Kree Empire (Ultimate Earth)

The **Kree Empire** is a major galactic government founded and ruled by the Kree, a scientifically and technologically advanced species from the planet Hala. Possessing very few rival entities, the Kree Empire is one of the most powerful states in the galaxy.

## History

### Origins

In the Kree Year Zero, about a million years ago, the Kree had their first encounter with the Skrulls. The meeting went disastrously and the long and bitter war started between the two races. The Kree eventually spread throughout the galaxy, establishing a vast empire.

Within a hundred years of acquiring interstellar technology from the Skrulls, the Kree empire began to spread throughout the Greater Magellanic Cloud.

### Kree-Skrull War

The Kree launched an attack upon the Skrull Empire and the peaceful Skrulls were forced to return to their warlike tendencies to defend themselves. The Kree-Skrull War would continue for hundreds of thousands of years.

At the same time, the Cotati on Hala were almost driven to extinction by the Kree. However, a small handful of Kree, the pacifist Priests of Pama, hid and kept safe a group of Cotati. Eventually these Kree began worshiping the Cotati that they had kept sheltered. To further hide and keep them safe, the priests relocated the surviving Cotati throughout the universe.

About 250 years later, the Kree Science Council, aware that the Skrulls had once created an incredibly powerful weapon called the Cosmic Cube, designed a cybernetic/organic supercomputer called the Supreme Intelligence (sometimes referred to by the honorific "Supremor") to help them in creating a Cube. When the computer became functional, it determined that a Cosmic Cube would be too dangerous to construct and refused the Science Council's request. The computer was then used simply in an advisory capacity.

Over time, and as the war with the Skrull dragged on, the Supreme Intelligence gradually accrued more and more political power and responsibility until finally it was elected as absolute ruler of the Kree. Eventually, the Supreme Intelligence came to be worshiped and an organized religion built up around.

### Activities in prehistoric Earth's solar system

The Kree Empire attempted an invasion of Earth about 66 million years ago, but were repelled by a *Tyrannosaurus rex* imbued with the power of the Starbrand. *That event presumably happens via time travel, as the Kree began their space-faring activities only about a million years ago.*

The Kree established a station on the planet Uranus, a strategic position between the Kree and Skrull Empires. Through their work at this station, they discovered that sentient life on nearby Earth had genetic potential, invested in it by the alien Celestials. Intrigued, the Kree began to experiment on Earth's pre-humans.

#### Experimenting on Earthling

The Kree, after earlier having been vivisecting the Eternal Arlok (found in space after the destruction of Ouranos' spaceship), found out the Celestials' experiments on terrans.

The Kree experimented on *Homo antecessor*, leading the way to the Inhumans.

#### The Inhumans' Creation

Around 25.000 years ago, The Kree travelled to Earth to investigate possible ways of circumventing their own evolutionary stagnation, and to create a powerful race of soldiers for use against the Skrulls. The Kree (along with a Sentry) came to a tribe of Neanderthals and experimented on them, because of their genetic potential for manipulation, which was discovered due to the Kree dissecting Arlok, a fallen-in-combat Eternal, and finding out the Celestials' experiments on the early humans.

Those Kree experiments lasted for twenty-five years, and led to the creations of an off-shot who would eventually be known as the Inhumans, their divergence from humanity occurring twenty-five thousands years ago. However, although their experiments were successful in creating a strain of humanity with extraordinary and diverse abilities, the Kree abandoned their experiment for reasons which are not yet clear.

The Kree abandoned the project eventually, but stationed a giant surveillance robot, Sentry 459, on a small South Pacific island.

### 4th century BC

Along with other Kree Eternals, Ard-Con journeyed through space and traveled to Earth 4000 years ago. After being mistaken for Gods by the Celts, all Kree Eternals soon left, save for Ard-Con who lived there for a millennium, but was soon imprisoned by Tantalus.

### Modern Era

The Fantastic Four's unwary awakening of the long-dormant Sentry, alerted the Kree to Earth's advanced state of evolution. The Sentry's destruction brought the Kree official Ronan the Accuser, with the intent of passing judgment on those who "murdered" the outpost guard; his own defeat increased Kree scrutiny of Earth. The Supreme Intelligence sent a group of soldiers on a secret mission to Earth commanded Yon-Rogg. Mar-Vell was sent undercover to infiltrate human society. He took the identity of Dr. Walter Lawson a recently deceased N.A.S.A. scientist. Yon-Rogg was jealous of Mar-Vell and Una and tried to kill him while on Earth.

The Earth's importance as a strategic beachhead became apparent when the Justice League of Avengers became involved in the latest round of Kree-Skrull hostilities. The Skrull were revealed to have been infiltrating human society in an effort to control America's political infrastructure, using their shape-shifting abilities to replace key political figures. In the meantime, the Kree were reestablishing cultural ties with the Inhumans, ostensibly for the purpose of technological exchange, although their true intentions turned out to be far more sinister.

