War of Kings

In the aftermath of the Secret Invasion storyline, Black Bolt and the Inhumans return to the Kree for their right to lineage as rulers. They come into direct conflict with Emperor Vulcan and his campaign of expansion for the Shi'ar. 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. The Inhumans and Kree reply in kind, attacking the Shi'ar in the following issue.

Vulcan then embarks on an ambitious plan to conquer the rest of the universe.[15]

Gladiator of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard leads the assault against the Inhumans. 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 takes on Black Bolt and is able to defeat him with some help from White Noise. The Guard also captures Princess Lilandra who is with the Kree and Inhumans. Ronan also falls as he tries to help Crystal. Gladiator says that they have made their statement, and the Imperial Guard leave. Medusa shouts that the Shi'ar will pay with their blood for what they have done.

Gladiator and the Guard face off against the new batch of Nova Centurions whom they quickly defeat. Gladiator's cousin, Xenith, shows up informing him that the Emperor has ordered Gladiator to present Lilandra to him. Gladiator quickly leaves, though he clearly shows his dislike for his cousin and her presence. Gladiator walks a fine line in doing his duty for an emperor he personally dislikes while still protecting Lilandra from his wrath. Later, the Starjammers, accompanied by a faction of the Guardians of the Galaxy, attack Gladiator's ship to extract Lilandra. He is taken out of the fight by Rocket Raccoon, aided by Marvel Girl, until he sees through their trick. He quickly defeats the rest of their team and recaptures Lilandra before she can escape. She pleads with him again but another Guard interrupts her and demands that Gladiator do as the Emperor ordered and kill Lilandra and the others.

After battling the Starjammers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, Gladiator is swayed by Lilandra's argument against Vulcan and kills a member of the Imperial Guard loyal to the Emperor, saying that he is loyal to Lilandra. In the next issue, Lilandra is killed by Darkhawk - Razor. Gladiator goes crazy and begins to attack all of his enemies. Vulcan and Black Bolt battle on a ship/bomb. Black Bolt has the final strike and seemingly kills Vulcan. As Crystal and Lockjaw are about to take Black Bolt away, Vulcan gets up and pushes Black Bolt to the ground. Just as Lockjaw and Crystal escape, their ship blows up and both kings are seemingly killed. Back on the Shi'ar home planet, Gladiator becomes the new emperor. Also, the explosion from the ship has literally made a hole in the fabric of space and time. This rift is actually the event that Starhawk (in Guardians of the Galaxy) was trying to prevent. It's dubbed "The Fault." The Shi'ar fleet, suffering from the explosion, surrenders to the Inhumans, but the price is too high.[16]

A second wearer of Darkhawk armor calling himself Talon arrives on Earth and tells Chris Powell (the original wearer of the armor) he is part of an ancient organization known as "The Fraternity of Raptors," who were created to protect the universe. After millennia of dormancy, only Darkhawk and Talon are left, and their job now is to return the balance to the universe. Unfortunately for Chris, Talon has lied—when Chris accesses the memories in his armor, he concludes that the Fraternity of Raptors are the bad guys ... just as Talon apparently purges Chris's consciousness from the armor. A new identity for the armor, "Razor," emerges and takes control.

Talon and Razor then recover the Cosmic Control Rod from Catastrophus, stopping briefly for Talon to implant a suggestion in the gestating Annihilus. Chris's personality was not wholly destroyed yet, and a vision of his father tells him that much of what he believed about the armor was false: the prior history, even Evilhawk himself, was a lie made up by Chris's mind, and the other armor is a second configuration that took control to cover earlier anger issues. Horrified, Chris' psyche breaks free of the prison in which it was locked, only for Chris to find himself on a great tree adorned with thousands of amulets like his own, where he encounters gargoyle-like creatures that urge him to return to the one from which he has just emerged. Meanwhile, in the Negative Zone, Talon and Razor offer Blastaar the Cosmic Control Rod in exchange for his assistance influencing the outcome of the War of Kings. Talon then appears to Vulcan, telling him that the Fraternity was created in order to keep the Imperium strong. Talon also tells him, through the Datasong, that Blastaar is helping the Shi'ar, and also tells him of Lilandra's coup on Chandilar. Razor is later seen on Chandilar, disguised as a Shi'ar. Although Rachel Grey manages to see his true form, he shoots several Shi'ar before he kills Lilandra.[17]

The newly reformed and under-trained Nova Corps suffer great casualties facing the Shi'ar Imperial Guard. When Nova's brother, Robbie, attempts to rescue a fellow corpsman he had befriended, he finds himself needing rescue. Nova and some more experienced centurions rescue Robbie and take Strontian and Ravenous into custody. The Kree territory that had been under Ravenous' control is left to "King" Blastarr.[18]

In an attempt to prevent, and then stop, the war, the Guardians of the Galaxy split into two groups. The team led by Rocket Raccoon tries to communicate with Vulcan, and Star-Lord's team appeals to the Inhumans. Neither group has any success.

• Reviews: War of Kings #1, Comic Book Resources
• War of Kings #1 Review, Comics Bulletin
• Reviews: War of Kings #2, Comic Book Resources
• War of Kings #2 Review, Comics Bulletin
• Reviews: War of Kings: Darkhawk #1, Comic Book Resources
• War of Kings: Darkhawk #1 Review, Comics Bulletin
• Advance Review of War of Kings: Darkhawk #2, Comics Bulletin