Why Ronan the Accuser is the Best Character Ever!
Every comic book character is someone's favorite comic book character.
This is a series of weekly articles detailing the history and significance of different comic book characters spanning as many titles and companies as I can think of. From where they began on the comic page to where they are now, including appearances in film, television and other media. I hope to help you answer some of your most burning questions such as: What are some of the essential moments and story lines throughout the characters career? What attributes does this particular character possess that sets him or her apart from the thousands of other characters throughout comics? How in such convoluted histories can one find a good starting point to begin reading the character regularly? Or how to just find some quality one off stories to get a feel for the character and their world? And while the particular character I'm covering may not be my favorite character ever, they certainly could and should be someone's favorite character. And through this series I aim to show you why.
I hope you enjoy and let me know not only what you think about this article but what other characters you'd like to know a little bit more about. Now let's get started.
RONAN THE ACCUSER (MARVEL)
Real Name: Ronan
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #65 1967
Created By: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
The Origin Story:
Born on the planet Hala, the capital of the Kree Empire, Ronan the Accuser is a part of the Kree race of aliens in the Marvel Universe and a member of the Accuser Corps, the military governors and jurists of the Kree Empire. He quickly rose to become the third-most powerful being in the Kree Empire, and the Supreme Intelligence appointed him as the Supreme Accuser of the Kree Empire and gained the title of Ronan the Accuser.
Powers and Abilities:
On his own, Ronan possesses the power of superhuman strength, speed, enhanced reflexes and endurance. He also wears cybernetic armor. Ronan's “Universal Weapon”, as it is called, uses cosmic energy grants him even more powers and abilities including energy projection, force field generation, molecular manipulation, interstellar teleportation and the ability to create time-motion displacement fields.
A Brief Comic History:(essential moments, characteristics and story lines)
Ronan the Accuser first appeared in Fantastic Four #65 when he is sent to earth to investigate the activation of the robot Sentry-459. The Fantastic Four are also on the trail of the robot and once it had been taken care of, Ronan and the Fantastic Four engage in battle. After Ronan is defeated, the Kree decide to send a group, which includes Captain Mar-Vell, to spy on and assess the Earth and its many super-humans.
The Accuser later secretly planned to overthrow the leader of the Kree Empire, an entity known as the Supreme Intelligence, as he believed the empire shouldn't be ruled by a non-human entity. Rick Jones paralyzes Ronan with his psionic powers and the Supreme Intelligence is once again the ruler of the Kree Empire.
After this, the Supreme Intelligence controls Ronan's mind and engages in battle with Mar-Vell on several occasions, but eventually Ronan regains control of his mind, as well as his sanity, and is able to reclaim his position of Supreme Accuser. Later he joins the super-team Starforce during the Kree-Shi'ar War.
Ronan appeared from time to time during Captain Marvel: Volume 1 before playing an important role during the Kree-Skrull War storyline in the pages of Avengers, Volume 1 #88-97.
The Accuser shows up in Fantastic Four, Volume 3 #13-14 as well as Iron Man, Volume 3 #14 before he plays an important role in the Marvel crossover event Maximum Security in 2001. During this event, Earth becomes a prison planet to which Ronan is the warden as part of an elaborate trap set forth by the Supreme Intelligence to subvert the galactic council and use Ego the Living Planet as a weapon. Ronan is later defeated by Iron Man, Bruce Banner, Mister Fantastic and Giant Man after they develop a machine that transferred the essence of Ego to Quasar and the Accuser is captured by U.S.. Agent.
During the Annihilation storyline in 2006, Tana Nile falsely accuses Ronan of treason against the Kree Empire, but after defending the empire against the Annihilation Wave, Ronan is able to clear his name and kill his accuser who happened to be a high ranking member of the Kree house. Unfortunately before Ronan is able to kill the one who accused him of treason, the Supreme Intelligence is lobotomized and Ronan kills him as an act of mercy. This act makes Ronan the new ruler of the Kree Empire.
Ronan later appeared in several titles in the massive Marvel crossover event Secret Invasion including appearances in the Secret Invasion: War of Kings one-shot, War of Kings issues #1-6, and Realm of Kings: Inhumans #1-4. During the Secret Invasion, the Inhumans ask for help from the Kree Empire and Ronan agrees to assist them as long as the Inhuman princess Crystal becomes his bride. However, on their wedding day, Ronan is severely beaten by the Shi'ar Imperial Guard and does not recover from the injuries he sustains until the War of Kings is over.
