Spaceknights
Spaceknights are a group that feature in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
History
The Spaceknights was an organization of beings that were native to the planet Galadoria. Two hundred years ago, the people of Galador were at the peak of a golden age of peace and prosperity with the Galadorian Armada spreading the light of knowledge across the galaxy as they departed their paradise homeworld. War was unknown to them with them enjoying countless centuries of peaceful interaction with other races. This was until their traders in their exploration encountered the Dire Wraiths in their home territory at the Dark Nebula. Before their death, the armada transmitted their last moments back to Galador where the threat of the Dire Wraiths led to the Prime Director sending out the call for volunteers to defend their world. The Galadorians had never taken lives before but a number volunteered to take part in protecting their home planet. These were taken to the Hall of Science where surgeons crafted their genes to cyborg circuits leading to the volunteers losing their humanity as they became the Spaceknights that were sent forth from Galador to battle their Dire Wraith enemies. (Rom v1 #1)
The Spaceknights formed a ring around the planet and waited for the Wraith space fleet to reach them. After a great battle, the Spaceknights managed to repel them. Rom chased them back to their home, Wraithworld, but this caused the Wraiths to flee in all directions, infiltrating various other planets. Feeling responsible, Rom swore he would not reclaim his humanity until every Wraith in the Universe had been defeated. Once again, the other Spaceknights followed his example. (Rom Annual v1 #1)
Rom returned to his homeworld, where he ended up facing Mentus, Terminator and Galactus; his humanity was apparently destroyed in the process. (Rom v1 #25)
Two centuries later, Rom would return to Galador just in time to lead a portion of the First Generation Spaceknights against Galactus. Rom was able to strike a bargain with the devourer to lead him to an entire star system that he could consume instead. When Galactus was unable to stomach the Black Sun he still kept his bargain with Rom in part by moving the approaching Galador to another location where none of the First Generation knew. (Rom v1 #27)
Three Spaceknights named Brakk, Kron and Tarq returned to Galador looking to return to their bodies after performing their service to their homeworld. However, the Galadorians planned to decommission the returning Spaceknights leading to the cyborgs turning against their people and looking to claim the legendary Light of Galador sword. After losing track of the sword, the three ronin Spaceknights went into hibernation to preserve their ancient cybernetic bodies where they slumbered for many years. (Cable v4 #4)
Rom was the first Spaceknight to arrive on the planet Earth where he was pursuing the presence of Dire Wraiths and arrived in the town of Clairton. (Rom v1 #1)
After capturing Steve Jackson, a Wraith assumed his form and was about to marry Brandy when Rom, who had developed feelings for her and had no idea that Steve had been replaced, burst in to stop the wedding. Shortly thereafter, the real Steve Jackson entered the church and shot the Wraith impostor who turned to ash in front of the townspeople proving to all that the Wraiths were indeed real and had infested the town. From that point on the populace of Clairton became Rom's staunchest allies. (Rom v1 #15)
Starshine arrived on Earth soon after, following Rom, whom she had fallen in love with, but was soon killed by a Wraith. (Rom v1 #28) She was buried in Clairton, West Virginia, where Rom had set up his operations, but was soon dug up by Brandy Clark, a local girl who had also fallen in love with Rom, and magically given her armor by a Wraith Sorcerer called Doctor Dredd. (Rom v1 #40)
When the Spaceknight Squadron arrived on their homeworld, they came to find Galador ravaged by civil war between a new Second Generation Spaceknights that turned renegade and the human resistance. A battle ensues and many renegade Spaceknights are slain along with the remaining humans on Galador with the exception of the recently arrived Brandy Clark. Rom creates a final diversion allowing them to escape to the catacombs beneath the surface where Brandy tells them of what she has learned of Galador's fate. Together, they plan to assault the Dark Tower that was the bastion of the renegades and sent out a homing signal for the remainder of Galador's lost First Generation Spaceknights to follow to their lost homeworld. In the final assault, Rom confronted the renegades leader, Lord Dominor in single combat while the Spaceknight Squadron battles the remaining renegades allowing Skera enough time to send out the signal. Soon after, all the Spaceknight Squadron members are slain by the renegades. (Rom v1 #75)
