The Origin of Gladiator and the Shi'ar Imperial Guard

History of the Marvel Universe No. 272
Gladiator and the Shi'ar Imperial Guard
Sources:
The Kree/Skrull Comparison
- X-Men 122 (1979)
- Empyre 006 (2020)
- S.W.O.R.D. 001 (2021)
Xorrians and the Prehistoric Shi'ar
- Thor 215 (1973)
- Inhumans 003 (2000)
- Marauders 003-004 (2022)
Sharra and K'ythri
- Starjammers 001 (1995)
- Starjammers 004 (1996)
- Mighty Thor 015 (2017)
Gladiator and the Strontians
- Uncanny X-Men 479 (2006)
- War of Kings: Warriors 001 (2009)
- X-Men: Kingbreaker 004 (2009)
Kubark, Kid Gladiator
- Wolverine and the X-Men 001 (2011)
- Wolverine and the X-Men Annual (2014)
X-Men versus the Imperial Guard
- X-Men 105 (1977)
- X-Men 107-109 (1977)
- X-Men 135-137 (1980)
Chakar's Borderers
- Rom Annual 004 (1985)
Deathbird's Conspiracy
- Uncanny X-Men 156-157 (1982)
- Uncanny X-Men 161-162 (1982)
Lupak Cloning
- Wolverines 011 (2015)
Subguardians and Superguardians
- Avengers 005 (2013)
- Wolverine and the X-Men Annual (2014)
Commando
- Avengers 347 (1992)
- Imperial Guard 001-003 (1997)
Oracle, Tempest/Flashfire, and Delphos
- Inhumans 003-004 (2000)
- Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard 004 (2010)
- Secret X-Men 002 (2022)
The Smashers
- X-Men 137 (1980)
- New X-Men 122-126 (2002)
- Uncanny X-Men 480 (2007)
- War of Kings 001 (2009)
- Avengers 005 (2013)
- Wolverine and the X-Men Annual (2014)
Captain Terror
- USA Comics 002 (1941)
N’rill’iree
- Uncanny X-Men 155 (1982)
Zenith, Black Light, White Noise
- X-Men Spotlight on Starjammers 002 (1990)
Glom, Hardball, Moondancer, Onslaught, Solar Wind
- Quasar 032-033 (1992)
- Thor 446 (1992)
- Quasar 046 (1993)
Mammoth
- New X-Men 117 (2001)
Blimp, Cosmo, Fader, G-Type, Monstra, Neosaurus, Plutonia, Schism, Squorm, Stuff
- New X-Men 123-124 (2002)
Star-Lord
- Thanos 011-012 (2004)
Additional Artwork
- Classic X-Men 014 (1987)
- All-New X-Men 023 (2014)
Additional information from the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.
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Music:
"Twisted" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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#Marvel #Comics #XMen

[@MerryMarvelite]

Hey, heroes! I'm going to be streaming again on Twitch this weekend! On Saturday I'm playing Final Fantasy IV for the PSP and on Sunday it's more of the the Cabaret Club minigame in Yakuza Zero! www.twitch.tv/merrymarvelite

[@McMahonHater]

Kallark is the 2nd Marvel character to use the name Gladiator. The original was a mob enforcer named Melvin Potter who was one of Dare Devil's earliest enemies.

[@DeadPool-XF]

Jubilee: I didnt think anyone could do that to the Juggernaut. Gambit: No One from Earth.

[@pikkon899]

"But I'm the Juggernaut, biiiiiiiiiii......"

[@infamousrob08]

I've always loved the Legion of Superheroes too. One of my first comics given to me were older late 70's early 80's stuff. Imagine my surprise when I put it together that the Legion and the Superguardians are the same thing.

[@cjarndorfer4811]

First time I saw the Shi'ar empire was in Marvel's ultimate alliance for ps2 when i was a kid and when i saw them come back in x-men 97 i was my interest for this group came back and i was dying to learn more. Thanks for uploading this.

