The Top 10 Most Important Marvel Comics Alien Races
As our favorite heroes of Marvel Comics know all too well, the universe is a big place. Naturally, there’s more than just humans on Earth as well as beyond it. The Marvel universe is full of extraterrestrial races and galactic empires — many of which have a strong preference for invading Earth!
Nearly every major Marvel super hero team has tangled with outer space adversaries. The Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four — all the heavy-hitters have major extraterrestrial enemies. Here’s a look at the top 10 alien races of Marvel Comics!
Kree
Every galaxy needs a fierce warrior race to keep it on its toes … which brings us to the Kree. With blue skin and a red-hot agenda against many of their neighbors, the Kree are tough adversaries. Their homeworld is called Hala and there are two main Kree types: Blue Kree, who have blue skin, and Pink Kree, whose pallor is similar to a white human.
Though Kree originally had blue skin, the pink-skinned Kree now outnumber Blue Kree. Most believe that pink-skinned Kree are the result of mating with conquered alien races. Kree society is very strict; the planetary police force, called Accusers, are known throughout the galaxies as ruthless enforcers of the Kree Empire. At one point, the Kree were ruled by the Supreme Intelligence, a supercomputer storing the Kree’s accumulated history and knowledge. One of the most famous Kree figures is Mar-Vell, the father of Hulkling and the hero partially responsible for Carol Danvers becoming Captain Marvel.
Skrull
Appearances are everything, especially for the shapeshifting Skrulls. While their original form is slightly reptilian, the Skrulls possess the ability to change their appearance — down to their actual genetic makeup. For this reason, they are excellent spies and they give Earth operations like S.H.I.E.L.D. and S.W.O.R.D. a real run for their money.
Perhaps their most high-profile contribution to Marvel Comics history is the Secret Invasion of Earth. During this covert bid to overtake Earth, Skrulls impersonated super heroes, influential humans, and even super-villains. While the invasion was ultimately foiled, it created a devious ripple effect of mistrust. Many Skrulls have played pivotal parts in intergalactic history but even beyond the Secret Invasion, their part in starting the Kree-Skrull War has tainted their public image in every star system.
Cotati
As is evident, the Kree-Skrull War is a bitter clash between two of the galaxy’s biggest empires. But there is also a third alien race present in this conflict: the plant-like Cotati.
When the Skrulls first began colonizing other galaxies, they happened upon Hala. On Hala, the Kree and the Cotati were the two highest species of equal intelligence. So, as a test, the Skrulls created a competition on the Blue Area of Earth’s moon. The Kree and the Cotati were given one year to build the most advanced city they could, and the winner would gain advanced Skrull technology. After one year, the Kree had constructed a mighty metropolis while the Cotati created a floral paradise.
Surprisingly, the Skrulls selected the Cotati as the winner. In their rage, the losing Kree waged war on the Skrulls — and the Cotati were cast aside. Eons later, the Cotati would start their own war in retaliation for being forgotten, using a maniacal messiah named Sequoia.
Shi’ar
As if there weren’t already enough conquerors, the Shi’ar also vie for most powerful intergalactic empire. From the planet Chandilar, this alien race has many avian features, including vestigial feather structures and feathered hair. However, they are extremely grounded in their pursuit of imperialism. They reject any notions of art or creativity, and most Shi’ar do not even dream.
Instead, the Shi’ar lead their thousands of conquered worlds and systems with an iron fist, all under the control of the Majestrix (or Majestor). In recent history, the Neremani family has consistently held royal dominion. The most famous Shi’ar leader, Majestrix Lilandra Neremani, gained power after her elder sister, Deathbird, murdered their father and then her brother, who initially became Majestor, went insane. Lilandra recruited the X-Men to help overthrow her mad brother, D’Ken, and prevent him from attaining the universe-ending M’kraan Crystal. During this time, Lilandra fell in love with Charles Xavier and Jean Grey sacrificed herself using the Phoenix Force. Space is for the birds!
Brood
With a gruesome design that clearly pays homage to the Alien franchise, the Brood are a constant threat to any civilization they encounter. They’re built to be expert predators and their hive-mind mentality makes for a difficult opponent to topple. At first, the Kree believed they could use the Brood as enforcers of their own empire but these insectoids soon proved far too difficult to handle. Many believe they actually originated outside of this universe and they traveled here to continue their incessant hunting. Often, the Brood can be found terrorizing the X-Men.
