the actors of the Warthe War of the Three Galaxies - logo

Instigators: Skrull Galactic Empire (Por-Bat), Kree Galactic Empire (Phae-Dor and the Supreme Science Council, the Supreme Intelligence, Kaptroids, Mon-Tog and the Nexus asteroid-web Space Station, the Pursuer, Shatterstar (Arides))

Purpose: Universal conquest, revenge, subjugation of the other part, expansion

Kree Allies: City-Keepers of Stent, mind-controlled human thralls (Morgan Charles, Anne Marie Menzie, others) and non-human thralls (Blastaar, Maximus the Mad, Aireo, Falcona, Leonus, Timberius, Stallior, other Inhumans), other extraterrestrials (mentioned but unseen and unidentified)

Skrull Allies: several ones (mentioned but unseen and unidentified)

Opposition: The Inhumans of Attilan and especially the Inhuman Royal Family (Black Bolt, Gorgon, Karnak, Lockjaw, Medusa, Triton), Falzon, Captain Mar-Vell and Rick Jones, Doctor Minn-Erva, Warkon's Demon-Rebels

Location: Milky Way galaxy, primarily, especially Earth and the Stent/Duggan star system;
    Large Magellanic Cloud;
    Andromeda Galaxy

First Appearance: Inhumans I#1 (October, 1975); 
    (identified) Inhumans I#3 (February, 1976)

History:

(Inhumans I#3 (fb)) - Years after the Kree-Skrull galactic War involved Earth, the Kree and the Skrull were stuck in a cold war-like stalemate. Apparently the Kree were the first to shift the equilibrium of the conflict, including the planet Sol III (the Earth of the Milky Way galaxy) in their strategy. Even if the general purpose of conquest always came from the Kree Supreme Intelligence, it followed machinations known only to itself. So, the preparations and the management of war were performed by the Kree Supreme Science Council. In those times, Phae-Dor was leader of the Science Council, which counted several members including Por-Bat and Falzon.

    The involvement of Earth was due to the presence of the Inhumans on Sol III. The Council decided that the Inhumans were too dangerous of weapons to be left loose, so they had to be taken back into the Kree army to serve for war purposes, even if only as cannon fodder. The Inhumans had lived on Earth for millennia, shunned for their racial impurity, but the Kree Empire still considered them their property, little more than slaves, for the Kree had created them.

(Inhumans I#10 (fb) - BTS) - A more subtle strategy involved Earth, and to a greater extent: The conquest from within using mind-controlled thralls. Kree science, always applied to war, was capable of manipulating the minds of weaker subjects, at inter-galactic distance, virtually transforming them into robots of flesh that executed the orders transmitted.

(Inhumans I#8 (fb) - BTS) - For this purpose, a space region of strategical importance near the desolate planet of Stent had already been monitored for months in preparation of the War of the Three Galaxies. So, later, a space station had been dispatched into the Nexus, a space region rich in asteroids and near Stent but inside the Milky Way galaxy.

the monitor room on the Space Station(Inhumans I#10 (fb) - BTS) - The space station was completely powered by the surrounding asteroids and connected to them by a web of force fields. Mon-Tog was its commander; the Nexus station contained a room from where it was possible to monitor the result of the missions given to mind-controlled humans. Moreover, the station was a steppingstone for the Kree, in the third galaxy.

(Inhumans I#1/2 - BTS) - Thanks to their galactic-spawning mind-control technology, the Kree could make contact with and take control of Maximus of the Inhumans and with Blastaar. The Kree technology could fire balls of flames from deep space to hit a target with great accuracy. In the case of Blastaar, the projectile from the space destroyed the (presumably secondary) adamantium prison that surrounded Blastaar, but left him unscathed.

    The mind-controlled Blastaar followed the plan of the "masters from the stars." He freed the Kaptroids under Attilan, and the giant robots captured hundreds of Inhumans, only to be destroyed by Black Bolt and the Royal Family.

(Inhumans I#3 (fb)) - The failure of the Kaptroids led to the malfunction of the Kree Monolith under Attilan. The Council, receiving warning signals from the Monolith, deduced that the seizure mission had failed. Furthermore, the Monolith malfunction caused earthquakes so destructive that they could change the topography of Sol III. In order to complete the recollection mission, Phae-Dor's Council dispatched Shatterstar to Sol III to to capture the Inhumans.

    Falzon was the only member of the Council that protested, defending the Inhumans.

(Inhumans I#3-6) - Once on Earth, in New York, Shatterstar battled the Royal Family but was defeated; meanwhile the Kree mind-control weapon subdued Leonus and Stallior, who freed Maximus the mad. So, Maximus took control of Attilan, and captured the Royal Family when they went back home.