[@johncolosimo1863]

Fun Fact: The roster of the Imperial Guard that the X-men first encountered where based on DC's Legion of Superheroes.

[@stellarhyme3]

We know that.

[@artist0154]

didn't know that

[@glenngatlin8475]

These characters are all pretty cool and i hope to see more of them in X-MEN 97 series!!!

[@antonionum8]

Now this made my Friday Night after a hard day of work thank you! 🔥

[@alvaromaureira9366]

It's good that you talked about the Shi'ar empire and the Imperial Guard, since they had little exposure in media unlike the Kree and Skrull empires, in addition to its characters

[@flamingbow10]

Been looking for a character breakdown since I seen this guy in Xmen 97, thanks!

[@Savior-ml4pq]

You should watch the phoenix saga from the original 90s show

[@Thechezbailey]

​@@Savior-ml4pqSTARBOLT AGREES!

[@Autistichorse11]

The true superman of the marvel universe

[@tbcat2001]

Actually he was based in the legion Superboy (which was Superman when young while time traveling to the future) XD Instead, Hyperion and Sentry are based on him (among others)

[@noahknight4039]

Nah. Marvel really doesn’t have a Superman. Aside from similar powers they’re too different personality and role wise. I mean all of them, even most incarnations of Hyperion end up being quite different from Superman.

[@thedoncrazephaze5375]

Hyperion

[@chriscripplercruz1833]

I constantly use Gladiators weakness of mind that can lower or raise his strength level when coaching to tell people in training don't be like Gladiator and let your lack of confidence cause you strength and the ability to go all out. be confident in yourself and give your 2 hours of training everything you have

[@Migelsankhezzzzz]

Another fantastic video!! Thanks 😊

[@HeWhoRemains42]

Excellent as always, my friend

[@jakkahz]

Great vid! Thanks!

[@juanbisonosuero3650]

Talking About The shear Can Your Next video be About the Super Hero Darkhawk and the fraternity of Raptors In General ?

[@Lazrael32]

man the fraternity of raptors was such a lame retcon.

[@juanbisonosuero3650]

@@Lazrael32 personally I like darkhawk I think it’s a great character. Ask for the fraternity of raptors I think they are fine. I don’t love them, but it’s still a OK idea.

[@Lazrael32]

@@juanbisonosuero3650 i too love darkhawk, but mostly the old stuff. really i think he mostly suffered from not having memorable villains. i was not a fan of the retcon as it mostly just ignores everything established without recontextualizing it. but not everything has to be for me it's ok if others enjoy it.

[@nihilism242]

Man!!!! I love your videos sooooo muuuuuuch!

[@MonicaWilkerson-en9ui]

Awesome 😎👍

[@cyberhard]

Hitting 👍 before the video even starts!

[@phillipwalters7702]

Hey there Merry Marvelite. I just stumbled upon this video and wanted to say that it was absolutely awesome. I really enjoyed the information that came out of this video dealing with Gladiator and The Imperial Guard. I only say this because of the fact that I really don't know a lot about them, except for the fact that they were shown in the X-Men comics and animated series. I also have to admit that the information that you presented in this video about the characters from The Imperial Guard reminded me a lot of members of The Legion of Superheroes from the DC Universe, which in my opinion is actually really cool and with great information and videos like this. Well, let me say that I am definitely looking forward to seeing more videos from you as a new subscriber to your channel.

[@SKIP-yj3xp]

Gladiator must have had a power upgrade, because he was knocked out cold by Cannonball in Uncanny X-men #341 from 1997.

[@CHARLESJOHNSON-gv7zy]

THIS CHANNEL IS 'EXCELSIOR' 👍 ..

[@yourtube1424]

That little bit 3 minutes in about Strontia and the Strontians just reminded me of the Viltrumites especially seeing them arrive in numbers. They value honour and duty above all else similarly to how the Viltrumites value Strength as their most important trait. That Wraith plague aswell just like the Scourge virus!

