The Shi'ar ( ) are a fictional species of aliens appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Shi'ar empire (or Imperium) is a vast collection of alien species, cultures, and worlds situated close to the Skrull and Kree Empires. The Shi'ar are one of the three main extraterrestrial empires depicted in the Marvel Universe, alongside the Kree and Skrulls.
The Shi'ar first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #97 (Feb. 1976) and were created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum.
The Shi'ar are cold-blooded humanoids of descent; they resemble humans with feathered crests atop their heads in lieu of hair. Two different styles are common: most Shi'ar, particularly those of the aristocracy, have feathers sprouting in a triangular shape away from the face, one peak on the top of the head and one peak on each side slightly over the shoulder; the other commonly seen "hairstyle" is bushy on both sides and very flat on the top. The Shi'ar conceive their offspring in eggs.
Internally, they have lightweight and hollow bones, and on their forearms there are still some vestigial feathers left of wings that were lost over millions of years of evolution. The average Shi'ar can lift one ton in Earth-like gravity and has far greater stamina than the average human. Most Shi'ar have no other special abilities, though occasionally a genetic throwback appears possessing wings that allow for flight (an example of atavism). Also, some Shi'ar have telepathic abilities.
Some Shi'ar have developed superpowers such as Electron, Rook'shir, Deathcry, Dakari, White Noise and Black Light. Most of these are members of the Imperial Family and are descended from Rook'shir, who transmitted his Phoenix Force manipulation power to his descendants.
Unlike humans the Shi'ar do not dream, except for those born "defective" or "infected by dreams". Shi'ar who have the ability to dream and create do all they can to suppress their impulses. In the past, execution was a common remedy to such 'infections'. Such Shi'ar include Warbird and the Shi'ar having survived the Fianden's weapons. The Shi'ar have more chakras than a human.
The Shi'ar possess technologies common to most Marvel alien races, including:
The Shi'ar also possess more unique technologies, including:
According to a statement by Emma Frost in Astonishing X-Men #9, most if not all Shi'ar technology is sentient.
A Shi'ar "Galaxian" has stated that they have learned nearly every spoken language.
The Shi'ar language has multiple forms, including High Shi'ar, used for formal events, and Shi'ar Glorkon dialect.
Mostly for tactical terms or insults, the Shi'ar insert words of their language into English sentences.
Traditionally, the Imperium has aggressively absorbed new cultures. Warren Ellis' 1995 Starjammers miniseries described the story of the Shi'ar deities Sharra and K'ythri as a parable which guides the Shi'ar expansionist philosophy to other worlds:
<blockquote>Sharra and K'ythri are the gods in marriage. The gods who didn't want to marry, but were forced into it. In marriage they found strength and in strength they found love. That's what the Shi'ar Imperium does. It marries other cultures. Shotgun weddings.</blockquote>
There are aggressive and violent ancient traditions, such as the Rite of Arin'nn Haelar, which is a battle to the death. This rite can be invoked to settle disagreements and their outcomes are accepted by the Imperium. Their philosophy also impacts their court, as they do not recognize insanity.
X-Men writer Ed Brubaker compared the Shi'ar to Star Treks Romulans, saying they are "smart, aggressive, and mean".
Though the empire has grown to include hundreds of thousands of different sentient species and worlds, the Shi'ar race controls and governs the empire. Its central base of power is located on the "throneworld" Chandilar, while the Shi'ar homeworld is called Aerie (it is unknown if the planet still exists). The leader of the empire is given the title Majestor (male) or Majestrix (female) and is a hereditary position, occupied by members of the royal family of the Shi'ar. Formerly, the Neramani family represented the royal bloodline.
The Shi'ar empire is one of the most advanced and expansive civilizations in the universe, spanning entire galaxies. It is mainly an economic co-operative, where trade with other galactic powers is its driving force. Not all races have the same rights in the Imperium, as the Shi'ar appear to have a disproportionate influence on its governance.
It is nominally ruled over by a high council, which has representatives from a large majority of the alien races that exist within the Imperium. However, in practice, the head of the council (the Majestor or Majestrix) exercises strong executive control and can institute policy virtually by decree.