    The Kree plan proceeded, with half of the population of Attilan loaded into Shatterstar's ark, ready to be dispatched to the galactic war. But after nine days of deprivation and torment, Black Bolt screamed. The cataclysmic sound destroyed Attilan and the space ark. Shatterstar was apparently disintegrated by his own power and Maximus' mission in Attilan was vanquished.

(Captain Marvel I#46) - Still interested in using the Inhumans as weapons, the Supreme Intelligence had followed a different plan for the Kree Universal conquest, aside from the Council strategies. Using the Millennia Bloom, the Intelligence tried to take control of Rick Jones and his "Destiny Force." The next step to follow would have been the total destruction of the Earth, including the Inhumans. Captain Marvel and Rick Jones succeeded in thwarting his plan just in time. For the enormous use of energy he had to employ to defend planet Hala, the Supremor disappeared from the screen for the fist time in the Kree recorded history.

(Inhumans I#8 (fb) - BTS) - Many star system in the known galaxies had become aware of the approach of the War of the Three Galaxies. On many inhabited planets peace was broken, skirmishes arose, and the governments had to choose the side they thought could win the War.
    The situation was well-known also on planet Stent, where Warkon and the Demon-Rebels, anarchists, decided to fight the Kree, while the City-Keepers allied with them.

    Meanwhile, on Earth, the mind-controlling strategy proceeded. 100 human beings fell under control of the Nexus station, ready to sabotage the defenses of the planet.

(Inhumans I#10 / Inhumans I#9 cover only) - The Kree war plans were seriously delayed by the explosion of the Nexus space station web. Stenth Demon-Rebels, led by Warkon and helped by the Inhuman Royal Family and Falzon, managed to completely destroy the gargantuan space station. The only survivors were the Inhumans, who went back to Earth, with the knowledge of the impending War.

(Inhumans I#11) - On the Kree homeworld, the Kree Supreme Council acknowledged the great strategic and logistic loss, as well as the interference and threat posed by the Inhumans. The Pursuer was sent to New York, to track the Inhumans down and slay them, but it was defeated.

(Inhumans I#12) - While Black Bolt tried to warn the Earth authorities of the impending war, the Pursuer revived and resumed his search.

Phae-dor convinced the Supreme Council to start the War(Captain Marvel I#52) - Meanwhile, the Kree geneticist Minn-Erva had discovered that the solution for the problem of the Kree race genetic stagnation could be worked around: she was the perfect mate for Mar-Vell, and their offspring could produce a superior race free from the genetic bonds that affected the Kree. Pursuing such a solution she was against the War, because it didn't address the far greater problem of the Kree race.

    However, the Science Council kept on the aggressive line of conduit, wanting Mar-Vell as a weapon for the Empire. So, when Doctor Minerva succeeded in luring Captain Marvell onto her spaceship, she was contacted by Phae-Dor, who ordered her to abandon her project, to capture Mar-Vell and to return him to Kree-Lar. At Minn-Erva's refusal, Phae-Dor overrode her control over her cruiser and created a giant energy manifestation to subdue Mar-Vell. The act of force failed, because Captain Marvel defeated the manifestation.

(Captain Marvel I#53) - Captain Marvel learned more about the War from Minerva, the Royal Family and Falzon. This information drove Black Bolt and Captain Marvel to assault Hala where the Council was reunited, to try to stop the escalation.

    The Council, influenced by Por-Bat, had already decreed to start the war. A button on the desk of the Council had only to be pressed to unleash the attack against the Skrull Galaxy. The button was not pressed because Black Bolt and Captain Marvel infiltrated the chambers of the Science Council from within. While Black Bolt sustained the full weight of the Kree soldiers, he gave time to Captain Marvel to understand what was wrong within the Council's ranks and why it was so heavily oriented toward the war. His cosmic awareness pointed to Por-Bat, and the Truth Chair forced the councilman to reveal his true nature: a Skrull! Captain Marvel clarified that the Skrull army was ready to receive the Kree forces, luring them into a trap in order to wipe them out. Phae-Dor acknowledged that the plans of the Council had been mined from the beginning so he cancelled the attack and retired the Kree forces. The sabotage of Earth defenses was abandoned and the Pursuer was recalled.

    The War never actually started up and turned back into a Cold War.

Comments: Created by Doug Moench and concluded by Scott Edelman.

