The Shi'ar Imperial Guard
The Imperial Guard is a legion of super-powered champions from throughout the intergalactic empire ruled by the alien race of Shi'ar, and it acts as enforcers of imperial law. An elite corps of the Guard protects the majestor or majestrix (ruler of the empire) and carries out his or her personal directives. Each division of the Imperial Guard has a leader known as a praetor. The praetor of the majestor or majestrix's elite corps of the Guard is the Gladiator. The other divisions of the Guard are known as the Borderers, who aid the governors of conquerors worlds in enforcing Shi'ar law on those worlds. Guardsmen wear anti-gravity devices permitting them to fly and use hi-tech weapons such as blasters and spheres that enclose their victims, while elite corps members wear individualized costumes and possess fantastic powers.

Although the ranks of past and present Imperial Guardsmen are vast in number, only a relatively small number, usually those of the elite Guard, have encountered beings from Earth up to this time. (As the elite Guard have been involved in the majority of these encounters, it is this elite Imperial Guard referred to in this writing.)

The first encounter between Earth citizens and the Imperial Guard occurred when the mutant hero team X-Men attempted to rescue the Shi'ar princess Lilandra from the then-current majestor D'Ken. Following D'Ken's orders that branded Lilandra a traitor, the Imperial Guard (Astra, Electron, Fang, Hobgoblin, Impulse, Magic, Mentor, Midget, Nightside, Oracle, Quasar, Smasher, Starbolt, Tempest, and Titan) hoped to defeat the X-Men, but the mutants and Lilandra were rescued by the space pirates Starjammers, and D'Ken was soon overthrown and Lilandra assumed the imperial throne and leadership of the Guard.

The X-Men clashed with the Imperial Guard many times since then, such as when the Guard were charged by Lilandra to capture the X-Men member Phoenix (actually the entity known as the Phoenix Force) as Lilandra deemed it a threat to the universe. The Guard was able to defeat the X-Men but the mutants were allowed to return to Earth after Phoenix seemingly committed suicide.

Another time, the Guard were manipulated by the upstart Deathbird to believe the X-Men kidnapped Lilandra. Again the Guard appeared ready to defeat the X-Men until the truth was revealed. The X-Men, Lilandra, and several Guardsmen became involved with Deathbird's erstwhile allies, the Brood, during which time Deathbird usurped the throne, and Lilandra returned to Earth with the X-Men. Deathbird then became ruler of the Guard, to the chagrin of the praetor Gladiator.

The Imperial Guard had other miscellaneous adventures through space. At one point, the Guardsmen teamed up with the spaceknight Rom, in order to defeat a rogue member of a race newly forced to join the Shi'ar empire. Later, Deathbird ordered the elite corps to capture a power source for herself, but they were defeated by the Starjammers, which included Lilandra among their number, and the mutant team Excalibur.

Months later, Deathbird and the Imperial Guard were defeated by the alien Skrulls, who had earlier captured Lilandra and the Starjammers and had assumed their identities. Many of the Guardsmen were unaware of the deception, believing Lilandra to have resumed the throne. Others, like Gladiator and Oracle, were imprisoned or mentally controlled to follow the Skrulls' plans. Deathbird managed to escape and alert the X-Men, who battled the Guard and ultimately revealed the truth. Deathbird nonetheless abdicated the throne to Lilandra.

Later still, the skirmishes between the Shi'ar Empire and the Kree Empire were unknowingly exasperated by the Skrulls, developing into full-scale war between the Shi'ar and the Kree. As an interstellar gateway near Earth was an important strategic vantage, the Earth hero team Avengers became involved as a third party interested in peaceful resolution, calling the affair Operation: Galactic Storm. One contingent of the Imperial Guard (Electron, Hobgoblin, Impulse, Magique, Manta, Nightside, Oracle, Scintilla, Tempest, and Warstar) was charged with capturing Kree technology (the nega-bands and the psyche-magnetron) in order to create a devastating weapon against the Kree. Another contingent were charged to guard Lilandra from attack from the Kree (Astra, Earthquake, Gladiator, Hardball, Hussar, Smasher, and Titan). Although the Avengers opposed them on many separate occasions, the bomb was developed and detonated, ending the war and decimating the Kree Empire.

