Ronan the Accuser
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ronan the Accuser | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Ronan the Accuser is a Marvel Comics alien primarily used as a supervillain, although he has been depicted as an anti-hero in subsequent story lines. He first appeared in Fantastic Four #65 (1967), and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
Contents |
[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Origins
Ronan the Accuser is a member of the Kree aristocracy, a group who can trace their ancestry back to the original Kree tribes on the planet Hala. Upon the completion of his formal education, he is enrolled in the Kree Public Accuser Corps. Ronan responds well to the training, and is steadily promoted. Finally, in a border incident, he stops a fleet of Skrull ships from entering Kree space. For this, he is made Supreme Accuser of the Kree Empire, responsible for enforcing the laws and decrees of the Kree Supreme Intelligence.
[edit] Earth activities
Ronan's duties often bring him into conflict with many of Earth's superheroes. His first appearance involves a confrontation with the Fantastic Four. When the Fantastic Four take a vacation on the island of T-Vu in the South Pacific, they are attacked by Kree Sentry 459, who had been left on the island thousands of years ago. The Sentry's last instructions were to keep all intruders off the island. When the Fantastic Four destroy the Sentry, the Supreme Intelligence sends them a dream in which they are instructed to await trial and execution by Ronan. Ronan attacks the Fantastic Four, but is ultimately defeated.
In the aftermath of the Kree-Shi'ar War, Ronan searches for ways to restore the Kree empire to its former glory, even going so far as to work for the Supreme Intelligence to achieve this goal. His schemes and machination include attempting to convince the Inhumans to fight for him and trying to steal the Kree Psyche-Magnetron from the watcher Uatu (a device capable of imbuing super-powers in Kree and humans). However, all of these efforts fail.
During the Maximum Security event, Ronan is assigned as warden of Earth when it is decided that the planet will become a prison for alien criminals. During this time, he absorbs the spores of Ego the Living Planet, becoming nearly omnipotent in the process. However, the hero Quasar is able to reabsorb the powers from Ronan and he is ultimately defeated.
[edit] Annihilation
- Main article: Annihilation
Ronan plays a role in the Annihilation limited-series crossover event. In an attempt to clear his name after being accused of treason, Ronan travels to the planet of Godthab Omega to find the witness who testified against him. On the planet he encounters the assassin Gamora and her band of warriors known as the Graces, one of which is the witness in question (Tana Nile). Although Ronan eventually discovers that it was an individual in the Kree Fiyero House who planned his betrayal, Tana Nile dies (a victim of the Annihilation wave) before a specific name can be given. By the end of the miniseries, Ronan sets off for Hala to defend the Kree empire from the approaching wave of destruction. He joins Nova's United Front in an attempt to defend off the Annihilation Wave.
In "Annihilation" #5, Ronan returns to Hala with Super-Skrull to dethrone the House Fiyero. After knocking Ravenous unconscious and killing the House Fiyero, Ronan attempts to locate the Supreme Intelligence, only to find that Fiyero has lobotomized it. Mercifully killing it, Ronan exits its chamber to thunderous cheers, now the Emperor of the Kree Empire.
[edit] Powers and abilities
As a Public Accuser, Ronan maintains a variety of powers, including:
- enhanced strength and endurance;
- the ability to adapt to hostile environments;
- enhanced intelligence;
- a keen, tactical mind;
- superior combat skills.
In addition, Ronan has worn a cybernetic suit of armor that enhances his natural abilities. The armor can generate electral charges and allows the wearer to cryogenically freeze a target. Ronan also uses a blaster and wields a cosmi-rod, a weapon which allows the user to control cosmic energy through mental command.
[edit] Kree Public Accusers
The Kree Public Accusers are the pre-eminent law-enforcement body in Kree Space. It is made up entirely of blue-skinned Kree, and follows the harsh Kree penal code, which allows death, exile and brainwashing as punishments.
All Public Accusers carry a cosmi-rod, a hammer-shaped weapon, of which the most powerful is the Ultimate Weapon, which is carried by the Kree Supreme Accuser. In addition, the Accusers wear powered armor, which increases their strength six-fold, and grants them certain abilities, such as heat vision.
In addition, Accusers are backed up by the Kree Sentries, an armada of living robots. The Sentries are active in duties considered too menial or long for an Accuser (for example, a Sentry is required to check on the Inhumans every 10,000 years to examine their progress). All Sentries are giant, with superhuman abilities, such as force-field projection, energy blasts, flight, and superhuman strength.
[edit] Other versions
[edit] Ultimate Ronan
The Ultimate version of Ronan the Accuser debuts in Ultimate Fantastic Four #35. The "God War" storyline in which Ronan appears draws not only on the space-faring Marvel characters Jack Kirby created, but also the Fourth World characters that Kirby created for DC Comics as well. When asked about readers' making connections betwen his storyline and Kirby's The Forever People, Mike Carey said in an interview, "Some of the characters are best viewed in [the context of the original story of the Fantastic Four's meeting with the Kree].Others call on different Kirby precursors."[1] In another interviews, Carey said "God War" "harks back to some very different Kirby concepts and situations, so the way it all fits together I think will genuinely surprise people. To name one thing, Ronan is Thanos's son - and the empire he serves is Thanos's empire, not the Kree."[2]
[edit] In other media
[edit] Television
Ronan appeared in the first episode of the new Fantastic Four animated series, "Trial By Fire", voiced by Michael Dobson.
Ronan brought Johnny Storm to a Kree stadium for trial and acted as Judge. Although he seemed fair at first, Ronan dropped the pretense after the other Fantastic Four members contested Johnny's sentencing to death. Ultimately, he was forced to back down when both the people and Supreme Intelligence decided to spare Johnny for the moment. Nevertheless, he said it "was not over" as he was unwillingly teleported away. He was later seen in a secret alignment with Commander Kl'rt when the Skrull were obtaining samples of the Fantastic Four's DNA.
[edit] External links
- Ronan the Accuser Bio at Marvel.com
- Newsarama: Furman on Ronan the Accuser-Simon Furman talks about the Annihilation: Ronan miniseries.