The leader of the Shi'ar empire is protected by a personal guard called the Imperial Guard, which is made up of the most powerful and elite soldiers from throughout the Empire with most of them being Shi'ar and others being from other alien races in the Shi'ar's jurisdiction. The Imperial Guard is led by a praetor. The Shi'ar military, outside of the Imperial Guard, consists almost exclusively of Shi'ar personnel.
Though having warlike and militaristic ancestry, the Shi'ar empire has largely occupied the role of peacekeepers in many interstellar affairs. For instance, Empress Lilandra Neramani tried to broker peace between the Kree Empire and the Skrull Empire to help bring an end to their devastating war: she sought interstellar accord when deciding how to end the threat of Dark Phoenix, and attempted to avenge the destruction of Tarnax IV, the Skrull throneworld, by Galactus.
After leaving their world, the Shi'ar started an intergalactic Empire and forced other cultures in order to become stronger and ruled for millions of years. Such cultures included the Chameloids, Lupaks, Stygians, Strontians, Hodinn, Saurids and many more. The Shi'ar also conquered the peaceful Mephitisoids, stealing their technology, and erased the truth from history. Another culture the Shi'ar attacked and hid from history was the Threshold, an ancient civilization of mutants who lived on Earth billions of years ago. The ancient Shi'ar were repelled by the Threshold, which damaged their pride.
When the Shi'ar known as Rook'shir bonded to the Phoenix Force, he became the Dark Phoenix and wreaked havoc across the Shi'ar empire. In order to stop him, the first Imperial Guard sent Gladiator after him, who killed him. For years, Rook'shir's descendants were killed out of fear that one of them might host the Phoenix Force like their ancestor. Rook'shir left behind a sword known as the Blade of the Phoenix which contained a small portion of the Phoenix Force's power. The sword could only be lifted by Rook'shir's descendants. Korvus is the only known surviving descendant of Rook'shir.
D'Ken Neramani, a corrupt Shi'ar ruler, attempts to use the M'Kraan Crystal to take over the universe. His younger sister Lilandra and her new allies, the X-Men, foiled his plans. He was rendered comatose by the crystal and Lilandra then took over as the Majestrix of the Shi'ar empire. The X-Men, as well as most of Earth's other superheroes, have had cordial if not friendly relations with the Shi'ar empire since.
The Shi'ar put Reed Richards on trial for the crimes of genocide. He was guilty of reviving Galactus after he was defeated on Earth. Shortly after his revival, Galactus proceeded to consume the Skrull throneworld, resulting in the death of billions. Uatu the Watcher, acting as his lawyer and with the help of Odin and Galactus himself, convinced the gathered tribunal that Galactus is a necessary force of betterment of the universe and is not a villain. This was done by summoning Eternity. The truth as shown by Eternity however, is so grand and overpowering that none of the tribunal's members can remember it fully, although the comprehension stays.
In the 1980s, Lilandra and D'Ken's unstable exiled elder sibling Deathbird made several attempts to overthrow her sister from power. Deathbird even resorted to attacking Lilandra's Earth-based allies to achieve her goals. She is also responsible for initially directing the alien parasites known as the Brood towards the Earth and its heroes. Deathbird was eventually deposed with the assistance of the X-Men.
In the 1992 crossover "," the Shi'ar annexed the Kree Empire at the end of the Kree-Shi'ar War and Deathbird was placed into a prominent position as viceroy of Hala, the Kree homeworld. However, Deathbird did not last long in this position and has since abandoned her responsibilities and it appears that the Kree Empire has, at least in some part, been re-established.
Professor X's evil twin sister Cassandra Nova single-handedly destroys a good portion of the Shi'ar Empire. Inhabiting the body of her brother, Nova asserts control of Empress Lilandra and causes a Shi'ar civil war. Jean Grey is instrumental in ending this threat.
Despite the aid she gave them by eliminating the threat of Cassandra Nova, the Shi'ar still held a grudge against Jean Grey for the destruction she caused as Dark Phoenix. In the series, a group of Shi'ar tried to eliminate both the Phoenix Force and Jean Grey. Jean, however, escaped their suicide bomb attack and returned to the White Hot Room to restore herself.
