The Shi'ar are a fictional species of aliens appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Shi'ar Empire, is a vast collection of alien species, cultures, and worlds situated close to the Skrull and Kree Empires. The Shi'ar are one of the three main extraterrestrial empires depicted in the Marvel Universe, alongside the Kree and Skrulls.
Daniel P. Abnett is an English comic book writer and novelist. He has been a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, since the 1990s, and also 2000 AD. He has also contributed to DC Comics titles, and his Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 novels and graphic novels for Games Workshop's Black Library now run to several dozen titles and have sold over two million copies. In 2009 he released his first original fiction novels through Angry Robot books.
Andy Lanning is an English comic book writer and inker, known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and for his collaboration with Dan Abnett.
The Kree, briefly known as the Ruul, are a fictional alien race appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are native to the planet Hala in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and have a scientifically and technologically advanced militaristic society.
The Starjammers are a fictional team of space pirates appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Starjammers have often appeared in pages of the X-Men comic books. The Starjammers first appeared in X-Men #104 and were created by Dave Cockrum. The name "Starjammers" was created on the basis of the type of sailing ship known as "Windjammer".
Deathbird is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Dave Cockrum, the character first appeared in Ms. Marvel #9. Cal'syee Neraman is part of a segment of the extraterrestrial Shi'ar race with a mutation. She is a supervillain known under the codename Deathbird.
Darkhawk is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Darkhawk #1, and was created by writer Tom DeFalco and artist Mike Manley. The character appeared in a series of self-titled comics from 1991-1995, then recurred in several limited-run series and multi-title events in the years since. The character's origin is based on a link between a human character and an android from another dimension known as Null Space. The character has also appeared in non-speaking roles on television and video games.
Smasher is the name of multiple different fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Gladiator is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in The X-Men #107 and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum. Gladiator, whose given name is Kallark, is a Strontian, and like others of his race has the capacity for great strength and various superpowers, but can only use them when he is completely devoted to a purpose; his abilities increase and decrease in accordance with his level of confidence. He was born on Strontia, which is part of the Shi'ar Empire and he is the leader of their Imperial Guard. He was also a member of the Annihilators, Dark Guardians, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Ronan the Accuser is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #65. In his comic book appearances, Ronan is depicted as the Supreme Accuser of the Kree Empire, the militaristic government of the alien Kree, and commonly serves as an adversary of superhero teams such as the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Initially portrayed as a supervillain, the character would later be presented as a more noble and honorable figure. Ronan has even been married to the Inhuman Crystal, a princess of the Inhuman Royal Family.
Princess-Majestrix Lilandra Neramani is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. She is the Empress, or Majestrix, of the Shi'ar Empire and shares a lifelong bond with the leader of the X-Men, Charles Xavier. She and Xavier were married, but their marriage was annulled after the Cassandra Nova incident.
Vulcan is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in X-Men: Deadly Genesis #1. He is the third Summers brother to be revealed, the younger brother of X-Men characters Cyclops and Havok.
Korvus is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Korvus uses a weapon known as the Blade of the Phoenix. He made his first appearance in The Uncanny X-Men #478.
The Guardians of the Galaxy are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning formed the team from existing and previously unrelated characters created by a variety of writers and artists, with an initial roster of Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Phyla-Vell, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, and Adam Warlock.
X-Men: Kingbreaker is a four-issue comic book mini-series starring the Starjammers and published by Marvel Comics. Taking place in Marvel's main shared universe, the Marvel Universe, the series was written by Christopher Yost, with pencils by Dustin Weaver. It was announced at the Fan Expo 2008. It began in December 2008 and ended in March 2009.
"Realm of Kings" is a crossover comic book storyline published in 2010 by Marvel Comics. Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, it is a follow-up to the 2009 storyline "War of Kings" and introduced the setting known as the Cancerverse.
The Thanos Imperative is a six-issue comic book limited series published in 2010 by Marvel Comics. It was written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, and was bookended by two one-shot comics, Ignition and Devastation. The story focuses on the cosmic heroes of the Marvel Universe, who band together to combat the imminent threat of the Fault and the Cancerverse that lies beyond it.
The Annihilators are a fictional team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are a group of powerful space-based characters from various alien races. They act as a deterrent to galactic war.
The Guardians of the Galaxy are a fictional spacefaring superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Brian Michael Bendis and Valerio Schiti formed this new version of the team with an initial roster of Rocket Raccoon, Kitty Pryde, Thing, Drax the Destroyer, Agent Venom and Groot. However, Star-Lord and Gamora eventually re-joined the team, and so did Angela. This Guardians team first appeared in "Guardians of the Galaxy" Vol. 4 #1.
The Imperial Guard is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Imperial Guard are a multi-ethnic group of alien beings who act as enforcers of the laws of the Shi'ar Empire; the Superguardians are the personal guard of the leader of the Empire.
