Ronan the Accuser

Ronan the Accuser is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a judicial officer of the fictional alien race known as the Kree. Though usually portrayed as a supervillain, he is sometimes depicted as a more noble and honorable character.

Ronan has appeared in various forms of media, including several animated television series and video games. Most notably, actor Lee Pace played the character in the 2014 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Guardians of the Galaxy.^[1]

Publication history

Ronan was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1967. He first appeared in Fantastic Four vol. 1 #65.

The character returned sporadically in Captain Marvel vol. 1, and played an important role in the Kree-Skrull War storyline in Avengers vol. 1 #88-97. After appearances in Ms. Marvel vol. 1 #19 and Silver Surfer vol. 3, Ronan returned in the Galactic Storm crossover in 1992.

Ronan subsequently appeared in Fantastic Four vol. 3 #13-14 and Iron Man vol. 3 #14, before having a major role in the Maximum Security crossover in Jan 2001.

During the 2006 Annihilation storyline, Ronan received a four-issue eponymous miniseries written by Simon Furman, and a leading role in Annihilation #1-6. He appeared in the sequels, Annihilation Conquest #1-6 and Annihilation Conquest: Wraith #1-4 in 2007.

After being seen during the Secret Invasion: War of Kings one-shot, the character was used in War of Kings #1-6 (2009) and Realm of Kings: Inhumans #1-4. Following appearances in The Thanos Imperative #1-6 (2010), Ronan joined the titular team in Annihilators #1-4 (2011) and Annihilators: Earthfall #1-4 (Sept 2011-Dec 2011).

Fictional character biography

Ronan was born on the planet Hala, the capital of the Kree Empire in the Greater Magellanic Cloud. Ronan later joined the Accuser Corps, who are the Kree equivalent of military governors and jurists, and his rise through their ranks was extraordinary, and he eventually became the third-most powerful being in the Kree Empire. The Supreme Intelligence ultimately appointed him "Supreme Accuser of the Kree Empire".

On his first mission, Ronan is sent to Earth to investigate the destruction of a robotic Kree Sentry at the hands of the Fantastic Four. The team defeats Ronan,^[2] which prompts a Kree expedition to spy on and assess Earth.^[3] Captain Mar-Vell is a member of the team, and he interacts with Ronan frequently during his mission.^[4]

Ronan secretly plans with Zarek to overthrow the Kree leader, the Supreme Intelligence, believing the Empire should not be ruled by a non-humanoid entity. But Ronan is paralyzed by the psionic powers of Rick Jones, and control of the Kree Empire reverts to the Supreme Intelligence.^[5]

Ronan is subsequently mentally dominated by the Supreme Intelligence, and battles Mar-Vell on multiple occasions.^[6] Ronan later regains his sanity and returns to his former position as Supreme Accuser.^[7] During the second Kree-Skrull war, Ronan executes a Skrull duplicate of the Silver Surfer.^[8]

During the Kree-Shi'ar War, Ronan joins Starforce.^[9]

When Earth becomes a prison planet, Ronan serves as its warden. The Supreme Intelligence then plans to subvert the galactic council and use Ego the Living Planet as a weapon. Although Ronan is able to elevate his power by tapping into Ego's own energy, Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, Giant-Man and Bruce Banner manage to create a machine that transfers Ego's essence into Quasar. The weakened Ronan is defeated and captured by the U.S. Agent.

When Ronan is falsely accused of treason by Tana Nile, he discovers he has been framed by a highly placed member of a Kree house.^[10] After defending the Kree Empire against the Annihilation Wave, Ronan clears his name and kills his betrayer, although not before he lobotomizes the Supreme Intelligence. In an act of mercy, Ronan kills the Supreme Intelligence and becomes ruler of the Kree Empire.^[11]

During the Phalanx conquest of the Kree, Ronan works with the Super-Skrull and Wraith to free his people.

When the Inhumans seek aid from the Kree against the Skrull's Secret Invasion, Ronan agrees on the condition that the Inhuman princess, Crystal, marries him.^[12] On their wedding day, Ronan is severely beaten by the Shi'ar Imperial Guard and hospitalized.^[13] He does not fully recover until after the War of Kings is over.

During the war with the cancerverse, Ronan is a member of Nova's main attack force.^[14] In an effort to prevent further conflict, Ronan joins the Annihilators,^[15] who protect Galador from the Dire Wraiths^[16] and oppose the Universal Church of Truth's attempt to revive the Magus.^[17]

Ronan is soon separated from his wife under the orders of Black Bolt, as part of a truce made between Black Bolt and the Supreme Intelligence to ensure peace between Inhumans and the Kree Empire. Crystal and Ronan are deeply saddened by this decision, as their arranged marriage had eventually become a stronger relationship.^[18]

During the Infinity storyline, Ronan the Accuser and the Supreme Intelligence appeared as members of the Galactic Council.^[19] Ronan later fights Thanos' minion, Black Dwarf of the Black Order, and kills him.^[20]

Ronan the Accuser steals The Black Vortex from the cosmically powered X-Men, and, against the Supreme Intelligence's orders, submits to the Vortex and receives cosmic powers. Mister Knife later steals the Vortex and destroys Hala and the Supreme Intelligence.^[21] Ronan and the imperial fleet survive, but the last remaining seed of the Supreme Intelligence was stolen from the Collector by Star-Lord's half-sister Victoria.^[22]

Powers and abilities

As a Kree warrior in peak physical condition, Ronan possesses his species' unique physiology, having far greater natural attributes than a human. Thus, Ronan's body is resistant to poisons, toxins and diseases. He has superhuman strength, speed, endurance and reflexes, which are all further enhanced by his exoskeleton body-armor. Ronan's armor, which contains multiple scanners, can also create fields of invisibility, and his gauntlets can discharge cosmic energy bolts or generate sufficient coldness to place certain lifeforms into a state of suspended animation. In addition, Ronan possesses a brilliant strategic mind; his high intellect allowed him to rise to one of the highest positions in the Kree Empire. He also has extensive knowledge in all matters pertaining to Kree law, and is well-versed in the use of his species' highly advanced technology.

