BIOGRAPHY - Page 2
When the Shi’ar came under attack from the Phalanx, Gladiator was unable to assist, due to being honor bound to remain on Earth. Instead, he went to retrieve the X-Men for aid. He quickly found himself in a fight with Cannonball, due to misunderstanding. Surprisingly, the young mutant fared well, breaking Kallark’s confidence and winning their scuffle. Though he teleported the X-Men onto the royal battle cruiser, Kallark chose to leave Cannonball out as the Shi’ar found it without honor to place a youth like Sam in such a danger that was ahead for his teammates. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #341]
Later, a hunt for the shape shifting refugee Elmaron brought Gladiator into conflict with the incredible Hulk, as the alien was posing as the green goliath’s son. Realizing the Hulk’s strength, Kallark attempted to fly the green goliath into space to subdue him, but was taken out with a thunderclap to the head. In a rage, Gladiator burned a hole through the Hulk’s chest, but was afterward knocked unconscious by the brute. During the heat of the battle, Elmaron escaped. [Incredible Hulk Annual #1997]
When Cassandra Nova, in Charles Xavier’s body, mentally dominated Empress Lilandra and the Imperial Guard, Gladiator found himself as an unwitting puppet of the villainous mummadrai. Under her orders, he led the Imperial Guard in an attack against the X-Men but were soon broken from their mental control. Turning against Nova, Gladiator found himself utterly defeated and humiliated by the mummadrai. Thankfully, she was defeated shortly after by the X-Men, though the incident left his beloved empress mentally scarred. [New X-Men (1st series) #123-126]
Responding to the sudden disappearance of the entire population of a Shi’ar colony, Gladiator and Oracle discovered the Beyonder had returned, manifested as a mortal woman named the Maker. Oracle managed to shut the woman’s mind down, absorbing a small amount of her memories in the process, and she was locked away in the Kyln. When Oracle realized the true identity of the Maker and the threat she posed, Gladiator fabricated a treason charge in order to place himself undercover in the Kyln and kill the Maker when the chance arose.
Kallark found himself allied with fellow prisoner Peter Quill, aka the Star-Lord, and embroiled in a battle for control of the Kyln between two rival religious factions; one worshipping the Maker, the other trying to take her down. The sudden surprise arrival of the Mad Titan Thanos proved fortuitous, as he ended the threat of the Maker, rendering her brain dead and essentially trapping her in her mortal form. The act earned Gladiator’s respect; the Praetor shaking the Mad Titan’s hand and allowing him to leave the Kyln freely. He wasn’t entirely won over by Thanos, though, as he later freed Star-Lord from the Kyln, recruiting him into the Imperial Guard to help take Thanos down if needed. [Thanos #8-12]
Later, Kallark reunited with former allies Silver Surfer and Beta Ray Bill when the group each engaged the Champion in honorable single combat for his title as ruler of Skardon. Each of them were utterly defeated and it was up to She-Hulk to defeat the Champion through legal expertise. [She Hulk (1st series) #7-8]
Under the command of his empress, Gladiator returned to Earth to locate the Uni-Power, which was recently damaged, and return it to the empire for study. Tracking the Uni-Power, the Praetor brashly barged into the Baxter building, which brought him into conflict with the Fantastic Four. The fight escalated when Susan Storm bonded with the Uni-Power and the pair ended up causing a massive tsunami on the west coast. Realizing his error, Kallark accepted the Uni-Power, briefly becoming Captain Universe, in order to race Susan to Los Angeles and save the city.
Mending fences with the Fantastic Four, Gladiator invited the Uni-Power back to the Shi’ar homeworld as a guest, promising it would come to no harm. The Uni-Power accepted and Gladiator escorted it into space, only to be captured by the energy devouring warlord Krosakis. Powerless and trapped, Kallark was helpless to act as Krosakis devoured the Uni-Power and stole it for himself. Thankfully, the Silver Surfer intervened, freeing both Gladiator and the Uni-Power. [Captain Universe: Invisible Woman #1, Captain Universe: Silver Surfer #1]
When the Imperial Guard responded to a series of Shi’ar stargates being destroyed, they discovered it was the work of the powerful mutant Vulcan, brother of the X-Men Cyclops and Havok. Vulcan managed to kill a number of guardsmen but Gladiator himself was too resilient and took the mutant down, taking out one of his eyes in the process. Despite his strong desire to kill the man, Kallark was under orders to take him alive and did as he was ordered. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #480]
That decision to follow orders lead to a massive upheaval in the Shi’ar Imperium. The captured Vulcan connected with Deathbird and the pair returned the catatonic D’Ken back to consciousness. As D’Ken was the rightful emperor, Kallark’s allegiances immediately shifted back to him. This shift in power lead to a civil war between D’Ken’s forces and those loyal to Lilandra. To solidify power, D’Ken arranged a grand wedding between Vulcan and Deathbird at the M’Kraan Crystal, which would also double as the execution of Charles Xavier. Naturally, Lilandra’s forces, including the X-Men and Starjammers, attacked the wedding and Gladiator protected his emperor.
