Marvel Comics has consistently been pushing the boundary when it comes to events, which is both good and bad. It’s great because fans get to see creative new twists involving the heroes they know and love. But it’s also a bit of a problem because Marvel never does anything halfway, so there’s an overwhelming number of events tucked within Marvel’s history. Naturally, this means that many fans, especially those who don’t obsess about reading everything, have missed out on major moments. In particular, the more cosmic events of Marvel tend to get a little less love, including the 2009 War of Kings event.
War of Kings quickly became a race to the top, with multiple aggressive characters and societies fighting it out for victory. It sounds like a pretty classic Marvel concept, but it goes deeper than that. While some events of Marvel come and go, others create a lingering problem, which bursts out in disastrous fashion. War of Kings sits on a foundation built by Annihilation, Secret Wars, Summers’ family drama, House of M, and the Kree’s experiments on Inhumans.
A Brewing Conflict in the Cosmos
Like many events within the Marvel Universe, War of Kings pulled multiple characters from several series to create a massive crossover conflict. War of Kings occurs out in the cosmos, as two infamous factions of Marvel begin to duke it out. On one side are the Shi’ar Empire, with Vulcan at the helm. On the other side, we have the Kree Empire, which, oddly enough, was being led by the Inhumans at the time. Finally, the Starjammers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Darkhawk, and Nova Corps all get mixed up in the mess, with the latter desperately trying to defuse the situation.
For the Inhumans, the story begins following Secret Invasion, as they take to the cosmos (aka Kree territory) to find their place in the Universe. It’s important to recognize that the Inhumans had already gone through a lot by this point, and were actively hunting for what they believed they deserved. That was probably always going to lead to a conflict, but the proximity of another brewing problem quickly blew it out of proportion.
The Shi’ar are infamously bloodthirsty and controlling, believing they have an indisputable right to rule the universe, and that’s on a good day. By the time the Inhumans had come into conflict with them, a new Emperor was in charge of the Shi’ar, and he was looking to expand (read: make a name for himself). The new ruler was Vulcan, the missing brother of Scott Summers. Yeah, it gets messy and fast. Especially once Havok (another Summers sibling) takes charge of the Starjammers and teams up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop Havok/the Shi’ar.
Additional Moving Pieces of the War of Kings
Meanwhile, the Nova Corps has only recently been reformed, and the new members are barely trained (at best), making them woefully underequipped to deal with a brewing war, let alone the likes of the Shi’ar Imperial Guard. It doesn’t take an active imagination to see how this could hinder the Nova Corps’ latest attempt to step in and protect the wider galaxy.
Many more moving parts keep the War of Kings from escalating. Opposing sides of the Shi’ar have different takes on the war, and while one was inclined to put a stop to it, an assassination puts a stop to her. That’s where The Fraternity of Raptors comes into play, as one of the surviving members tricks the Shi’ar to get close, despite Darkhawk’s attempts to thwart him.
The Lasting Effects of the War of Kings
War of Kings was more than an excuse for cosmic characters in Marvel to duke it out. Their battles had a lasting effect on the universe around them, both on a personal level and on a larger scale. Both Black Bolt and Vulcan were temporarily lost, forcing a shift in leadership across the board. This put Mudusa as the leader of the Inhumans and Gladiator as the new Shi’ar Majestor.
More importantly, it caused a rift in Marvel, and we’re not being metaphorical here, as the wars’ final bloody confrontation explosively tore a hole in the fabric of space and time. We don’t need to explain how bad that could be; this tear leads to the events of Cancerverse. The name alone is a warning enough of how dire the situation became. The conclusion of War of Kings also opened the door to Thanos’ return (with a vengeance).
The War of Kings wasn’t all bad news, as it funneled fresh blood into the cosmic universe. It allowed for a new take on the Nova Corps, reestablished the Guardians of the Galaxy as an important team within the larger universe, and shook up the Starjammers.
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