The Imperail Guard later battled the Avenger Quasar and his allies, after Quasar had stolen a Shi'ar ship to follow the villainous Starblasters. However, the Guard agreed to help Quasar reach the Starblasters, and later, the Guardsmen Solar Wind, Voyager, and Moondancer opted to quit the Imperial Guard altogether in order to accompany Quasar and his allies against their ultimate threat, the alien Stranger.

During a time when many of Earth's heroes were believed to have died in an encounter with the entity known as Onslaught, Lilandra ordered several of the Imperial Guard (Commando, Earthquake, Electron, Flashfire, Gladiator, Mentor, Nightside, and Oracle) to remain on Earth in order to help protect it in the absence of other heroes. Gladiator disagreed, as the Shi'ar Empire was being attacked by the techno-organic race of Phalanx, but nonetheless he obeyed Lilandra out of honor. Before settling in New York City, the Imperial Guard's base of operations while on Earth, Gladiator forced the X-Men to return to the Shi'ar home world and fight the Phalanx. Presumably, once the heroes who were believed dead had returned, the Imperial Guard was released from their duties on Earth and they returned to Shi'ar space.

While on Earth, the Guard uncovered a plot by a militant Kree faction to simulate a radical political activist group, in revenge for Earth's involvement in the Kree/Shi'ar war. In reality, the group created a "nega-reactor," similar to the bomb that was used on the Kree. However, this plot was stopped by the Imperial Guard, but not before the reactor was used by the Kree's leader, the Supreme Intelligence, to re-incorporate itself after being presumably killed at the end of the war.

The Imperial Guard continue their protection and support of the Shi'ar empire, such as foiling an assassination attempt on Lilandra by the Kree Ronan the Accuser and his agents, the Inhumans.


Astra(full name unknown, extraterrestrial warrior)
The full history of the alien known as Astra remains unrevealed. She is a non-Shi'ar member of the Imperial Guard, and has been a member ever since their first known activities.

Astra has the power to shift her body out-of-phase with reality, allowing physical attacks to pass through her.


Earthquake (full name unknown, extraterrestrial warrior)
The full history of the being known as Earthquake remains unrevealed. He is a non-Shi’ar member of the Imperial Guard, and has been a member ever since their first known activities. He was among the members of the team recently confined to Earth, although he has since returned to active duty in Shi'ar space.

Earthquake, through unrevealed means, can produce disruptions in the ground beneath his opponents and can, to a certain extent, manipulate soil, earth, and minerals for his own effects.


Electron (full name unknown, extraterrestrial warrior)
The full history of the being known as Electron remains unrevealed. He is a non-Shi’ar member of the Imperial Guard, and has been a member ever since their first known activities. He was among the members of the team recently confined to Earth, although he has since returned to active duty in Shi'ar space.

Electron, through unrevealed means, can produce large amounts of electricity for offensive attacks as well as for flight.


Fang (full names unknown, extraterrestrial warriors)
There have been (at least) two members of the Imperial Guard with the name and costume of Fang. The full history of these beings remain unrevealed, although they are assumed to be of the same non-Shi'ar race.

The first Fang was a member of the Guard during the time that Deathbird allied with the alien Brood in tricking Lilandra to abdicate the Shi'ar throne. The Brood had hoped to use members of the Guard and the X-Men as hosts for their eggs, which are laid inside of others' bodies. They infected Fang with their egg, which killed him as it hatched.

Later, another Fang appeared among the Imperial Guard during a time when the team fought the alien race known as the Uncreated, and he was seen again when the Guard was attacked by Ronan the Accuser and the Inhumans.

Both Fangs have animal-like appearances and physiologies, giving them superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes, as well as heightened senses and razor-like claws and teeth.


Flashfire (Grannz, extraterrestrial warrior)
The full history of the alien Grannz, known as Flashfire, remains unrevealed. He is a non-Shi'ar member of the Imperial Guard, and has been a member ever since their first known activities. He has often been romantically linked to his teammate Oracle. Originally known as Tempest, he changed his code name just before he and several others of the Imperial Guard were confined to Earth, although he has since returned to active duty in Shi'ar space. More recently, however, he and Oracle left the Imperial Guard to pursue marriage and retire from active duty.

Flashfire absorb energy and directly convert it to electricity. He can project electricity from his body, blind his opponents, surround himself with a electrical field, and use such energy to fly.