    Considering the tension, and the hatred between the Kree and the Skrull Empires, the War of the Three Galaxies can be considered as a missed and low revamp of the first Kree-Skrull War. It was just a short phase of their millennia-long struggle.
    The assault performed by Black Bolt and Captain Marvel was so sudden and successful because they used a matter transmitter that transported them from the Blue Area to the Council's chambers, bypassing all the galactic and extra-planetary defenses. The Transmitter had been already used to travel to the Watchers' home-world (see Captain Marvel I#38).
    The behavior of the Supreme Intelligence, who hid his objectives, calculations, machinations and actions to most or all the Kree leading elite (see his conversation with Bun-Dall in Captain Marvel I#45), is quite understandable once considering the deep degree of infiltration that Skrull spies can reach with preparation and time at their disposal.
    The War exploded years later, after the Skrulls lost their shape-shifting powers due to the Genetic Bomb.
    Shatterstar did not die. He reappeared years later in a different form.

    The War of the Three Galaxies is also mentioned in Maximus' profile in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z: Update#2 (2007), reporting the events from Inhumans I#1-6.

Profile by Spidermay.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The War of the Three Galaxies event should not be confused with:


the mind-controlling cometThe force-spheres

    The force-spheres looked like fireballs and were a previously unseen and unconventional tool used in the preliminary phases of the War of the Three Galaxies.

    The comet-like powerballs could cover inter-galactic distances (at least from the Stent system to the Solar system) at a speed faster than light's. The speed was probably slower than the cannon beam's that transported the Pursuer's energy (apparently few seconds or minutes); however, the fireballs were more precise.

    The fireballs had a high destructive power, enough to destroy (resumably secondary) adamantium, but, even if burning, they could hit their target without harming it, and even protecting it. Moreover, the spheres carried the mind-controlling mechanism that enabled the "masters" to communicate with the unwitting agents. Also, the degree of control over the thrall could be regulated to leave a greater and better efficiency, such as in the cases of Blastaar and Maximus the Mad. The controlling mechanism, sometime identifiable by a glow of crackling energy around the target, could be passed from target to target through a simple touch.

    It is unrevealed if the fireballs were used on the one hundred human subjects. Even if the spheres were very efficient in conditioning the will of the target, they could not pass unnoticed. Apparently, the crackling energy could propagate itself through electric power-connected devices.

    Their power over the other's will was total. The targets could be driven to kill themselves.

    The force-spheres were probably launched by the same Kree Space Station that monitored the enthralled targets.

Appearances: Inhumans I#1 (1, 2 (fb), 5 (fb)

images: (without ads)
Captain Marvel I#53, p1, pan1 (the War of the Three Galaxies, logo)
Captain Marvel I#53, p6 , pan1/2 (the actors involved in the War of the Three Galaxies)
Inhumans I#10, p12, pan4 (the room to monitor the mind-thralls)
Inhumans I#11, p9, pan7 (the Kree Supreme Council approving Por-Bat's proposal)
Inhumans I#1, p4, pan5 (a mind-controlling flaming sphere)

Appearances:
Inhumans I#1 (October, 1975) - Doug Moench (writer), George Perez (penciler), Frank Chiaramonte (inker), Diane Buscema (colors), Len Wein (editor)
Inhumans I#2 (December, 1975) - Doug Moench (writer), George Perez (penciler), Fred Kida (inker), Janice Cohen (colors), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Inhumans I#3 (February, 1976) - Doug Moench (writer), George Perez (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Petra Goldberg (colors), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Inhumans I#4 (April, 1976) - Doug Moench (writer), George Perez (penciler), Vince Colletta (inker), Glynis Oliver (colors), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Inhumans I#5 (June, 1976) - Doug Moench (writer), Gil Kane (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Don Warfield (colors), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Inhumans I#6 (August, 1976) - Doug Moench (writer), Gil Kane (pencils), Frank Chiaramonte (inks), Phil Rache (colors), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Inhumans I#7 (October, 1976) - Doug Moench (writer), Gil Kane (pencils), Don Perlin (inks), Hugh Paley (colors), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Inhumans I#8 (December, 1976) - Doug Moench (writer), George Perez (pencils), Don Perlin (inks), Janice Cohen (colors), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Inhumans I#10 (April, 1977) - Doug Moench (writer), Keith Pollard (artist), Don Warfield (colors), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Inhumans I#11 (June, 1977) - Doug Moench (writer), Keith Pollard and Jim Mooney (artists), Janice Cohen (colors), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Inhumans I#12 (August, 1977) - Doug Moench (writer), Keith Pollard (pencils), Bob Wiacek (inks), Phil Rache (colors), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Captain Marvel I#52 (September, 1977) - Scott Edelman (writer), Al Milgrom (pencils), Terry Austin, Jack Abel, Bob Wiacek & Al Milgrom (inks), Irene Vartanoff (colors), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Captain Marvel I#53 (November, 1977) - Scott Edelman (writer), Al Milgrom (pencils), Terry Austin, Bob Wiacek & Al Milgrom (inks), Ellen & Irene Vartanoff (colors), Archie Goodwin (editor)

First Posted: 07/31/2022
Last updated: 07/31/2022

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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