Eymun Talasazan, the comic book writer, says he created a comic book universe in 2014 that revolved around R&B and rap stars. According to the suit, Talasazan had convos with The Weeknd's people in 2017 about folding "Starboy" into his comic book universe.

Remember, by that time Weeknd already had the hit song and album with the same name.

Talasazan -- who is repped by entertainment attorney Kirk Schenck -- says they never ended up working together. However, he says he did file for a trademark on "Starboy" -- as a comic book hero -- right around the time of his discussions with Weeknd's peeps. The singer was aware of that, and as we reported ... filed an opposition to the trademark.

Cut to 2018, when The Weeknd debuted his own comic book, "Starboy" ... in connection with Marvel. Talasazan says the Marvel comic had a "near identical premise" as the one he pitched to Weeknd's people the year before.

The Marvel connection is interesting because Talasazan says he began collaborating with Stan Lee in 2016 on a story arc and additional characters for his Starboy universe.

Schenck tells us, “This is not a case about who created or first used the term 'Starboy.' This case will decide if a songwriter automatically (without filing a trademark application) obtains trademark protection for all later uses of a word, even if those later uses have nothing to do with albums, song titles, music or lyrics.”