"War of Kings" is a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

storyline written by

Dan Abnett Dan Abnett (born 12 October 1965) is an English comic book writer and novelist. He has been a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, sinc ...

and

Andy Lanning Andy Lanning is an English comic book writer and inker, known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and for his collaboration with Dan Abnett. Career Lanning works primarily at Marvel Comics and DC Comics as an inker. He has also pencill ...

, published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

, and set in Marvel's main

shared Shared may refer to: * Sharing * Shared ancestry or Common descent * Shared care * Shared-cost service * Shared decision-making in medicine * Shared delusion (disambiguation), Shared delusion, various meanings * Shared government * Shared intellig ...

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...

. The six-issue limited series was published between MarchCCI: DnA and Rosemann on “War of Kings”

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

, July 27, 2008Abnett and Lannig: Readying for War of Kings

Newsarama Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website GamesRadar+, also owned by FutureUS. History N ...

, December 18, 2008 and August 2009. The story is about a war between the

Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...

-led

Shi'ar The Shi'ar ( ) are a fictional species of aliens appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Shi'ar Empire (or Imperium), is a vast collection of alien species, cultures, and worlds situated close to the Skrull and Kree Emp ...

empire and the

Inhuman Inhuman may refer to: Comics *Inhumans, a fictional race in Marvel Comics ** ''Inhuman'' (comics), a comic book series focusing on Inhumans ** ''Inhumans'' (TV series), a television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe *Kristoff Vernard, ...

-led

Kree The Kree, briefly known as the Ruul, are a fictional scientifically and technologically advanced militaristic list of fictional extraterrestrials, alien race appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are native to the p ...

empire. The

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

Corps,

Darkhawk Darkhawk (Christopher Powell) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in ''Darkhawk'' #1 (March 1991), and was created by writer Tom DeFalco and artist Mike Manley. The c ...

, and the Starjammers become involved in various ways. Its tag line is "When kings collide, the galaxy will tremble".

Publication history

On July 18, 2008, Marvel.com posted a news article featuring a modified cover of ''

Emperor Vulcan Vulcan (Gabriel Summers) is a fictional character, fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''X-Men: Deadly Genesis'' #1 (January 2006). He is the third Summers brot ...

'' with the phrase "Who Will Rule?", accompanied by the text "Stay tuned to Marvel.com and get ready for the blockbuster answer at

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

!" At the SDCC it was announced that this was part of the build-up to the War of Kings, an outer-space storyline but focusing on the X-Men family of characters, rather than the cosmic entities. The core series was written by

and

and edited by Bill Rosemann. The event started in December 2008 with the mini-series '' X-Men: Kingbreaker'', and continued in the ''

Secret Invasion "Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight-issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008. The story involves a subversive, long-term in ...

: War of Kings'' one-shot (Jan 2009) and ''War of Kings'' #1-6 (Mar - Aug 2009). Abnett and Lanning tied the main series into their other titles, ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' and ''

'' (vol 4). C. B. Cebulski wrote two other tie-in mini-series, ''War of Kings:

'' and ''War of Kings: Ascension''. A series on Marvel Digital Comics, ''War of the Kings: Warriors'' by

Christos Gage Christos N. Gage is an American screenwriter and comic book writer. He is known for his work on the TV series ''Daredevil'', '' Hawaii Five-0'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', '' Numbers'' and the films '' The Breed'' and '' Teenage Cavem ...

and

Jay Faerber Jay Faerber (born 1972) is an American comic book and television writer. Faerber is known for his work on ''Generation X'' and ''New Warriors'' for Marvel Comics, and '' The Titans'' and '' Connor: Spotlight'' for DC Comics. He later wrote his ow ...

, tied into the storyline, and featured different stories focusing on

Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

Blastaar Blastaar (, ), sometimes called the Living Bomb-Burst and Blasstaar, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Blastaar is an opponent of the Fantastic Four and lives in the Negative Zone. He is also a ...

Lilandra Lilandra Neramani () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. She is the Empress, or Majestrix, of the Shi'ar Empire and shares a lifelong bond with the le ...

and

Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

. These four stories were later collected and published as ''War of Kings: Warriors'' 1-2.

