The concept of vast alien empires was woven into the fabric of Marvel Comics during the science-fiction boom of the Silver Age. Co-creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, pioneers of cosmic storytelling, first introduced the seeds of these interstellar powers in the pages of Fantastic Four. The Skrulls were the first to appear, debuting in Fantastic Four #2 (January 1962). Initially presented as simple, shapeshifting alien invaders, they embodied Cold War-era paranoia. Just a few years later, Lee and Kirby introduced the Kree in Fantastic Four #65 (August 1967). The Kree were conceived as a militaristic, technologically superior race, and the immediate establishment of an ancient, bitter enmity between them and the Skrulls laid the groundwork for decades of cosmic warfare. This eternal conflict, the Kree-Skrull War, would become one of the most defining and enduring storylines in Marvel's history. The Shi'ar Empire was introduced later by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum in X-Men #97 (February 1976). Unlike the raw militarism of the Kree or the duplicity of the Skrulls, the Shi'ar were depicted as a more complex, “enlightened” monarchy with internal political intrigue and a powerful honor guard, the Imperial Guard, deeply intertwined with the saga of the x-men and Jean Grey. These three empires formed the foundational pillars upon which the entire Marvel cosmic hierarchy would be built.
The dawn of the major galactic empires in the Earth-616 continuity dates back millions of years, long before the evolution of humanity. The primary catalysts were two ancient and powerful races: the Celestials and the Skrulls. The story begins with the original Skrulls, who were not yet shapeshifters. The god-like Celestials arrived on their homeworld, Skrullos, and experimented on them, creating three distinct subspecies: the Prime Skrulls (who could not shapeshift but had the potential for rapid evolution), the Deviant Skrulls (who possessed innate shapeshifting abilities), and the Eternals (long-lived and powerful). The Deviant Skrulls, led by the warlord Sl'gur't, eventually exterminated the other two races, ensuring that all future Skrulls would be shapeshifters. This act of genocide defined their aggressive, expansionist nature. Meanwhile, the Kree were a primitive race on the planet Hala, sharing it with the plant-like Cotati. A pacifistic faction of Skrulls, then a benevolent empire, arrived on Hala and offered to uplift one of the two native races. They created a test: delegations from both the Kree and Cotati were taken to a barren moon (Earth's moon, in fact) and tasked with creating something of value. The Cotati created a beautiful garden, while the Kree built a magnificent city. Enraged by the Skrulls' preference for the Cotati's creation, the Kree slaughtered the Skrull delegation and the Cotati. They reverse-engineered the Skrulls' starship technology and began their own militaristic expansion, vowing eternal war against both the Skrulls and the Cotati. This event sparked the Kree-Skrull War, a conflict that has burned across the galaxies for millennia and forms the backbone of Marvel's cosmic history. The Shi'ar Empire rose to prominence much later, conquering and annexing worlds under a monarchy guided by tradition and overwhelming military force, eventually becoming a dominant power in their own right, often acting as a check against both Kree and Skrull expansion.
The MCU (designated as Earth-199999) presents a significantly altered and simplified history of its galactic empires to serve a more focused cinematic narrative. The Kree Empire is introduced as a monolithic, authoritarian, and xenophobic civilization, led by the Supreme Intelligence, an organic supercomputer. First seen prominently in Guardians of theGalaxy (2014) through the extremist Ronan the Accuser, their history is further explored in Captain Marvel (2019). Here, the Kree-Skrull War is portrayed not as a conflict between two equal superpowers, but as a brutal war of annihilation waged by the dominant Kree against the Skrulls. The Kree are shown to have conquered and subjugated countless worlds, enforcing their will through their Accuser Corps and their elite Starforce. The Skrulls in the MCU are radically different from their comic counterparts. Rather than being a cunning, expansionist empire, they are depicted as a race of refugees. Their homeworld, Skrullos, was destroyed by the Kree, and they have spent decades searching the cosmos for a new home. Led by Talos, they are a desperate and scattered people, using their shapeshifting abilities primarily for survival and espionage rather than conquest. This re-contextualization shifts them from unambiguous villains to a sympathetic, displaced people, a major departure from the source material that serves the specific character arc of Carol Danvers. Other powers like the Sovereign and the Nova Empire of Xandar exist, but their histories are less detailed. Xandar is shown as a progressive and peaceful civilization, the primary force for order in the Andromeda Galaxy, until its complete destruction at the hands of Thanos prior to the events of Avengers: Infinity War.
The cosmos is a tapestry of countless civilizations, but a select few hold dominance through sheer military, economic, or technological power.
| Major Empire Comparison | The Kree Empire | The Skrull Empire | The Shi'ar Empire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homeworld | Hala | Skrullos (destroyed); now Tarnax II | Chandilar (Throneworld) |
| Physiology | Blue-skinned Humanoids (majority); Pink-skinned (minority) | Reptilian Humanoids (innate shapeshifters) | Avian-Humanoid Mammals |
| Government | Authoritarian Technocracy (led by Supreme Intelligence) | Totalitarian Monarchy (Emperor/Empress) | Hereditary Monarchy (Majestor/Majestrix) |
| Core Ideology | Military Supremacy, Genetic Purity, Xenophobia | Espionage, Infiltration, Genetic Superiority (shapeshifting) | Imperial Expansion, Tradition, Order |
| Key Military Unit | Accuser Corps, Starforce, Kree Sentries | Skrull Armada, Super-Skrulls | Imperial Guard (Super-Guardians) |
The Kree are defined by two key traits: their fanatical worship of the Supreme Intelligence and their genetic stagnation. Millions of years of evolutionary stagnation have made them desperate and xenophobic. Their society is a rigid military dictatorship, with every citizen's role determined at birth. They are master geneticists, having created the Inhumans on Earth through experiments in the distant past. Despite their vast armada and advanced technology, their empire is often portrayed as being in a state of decay or civil war, unable to move past its ancient hatreds.
