Gladiator and the Guard face off against the new batch of Nova Centurions whom they quickly defeat. Medusa shouts that the Shi'ar will pay with their blood for what they have done. Gladiator says that they have made their statement, and the Imperial Guard leave. Ronan also falls as he tries to help Crystal. The Guard also captures Princess Lilandra who is with the Kree and Inhumans. Gladiator takes on Black Bolt and is able to defeat him with some help from White Noise. As Crystal of the Inhuman Royal Family and Ronan the Accuser are about to be married to unite the Inhumans with the Kree, they are attacked by Gladiator and the Guard. Gladiator of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard leads the assault against the Inhumans. Vulcan then embarks on an ambitious plan to conquer the rest of the universe. The Inhumans and Kree reply in kind, attacking the Shi'ar in the following issue. The first issue sets up this conflict and shows an attack at the wedding of Ronan the Accuser and Crystal - a betrothal arranged by the Inhuman king, Black Bolt, to unite the two races, resolve ancient hostilities and for common defense against mutual enemies. They come into direct conflict with Emperor Vulcan and his campaign of expansion for the Shi'ar. In the aftermath of the Secret Invasion storyline, Black Bolt and the Inhumans return to the Kree for their right to lineage as rulers. See also: X-Men: Kingbreaker Opening Shots
These four stories were later collected and published as War of Kings: Warriors 1-2.
A series on Marvel Digital Comics, War of the Kings: Warriors by Christos Gage and Jay Faerber, tied into the storyline, and featured different stories focusing on Gladiator, Blastaar, Lilandra and Crystal. Cebulski wrote two other tie-in mini-series, War of Kings: Darkhawk and War of Kings: Ascension.
Abnett and Lanning tied the main series into their other titles, Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova (vol 4). The event started in December 2008 with the mini-series X-Men: Kingbreaker, and continued in the Secret Invasion: War of Kings one-shot (Jan 2009) and War of Kings #1-6 (Mar - Aug 2009). The core series was written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and edited by Bill Rosemann. On July 18, 2008, posted a news article featuring a modified cover of Emperor Vulcan with the phrase "Who Will Rule?", accompanied by the text "Stay tuned to and get ready for the blockbuster answer at San Diego Comic-Con!" 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. Its tag line is "When kings collide, the galaxy will tremble". The Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova Corps, Darkhawk, and the Starjammers become involved in various ways. The story is about a war between the Vulcan-led Shi'ar empire and the Inhuman-led Kree empire. The six-issue limited series was published between March and August 2009. " War of Kings" is a comic book crossover storyline written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, published by Marvel Comics, and set in Marvel's main shared universe. Paul Pelletier ( Guardians of the Galaxy, Secret Invasion: War of Kings, War of Kings) Wellington Alves ( Nova, War of Kings: Ascension) War of Kings: The Savage World of Skaar #1ĭan Abnett ( Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, Secret Invasion: War of Kings, War of Kings)Īndy Lanning ( Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, Secret Invasion: War of Kings, War of Kings) Science fiction, space opera, superhero crossover