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Imperial

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The Council fell, man! It's war across the galaxy -- across galaxies!

—Rocket Raccoon[source]

Synopsis

Pre-Conflict[]

On the planet Kal Lak' Thunn, the Inhuman Maximus the Mad challenges the Grandmaster to a game. He wagers that the Grandmaster can't incite a war between the powers of the Galactic Council, betting the entire Inhuman genetic codex on the outcome.

Within the Shi'ar Empire, a schism grows due to the increased decommissioning of old veteran members of the Imperial Guard. According to rumours, the next superguardian to be decommissioned will be Electron, who was also rumoured to be the bastard son of former majestor D'ken Neramani. The Grandmaster feeds these rumors and sways the formation of a rebel group called the Secret Alliance.

To achieve their goals, the Secret Alliance begins subterfuge against the Kree/Skrull Alliance by having Hobgoblin pose as the dead Skrull queen Veranke and radicalize her former devotees.[2]

Gamora, Darkhawk, and Captain Marvel all independently begin investigating the increased Skrull zealotry. Gamora and Darkhawk expose Veranke as an imposter, but Super-Skrull has already been radicalized and decides to continue the crusade in the real Veranke's honor.

As the two flee from the Super-Skrull, Maximus arrives and attempts to sway them to his side. When they refuse, he has the Cosmic Ghost Rider incapacitate them.[3]

War[]

Using their infiltration ability, the Skrulls begin secretly poisoning the rulers of Galactic Council member-worlds. Hiro-Kala of Sakaar En Nevo dies, while Empress Victoria of the Spartax Empire has to be placed in a medical coma to save her life.[4]

Hiro-Kala's father the Hulk arrives on Sakaar En Nevo and finds the planet in chaos. As death by poisoning counts as defeat by Sakaaran law, Hiro-Kala's family's claim to the throne is forfeit. Hulk assigns his cousin She-Hulk to take care of the place while he and Brawn seek answers from the Galactic Council.

Aboard the Fulcrum, headquarters of the Galactic Council, King J'son is in the process of lobbying the Galactic Council to form the Galactic Union, a formal consolidation of powers. The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda remains the main opposition to the plan.

Due to his daughter Victoria's coma, J'son tasks his estranged son Star-Lord with convincing Nova to investigate the poisonings. Nova refuses, considering himself retired.

At the following meeting of the Galactic Council, J'son publicly accuses the Kree/Skrull Alliance of the poisoning after having conducted his own investigation. The head of the Kree Ministry of Science admits to making the poison on commission for another member of the Galactic Council, but before he can say who he's assassinated by a sniper in Wakandan armor.

The sniper also kills J'son and blows up the meeting chamber, sending Emperor Dorrek VII and his husband Wiccan flying out into space.

As the Galactic Council members reconvene after the incident, they deem the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda culpable and prepare for war. Nova decides to come out of retirement and assist them.[4]

The Imperial Guard launches a daring raid on the planet Wakanda Prime and manages to take princess Shuri hostage. Enraged, T'Challa launches a counter-attack and is met in battle by the Hulk.

Shuri is interrogated by Nova and Star-Lord but successfully convinces them of her innocence. The Skrull agents which have infiltrated every ship in the battle finally reveal themselves, galvanized by Dorrek VII's apparent death, and begin killing everyone.

When Majestrix Xandra Neramani and Deathbird are surrounded by Skrulls, half the Skrulls turn out to actually be Shi'ar Hobgoblins and kill the other half. Electron officially declares his coup. Xandra manages to send a telepathic distress call to her father, Charles Xavier, moments before capture.[5]

Nova, Star-Lord, and Shuri manage to fly the Milano II through a Stargate just before its destroyed by Secret Alliance saboteurs, leaving the rest of the Council Armada stranded.[6]

The Grandmaster declares himself the winner and prepares to manipulate the Galactic Council into achieving peace once again, as he knows better than to leave the universe how Maximus wanted it.

Maximus, however, reveals his own plan. He has been secretly working under the orders of his older brother and usual rival Black Bolt. Black Bolt teleports in with Lockjaw and breaks the Grandmaster's entire body with a whisper.[2]

Skrull Uprising[]

Even with the Skrulls revealed, the Hulk refuses to stop attacking Black Panther, forcing him to retreat. He sends a message to all the Council Armada ships, asking for them to surrender in order to figure out the situation.

Ronan the Accuser is unconvinced of Wakanda's innocence and attacks a military base on Wakanda Prime before feigning interest in the ceasefire. Black Panther is informed of the incident and rescues a young boy named Femi from the ruins, whose father died protecting him. Black Panther takes the young boy into his care. Wakandan technicians begin repairing the Stargate.[7]

Nova, Star-Lord, and Shuri arrive at the remains of the planet Xandar, as Nova plans to use the Backup Worldmind to figure out who's really behind the war.

Nova has trouble connecting to the Worldmind at first due to his traumatic memories of Worldmind Prime, but eventually overcomes them and through debating with the Worldmind realizes that the Inhumans masterminded the conflict to regain their former control over the Kree Empire.

This revelation has come too late, as the Inhuman Royal Family has already presented themselves to the universe as heroes by quelling the Skrull uprising.[8]

The Secret Alliance claims full control over the Shi'ar Empire and orders the public execution of Xandra Neramani and Deathbird.

Charles Xavier and the newly-resurrected Lilandra Neramani interrupt the execution, telepathically freezing the crowd. Deathbird volunteers to distract the Secret Alliance by escaping with a Hobgoblin brainwashed into thinking it's Xandra.

After learning of their deception, Electron summons the Shi'ar Death Commandos and tasks them with killing the fugitives. Lilandra reveals to Xandra that she plans to recruit four others that have been cast out by the Secret Alliance takeover: Rocket Raccoon, Corsair, Danger, and Kid Gladiator.[9]

Formation of the Galactic Union[]

With the Stargate repaired, the Council Armada returns to the Fulcrum and finds it occupied by the Skrulls. The Imperial Guard is informed of the Shi'ar Empires change in leadership and leaves before the battle begins.

The Hulk Black Panther, Brawn, and Ronan the Accuser fight through the army of Skrulls to reach the Super-Skrull. They are aided by the sudden and conspicuous appearance of Black Bolt.

Nova, Star-Lord, and Shuri arrive too late, with Black Bolt already victorious. Shuri reveals the truth to Black Panther after the battle, but he decides not to act on it for now.

With the war concluded, the Galactic Council votes to officially transition into the Galactic Union. Star-Lord is offered the position as the leader of the Union and accepts in his father J'son's memory, causing Nova to punch him into a wall and declare that they're no longer friends.

Now a part of the Galactic Union, the Inhuman Royal Family holds court on Attilan and decides to banish Maximus despite all he's done for them. Maximus compliments his brother's new-found sense of cruelty and tells them they'll know where he is when they inevitably need his help again.

As he sits as leader of the Galactic Union, Star-Lord muses that the Inhuman Royal Family didn't get everything they wanted, as the newly-separated Kree Empire is suspicious of their telling of events. On top of that, the Kree Empire is further disrupted by rumors of a Kree messiah from the future, as well as about Phyla-Vell and Genis-Vell.

Star-Lord hopes that Victoria can be successfully revived and take over for him, but until then he's content with leading the Galactic Union.[10]

Prelude

Issues/Episodes

Tie-Ins

Aftermath

Notes

  • A trailer was released by Marvel on YouTube to promote this event:
  • The series that sprang out of Imperial were meant to be ongoing series, but due to apparent low sales they were rendered into limited miniseries, with the planned Exiles series being apparently canceled or shelved.[11]

Trivia

See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References

References

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