During the Annihilation War, several Spaceknights participated in the battle against the Annihilation Wave following their invasion from the Negative Zone. This group rallied under Blastaar where they helped fight against the forces of Annihilus. (Annihilation v1 #5) The Galadorians began a Restitution Initiative in aiding the rebuilding of other worlds after the war. One cadre would be corrupted by the Phalanx when they answered a distress call and used to infect the war-net of the Kree Empire. (Annihilation: Conquest Prologue v1 #1) Galadorian ships and Spaceknights later appeared over the Kree homeworld Hala where the space hero Star-Lord Peter Quill had arranged for them to demonstrate a new defense program known as 'A-ware'. The lead Spaceknight is known as 'Daystar' and interfaces with the Kree computer War-net by downloading the defense program from his gauntlet. A scenario is then run, but things go haywire as the Kree Sentinel robots begin attacking Kree ships in orbit. Quill attempts to get the War-net rebooted, but is stopped by Daystar. It becomes apparent that the Spaceknights have been infected with the 'technovirus' and were under the control of the nanotechnology-based race known as the Phalanx. Quill kills one of the Galadorians during an escape attempt but the others survive. It is revealed that several of the Spaceknights' Crusade Missions had been assimilated into the Phalanx, having lost contact with their home world while in Kree Space. This causes the Galadorians to send a Spaceknight as a part of the efforts to get past the energy barrier surrounding Kree Space, along with surviving members of the Kree as well as representatives from Spartoi, Badoon, and Rigel. (Annihilation: Conquest v1 #6)
In the wake of the Annihilation, Star-Lord sought to create a group of formidable warriors to prevent the rise of galactic crises. With that in mind, he invited the Galadorian Circle to take part in this endeavour and for them to send a Spaceknight to join the ranks of the Annihilators. The people of Galador were keen to do so as they wished to atone for their own failings during the Phalanx conquest. (Annihilators v1 #1)
The Builders arrived in the Golden Galaxy where the laid siege to Galador with the Spaceknights responding and offering resistance only for the planet to be destroyed by their foes. (Infinity v1 #1) A group of sell-swords formed the Disavowed of Galadoria who sold their services to others and were responsible for toppling the Despot of Monkrith. (Nova v5 #14) Though believed destroyed, Galador had survived the devastation of the Builders but was left a world of barren deserts with the ruins of the once great civilisation that inhabited it. Surviving Galadorians and Space Knights continued to operate on the surface where they set about rebuilding their world. They kept the continued existence of Galador a closely guarded secret as they simply wanted to be left alone in order to restore their homeworld. (Yondu v1 #3) A trio of inactive Spaceknights were awakened when the Light of Galador sword was found on Earth by Cable. This caused the Galadorians to travel to Earth to take back the sword which was when they learnt that their homeworld had been destroyed. Thus, they debated on their next course of action with the three knights thinking of using the Light of Galador to transform Earth into a New Galador but Cable convinced them to use his time machine to return to save Galador whilst leaving the sword with him. (Cable v4 #3) The three Spaceknights then summoned other surviving members of their kind to use the time machine where they gathered at the site on Earth. However, Cable had rigged a nuclear device that he detonated which was uesd to kill the ronin Spaceknights to stop them from accomplishing their plans in altering history. (Cable v4 #4)
Overview
In appearance, Spaceknights were tall humanoids encased in armour that provided them a number of superhuman abilities. They were capable of flight courtesy of their rocket pods that allowed them to travel both in and outside an atmosphere allowing them to journey through space and arrive on the surface of a planet. Their armour also provided them a great deal of superhuman strength allowing them to easily halt moving vehicles. (Rom v1 #1) Their cyborg forms were a composite of flesh and armour. (Rom v1 #2) As such, they were living brains within cyborg bodies with their minds being protected by psi-shielding. (Cable v4 #3)
Leadership of their order was an individual that held the title of Prime Director. (Rom v1 #1) The Prime Directorate served as a command agency for the Spaceknights. (Infinity v1 #1)
Among the cyborgs that went rogue from their service to Galador came to be regarded as ronin. (Cable v4 #4)
Spaceknights had a number of tools that the could summon from subspace. Among these included the energy analyser that was used to scan for Dire Wraiths in disguise with it not harming ordinary beings. It was able to penetrate the Wraith's sorcerous shape-shifting ability to reveal them as they were to the Spaceknights video receptors. This device was able to track energy trails and immediately provide their user with an analysis of any thing or person that the trained it upon. (Rom v1 #1)
Their primary weapon was a device called a neutralizer that could appear in their hands and be used to target their enemy. (Rom v1 #1) It dispatched its Wraith target into permanent exile in the dimension of limbo. (Rom v1 #2) The device were keyed to their users neuro-signature as a safeguard preventing anyone else from using it. Anyone attempting to fire the Neutralizer received a severe feedback shock. (Rom v1 #18)