At this point, Captain Marvel, former hero of the **Kree Empire**, approached the Justice League of Avengers with evidence that renegade elements within the Kree Hierarchy (led by Ronan the Accuser) were planning to 'erase' humanity through the use of exotic technology. This particular scheme was foiled by Marvel and the Avengers (comprised, at that time, of Goliath, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, the Vision, Yellowjacket, the Wasp, and eternal side-kick Rick Jones) but it proved to be only the tip of the iceberg.

As the war escalated and Earth's position became increasingly precarious, the original Avengers (including Thor, Iron Man and Captain America) were recalled to active service after a Skrull scouting party (led by interstellar menace the Super-Skrull) managed to abduct Marvel, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. The Skrull also attempted to destroy the Inhumans' Great Refuge with a nuclear-level incendiary device, but failed when the Avengers intervened. This was the group's first inkling that an interplanetary war was being fought over possession of the Earth. During the ensuing conflict, the Skrull took his prisoners back to the Skrull homeworld, leaving the remaining Justice Avengers to pick up the pieces and reform their tattered forces.

The conflict worsened when the JLA began to understand the scale of the war erupting all around them. Setting off in pursuit of their kidnapped allies, they discovered a vast 'Skrull' armada en route to devastate the planet Earth; an equivalent Kree fleet poised to annihilate the Skrulls; and a full-scale insurrection breaking out between the Supreme Intelligence and Ronan the Accuser. All sides were determined to either invade or decimate the Earth in order to prevent it falling into the 'wrong' hands. Led by Thor, Iron Man and the Vision, the Avengers launched an attack on the Skrull flagship, somehow managing to turn back the fleet after a desperate battle (during which Goliath was deemed to be MIA and presumed dead).

The war came to a close when the Supreme Intelligence managed to bring Rick Jones into his presence. The Supreme Intelligence had been usurped by Ronan the Accuser, but (as he explained to Rick in retrospect), he was still capable of channelling his powers through an agent. While the Supreme Intelligence cared little for the fate of Earth and its inhabitants, he recognized that the Kree-Skrull war was futile, and temporarily altered Rick's DNA to release his 'full evolutionary potential.' Armed with godlike powers, Rick literally froze both Kree and Skrull forces in mid-stride, allowing the Supreme Intelligence to re-establish control over his people and bring the war to a halt.

The effort proved too much for Rick's fragile human physiology; as he collapsed lifeless to the floor, the Supreme Intelligence teleported the remaining Justice Avengers to his side to witness his grim sacrifice. The irony was not lost on the assembled heroes, who reflected that a frail teenaged boy had succeeded where all of their collective might had failed. The final act in the cosmic tragedy was played out by Captain Marvel, who - understanding the debt owed by all of them - agreed to merge his life-force with Rick's body, bringing the boy back from the brink of death at the cost of his own existence.

### New Kree-Skrull War

At several points in the years after the end of the first Kree-Skrull War hostilities were said to have broken out again between the two empires. It is unclear how serious these conflicts were though they were often referred to as "wars". The most significant of these instances came when the Skrulls lost their ability to shapeshift, and a Skrull Warlord provoked new hostilities. During this war, the Supreme Intelligence was incapacitated by the Silver Surfer who removed the Soul Gem which the creature used to maintain peaceful balance between its blue and pink Kree components. Afterwards, Nenora, a Skrull spy in the guise of a high ranking Kree official, took command of the Kree empire.

The war ended with Nenora being exposed as a Skrull. Another significant conflict arose during the Infinity Gauntlet event when the machinations of Thanos led to the sudden elimination of half the universes lifeforms. Unaware of Thanos' role in the disappearance, the Kree and the Skrull blamed each other and temporarily renewed fighting.

## Overview

### Government

Although Hala *is* the *official* planet of the Kree's origin, for a time, the planet Kree-Lar in the Turunal system served as the capital of the Kree Empire as well as the seat of the government. The Kree Empire is ruled as a militaristic dictatorship. Leaders of the Kree have included the Supreme Intelligence, Clumsy Foulup, Nenora, Zarek, Ael-Dan and Dar-Ben, Phae-Dor, Tus-Katt, Morag, Ronan the Accuser, and—most recently—Black Bolt of the Inhumans.

The permanent ruler was the organic computer-construct called the Supremor (or Supreme Intelligence), an immense computer system to which the preserved brains of the greatest intellects of the Kree race have been linked. Aiding the Supreme Intelligence were a number of imperial administrators on Kree-Lar, who are also governors of each of the member worlds. The Kree empire is later ruled by Black Bolt and the Inhuman Royal Family who gained power after Ronan the Accuser, ruler of the Kree after the Supreme Intelligence's demise, submitted to him.