Plot summary

Opening Shots

In the aftermath of the

storyline,

Black Bolt Black Bolt (Blackagar Boltagon) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appears in '' Fantastic Four'' #45 (December 1965). Black Bolt is the ...

and the

Inhumans The Inhumans are a fictional superhuman race of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many peop ...

return to the

for their right to lineage as rulers. They come into direct conflict with

and his campaign of expansion for the

. The first issue sets up this conflict and shows an attack at the wedding of

Ronan the Accuser Ronan the Accuser is a fictional character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Ronan was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby and he first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantasti ...

and

- a betrothal arranged by the Inhuman king, Black Bolt, to unite the two races, resolve ancient hostilities and for common defense against mutual enemies. The Inhumans and Kree reply in kind, attacking the Shi'ar in the following issue.

War of Kings main series

then embarks on an ambitious plan to conquer the rest of the universe.

of the Shi'ar

Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, in ...

leads the assault against the

. As

of the Inhuman Royal Family and

are about to be married to unite the Inhumans with the

, they are attacked by Gladiator and the Guard. Gladiator takes on

and is able to defeat him with some help from White Noise. The Guard also captures Princess Lilandra who is with the Kree and Inhumans. Ronan also falls as he tries to help Crystal. Gladiator says that they have made their statement, and the Imperial Guard leave.

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

shouts that the Shi'ar will pay with their blood for what they have done. Gladiator and the Guard face off against the new batch of Nova Centurions whom they quickly defeat. Gladiator's cousin, Xenith, shows up informing him that the Emperor has ordered Gladiator to present Lilandra to him. Gladiator quickly leaves, though he clearly shows his dislike for his cousin and her presence. Gladiator walks a fine line in doing his duty for an emperor he personally dislikes while still protecting Lilandra from his wrath. Later, the Starjammers, accompanied by a faction of the

, attack Gladiator's ship to extract Lilandra. He is taken out of the fight by

Rocket Raccoon Rocket Raccoon is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Keith Giffen, the character first appeared in ''Marvel Preview'' #7 (Summer 1976). He is an intelligent ...

, aided by Marvel Girl, until he sees through their trick. He quickly defeats the rest of their team and recaptures Lilandra before she can escape. She pleads with him again but another Guard interrupts her and demands that Gladiator do as the Emperor ordered and kill Lilandra and the others. After battling the Starjammers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, Gladiator is swayed by Lilandra's argument against Vulcan and kills a member of the Imperial Guard loyal to the Emperor, saying that he is loyal to Lilandra. In the next issue, Lilandra is killed by Darkhawk - Razor. Gladiator goes crazy and begins to attack all of his enemies. Vulcan and Black Bolt battle on a ship/bomb. Black Bolt has the final strike and seemingly kills Vulcan. As Crystal and Lockjaw are about to take Black Bolt away, Vulcan gets up and pushes Black Bolt to the ground. Just as Lockjaw and Crystal escape, their ship blows up and both kings are seemingly killed. Back on the Shi'ar home planet, Gladiator becomes the new emperor. Also, the explosion from the ship has literally made a hole in the fabric of space and time. This rift is actually the event that Starhawk (in ''Guardians of the Galaxy'') was trying to prevent. It's dubbed "The Fault." The Shi'ar fleet, suffering from the explosion, surrenders to the Inhumans, but the price is too high.

The Fraternity of Raptors

A second wearer of

armor calling himself Talon arrives on Earth and tells Chris Powell (the original wearer of the armor) he is part of an ancient organization known as "The Fraternity of Raptors," who were created to protect the universe. After millennia of dormancy, only Darkhawk and Talon are left, and their job now is to return the balance to the universe. Unfortunately for Chris, Talon has lied—when Chris accesses the memories in his armor, he concludes that the Fraternity of Raptors are the bad guys ... just as Talon apparently purges Chris's consciousness from the armor. A new identity for the armor, "Razor," emerges and takes control. Talon and Razor then recover the Cosmic Control Rod from Catastrophus, stopping briefly for Talon to implant a suggestion in the gestating

Annihilus Annihilus () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, primarily as an adversary to the Fantastic Four. The character debuted in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four Annual'' #6, which was published i ...

. Chris's personality was not wholly destroyed yet, and a vision of his father tells him that much of what he believed about the armor was false: the prior history, even

Evilhawk Darkhawk (Christopher Powell) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in ''Darkhawk'' #1 (March 1991), and was created by writer Tom DeFalco and artist Mike Manley. Th ...

himself, was a lie made up by Chris's mind, and the other armor is a second configuration that took control to cover earlier anger issues. Horrified, Chris' psyche breaks free of the prison in which it was locked, only for Chris to find himself on a great tree adorned with thousands of amulets like his own, where he encounters gargoyle-like creatures that urge him to return to the one from which he has just emerged. Meanwhile, in the

Negative Zone The Negative Zone is a fictional setting, an antimatter universe appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The location is depicted in various publications from Marvel, most frequently in ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Captain Mar ...