Each Spaceknight brandished a different weapon that was attuned to their cyborg form. The armour was also equipped with a translator allowing them to communicate in the language of other races. (Rom v1 #1) Emergency upgrades could be equipped to Spaceknights that could give each member the firepower of an entire cavalry. (Infinity v1 #1) They were able to produce swords constructed from a metal that was too light to be from planets such as Earth. (Cable v4 #1)
They established the Keep that was a stronghold that guarded the forbidden Dark Nebula. (Annihilators v1 #1)
Members
- Rom :
- Morn : the first of the Spaceknights and progenitor of his kind who wielded the sword Light of Galador where he pursued Dire Wraiths to Earth long ago. He landed on a living island where he slayed his quarry but was then killed by a wild beast thus leaving his sword trapped in the creatures paw. (Cable v4 #1)
- Ikon : a female Spaceknight of the Galadorian circle who joined the Annihilators. (Annihilators v1 #1)
- Bakin : a sell-sword who was one of the Disavowed of Galadoria. (Nova v5 #14)
- Nujin : a sell-sword who was one of the Disavowed of Galadoria. (Nova v5 #14)
- Klax : a sell-sword who was one of the Disavowed of Galadoria. (Nova v5 #14)
- Tristan :
- Tarq : among a group of political prisoners and petty thieves who were the first to be turned into Spaceknights under the promise that they would be freed if they acted out their service to Galador. Thus, their brains were placed within the cyborg bodies where they fought for many years until they returned to their homeworld. However, the Galadorians planned to had decomissioned these cyborgs causing them alongside Brakk and and Kron to turn against their people. They sought the power in the sword Light of Galador but came to lose track of it thus leading to the three going into hibernation to conserve their ancient bodies where over the centuries long sleep Galador came to be destroyed. Upon awakening within a museum, the three Spaceknights then travelled to Earth after detecting the sword and they sought to claim it leading to a battle with Cable. (Cable v4 #4)
- Brakk : among a group of political prisoners and petty thieves who were the first to be turned into Spaceknights under the promise that they would be freed if they acted out their service to Galador. Thus, their brains were placed within the cyborg bodies where they fought for many years until they returned to their homeworld. However, the Galadorians planned to had decomissioned these cyborgs causing them alongside Tarq and and Kron to turn against their people. They sought the power in the sword Light of Galador but came to lose track of it thus leading to the three going into hibernation to conserve their ancient bodies where over the centuries long sleep Galador came to be destroyed. Upon awakening within a museum, the three Spaceknights then travelled to Earth after detecting the sword and they sought to claim it leading to a battle with Cable. (Cable v4 #4)
- Kron : among a group of political prisoners and petty thieves who were the first to be turned into Spaceknights under the promise that they would be freed if they acted out their service to Galador. Thus, their brains were placed within the cyborg bodies where they fought for many years until they returned to their homeworld. However, the Galadorians planned to had decomissioned these cyborgs causing them alongside Tarq and and Brakk to turn against their people. They sought the power in the sword Light of Galador but came to lose track of it thus leading to the three going into hibernation to conserve their ancient bodies where over the centuries long sleep Galador came to be destroyed. Upon awakening within a museum, the three Spaceknights then travelled to Earth after detecting the sword and they sought to claim it leading to a battle with Cable. (Cable v4 #4)
- Blackstar : among the Spaceknights that responded to the summons to use Cable's time machine to go back into the past only to be tricked and killed in a nuclear explosion. (Cable v4 #4)
- VeaV : among the Spaceknights that responded to the summons to use Cable's time machine to go back into the past only to be tricked and killed in a nuclear explosion. (Cable v4 #4)
- Sorn : among the Spaceknights that responded to the summons to use Cable's time machine to go back into the past only to be tricked and killed in a nuclear explosion. (Cable v4 #4)
- Vorn : among the Spaceknights that responded to the summons to use Cable's time machine to go back into the past only to be tricked and killed in a nuclear explosion. (Cable v4 #4)
Notes
- The Spaceknights were created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema where they made their first appearance in Rom v1 #1 (December, 1979).
Appearances
- Rom v1: (1979)
- Spaceknights v1:
- Annihilation v1:
- Annihilators v1:
- Nova v5:
- Infinity v1:
- Nova v5:
- Yondu v1:
- Cable v4: (2020)
External Links
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