Gladiator (Kallark, extraterrestrial warrior and leader of the Imperial Guard)
The full history of Kallark, called Gladiator, remains unrevealed. He is a non-Shi'ar member of the Imperial Guard, and was the prized pupil of Deathbird, before her exile. At some point, Kallark was given the title and post of Praetor of the Guard, becoming its leader for all of its known activities. As such, Kallark was involved in every major conflict of the Guard, clashing with heroes such as the X-Men, Starjammers, and the Avengers. Kallark has engaged in solo activities over the years, however, such as .

More recently, Kallark was among the Imperial Guard confined to Earth. During this time, Kallark sought out the X-Men in an attempt to force them to battle the alien menace known as the Phalanx in his stead. Kallark and the Guard have since returned to active duty in Shi'ar space.

Gladiator, through unrevealed means, possesses vast superhuman power, the full range and extent of which may yet be unrevealed. He is near-invulnerable and able to survive the rigors of space unaided. He possesses superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes as well as enhanced senses and the ability to fire laser beams from his eyes. It has recently been revealed that much, if not all, of Gladiator's superhuman ability stems from his own self-confidence-- if he believes he can do something, he can. Thus, a moment of self-doubt may cause his powers to weaken.


Hobgoblin (full name unknown, extraterrestrial warrior, deceased)
The full history of the being known as Hobgoblin remains unrevealed. He is a non-Shi'ar member of the Imperial Guard, and has been a member ever since their first known activities. In subsequent missions, Hobgoblin has been called by different code names, such as Shapeshifter and Shifter. More recently, fearing an assassination attempt, Hobgoblin used his powers to replace Lilandra during an official ceremony, and was killed in her place.

Hobgoblin, through unrevealed means, could shift his body into other shapes, including those of other humanoids, exotic animals, and even inanimate objects.


Hussar (full name unknown, extraterrestrial warrior)
The full history of the being known as Hussar remains unrevealed. She is a non-Shi'ar member of the Imperial Guard, and has been a member ever since their first known activities. She was among those Guardsmen who aided Deathbird's original coup, but continued to be a part of the team once Lilandra regained the throne.

More recently, Hussar was exiled to Earth, presumably for her crimes when allied with Deathbird, when it was declared a penal colony by an assembly of planets. She joined other renegade Guardsmen with the alien Starhammer in battling the X-Men, believing their member Jean Grey to be the planet-destroying Phoenix. They were defeated, and their subsequent activities remain unrevealed.

Hussar uses hi-tech whips which channel electricity to stun her targets, temporarily paralyzing them. Her alien physiology gives her hooves in place of feet.


Impulse (full name unknown, extraterrestrial warrior)
The full history of the being known as Impulse remains unrevealed. He is a non-Shi'ar member of the Imperial Guard, and has been a member ever since their first known activities. He continued to fight alongside the team during the Kree-Shi'ar war, where a battle with the Avenger Quasar left his containment suit breached, revealing Impulse to be (as was assumed) a being of pure energy, dependant on his purple, humanoid containment suit. Impulse later recovered, as he was seen among the Guard during their attack by Ronan the Accuser and the Inhumans.

Impulse is a being of pure energy, and can only maintain humanoid shape due to his containment suit. Even with the suit, he is able to control his energy form to fly and project destructive blasts from his "eyes."


Magique(full name unknown, extraterrestrial warrior)
The full history of the being known as Magique remains unrevealed. She is a non-Shi'ar member of the Imperial Guard, and has been a member ever since their first known activities. Originally known as Magic, she changed her code name just before the events of the Kree/Shi'ar war.

Magique, through unrevealed means, can produce convincing three-dimensional illusions.


Manta (full name unknown, extraterrestrial warrior)
The full history of the being known as Manta remains unrevealed. She is a non-Shi'ar member of the Imperial Guard, and has been a member ever since their first known activities.

Manta possesses the ability to produce a blinding light that burns and blinds her opponents. Her own vision allows her to perceive her environment according to UV/infrared patterns.


Mentor (full name unknown, extraterrestrial warrior)
Mentor possesses genius-level IQ and has used this to process vast amounts of data, predict likely outcomes of various strategies, and perceive points of weakness in living beings and structural formations.

Neutron (full name unknown, extraterrestrial warrior)
The full history of the being known as Neutron remains unrevealed. He is a non-Shi'ar member of the Imperial Guard, and has been a member ever since their first known activities. He was among those Guardsmen who aided Deathbird's original coup, but continued to be a part of the team once Lilandra regained the throne. Originally known as Quasar, he changed his code name to Neutron just before the time of Operation: Galactic Storm.

