Gladiator (Kallark)
| Gladiator | |
|---|---|
| File:Gladiator1.jpg Gladiator | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | X-Men Vol. 1, #107 (October, 1977) |
| Created by | Chris Claremont Dave Cockrum |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Kallark |
| Team affiliations | Shi'ar Imperial Guard, Emperor D'Ken, Deathbird, Captain Universe, possibly Galactus |
| Notable aliases | Captain Universe |
| Abilities | Superhuman strength, super speed, stamina and invulnerability, freezing breath, super hearing, multiple extrasensory and vision powers, longevity, flight, and regeneration. |
- For the former Daredevil villain, See Gladiator (Daredevil character).
Gladiator (Kallark) is a fictional character that exists in the Marvel Universe. He is the praetor of the elite corps of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard and first appeared in X-Men Vol. 1, #107 (October 1977). He was created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum. Gladiator is based upon the DC Comics character Superman, as well as Superboy from the Legion of Super-Heroes.
Fictional character history
Gladiator is the Praetor (leader) the elite corps of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard - an army of powerful beings that enforce that enforce Shi'ar Imperial law on all planets within the Shi'ar Galaxy. The elite corps also protects and carries out the personal directives of the majestor or majestrix (emperor or empress) of the Shi’ar Empire. While very loyal, Gladiator is also extremely arrogant and he feels superior to all humanoids. This actually increases Gladiator's abilities, as his powers are linked to his own sense of self-confidence.
Gladiator's first known encounter with terrans occurred when the Imperial Guard battled the X-Men at the command of former Shi'ar Emperor D'Ken. Gladiator and several members of the Guard fought the X-Men once more when new Shi'ar Empress Lilandra Neramani and Professor Charles Xavier arranged a trial by combat to decide the fate of the out of control Dark Phoenix.
Years later, Gladiator came to Earth and battled the Fantastic Four in the mistaken belief that they were alien Skrulls who had used their shape-shifting abilities to alter their appearance. With the help of Spider-Man and Captain America the real Skrulls were exposed and quickly captured.
Coup
Lilandra's sister, Deathbird, stages a successful coup and becomes the new majestrix of the Shi'ar Empire. Despite Gladiator's loyalty to Lilandra empire and his qualms about certain aspects of Deathbird's rule, he continues to serve the Shi'ar Empire in his role as a Praetor of the Imperial Guard. It was during this period that Gladiator encounters the Spaceknight, Rom. Deathbird later commands the entire Imperial Guard to fight the combined forces of the Starjammers and Excalibur so that she could claim the power of the Phoenix Force for herself. When Deathbird is struck down by a returning Lilandra, Gladiator orders the Guard to retreat.
Meeting the Marvels
Gladiator also has a brief encounter with two Avengers during Operation: Galactic Storm - Gladiator defeats Wonder Man but is then beaten in turn by the Eric Masterson Thor. Gladiator next appears alongside the Beta Ray Bill; Silver Surfer and others in the war against Tyrant, who was finally driven off by Thanos.
When Lilandra later learned that many of Earth's heroes had sacrificed their lives to stop Onslaught, she dispatched eight members of the Imperial Guard - including Gladiator - to protect Earth. While on Earth, the Guard uncovered a plot by a militant Kree faction who wanted revenge for Earth's involvement in the Kree/Shi'ar war. The plot was foiled, but not before the Supreme Intelligence was able to re-incorporate itself after presumably being killed at the end of the war.
While on Earth, Gladiator also asks the X-Men to battle the alien menace known as the Phalanx on his behalf, and with the telepathic Guardsman Oracle find a fugitive from Shi'ar justice, which leads to a fierce battle with the Hulk.
Gladiator and the Imperial Guard later return to active duty in Shi'ar space, and prevented an assassination attempt on Lilandra by the Ronan the Accuser and his unwilling pawns, the royal family of the Inhumans.
After his Empress Lilandra - under the mental control of Charles Xavier's mutant twin sister Cassandra Nova - ordered the destruction of all mutants on Earth, Gladiator led the Guard in an assault on the X-Men's mansion home. Fortunately, the true threat was revealed and the Guard and the X-Men managed to defeat Nova and free Lilandra.
Gladiator recently returned to Earth under the command of Empress Lilandra in a mission to capture the Uni-Power and bring it back for evaluation. After an encounter with Susan Richards, Gladiator invited the Uni-Power back to the Shi'ar Empire as their guest. While the Uni-Power agreed, but was captured en route by Krosakis, an energy leeching warlord who forced the Uni-Power into his body to become Captain Universe. Despite the best efforts of Gladiator, he could not stop Krosakis, who was finally beaten by the Silver Surfer.
Gladiator recently battled the true Thor at the behest of Zarrko the Tomorrow Man, and travelled with three other Guardsmen to confront Vulcan, a mutant determined to destroy the Shi'ar Empire.
Powers and Abilities
- See also: Powers and abilities of Superman
- See also: Tactile telekinesis
Gladiator's abilities mirror the DC character Superman in nearly every aspect. He has very similar powers to Marvel Universe characters Hyperion and the Sentry, as they too are based on Superman. The most powerful member of the Imperial Guard, Gladiator has performed feats such as lifting buildings [1] ; staggering foes with energy vision or freezing them in pace with frost breath [2]; moving in space at hyperspeed and surviving supernovas. [3]. Gladiator's powers are linked to his confidence and self-image. If he believes that he can lose a fight, his powers become weaker, and he has been physically humbled by purely psychic assaults.
Reed Richards theorized that Gladiator's powers were in part psionic [4]. It has also been theorized that Gladiator covertly employs Shi'ar technology to amplify these powers at times.
It has also been discovered that like Superman, Gladiator is vulnerable to a certain unspecfied wavelength of radiation [5] which weakens and could kill him.
Inspirations
As the Shi'ar Imperial Guard are based on the Legion of Super-Heroes, Gladiator is an analogue of Superboy and Superman[6], having a number of similar powers. He has a cousin (Xenith), who is a Supergirl analogue. He has one special weakness (an unknown form of radiation), which mirrors Superman's weakness to kryptonite. His costume also shares a similar theme with Superman. Another similarity is that, as indicated above, Gladiator's race is Strontian, which is based off the element Strontium, just like Superman's Kryptonian race is named off the element Krypton. The codename "Gladiator" a reference to the 1930 Philip Gordon Wylie novel--Gladiator--which is thought to have served as one of the inspirations for the creators of Superman. Gladiator's real name, Kallark, is also a pastiche of superman’s Kryptonian name Kal-El and his earth name Clark Kent.
Appearances in other media
Gladiator appeared in the X-Men animated series in the 1990s.