[@rjm2492]

One of my favorite characters ever. He’s incredibly relatable

[@glennwatson3313]

Hmmm, the Shi'ar Imperial Guard seem familar to me in some way.

[@SaperBossTv]

Did you watch the 90s X-Men cartoon when you were a kid?

[@glennwatson3313]

@@SaperBossTv I was joking. Of course they are a copy of the Legion of Superheroes.

[@elyaqui5324]

You should Do Jamie Madrox aka Multiple Man. Dude is just awesome! And entertaining as Hell

[@alexagaba284]

Timely 🙏

[@joelnunez6592]

The Shi'ar ! Grabbing popcorn.

[@McMahonHater]

For the record The Imperial Card were carbon copies of the Legion of Superheroes.

[@tbcat2001]

it is funny, because as I read more about The Imperial Guard than the Legion, when I read legion I always try to remember which guardian was based in them XD

[@McMahonHater]

@@tbcat2001 Well Gladiator is Superman/Superboy, Electron/Lightning Lad, Fang/Timbrewolf, Titan/Colossal Boy, Mentor/Braniac 5, Chameleon Boy/Hobgoblin,and Smasher/Ultra Boy are some I could connect.

[@juanbisonosuero3650]

@@McMahonHater to be fair I’m pretty sure the legion has more members

[@alanrickett2537]

It does now

[@McMahonHater]

@@juanbisonosuero3650 The Legion is a Legion the Impartial Guard is an elite squade of fighters.

[@trexadvent4726]

Can you do history of the characters mentioned in this video? Are you going to do history of others from the Shi'ar empire like Vulcan, Lilandra and Death bird?

[@markherron1407]

Kallark is a version of SUPERMAN Blessings and HUGS 👑💜

[@markshulusky6680]

You never mentioned how the IG is Marvel's rip off of DC's Legion Of Superheroes. Tempest=Lightning Lad, Oracle=Saturn Girl, Hobgoblin=Chameleon Boy, Fang=Timbor Wolf, Mentor=Brainiac Five, etc., etc., etc..

[@glennwatson3313]

I don't see it.

[@Joseph_Drew_III]

That’s because he: 1. Stays in-universe 2. Actually respects the material he covers 3. Isn’t a whiny little dc suckup like you

[@joshuagaray4330]

​@@glennwatson3313 It's literally a one for one just Google it and the inception of the characters

[@thepikachugamer6775]

Ok bozo

[@joshuagaray4330]

Why 🧐 isn't my comment there anymore lmfao 😂

[@jetblackwarhawk6010]

Great video, I’m still just curious about something. Are the guardsmen supposed to be mutant of their respective species (like the Ginyu force or even the X-men themselves) or are their gifts common in all their races and they are just the strongest of their people?

[@moblacklion9766]

Wow! Soon like I just watched the marvel version of the legion of superheroes

[@na5567]

With the new Cap movie coming now would be a great time to discuss the Red Hulks and Skaar!!

[@trexadvent4726]

Can you do history of the Elementals(Hellfire, Magnum, Hydron and Zephyr), Bastion, Master Mold, Nimrod, Inferno, Zora_Vukovic Victorious, Night Nurse, Lilandra, Death bird, Lady-Lotus, Sundragon and Phyla_Vell along with the Supreme Intelligence, Puppet_Master, Diablo, Mole_Man and Angel Salvador/Tempest along with Exodus and Ex-Nhilo?

[@alexmeza6486]

I wanna see Gladiator fight the High Evolutionary, that would be like Superman vs Brainiac right there

[@quentinfogger5755]

So when are you going to do history of Zora_Vukovic Victorious since you did the history of Dr_Doom?

[@trexadvent4726]

What was up with the Smashers and their Exospex like are they similar to the Nova Corps? Is Izzy Kane with the Exospex similar to Richard Rider with the Nova Helmet?