More recently, Neutron was exiled to Earth when it was declared a penal colony by an assembly of planets, presumably for his crimes when allied with Deathbird. He joined other renegade Guardsmen with the alien Starhammer in battling the X-Men, believing their member Jean Grey to be the planet-destroying Phoenix. They were defeated, and their subsequent activities remain unrevealed.

Neutron possesses phenomenal superhuman strength and resistance to injury.


Nightside (full name unknown, extraterrestrial warrior)
The full history of the being known as Nightside remains unrevealed. She is a non-Shi'ar member of the Imperial Guard, and has been a member ever since their first known activities. She was among the members of the team recently confined to Earth, although she has since returned to active duty in Shi'ar space.

Nightside possesses the ability to open gateways into the extradimensional realm containing energies known as Darkforce. She can generate Darkforce to engulf her surroundings, teleport objects, and cast others into the Darkforce dimension. It is presumed that this ability is natural to those of her race.


Oracle (Sybil, extraterrestrial warrior)
The full history of the alien Sybil, known as Oracle, remains unrevealed. She is a non-Shi'ar member of the Imperial Guard, and has been a member ever since their first known activities. She often has acted as second-in-command to Gladiator, and has often been romantically linked to her teammate Flashfire. Oracle was among the Imperial Guard recently confined to Earth. More recently, however, she and Flashfire left the Imperial Guard to pursue marriage and retire from active duty.

Oracle possesses great psychic power, capable of reading minds, producing blasts of mental energy, and seeing into the future.


Scintilla (full name unknown, extraterrestrial warrior)
The full history of the being known as Scintilla remains unrevealed. She is a non-Shi'ar member of the Imperial Guard, and has been a member ever since their first known activities. Originally known as Midget, she changed her code name during the time of Operation: Galactic Storm.

Scintilla has the power to physically shrink by reducing the mass and volume of her body, and she is able to gain proportionate increase to her strength and durability.


Smasher (Vril Rokk, extraterrestrial warrior)
The full history of the being known as Smasher remains unrevealed. He is a non-Shi'ar member of the Imperial Guard, and has been a member ever since their first known activities.

Smasher possesses superhuman strength and resistence to injury.


Starbolt (full name unknown, extraterrestrial warrior)
The full history of the being known as Starbolt remains unrevealed. He is a non-Shi'ar member of the Imperial Guard, and has been a member ever since their first known activities.

Starbolt, through unrevealed means, is perpetually surrounded by flames called "pyroplasma." He can produce large amounts of this energy for offensive attacks as well as for flight.


Titan (full name unknown, extraterrestrial warrior)
The full history of the being known as Titan remains unrevealed. He is a non-Shi'ar member of the Imperial Guard, and has been a member ever since their first known activities.

Titan possesses the ability to grow in size to fantastic heights, with an proportionate increase to his strength and durability.


Warstar (B'nee and C'cil, extraterrestrial symbiotic warriors)
The full history of the beings known as Warstar remain unrevealed. They are non-Shi’ar members of the Imperial Guard, and have been a member ever since their first known activities. They were among those Guardsmen who aided Deathbird's original coup, but continued to be a part of the team once Lilandra regained the throne.

More recently, Warstar was exiled to Earth when it was declared a penal colony by an assembly of planets, presumably for their crimes when allied with Deathbird. They joined other renegade Guardsmen with the alien Starhammer in battling the X-Men, believing their member Jean Grey to be the planet-destroying Phoenix. They were defeated, and their subsequent activities remain unrevealed.

Warstar is a composite being of two mechanical symbiotes: B'nee and C'cil. C'cil is a hulking, green robot-like being whose body seems composed of a highly impervious metal, possessing a prodigious fighting ability, superhuman strength, and great endurance. B'nee is a very small, spiry being of the same material, although he usually rides C'cil's back. B'nee is capable of producing electicity for energy attacks.

Other Members of the Imperial Guard:

Black Light
-was seen as a member of the Imperial Guard when Deathbird sought a portion of the Phoenix Force for herself. Black Light can open portals into the Darkforce Dimension through his retinas, focusing the Darkforce energy with enormous pressure into destructive bolts from his eyes.

Blackthorn
-was seen as a member of the Imperial Guard during Deathbird's initial coup and when Deathbird sought a portion of the Phoenix Force for herself. He is a chloroform-based life form and is capable of communicating with other plants, altering their rate of growth, and directing them to do his bidding.