, Talon and Razor offer

the Cosmic Control Rod in exchange for his assistance influencing the outcome of the War of Kings. Talon then appears to

, telling him that the Fraternity was created in order to keep the Imperium strong. Talon also tells him, through the Datasong, that Blastaar is helping the Shi'ar, and also tells him of Lilandra's coup on Chandilar. Razor is later seen on Chandilar, disguised as a Shi'ar. Although Rachel Grey manages to see his true form, he shoots several Shi'ar before he kills Lilandra.

The Nova Corps

The newly reformed and under-trained

Nova Corps The Nova Corps is a fictional intergalactic military/police force appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Marv Wolfman, the Corps first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #205 (April 1979). They have since appe ...

suffer great casualties facing the Shi'ar Imperial Guard. When

's brother, Robbie, attempts to rescue a fellow corpsman he had befriended, he finds himself needing rescue. Nova and some more experienced centurions rescue Robbie and take Strontian and Ravenous into custody. The Kree territory that had been under Ravenous' control is left to "King" Blastarr.

The Guardians of the Galaxy

In an attempt to prevent, and then stop, the war, the

split into two groups. The team led by

tries to communicate with Vulcan, and

Star-Lord Star-Lord (Peter Jason Quill) is a fictional character and superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan, first appeared in ''Marvel Preview'' #4 (January 1976) ...

's team appeals to the Inhumans. Neither group has any success.

Tie-ins

December 2008: * '' X-Men: Kingbreaker'' #1 * ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' #8 January 2009: * ''

: War of Kings'' * ''War of Kings Saga'' * ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' #9 * ''X-Men: Kingbreaker'' #2 February 2009: * ''War of Kings:

'' #1 * ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' #10 * ''X-Men: Kingbreaker'' #3 March 2009: * ''War of Kings'' #1 * ''War of Kings: Darkhawk'' #2 * ''X-Men: Kingbreaker'' #4 * ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' #11 * ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' #12 * ''

'' #23 April 2009: * ''War of Kings'' #2 * ''War of Kings: Ascension'' #1 * ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' #13 * ''Nova'' #24 May 2009: * ''War of Kings'' #3 * ''War of Kings: Ascension'' #2 * ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' #14 * ''Nova'' #25 June 2009: * ''War of Kings'' #4 * ''War of Kings: Ascension'' #3 * ''War of Kings: The Savage World of Skaar'' * ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' #15 * ''Nova'' #26 July 2009: * ''War of Kings'' #5 * ''War of Kings: Ascension'' #4 * ''War of Kings: Warriors'' #1 * ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' #16 * ''Nova'' #27 August 2009: * ''War of Kings'' #6 * ''War of Kings: Warriors'' #2 * ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' #17 * ''Nova'' #28 September 2009: * ''War of Kings: Who Will Rule?''

Aftermath: Realm of Kings

Following the conclusion of ''War of Kings'' in August 2009 the one-shot ''War of Kings: Who Will Rule?'' was published, which served as an epilogue to ''War of Kings'' as well as setting the stage for '' Realm of Kings''. ''Realm of Kings'' began with an

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous one-shot in November 2009 and continued with three mini-series ''Realm of Kings: Inhumans'', ''Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard'' and ''Realm of Kings: Son of Hulk''. As with ''War of Kings'' both ''Nova'' and ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' also tied into the event with ''Nova'' #31-35 and ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' #20-24.

Collected editions

References

External links

* at Marvel.com *
NYCC: Marvel's War of Kings Panel

, February 6, 2009
NYCC '09 - Marvel's 'War of Kings' FULL Report

, February 6, 2009
Read War Of Kings #1 Free
(press release),

Comics Bulletin Comics Bulletin was a daily website covering the American comic-book industry. History Silver Bullet Comicbooks The site was founded in January 2000 as Silver Bullet Comicbooks by its New Zealand-based publisher/editor Jason Brice. During this ...

ALL THE KINGS' MEN: The Kings & Queens

, February 3, 2009
ALL THE KINGS' MEN: The Bishops

, February 18, 2009
ALL THE KINGS' MEN: The Knights

, March 5, 2009
ALL THE KINGS' MEN: The Rooks

, April 1, 2009