The Imperial Guard (the so-called Superguardians) is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Imperial Guard are a multi-ethnic group of alien beings who act as enforcers of the laws of the Shi'ar Empire; the Superguardians are the personal guard of the leader of the Empire.
Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum, the original Imperial Guard characters were pastiches of prominent members of rival publisher DC Comics' superhero team the Legion of Super-Heroes. Many other characters were later added to the roster, not all of whom are based on Legionnaires.
The Imperial Guard first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #107 (Oct. 1977). Since then, they have been featured periodically in the X-Men titles; crossed paths with the Starjammers, the Kree, the Skrulls, Nova Corps, the Inhumans, and the Guardians of the Galaxy; and been featured in a number of limited series, including Imperial Guard (1997), the War of Kings crossover series (2009), and Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard (2010).
More than 50 Imperial Guard Superguardians have appeared in Marvel Comics' titles; the core members number about 20, with the most notable being Gladiator, Oracle, Starbolt, Neutron, Smasher, Flashfire, Warstar, Electron, Manta, Mentor, Titan, Pulsar, Hussar, Nightside, and Fang.
Structure and organization
The Imperial Guard numbers about 300 members, and is made up of the most powerful and elite soldiers from throughout the Empire, with some of them being Shi'ar and most being from other alien races in the Shi'ar's jurisdiction. The Imperial Guard is led by a praetor.
The Superguardians (who comprise the vast majority of the named characters) are the super-powered personal guard of the Shi'ar leader. Those closest to the leader are known as the Royal Elite.
The Guard academy trains replacements — called Subguardians — for Superguardians who may be killed or incapacitated. Over time, at least twenty Superguardians have been killed in the pages of Marvel's comics, with many of them being replaced by new versions from the ranks of the Subguardians.
Imperial Guard oath of allegiance
This is the Imperial Guard's oath of allegiance to the Shi'ar Empire:
Concept and creation
As X-Men creators Claremont and Cockrum were devising a team to battle the X-Men in the first part of the Phoenix Saga, Cockrum suggested modeling their powers and costumes after characters from DC's Legion of Super-Heroes. (Cockrum had had a two-year run as artist on the Legion of Super-Heroes backup feature in the Superboy comic book.)
In a 2002 interview, Cockrum said that he showed the character designs to Paul Levitz, then-current Legion of Super-Heroes writer at DC. Asked if he thought there might be trouble between the companies, Cockrum said, "Not really... I showed the designs to Paul Levitz, and he didn't say, 'You can't do that.' If anything, he said, 'Geez, these costumes are better than the ones the Legionnaires are wearing.' No, I don't think we ever once thought that we were going to get in trouble over it."
The first Guardsmen introduced (with their Legion of Super-Heroes analog in parentheses) were Gladiator (Superboy), Astra (Phantom Girl), Electron (Cosmic Boy), Fang (Timber Wolf), Hobgoblin (Chameleon Boy), Impulse (Wildfire), Magic (Princess Projectra), Mentor (Brainiac 5), Midget (Shrinking Violet), Nightshade (Shadow Lass), Oracle (Saturn Girl), Quasar (Star Boy), Smasher (Ultra Boy), Starbolt (Sun Boy), Tempest (Lightning Lad), and Titan (Colossal Boy).
Over time, for various reasons, some of the members' code-names were changed: Nightshade to Nightside, Magic to Magique, Midget to Scintilla, Quasar to Neutron, Tempest to Flashfire, and Impulse to Pulsar.
Reception and characterization
Nick Hemming of Looper.com described the Imperial Guard as perhaps "the most interesting facet of the Shi'ar," describing them as "an elite team of super soldiers who enforce the law within the empire. The Guard has played both friend and foe to Earth's favorite heroes over time, boasting a diverse roster of various species."
Fictional team history
Many centuries ago, the Phoenix Force entity ends up in Shi'ar space, where it bonds with a citizen of the Empire named Rook'shir. In conjunction with his blade, Rook'shir learns to control the Phoenix Force, but is ultimately overwhelmed by its power, becoming the first known host to succumb to and go insane from its destructive impulses. Becoming the first being known as the Dark Phoenix, Rook'shir goes on a rampage throughout the Empire, destroying many planets in the process.