In their attempt to overrun any and every galaxy, the Brood will implant eggs into hosts. Thus, their army is endlessly replenished and their queens can continue expanding their reach. Gross, yes, but extremely effective.
Symbiotes
Did you know Venom isn’t the only symbiote slinking around the galaxy? In fact, Venom has a whole symbiote family full of deranged individuals and conflicted antiheroes. However, symbiotes existed long before Eddie Brock slithered his way into Spider-Man’s life.
Long ago, Knull was the God of the Abyss. He ruled over the infinite oblivion of primordial space — until the Celestials arrived on the scene. These all-powerful beings (more on them down below) banished Knull. In his fury, Knull reached into the abyss and withdrew the first symbiote, an inky being capable of bonding with a host. Since then, symbiotes (also called Klyntar) have found their way into a number of different people’s lives, creating new personas and unleashing chaos.
Phalanx
Sure, the Brood are monstrous and the symbiotes are maddening. The Kree are formidable warriors and Skrulls are gifted at treachery. But few alien races in Marvel Comics have reached the utterly horrific heights of the Phalanx.
As far as origins go, the Phalanx were originally captured by the Kree. Similar to their use of the Brood, the Kree thought they could employ the Phalanx as enforcers of their empire. However, the Phalanx were not so easily controlled. This race of techno-organic beings ruthlessly consumes all sources of energy — especially organic life. Their prime weapon, the Techno-Organic Virus, converts organic matter into living circuitry. Eventually, any afflicted being loses all individuality and is absorbed into the Phalanx collective. The Phalanx are responsible for an astounding amount of body horror in Marvel Comics. Few are able to resist their viral takeovers, except for powerful telekinetics like Cable.
Celestials
Back in the beginning of the universe itself, the Celestials emerged. These titanic beings roamed the galaxy, observing life everywhere as it began to take shape. In time, the Celestials began to do more than observe — they judged entire planets and interacted with the evolution of native dominant species. From their genetic meddling, Eternals and Deviants were created.
According to many accounts, the Celestials are also responsible for the evolution of mutants. During their series of tests on Earth, they implanted a latent gene that would expand humanity’s potential: the X-gene. Throughout time, they have tampered with countless planets and species. Sometimes this resulted in heroes like Thena or Sersi, and other times it created complex figures such as Apocalypse.
Watchers
While Celestials are known to interfere with “lesser” beings, Watchers do the exact opposite. As their name implies, the Watchers simply watch. In that sense, they operate as the historians of the entire cosmos.
Under their watchful eye, all of existence has ebbed and flowed. Civilizations have risen and fallen. Heroes and villains have clashed. But through it all, the creed of the Watchers is to never interfere. Nevertheless, there’s always a rebel who emerges to challenge the status quo. Uatu the Watcher is (in)famous for breaking his people’s sacred vow, beginning with the Fantastic Four and only escalating from there. Oops!
Beyonders
During the Secret Wars, numerous super-powered people from Earth met the Beyonder. This enigmatic being is from outside of the Marvel Multiverse, a fact which grants unimaginable power. Even more so than Loki, the God of Mischief himself, the Beyonder is a source of absolute mayhem. Their curiosity about the many universes of the Multiverse often results in catastrophe.
Actually, the Beyonder is a member of an alien race called the Beyonders. Since they operate from outside the Multiverse, they view these dimensions with extreme ambivalence. In other words, their destruction is easy to plan and even easier to watch. Thanks to the Beyonders, we’ve seen super-villains like Doctor Doom gain godlike power and entire universes be annihilated through Incursions. One of the few plus sides to any Incursion was when Miles Morales was absorbed into the Earth-616 reality.
Of course, there are plenty more Marvel aliens where these ones came from. Who could ever encompass the vast infinity of space within a mere top 10 list? Well, maybe Thanos could. Although he’d probably chop it down to 5.
Anyway, who are your favorite alien races and storylines from Marvel Comics? Join the conversation with other Marvel fans over at Sideshow Social Network or at side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!