Despite his feelings for Lilandra, Kallark restrained her and prevented her from interfering as Vulcan hurled Xavier into the M’Kraan Crystal in an unsuccessful attempt to kill him, though he did ask her forgiveness.
To make matters worse, Vulcan killed D’Ken and claimed the throne for himself. When Deathbird confirmed him as the new emperor, Gladiator served him as loyally as he had the previous emperors before him. He fought Lilandra’s forces and protected Vulcan from harm, leading the retreat. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #481-486]
The civil war between Vulcan’s forces and Lilandra’s forces continued to escalate but, during a pitched battle in orbit over Feather’s Edge, the mysterious Scy’ar Tal attacked. Vulcan’s flagship was destroyed in the initial assault, though the mutant emperor survived and, alongside Gladiator, initiated a fight with their attacker’s leader, the Eldest. The Eldest did not consider them to be true Shi’ar and gave them the opportunity to flee. The pair instead attacked, but the Eldest proved too powerful, resisting Vulcan’s energy attack and breaking Gladiator’s arm.
The threat faced by the Scy’ar Tal forced an alliance between Vulcan’s forces and the rebels. Gladiator got to have a rematch with the Eldest and, together with Vulcan and Havok, managed to kill him and seize control of the alien’s super weapon Finality. Naturally, Vulcan ordered a betrayal of the Starjammers, capturing several of the pirates. [X-Men: Emperor Vulcan #1-5]
Afterward, Emperor Vulcan commenced a campaign of aggressive expansion and Gladiator supported his Emperor, helping conquer the Z’Nox. Meanwhile, Lilandra and her comrades continued their guerrilla attacks against the empire in an attempt to free their captured teammates. Lilandra even snuck into Kallark’s home while he slept, in a hope to appeal to any feelings he may still have for her and convince the man to join them. Kallark was torn but refused, and Lilandra fled, having used Rachel Grey to steal the knowledge of the captured Starjammers’ location from Gladiator's mind while she used his affections for her as a distraction.
Unbeknownst to Gladiator, Vulcan pardoned his cousin Xenith and put her on his Praetorian Guard to hunt down Lilandra and the free Starjammers. The price for her service: Kallark’s life. The story behind Xenith’s incarceration, and what prompted her fierce hatred for her cousin, is unknown. When Gladiator discovered what Vulcan had done, during a breakout on the prison planet Kr’kn, he was enraged and attacked Xenith on sight, abandoning the battle around him to do so. This brief moment of weakness led to Emperor Vulcan being badly beaten by Havok and Empress Deathbird getting impaled by Lilandra. Realizing his error, Kallark raced to save his leaders, but was too late to stop the Starjammers from escaping. Despite his reservations about Xenith’s presence, Kallark bowed to his emperor’s wishes and didn’t question Vulcan’s decision again. [X-Men: Kingbreaker #1-4]
Vulcan’s aggressive expansion led to another with the Kree, who were now under the rule of the Inhumans. Vulcan, wishing to launch a decapitating attack against the Inhumans, sent Gladiator and the Imperial Guard to attack the wedding of Crystal Amequilan and Ronan the Accuser. The Preator engaged Black Bolt in combat, taking him out of the fight but failing to kill him or any of the royal family. However, they were successful in capturing Lilandra, who was in attendance at the wedding.
Vulcan wished to kill Lilandra straight away but Kallark and General Ka’arduum convinced him to spare her, albeit temporarily. The emperor decided to subject her to a trial, fully intending to execute her, to Kallark’s dismay. A short while later, the ship holding Lilandra was attacked by the Starjammers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Surprisingly, Rocket Raccoon of the Guardians was able to subdue Gladiator with an advanced alien weapon, until he figured out it was a ruse and Rachel Grey was messing with his mind. The Praetor easily took out his opponents but, when he confronted Lilandra, she managed to convince him to break his allegiance to Vulcan and join her side, a monumental decision for the man. He killed the Guardsmen Smasher and freed the deposed Majestrix. [War of Kings crossover]