[@quentinfogger5755]

Can you do history of the Living_Brain, the Elementals, Cyclone, Hydro Man, Molten Man, Puck, Ahab, Rom_the_Spaceknight, Stingray, Noh-Varr Marvel_Boy, Starbrand, Nightmask, Ava Ayala the White Tiger, Crossfire, Living Laser, Century, Lore and Technovore?

[@quentinfogger5755]

Can you do history of Ironheart, Amatsu-Mikaboshi, Arno_Stark Iron Man, Squirrel_Girl, Constrictor, Deathlok, Amadeus_Cho, the Griever, Pepper Potts AKA Rescue and the Agents of Atlas along with Crescent, Morgan_Le_Fey, White Fox and Luna Snow?

[@theelementalmonster4121]

Please do Sunfire!!! Not many channels have videos on him :(

[@mrsouthuk]

Never forget when he put the Thing through like 20 buildings 😂 and dropped the Baxter building on him

[@manveltutundjyan4933]

please make a video on vulcan

[@trexadvent4726]

Can you do history of S'ym, Shroud, Master Pandemonium, Sleepwalker, D'Spayre, Lilith, Chthon, Mephisto, Black heart, Dormammu, Doyle Dormammu, Clea, Nightmare and Pkzkrfmknna along with Crystal, Magma and Vance_Astrovik AKA Justice?

[@juanbisonosuero3650]

The shear the most underappreciated part of the X-Men universe

[@ivormoto6136]

Finally

[@trexadvent4726]

What are the Shi'ar like compared to other alien races like the Kree and the Skrulls? Who's the best leader like Lilandra?

[@trexadvent4726]

Are you going to do history of lesser known characters like Rom_the_Spaceknight, Stingray, Ultimo, Inferno, Zora_Vukovic Victorious, Flerken, Blacklash, Deathlok, Elematrix, Vertigo, Ahab, Orb, Speed freak, Masked Raider, Red_Wolf, Tarantula, Forge, Bishop, Lilandra, Death bird, Titanium_Man, Crimson Dynamo, Dreadknight, Deathcry, Kobik AKA the Cosmic Cube, Blizzard, Avril Kincaid Quasar, Starbrand, Nightmask, Bastion, Master Mold, Nimrod, Starhawk, Fixer, Whirlwind, Chemistro, Whiplash, the Controller, Madam_Masque, Count_Nefaria, Ava Ayala the White Tiger, Crossfire, Living Laser, Century, Lore and Technovore?

[@howardallan7849]

Marvel's version of the LoSH.

[@jermf35]

So he's superman lol

[@trexadvent4726]

Apart from the founding members like the Gladiator, Who do you think is the best member of the Imperial Guard which expanded later on?

[@thechimpmaster]

are the Spartoi the same as the Spartax

[@williamestes629]

I think a character similar to Mammoth showed up in a team of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

[@quentinfogger5755]

Who do you think is the best original member of the Imperial Guard between Gladiator, Magic, Mentor and Quasar? Who would win between them?

[@trexadvent4726]

What do you think is the best thing about the Gladiator and the Shi'ar Imperial Guard? Which one of their powers and abilities do you think is the best?

[@juanbisonosuero3650]

Talking about reverse omenages Since Moon Dancer seems to base On down star except she doesn’t have wings while in the Brandis legion down star now doesn’t have wings and do some weird energy to create them(do you know by that point you should not even bother to include them)

[@quentinfogger5755]

What would happen if we saw the Gladiator and the Shi'ar Imperial Guard on the Big Screen or TV Shows? Apart from characters like the Gladiator, Who all from the Shi'ar empire are yet to appear in the X-Men 97 show?

[@quentinfogger5755]

How's Gladiator compared to Hyperion, Blue Marvel and Sentry who are all Marvel versions of DC Superman?