The MCU's Kree are a more straightforwardly villainous empire. They are presented as zealots who blindly follow the Supreme Intelligence. Their empire is vast and powerful, having successfully waged a genocidal war against the Skrulls. Their primary motivation seems to be the forceful assimilation or destruction of any culture that opposes them. There is no mention of genetic stagnation; their primary weakness appears to be arrogance.
The Skrull Empire is the oldest and one of the largest empires in the Andromeda Galaxy. Their entire culture is built around their shapeshifting ability, making them masters of espionage, subterfuge, and infiltration. Their society is a ruthless monarchy, prone to vicious power struggles. For millennia, they were locked in a stalemate with the Kree. A major turning point came when Galactus devoured their throneworld, throwing the empire into chaos and leading to radical factions and civil wars. The most notable result of this was the long-planned Secret Invasion of Earth.
As detailed previously, the MCU Skrulls are a scattered remnant of a civilization destroyed by the Kree. They are not an empire but a refugee fleet. Their shapeshifting is used for survival and to hide among other civilizations. Under Talos's leadership, they seek peace and a new home, a stark contrast to their comic counterparts. The series Secret Invasion (2023) explored a radicalized faction of Skrulls who believed in taking Earth by force, bringing their portrayal slightly closer to the comics' concept of infiltration, but still framing it as an act of desperation by a displaced people, not imperial expansion.
The Shi'ar are arguably the most powerful and technologically advanced empire in the known universe. A humanoid race evolved from avians, they retain some vestigial features like feathered crests. Their empire is a vast collection of annexed worlds and subjugated species. The Shi'ar government is a hereditary monarchy, with the title of Majestor or Majestrix holding absolute power. Their history is deeply intertwined with the X-Men, due to the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force and its connection to Jean Grey. The Shi'ar put Jean on trial for the Phoenix's crimes, a pivotal moment in cosmic history.
The Shi'ar Empire has not yet appeared or been mentioned in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Their introduction is highly anticipated by fans, particularly in relation to the eventual debut of the x-men in the MCU.
The state of the Marvel cosmos is one of perpetual, cold, or active warfare. The most significant conflict is the Kree-Skrull War, an ancient, galaxy-spanning feud that has defined both races and dragged countless other worlds, including Earth, into its crossfire. This war is the central pillar of cosmic history. Other major conflicts include the Shi'ar's various civil wars, often involving the royal Neramani family (Lilandra vs. D'Ken vs. Deathbird), and their aggressive expansionism that often brings them into conflict with the Kree. The War of Kings storyline saw the Shi'ar, then ruled by the mutant Vulcan, engage in a devastating war against the Kree, who were being led by the Inhumans.
Alliances between the major empires are rare, temporary, and almost always forged out of desperation against a greater common threat.
Earth (designated “Terra” by many alien races) holds a disproportionately significant position in galactic affairs. Initially considered a primitive backwater, it became a focal point for several reasons:
1. **Strategic Location:** Earth occupies a key strategic position, situated at a crossroads of various interstellar nexuses. 2. **Genetic Potential:** The Celestials' experiments on early humanity created the latent potential for super-beings (mutants, Eternals, Deviants), and Kree experiments created the Inhumans. This makes humanity a genetically valuable and volatile species. 3. **Superhuman Population:** Earth's incredibly high concentration of super-powered individuals (the "superhuman arms race") makes it both a formidable threat and a valuable prize. It has single-handedly repelled invasions from both the Kree and the Skrulls, earning it a fearsome reputation.
The fates of these empires have been chronicled in several universe-altering events.
This seminal storyline was the first to truly showcase the scale of the cosmic conflict. The war spills over to Earth as both empires seek to control the planet. The Avengers are caught in the middle, forced to journey to the respective homeworlds and confront the Supreme Intelligence and the Skrull Emperor. The event established Captain Mar-Vell's heroic status and solidified Earth's importance on the galactic stage.
While an X-Men story at its core, this saga has massive cosmic implications. After the Phoenix Force, inhabiting Jean Grey, consumes the D'Bari star system and kills billions, Empress Lilandra of the Shi'ar declares that the Phoenix must be destroyed. The Shi'ar Empire puts Jean Grey on trial, and the X-Men fight the Shi'ar Imperial Guard for her life on the Blue Area of the Moon. This event cemented the Shi'ar as a major cosmic power and demonstrated their role as galactic adjudicators.
This massive crossover event redefined the cosmic landscape for the modern era. Annihilus and his fleet from the Negative Zone swept through the universe, destroying the Nova Corps and crippling the Skrull Empire. A ragtag group of heroes, including Nova, Drax, and the Silver Surfer, formed a United Front to stop him. It was a brutal, military sci-fi epic that revitalized Marvel's cosmic characters and set the stage for the modern Guardians of the Galaxy.
The culmination of years of planning, Secret Invasion revealed that the Skrull Empire had been systematically kidnapping and replacing key figures across Earth—including superheroes—with Skrull impostors. Led by Queen Veranke, the invasion was a masterclass in paranoia and subterfuge. The event questioned the very nature of trust among heroes and had long-lasting repercussions for the entire Marvel Universe.
This event saw the impossible happen: the Kree and Skrull empires unified into a single, massive Alliance under the leadership of the Young Avenger Hulkling, the son of the original Captain Mar-Vell (Kree) and Princess Anelle (Skrull). Their target was not each other, but Earth, which they believed was the seat of power for their ancient enemy, the plant-like Cotati, who were planning their own galactic conquest. The event fundamentally reshaped the political structure of the cosmos.