In the "End of Greys" story arc, the Shi'ar wanted to wipe out the Grey genome and Quentin Quire with the purpose of eliminating the possibility of a new Omega-level mutant becoming a host for the Phoenix Force. The Shi'ar Death Commandos were sent to Jean Grey's childhood home, where a family gathering was massacred, leaving only Rachel Summers alive. It is later implied that the Shi'ar Council was responsible for this, and that Lilandra is unaware of what has been done in her name.
Due to D'Ken's enslavement of him and the murder of his mother, the mutant known as Vulcan attacks the Empire. Meanwhile, there is a coup to dethrone Lilandra and return D'Ken to power, with the aid of Deathbird. The X-Men, joined by the Starjammers, attempt to stop both Vulcan and the plot to return rulership of the empire to D'Ken. In the end, Vulcan kills his father, Corsair, and D'Ken, and assumes the throne of the Shi'ar empire for himself, with Deathbird as his queen. Lilandra and the Starjammers begin a resistance against Vulcan's rule.
The civil war between Vulcan's forces and those loyal to the dethroned Lilandra rages on. Led by Havok and the Starjammers, Lilandra's forces gradually whittle away at Vulcan's forces, which are plagued by defections. The Shi'ar, contrary to Vulcan's expectations, are not happy to have an outsider as their ruler. Vulcan is discouraged by this, but Deathbird convinces him that they will come to accept him.
Warned in advance of a rebel raid, Vulcan and his fleet ambush the Starjammers. However, in the middle of the battle, Vulcan's ship is destroyed by the Scy'ar Tal (translates as "Death to the Shi'ar"). Vulcan and Gladiator attack the leader of the Scy'ar Tal and are easily defeated, whereupon they retreat deeper into Shi'ar space.
Marvel Girl makes contact with the Eldest Scy'ar Tal and discovers their true origin. The Scy'ar Tal were originally called the M'Kraan. Early in their history, the Shi'ar attacked them, killed a great number of their people, making the rest flee. Eventually, the Shi'ar settled on their planet, took the M'Kraan Crystal as their own, and passed down the legend of the M'Kraan Crystal as a sacred gift from their deities, Sharra and K'ythri. The M'Kraan then changed their name to Scy'ar Tal and devoted their culture and society to the destruction of the Shi'ar empire. Vulcan makes contact with the Starjammers to call a temporary ceasefire. Under the ceasefire, the Shi'ar and the Starjammers decide to take out the Finality, thus crippling the Scy'ar's biggest threat.
Vulcan and the Shi'ar were featured prominently in the mini-series X-Men: Kingbreaker that revolved around Vulcan and the Starjammers following the conclusion of the mini-series Emperor Vulcan. This mini-series led to the War of Kings event and revealed that eons ago the Shi'ar, used dark sorcery to created and stored in Null Space the Tree of Shadows, which is the repository for all of the Darkhawk amulets used to empower the Fraternity of Raptors. However, as the Shi'ar empire aggressively expanded so to did the Fraternity of Raptors and eventually they grew too powerful for the Empire to control. Therefore, they all were sealed in patches of dark matter throughout Shi'ar territory and their history almost completely forgotten.
The "War of Kings" storyline revolves around the Starjammers, the Shi'ar, the Inhumans, the Kree, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Nova Corps. The Shi'ar end up in conflict with the Inhumans and the Kree. After Lilandra is killed by Darkhawk, Gladiator assumes the throne and surrenders to the Inhumans and the Kree.
When the Shi'ar found out that the reason for the decay of the universe was on Earth, they decided to destroy the planet. However, the Guardians of the Galaxy managed to warn the Avengers about the attack.
When approaching Earth, the Shi'ar alerted humanity about their destruction of Earth. However Sunspot and A.I.M. used a super weapon to retaliate against the Shi'ar, while S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Avengers used a Planetkiller to attack from behind. However, A.I.M.'s weapon exploded due to overheat, and the Planetkiller was destroyed by the Annihilation Wave. The Avengers were ready to meet their end, but the Illuminati intervened used the controller disk of a rogue planet that shared the same space with Earth, while Iron Man flew to the Sol's Hammer, and used it, successfully destroying the Shi'ar fleet, including the Imperial Guards.
