Imperial Guard (comics)
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- For the Mentor who is head of the Titanian Eternals, see Mentor (Marvel Comics). For the Tempest who is a member of the Exemplars, see Tempest (Exemplar). For the DC Comics supervillain, see Neutron (DC Comics).
The Imperial Guard is a team of fictional super-powered alien warriors in the Marvel Comics universe. The Imperial Guard serves the ruler of the Shi'ar Empire (currently Lilandra Neramani). The original incarnation of the Imperial Guard were created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum. The team first appeared in X-Men volume 1 #107 and its most notable appearance was at the conclusion of the Dark Phoenix Saga, where they defeated the X-Men in the Phoenix's trial by combat, but the team lost to Phoenix from one attack. The Imperial Guard, consisting of dozens of known Guardsmen, is led by Gladiator.
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[edit] Similarity to DC's Legion of Super-Heroes
The Imperial Guard has many intentional resemblances to DC Comics' Legion of Super-Heroes. The Guard is headed by Gladiator, who is the team's analogue to the LSH's Superboy and by association is also analogous to Superman. Most of the other members are direct equivalents in super-powers and have similar details of costume design to specific Legionnaires, but there are a number who differ greatly from their counterparts or who have no counterpart at all. The original Imperial Guard members seen in X-Men #107 were designed by artist Dave Cockrum, who had previously been best known for his work on the Legion of Super-Heroes, and all had direct counterparts among the Legionnaires. (Nightcrawler was intended to be in a Legion spinoff team book, but Cockrum left the book before he could be introduced, so he brought the character over to Marvel. [1]) Later Guardsmen, beginning with the members introduced in X-Men #137, moved away from the Legion pastiche and began introducing characters with no Legionnaire counterparts. New Guardsmen corresponding to the LSH would not be introduced until the 1990s' Avengers crossover "Operation: Galactic Storm".
During Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's run on New X-Men, a new version of the Imperial Guard was introduced: the Shi'ar Superguardian Elite. It is unknown what, if any, distinction exists between the Guard and the Elite, although many old Guardsmen were also members of the Elite. The Elite may have been intended as analogues for the post-reboot Legion of Super-Heroes specifically. Unlike the previous iteration of the Guard, all of the Elite could fly, thanks to a "Superguardian flight patch" worn by each member (referencing the Legionnaires' flight rings).
As of the Guard's most recent appearance in Uncanny X-Men #480, the Imperial Guard suffered heavy casualties in battle with Vulcan. Those confirmed dead are Smasher, Titan, Impulse, Neutron, Hobgoblin, and Cosmo. Oracle and Nightside were injured, but may not have been killed. Gladiator, Scintilla, Manta, Earthquake, Mentor, and Flashfire survived. The status of the rest of the Imperial Guard is unknown as yet.
[edit] Collective list of titles
- Avengers vol. 1 #345
- Avengers West Coast #80-82
- Captain America vol. 1 #398
- Classic X-Men #14
- Excalibur vol. 1 #69-70
- Exiles #3-4, 87-88
- Imperial Guard #1-3
- Inhumans vol. 3 #3-4
- New X-Men vol. 1 #117, 122-126, 133
- Quasar #32-33, 54-56
- Rom Annual #4
- Starblast #1-4
- Starjammers #4
- Thor vol. 1 #445-446
- Uncanny X-Men #107-109, 136-137, 155, 157-158, 162, 275-277, 341, 467-468, 477, 480
- What If? #55-56
- X-Men Spotlight on ... Starjammers #2