[@thomasstevens1157]

Going into FF #249 (or was it # 250?) to give a little more explanation as to how Gladiator's power works would have been a good idea, and more to the point how to combat it. Gladiator is ridiculously powerful, basically the "Superman" of Marvel without saying so. (OK, I didn't come up with this, someone else did... and they're right, Gladiator was Byrne's version of Superman for the MCU.) Another good bit of MCU (Marvel Comic Universe, not the now crappy Marvel Cinematic Universe) history would have been the FF story where Galactus was basically sucking in the whole freakin' universe... Gladiator joined the FF, Thor, and Iron Man, and suffice to say Gladiator is made of sterner stuff than pretty much all of the others combined. (Provided, of course, he doesn't lose confidence.) Which raises the question: Just how powerful is this muldoon??? Kinda like Kal El (Kal'ark, or whatever, lol, c'mon... a little too on the nose?!), this dude is almost as powerful as you want him to be... he's a "McGuffin", an all-powerful adversary that serves only to stop something that otherwise wouldn't necessarily be stopped by the mainline MCU characters. (*One glaring difference would be when Gladiator lost a short battle to Cannonball, Sam Guthrie... Gladiator thought he would crush Sam, but found out Cannonball wasn't a pushover, and lost his mojo, lol.) All in all, the story of Gladiator is interesting, but nothing that could really be explored (try as they might)... take him for what he is, and enjoy. ;}

[@christopherulichney]

Well now that you crossed the invisible line of Marvel analogs of DC teams I have to ask for a video on the Marvel version of the JLA , THE SQUADRON SUPREME. As always, MAKE MINE THE MERRY MARVELITE!!!!

[@mathewblaine1109]

Cool I’ve always have wondered how a vs between the two would come out

[@christopherulichney]

How about a 4 way battle, Justice League vs. Crime Syndicate vs. Squadron Sinister vs. Squadron Supreme.

[@vjvtobar9736]

Could we ever see the history of shannna the shedevill that are history of Officer peace and when can we see part 2 of history of Spider-Man

[@trexadvent4726]

How are the Imperial Guard compared to the X-Men since both teams have countless members?

[@patrickmoler8025]

Superman and the Legion of Superheroes!

[@MrMetro-mt5qv]

The bird people of outer space.

[@lucaselliott2097]

Giggled when he called the New Shiar Empire a "Fledgling Empire." Lol

[@drewwilson9149]

This was one is dense. I hope there’s not a test.

[@mdwesquire]

I wonder how it took 26 minutes to say Legion of Superheroes

[@jonathanathor117]

Gladiator is arguably the 1st primarch to ever exist.

[@jackieanderson9408]

😊😊

[@kevinboutwell]

aw yeah History of the Marvel Universe

[@mauriciomartell2433]

Kall Ark? Stronian...? seriously? Alucard ! You got company

[@transfan1988]

Are the Empereal Guard members mutants themselfs?

[@lisaroberts8556]

No. These are Alien and Cosmic Beings.

[@TomE.V.]

1st time i saw Gladiator was in the "Juggernaut B!tch" video 😁

[@RobertSpiller]

To the marvel writers...why don't you make gladiator as powerful and strong as Superman over there at DC?

[@joedewitt8696]

Gladiator is superman, but with better hair

[@juanbisonosuero3650]

A legion of super Beans

[@Spawned_from_the_beyond]

It's allways funny to hear someone say strontian because stront in dutch means shit.

[@matthewst537]

What frigged up stuff did Charles get up to with female bird person

[@anthonymolden4684]

Techno gladiator.

[@Mario2M]

She's so cringe smh😂 yet Trell thinking about the views him and 16 would get while Smacc and Heather talking sh*t 😂

[@quentinfogger5755]

Are you going to do history of Ironheart, M'Baku, Namora, Attuma and Shuri as the Black Panther since they played a major role in the Black Panther Wakanda Forever movie?

[@Mario2M]

9:19 WTF IS THAT?!?! The variant "Bloated Corpse Gladiator" smh that artist SUCKS 😂