Ronan's primary weapon is an Accuser Cosmi-Rod called the "Universal Weapon". At its wielder's will, the device can absorb and fire cosmic energy, manipulate matter, generate force-fields, control gravity, and create "time-motion displacement fields". It also allows for interstellar teleportation, hyperspatial passages and flight. As a highly trained Kree soldier, Ronan is extremely proficient in the use of this weapon in both close and far ranged confrontations. Even without his war hammer, Ronan has proven a formidable hand-to-hand combatant.

Other versions

Ultimate Marvel

The Ultimate version of Ronan the Accuser is the son of Thanos, and is a part of his empire. He is ultimately defeated by the Thing.^[23]

In the series Hunger, another version of Ronan called Ro-Nan leads an army of Kree warriors in a battle against the Chitauri, when both alien races encounter the entity Gah Lak Tus during battle. Ro-Nan is killed in Hunger #3.^[24]

JLA/Avengers

Ronan appears as part of Krona's army in JLA/Avengers, and is defeated by DC's Captain Marvel.^[25]

In other media

Television

• Ronan makes a cameo appearance in the Silver Surfer animated series' episode "Radical Justice", as a member of the Wanderers, a group consisting of various alien races displaced by Galactus.
• Ronan appears in the Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes episodes "Trial by Fire", "Revenge of the Skrulls", and "Contest of Champions", voiced by Michael Dobson.
• Ronan appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episodes "Alienating with the Surfer" and "The Final Battle (Nuff Said)", voiced by Michael Dorn.
• Ronan appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, voiced by Keith Szarabajka. He is featured in the episodes "Welcome to the Kree Empire" and "Operation Galactic Storm".
• Ronan appears in Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H..^[26] He is featured in the two-parter "Planet Hulk", and the episode "A Druff is Enough", voiced by James C. Mathis III.
• Ronan appears in Guardians of the Galaxy, voiced by Jonathan Adams. The episode "Undercover Angle" reveals that Ronan was killed in a battle with the Guardians and only his Universal Weapon remained. In the episode "The Backstabbers", it is revealed that Ronan was Thanos' top general prior to his betrayal and death, and there has since been a power vacuum over his former position. Nebula later claims Ronan's Universal Weapon, and uses a special seed and the life-giving energies of the moon Mandala to resurrect him in the episode "Bad Moon Rising". The episode "Crystal Blue Persuasion" reveals that Ronan was exiled by the Kree Empire.

Film

Lee Pace as Ronan in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).

• Ronan the Accuser makes his live-action debut in the Marvel Studios film Guardians of the Galaxy, where he is portrayed by Lee Pace.^[1] Depicted as a Kree fanatic, Ronan refuses to heed the Kree Empire's recent peace treaty with the Nova Corps of Xandar. He agrees to retrieve an orb for Thanos, in exchange for the latter's help in destroying Xandar. When Ronan learns the orb contains an ancient, powerful object called an Infinity Stone, he realizes it will allow him to destroy Xandar without Thanos' help and reneges on their deal. As Ronan's flagship descends on Xandar, he devastates the Nova Corps' defenses. Ronan then attempts to annihilate the planet with the stone, but it is taken from him by the Guardians of the Galaxy, who subsequently use it to destroy him.

Video games

• Ronan appears in the 1995 arcade game Avengers in Galactic Storm.
• Ronan appears as an unlockable character in the 2013 game Lego Marvel Super Heroes, voiced by John DiMaggio.
• Ronan is a villain in Marvel: Avengers Alliance. He appears in Special Operation 20, based on the Guardians of the Galaxy film.
• Ronan is an unlockable character in Marvel: Avengers Alliance Tactics.
• Ronan appears as a playable character in the action-adventure sandbox video games Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes and Disney Infinity 3.0, voiced by James C. Mathis III.^[27][28] He possesses superhuman strength, and his Cosmi-Rod (the Universal Weapon) can fire powerful blasts of energy. His appearance is based on the Guardians of the Galaxy film.
• Ronan is a playable character in the mobile game, Marvel Contest of Champions.^[29]
• Ronan appears in Marvel: Avengers Alliance 2.^[30]
• Ronan is a playable character in the mobile game Marvel: Future Fight.

Merchandise

• A Ronan figure was released as part of the Classic Marvel Figurine Collection.^[31]
• Ronan is a playable character in the Marvel HeroClix "Hammer of Thor", "Critical Mass", "Galactic Guardians" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" sets.^[32]
• A Ronan figure was released for the Guardians of the Galaxy movie line, which features a "swinging hammer strike" when the legs are squeezed together.
• Funko has released a POP! Vinyl figure of Ronan in their Guardians of the Galaxy movie wave.
• Two Ronan bobble-heads were released as part of Funko's Guardians of the Galaxy Mystery Minis line. One version has a regular paint job, while the other sports a metallic finish.
• A collectible statue of Ronan was released for the Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes 2.0 video game, based on his appearance in the Guardians of the Galaxy film. This figure's base serves as an interactive game piece, and comes packaged with a web code card to play as Ronan in the game.^[27]

References

External links

• Ronan the Accuser at the Marvel Universe
• Ronan the Accuser at the Marvel Database Project
• Ronan the Accuser at the Comic Book DB