulls when the superheroes of Earth resisted their invasion. The Avengers would be wise to stay on alert for Ethan's next attack - while he may not have the moral backbone of DC's Superman, he packs a similar punch, and his grudge is unlikely to go away any time soon.
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