During "The Asgard/Shi'ar War" storyline, the Shi'ar gods Sharra and K'ythri initiate a "Challenge of the Gods" by bringing the Shi'ar fleet to Asgard while threatening Earth with their Super Destroyers. Sharra and K'ythri use their power to cause a tidal wave in order to ferment greater worship in the survivors. Thor impedes their efforts by saving lives instead of claiming them, the round going to her as the survivors are thankful for her mercy. Having had enough of the murderous spectacles, Thor challenges Sharra and K'ythri directly, turning the Challenge of the Gods in her favor. Sharra and K'ythri are imprisoned in Omnipotence City for their actions.
During the search of the Infinity Stones, Razor reveals the true origin of the Tree of Shadows and the creation of the Fraternity of Raptors, according to Razor the Tree of Shadows was created eons ago by the Elder of the Universe known as Gardener who tried to bring life to the Null Space and planted it in the Darkforce Dimension. Eventually, Null Space and the Tree of Shadows were discovered by a more pre-historic version of the Shi'ar and the Skrulls, a find that ended in war erupting between the two alien races. The war ranged until one member of the Shi'ar was able to grasp one of the seeds of the Tree. His physiology, fear and belief's shaped the birth of the most vicious killing machine the universe had ever seen, the first Raptor and while the Skrulls, being shape-shifters, were still able to hold out against the Shi'ar, they eventually were nevertheless slaughtered by Raptor Prime, a creature of instinct and adaptation which quickly learnt to use their enemies shape-shifting abilities as well. It can be assumed that due to the incident with Rook'shir, the Shi'ar then intended to use the seeds of the Tree of Shadows to create an army to unleash Ratha'kon or the Dark Starhawk, a being who would be able to contain and act as a "predator" to the Phoenix Force, however, while the Fraternity of Raptors attempted to mimic the Cosmic entity, because of their mechanoid nature, they were unable to unlock much less ascertain the coveted true power of which within their ranks.
Though largely prosperous for a time the Shi'ar still suffer from the occasional strife brought upon by the treacherous Deathbird. She and her rebel faction stand against the empire on the grounds that Kallark, head of the Imperial Guard and current Majestor of the Shi'ar, is not a true Shi'ar and thus believe his rule to be illegitimate. To actualize their claim, the insurgents are in hot pursuit of an item pertaining critical importance to the Shi'ar Imperium, a glowing egg contain the next successor to monarchy and the throne. In truth the shell was only a telepathic mirage thrown up by its true contents, the prize in actuality being Xandra Neramani, the genetically engineered daughter of Professor and Lilandra Neramani. Xandra goes on to assume the throne of the Shi'ar empire.
The following are members of the Shi'ar:
In the Ultimate Marvel universe, the Shi'ar are a religious group whose beliefs are said to have descended from alien knowledge. They worship the Phoenix, believing it to be a god of not only destruction, but renewal. Their beliefs state that all of the Earth was originally a prison created by ancient alien civilizations to hold the Phoenix, but its presence at the core led to the creation of life on Earth, and the Phoenix's direct influence resulted in all major steps of evolution for man, and specifically, led to the creation of mutants. The Hellfire Club is an offshoot of the Shi'ar religion that believes the Phoenix only desires destruction.
An alternate version of Lilandra Neramani is later introduced as the human Majestrix of the Church of Shi'ar Enlightenment. She contacts Professor Xavier with the offer of funding his school's immense budget, in exchange for the chance to see if Jean Grey is the human host for The Phoenix.
In the Age of Apocalypse reality, the Shi'ar Empire was almost decimated by the Brood. However, D'Ken remains as Majestor of the Imperium, while Lilandra has been executed and Deathbird leads the Starjammers.
In Last Planet Standing, a limited series set in the alternate timeline known as MC2, the Shi'ar homeworld is destroyed by Galactus.
In Marvel Zombies Return, led by Luke Cage of another reality, the Shi'ar were defeated and killed by the zombified heroes of the Earth.