Brew’s Crew: Shatterax

(Editor’s note: This is another in a series of irregularly-scheduled columns by Managing Editor Byron Brewer, mainly dealing with cosmic comics and its many denizens. Mr. Brewer’s opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CosmicBookNews.com. He welcomes both raves and opposing views.)

 

By Byron Brewer

 

[[wysiwyg_imageupload:943:]]This is one automaton without much of a story. Through the long boxes and into the Internet and yet there is just a scattering. Me? I didn’t know him until Annihilation rolled around.

Still, Captain Cosmic will not be denied, and neither will his readers! Onward, Crew!

When a squadron of Avengers entered Kree territory in an attempt to end the Kree-Shi’ar War, the Supreme Intelligence ordered his scientists to bring a cybernetic agent called Shatterax online, despite reports that his repairs were incomplete.

At his prime, Shatterax could survive unaided in the vacuum of space, fly, possessed superhuman strength (class 50?), and had the ability to shoot strong energy blasts. He could also build up his power for a “neuron wave barrage,” which discharged an especially powerful blast. He also had advanced sensors that could see through even advanced forms of stealth technology.

For his (its?) part, the warrior performed nobly as he was quickly activated; however, this gave Shatterax a shortened lifespan. He was commanded to capture the Avengers that were in Kree space. Shatterax tracked the team to the outpost where they were operating from and engaged Iron Man in battle. Shatterax appeared to have the upper-hand in the confrontation when Iron Man surrendered on behalf of his teammates. Shatterax turned the captives over to Ronan the Accuser.

As the Kree Empire waged its interstellar war against the Shi’ar, the deposed Supreme Intelligence conspired to reclaim sovereignty of his lost empire. He started gathering a collection of super-powered Kree warriors to serve him as Starforce. His first order of business was to reactivate the Supremor, which was an android replica of him. He had employed the Supremor in the past for the purpose of physical combat.

Supremor’s first recruits aside from Shatterax included the amnesiac Ultimus, who has been imprisoned on Earth by Tantalus, a member of the Deviants race, for centuries. Ultimus had no memories of his origins, but he learned from Supremor that he was the last known surviving Kree Eternal. Also on the team was Korath, one of the scientists behind the cybernetic Pursuer warriors who turned the experiment upon himself when the project was abandoned by the Kree government. Dr. Minerva and her lover, the soldier Captain Atlas, were on board; together they had stolen the Nega-Bands of Captain Marvel but lost them to the Shi’ar.

The Avengers came to the Kree homeworld Hala to seek a diplomatic solution to the war. Because Earth’s solar system had become embroiled in the conflict due to the close proximity of a stargate, which allowed passage between the two empires, the Avengers were present on Hala at the time when the Kree rulers General Ael-Dan and General Dar-Benn were murdered by the Shi’ar assassin Deathbird.

The Supreme Intelligence reclaimed leadership of the Kree Empire and secretly initiated the assassination by Deathbird, allowing him to install Starforce as an official Kree army. Starforce arrested the Avengers and Deathbird. Ronan, the most prominent of the Kree judges called Accusers, was added to Starforce’s ranks. He accompanied Shatterax, Korath, Supremor and Ultimus to Shi’ar space to assassinate the Shi’ar ruler Lilandra; however, another team of Avengers were in negotiations with the Shi’ar and they helped the Imperial Guard defeat Starforce.

The Shi’ar prepared a Nega-Bomb using the captured Nega-Bands in an attempt to wipe out the Kree. Lilandra also intended to execute Starforce, but the Avengers pleaded for their lives. Lilandra found that longtime Kree enemies the Skrulls had infiltrated her council; she called off the execution on the honor of Starforce’s members. She was also persuaded to recall the Nega-Bomb. The Skrulls serving the Supreme Intelligence commandeered the weapon and detonated it in Kree space, thus decimating the population as part of the Supreme Intelligence’s attempt at jump-starting Kree evolution.

The Supreme Intelligence was seemingly killed by the Avengers in the aftermath. He actually escaped thanks to his allies. Dr. Minerva and Captain Atlas had faked their suicide and went into hiding, intending to fulfill the Supreme Intelligence’s ambitions by bearing children that would benefit from their irradiation by the Nega-Bomb. Lilandra claimed Kree territory in the name of the Shi’ar, and Deathbird was named as her viceroy on Hala. She assigned Korath, Shatterax and Ultimus as counterparts to the Imperial Guard. Ronan quit Starforce and Supremor was imprisoned.

When Quasar came to Hala to offer assistance to the survivors, Deathbird and Starforce attacked him and rejected his overture. Unable to convince them he was an ally, Quasar departed. The rogue Kree admiral Galen-Kor later initiated a breakout on Hala, recruiting escapees for his own personal army. The Silver Surfer aided Starforce in attempting to recapture the prisoners, but Galen-Kor and his forces escaped.

Ultimus’ old foe Tantalus rampaged through Kree space on his way to reclaiming his homeworld, Armechadon. Starforce encountered Tantalus’ enemies from Earth, the Underground Legion. Learning that Tantalus had escaped confinement on Earth, Ultimus insisted that Shatterax and the rest of Starforce aid the Underground Legion, and they joined the battle against Tantalus on Armechadon. The battle ended with Tantalus being defeated by his own son Blackwulf.

When the Kree Empire regained its autonomy, the members of Starforce were branded defectors and forced to leave.

Absorbed into the Phalanx as one of their select during the race’s move to take over the Kree Empure and the universe, led by Ultron, Shatterax joined select members Korath and Xemnu with the Phalanx forces sent to Terma, where they clashed with Adam Warlock, Phyla-Vell and Moondragon, but Warlock spirited himself and his allies away. When Shatterax, Korath and Xemnu reported their failure to Ultron, Hank Pym’s robot “son” destroyed Korath to teach Shatterax and Xemnu a lesson.

Maybe we will see a “digital” Shatterax soon?