Commando (M'Nell)
-was a Kree soldier impressed into the Imperial Guard after his empire was annexed after the Kree/Shi'ar war. He was among those Guardsmen assigned to be confined to Earth, although he later returned to duty in Shi'ar space. Commander was given "nega-radiation augments" to enhance his physical prowess, granting him superhuman strength, endurance, reflexes, and limited invulnerability.

Delphos
-was recently made a member of the Imperial Guard to replace the Guardsman Oracle after she retired from active duty. Delphos possesses a psychic awareness that can receive precognitive broadcasts of incoming future events.

Glom
-was seen as a member of the Imperial Guard during the Kree/Shi'ar war, defending Shi'ar spacecraft from the Avengers who wanted to stop them from appropriating Kree technology. Glom possesses a digestive system uniquely adapted to ingest and metabolize any form of energy he encounters, including the quantum energy that Quasar wields.

Hardball
-was seen as a member of the Imperial Guard during the Kree/Shi'ar war, as a member of a special contingent guarding Lilandra. Hardball possesses a rubber-like physiology, granting him enhanced speed, agility, and the ability to leap fantastic distances and rebound off of surfaces.

Moondancer (Myla)
-was seen as a member of the Imperial Guard during the Kree/Shi'ar war, defending Shi'ar spacecraft from the Avengers who wanted to stop them from appropriating Kree technology. Later, Moondancer helped Quasar search for the Starblasters, and she quit the Imperial Guard to continue following Quasar, hoping to confront the Stranger. Moondancer possesses extra-sensory perceptions which enable her to detect life forms and energy signatures over a vast distance, track down specific artifacts she has encountered, and renders her unnaturally aware of all that occurs around her. She often works closely with her fellow Guardsman, Voyager, who has the ability to open teleportation gates.

N'rill'iree
-was seen as a member of the Imperial Guard during Deathbird's initial coup. He is a massive, furry giant, possessing enormous strength, endurance, and resistance to physical injury.

Onslaught
-was seen as a member of the Imperial Guard during the Kree/Shi'ar war, defending Shi'ar spacecraft from the Avengers who wanted to stop them from appropriating Kree technology. Onslaught possesses superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes, and is an accomplished martial artist.

Solar Wind
-was seen as a member of the Imperial Guard during the Kree/Shi'ar war, defending Shi'ar spacecraft from the Avengers who wanted to stop them from appropriating Kree technology. Later, Solar Wind helped Quasar search for the Starblasters, and he quit the Imperail Guard to continue following Quasar, hoping to confront the Stranger. Solar Wind is capable of drawing on ambient cosmic energy particles in his environment and channeling them through mechanical means into the chest plate of his costume, producing a blast of concussive force.

Voyager (Divad)
-was seen as a member of the Imperial Guard during the Kree/Shi'ar war, defending Shi'ar spacecraft from the Avengers who wanted to stop them from appropriating Kree technology. Later, Voyager helped Quasar search for the Starblasters, and he quit the Imperail Guard to continue following Quasar, hoping to confront the Stranger. Voyager is capable of teleporting himself and others across vast, even interstellar, distances. He focuses this power through his fighting staff. He often works closely with his fellow Guardsman, Moondancer, who has the ability to pinpoint the location of any object in space.

Webwing
-was seen as a member of the Imperial Guard during Deathbird's initial coup. More recently, Webwing was exiled to Earth, presumably for his crimes when allied with Deathbird, when it was declared a penal colony by an assembly of planets. He joined other renegade Guardsmen with the alien Starhammer in battling the X-Men, believing their member Jean Grey to be the planet-destroying Phoenix. They were defeated, and their subsequent activities remain unrevealed. He is a giant mollusk that can levitate himself, envelop his victims within his tentacle-flaps, and render them insensate using a neural sedative secreted from his pores.

White Noise
-was seen as a member of the Imperial Guard when Deathbird sought a portion of the Phoenix Force for herself. White Noise can produce hypersonic frequencies from her vocal chords, using them to shatter solid objects, disorient and disable her opponents, and provide thrust to propel her through the air.

Zenith
-was seen as a member of the Imperial Guard when Deathbird sought a portion of the Phoenix Force for herself. During the battle, he was killed in action by his brother, the space pirate Raza, member of the Starjammers. Zenith was capable of siphoning the potential energy from living beings, which drained them of any energy-emission powers they possessed and weakened them physically, while enabling him to re-channel the absorbed energy as power blasts from his fingertips.

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