This Cosmic Marvel Team Plays a Much Bigger Role Than You Think

Imperial is one of the coolest cosmic Marvel stories since Annihilation. Readers have seen the formerly squabbling powers of the Marvel Universe finally calm down in recent years. The Shi’Ar and their alliance with Krakoa stabilized their empire. The Kree and the Skrull’s nearly endless war ended when Young Avenger Hulkling, the heir to both the Kree and Skrull, became the emperor of both races. Everything has been quiet since the end of Empyre and “The Last Annihilation”, but Imperial blasts it all open, as various leaders of the universal powers are killed mysteriously. As heroes like the Hulk, She-Hulk, Nova, Black Panther, Shuri, and Star-Lord scramble around the universe to learn the truth behind the terrible events burning the alliance between empires down, there’s a dark purpose behind the whole situation.

Imperial #3 reveals the book’s secrets, as the cause of the war is revealed — a wager between Maximus and the Grandmaster about whether the Grandmaster can destroy the alliance in a year. The Grandmaster reveals the steps he took in the issue, and the beginning of the conflict comes from the Shi’Ar Empire. The Grandmaster is able to take advantage of the most well-known part of the Empire — the Imperial Guard. The Imperial Guard is looking to play a major role in Imperial, but they’ve always been one of the most important groups in the Marvel Universe, clashing and working with multiple Earth heroes.

The Shi’Ar Imperial Guard Is a Galaxy Spanning Super-Army

The Imperial Guard first appeared in X-Men #107. The Shi’Ar Empire was under the control of the Mad Emperor D’Ken, and his sister Lilandra fled to Earth for help. She found the X-Men and was able to get them to help her stop D’Ken from getting his hands on the M’Kraan Crystal. D’Ken sent the Imperial Guard (fun fact — the group is based on the Legion of Superheroes, the DC team that co-creator Dave Cockrum drew at DC), a team of powerful aliens under the command of Gladiator, with members like Smasher, Oracle, Fang, Astra, Electron, Hobgoblin, Magic, Mentor, Nightside, Quasar, Starbolt, Tempest, Titans, and Midget. The X-Men and Lilandra were able to stay ahead of the Imperial Guard, and Lilandra would take the throne from her brother. The Imperial Guard would return in the X-Men classic “The Dark Phoenix Saga”, battling the X-Men in a trial by combat for the life of Jean Grey. Down the line, the Imperial Guard would return multiple times in the X-Men comics, helping the X-Men against the Brood, attacking them when the Shi’Ar Empire was turned against the team by a Skrull masquerading as Xavier. The Imperial Guard were the main defense force of the Shi’Ar Empire, which was shown in the Kree/Shi’Ar War from the Avengers crossover “Operation: Galactic Storm”, starting from the days in the distant past when Rook’Shir, a Phoenix Force host Shi’Ar, founded the group. The Imperial Guard would return in the mid ’90s, when the Phalanx defeated them, with even more members added.

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The Imperial Guard would get rocked again when Cassandra Nova, masquerading as Xavier (apparently, the Shi’Ar fall for this ruse all the time), attacked the Empire and would fade away (although they did help out against the Annihilation Wave in the various Annihilation stories) until “The Rise and Fall of the Shi’Ar Empire”, when the resurrected D’Ken took control of the Empire. Eventually, the Guard end up teaming with the X-Men against D’Ken, allowing Vulcan, the youngest Summers brother, took over. They would fight in the war against the Inhumans, and Gladiator would be eventually be made into the leader of the Shi’Ar Empire. Jonathan Hickman’s run on Avengers would reveal something very interesting about the Guard — instead of being individual members, each different Guardsman was part of a class. They were chosen to join the Subguardians first, where they would be given enhancements to replicate the powers of their class, with some of them eventually becoming Superguardians. So, for example, a human named Izzie found the exo-specs of Smasher, and donning them allowed her to become Smasher. The Guard would help out in the wars against the Builders in Infinity, also trying to destroy the Earth later to stop the Incursions in Avengers. Gladiator would end up being replaced as leader of the Shi’Ar by the daughter of Xavier and Lilandra Xandra, returning to his place as the leader of the Imperial Guard and defending the Empire.

The Imperial Guard May Break the Balance of Power in the Marvel Universe

The Grandmaster’s plan for the Guard involves a Superguardian Electron. The Electron class is being decommissioned, with the various Superguardians in the class being retired. One of these Electrons might be an illegitimate child of Emperor D’Ken. The Shi’Ar have been rebelling against Xandra for ages now, and while Xavier and Lilandra are on their way to help their daughter, the Grandmaster’s plan has already borne terrible fruit, as this Electron has army of decommissioned Superguardians at his command.

The Imperial Guard are one of the most powerful forces in the Marvel Universe. While they have a lot of losses, their variety of powers and sheer numbers make them a threat to any time out there. In fact, looking at their losses, they lose more often because they are outnumbered than being overpowered. The Imperial Guard under the command of D’Ken was extremely formidable and if Grandmaster’s plans succeed, they may be unleashed against humanity again.

Imperial #3 is on sale now.