Gladiator (Shi'ar)
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- For the former Daredevil villain, See Gladiator (Daredevil character).
Gladiator (Kallark) is a fictional character that appears in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is the praetor of the elite corps of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard and first appeared in X-Men Vol. 1, #107 (October 1977). He was created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum.
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[edit] Fictional character history
Gladiator is the Praetor (leader) of the elite corps of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard - an army of powerful beings that enforce Shi'ar Imperial law on all planets within the Shi'ar Galaxy. The elite corps also protects and carries out the personal directives of the majestor or majestrix (emperor or empress) of the Shi’ar Empire. While very loyal, Gladiator is also extremely arrogant and he feels superior to all humanoids. This actually increases Gladiator's abilities, as his powers are linked to his own sense of self-confidence.
Gladiator's first known encounter with Terrans occurs when the Imperial Guard battles the X-Men at the command of then-Shi'ar Emperor D'Ken. [1] Gladiator and several members of the Guard fight the X-Men once more when new Shi'ar Empress Lilandra Neramani and Professor Charles Xavier arrange a trial by combat to decide the fate of the out of control Dark Phoenix. [2]
Years later, Gladiator arrives on Earth and battles the Fantastic Four in the mistaken belief that they are Skrull shapeshifters. With the help of Spider-Man and Captain America the real Skrulls are exposed and captured. [3]
[edit] Coup
Lilandra's sister, Deathbird, stages a successful coup and becomes the new majestrix of the Shi'ar Empire. Despite Gladiator's loyalty to Lilandra and his qualms about certain aspects of Deathbird's rule, he continues to serve the Shi'ar Empire in his role as a Praetor of the Imperial Guard. It is during this period that Gladiator encounters the Spaceknight, Rom. Deathbird later commands the entire Imperial Guard to fight the combined forces of the Starjammers and Excalibur so that she can claim the power of the Phoenix Force for herself. When Deathbird is struck down by a returning Lilandra, Gladiator orders the Guard to retreat.[issue # needed]
[edit] Meeting the Marvels
Gladiator also encounters two Avengers during Operation: Galactic Storm. Gladiator defeats Wonder Man but is then beaten by the Eric Masterson Thor. [4] Gladiator next appears alongside Beta Ray Bill; the Silver Surfer and others in the war against Tyrant, who is finally driven off by Thanos. [5] It is soon after this that Gladiator defends Shi'ar space and defeats Hyperion and battles Supreme until deadlocked and both retire. [6]
When Lilandra later learns that many of Earth's heroes have sacrificed their lives to stop Onslaught, she dispatched eight members of the Imperial Guard - including Gladiator - to protect Earth. While on Earth, the Guard uncover a plot by a militant Kree faction who want revenge for Earth's involvement in the Kree/Shi'ar war. The plot is foiled, but not before the Supreme Intelligence is able to re-incorporate itself after supposedly being killed at the end of the war.
While on Earth, Gladiator also asks the X-Men to battle the alien menace known as the Phalanx on his behalf, and with the telepathic Guardsman Oracle find a fugitive from Shi'ar justice, which leads to a fierce battle with the Hulk.
Gladiator and the Imperial Guard later return to active duty in Shi'ar space, and prevent an assassination attempt on Lilandra by the Ronan the Accuser and his unwilling pawns, the royal family of the Inhumans. [7]
After his Empress Lilandra - under the mental control of Charles Xavier's mutant twin sister Cassandra Nova - orders the destruction of all mutants on Earth, Gladiator leads the Guard in an assault on the X-Men's mansion home. Fortunately, the true threat is revealed and the Guard and the X-Men manage to defeat Nova and free Lilandra.
Gladiator returned to Earth under the command of Empress Lilandra in a mission to capture the Uni-Power and bring it back for evaluation. After an encounter with Susan Richards, Gladiator invites the Uni-Power back to the Shi'ar Empire as their guest. Although the Uni-Power agrees, it is captured en route by Krosakis, an energy leeching warlord who forces the Uni-Power into his body to become Captain Universe. Gladiator attempts to stop Krosakis but fails, with the warlord finally beaten by the Silver Surfer.
Gladiator recently battled the true Thor at the behest of Zarrko the Tomorrow Man, [8] and travels with the entire Guard to confront Vulcan, a mutant determined to destroy the Shi'ar Empire. Although Vulcan kills several members of the Guard, Gladiator manages to defeat him delivers Vulcan to a Shi'ar prison facility.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Gladiator possesses a number of superhuman capabilities as a result of his unique alien physiology. The most powerful member of the Imperial Guard, Gladiator has performed feats such as lifting buildings [9] ; staggering foes with energy vision or freezing them in place with frost breath [10]; moving in space at hyperspeed and surviving supernovas. [11] Reed Richards theorized that Gladiator's powers were in part psionic,[12] that his abilities are linked in some way to his own self-confidence. This was key to his defeat by Cannonball; that hero used his powers to absorb the force of Gladiator's punch and rechannel it into his own energy field, allowing him to survive the blow unscathed. Gladiator was utterly dumb-founded at Cannonball's survival, unable to believe that the mutant had apparently simply shrugged off the punch. Struck by a sudden sense of doubt, Gladiator's powers weakened considerably, allowing Cannonball to knock him senseless.
It has also been discovered that Gladiator is vulnerable to a certain unspecified wavelength of radiation which weakens him considerably.[13]
[edit] Appearances in other media
Gladiator appeared in the X-Men animated series in the 1990s.
He also appears as a boss in the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance video game, along with several other Guardsmen.
[edit] References
- ^ Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1, #107
- ^ Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1, #137
- ^ Fantastic Four Vol. 1, #250
- ^ Thor Vol. 1, #445
- ^ Silver Surfer Vol. 3, #79 - 81
- ^ Gladiator/Supreme #1 (1997)
- ^ The Inhumans Vol. 3, # 1- 4
- ^ Thor Vol. 2, #34 - 35
- ^ Fantastic Four Vol. 1, #249
- ^ Thor Vol. 2, #35
- ^ Fantastic Four Vol. 1, #249
- ^ Fantastic Four Vol. 1, #250
- ^ Hulk Annual Vol. 1, 1997