The Thanos Imperative (2010) sees Ronan become a part of Nova's main attack force during the war with the cancerverse in an attempt to prevent the increasing conflict. Eventually, Ronan is made a part of the Annihilators in Annihilators #1-4 (2011) and Annihilators: Earthfall #1-4 (2011), a team which includes the Silver Surfer along with several others. The Annihilators protect Galador from the Dire Wraiths as well as oppose the Universal Church of Truth in their attempt to revive Magus, an evil version of Adam Warlock from the future.
Later, Ronan is separated from his wife, Crystal, under orders given by the king of the Inhumans Black Bolt, as a part of a truce with the Kree Empire to ensure peace between the two civilizations.
Ronan's latest appearance was in the Infinity story line in 2013 where he appeared as a member of the Galactic Council along with the Supreme Intelligence. The story shows Thanos attacking the earth while the Avengers are off planet leaving only the heroes that remain to stop him.
Other Versions of the Character:
In an effort to reach out to more readers and appeal to those brought into comics by the various Marvel movies popping up in cinemas, Marvel created a line of comics that wasn't bogged down by decades of complex continuity called The Ultimate line. The Ultimate run of books is completely separate from the regular Marvel Universe and in this universe, Ronan is the son of the Mad Titan Thanos and supports his empire and cause instead of the Kree Empire.
In another version featured in the series Hunger, Ronan is called “Ro-Nan” and he leads a group of Kree fighting against the Chitauri.
GROUP/TEAM AFFILIATIONS:
The most obvious group affiliation Ronan has is with the Kree Empire. The Kree are a highly advanced militaristic alien race born of the planet Hala in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Ronan is not only a native Kree, but is also a part of the Accuser Corps, as mentioned above. Ronan is also a member of Starforce a team of Kree super villains assembled by the Supreme Intelligence. He is also a member of the United Front, Phalanx and the Annihilators, a space-based team of different alien races that attempt to deter galactic threats. The team consists of the Silver Surfer, Beta Ray Bill, Gladiator, Quasar and Cosmo.
TV, FILM, and OTHER MEDIA:
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Ronan appeared in the Silver Surfer animated series as a member of the Wanderers, a group of races displaced by the world eater known as Galactus.
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Michael Dobson voiced Ronan in several episodes of the Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes animated series as well as in his appearances on the animated series, The Super Hero Squad Show.
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Keith Szarabajka lent his voice to the Accuser during his appearances in the animated series Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
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Lee Pace plays the very first live action version of Ronan in Guardians of the Galaxy as a part of Marvel Studios' “Phase Two” wave of films.
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Ronan the Accuser appears in the 1995 arcade game Avengers in Galactic Storm
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John DiMaggio voices Ronan in Lego Marvel Super Heroes (an unlockable character).
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Ronan is also an unlockable character in the game Marvel Avengers Alliance Tactics.
Recommended Viewing:
I will admit that my exposure to the character of Ronan has been limited and I am eagerly awaiting his appearance in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy film in order to experience the character more. However, his appearances in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episodes Welcome to the Kree Empire and Operation Galactic Storm give not only a compelling and fairly deep look into Ronan but also helps explain the inner workings of the Kree Empire and their motives. I also recommend reading the Annihilation series of story lines as well as the Annihilation: Ronan four issue companion story. Ronan is given a leading role in the series and is actually shown as being on the run from the Kree Empire.
So why is Ronan the Accuser the “Best Character Ever?” A ruthless enforcer of Kree justice; Ronan is a cold and calculating presence in the Marvel Universe. He inspires fear throughout the galaxy and while his involvement in the Marvel U is somewhat limited, the impact his appearances have as well as the complexities of his story warrant a firm place in the universe as a whole. He has shifted the balance of power among the Kree Empire and been part of teams entrusted with the survival of the galaxy. If that doesn't earn a place among “The Best Comic Book Characters Ever” I don't know what does.
I hope you enjoyed my look into Ronan the Accuser and if there's a character you'd like to know more about leave a comment below and with that I'll see you next time another of “The Best Comic Book Characters Ever”.
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