Gladiator

 

Gallery
Real Name	Kallark
Current Alias	Gladiator
Aliases	Praetor, Majestor, formerly Captain Universe
Relatives	Kubark (Kid Gladiator) (son); Xenith (The Strontian) (cousin)
Affiliation	Galactic Council, Annihilators; formerly Imperial Guard; possibly Heralds of Galactus
Base Of Operations	Chandilar, Shi'ar Galaxy; mobile throughout the Shi'ar Empire and surrounding galaxies.
Status
Alignment	Neutral
Identity	Public Identity
Citizenship	Shi'ar Imperial, Strontian
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Majestor of the Shi'ar Empire; Former Praetor of the Imperial Guard; possibly former Herald of Galactus
Education	Gladiator training process[1]
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	6' 6"
Weight	595 lbs (270 kg)
Eyes	Blue
Hair	Blue
Skin	Purple
Unusual Features	Gladiator has a Mohawk style haircut, purple skin, and pointed ears
Origin
Origin	Strontians
Universe	Earth-616
Place of Birth	Strontia, Shi'ar Empire
Creators	Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum
First Appearance
X-Men #107

HistoryEdit

I am Gladiator, Superguardian of the Shi'ar Imperium. My sworn duty is to preserve stellar harmony. May the eternal heavens forgive us for what we must do here. Destroy all mutants.

-- Gladiator ^src 

Past

Gladiator's history before he joined the Imperial Guard is largely unknown.

Cadet to Gladiator

As a cadet on Strontia, he and the other candidates for the title of Gladiator were tasked by the Shi'ar Majestor to kill the Strontian council of elders. Being the only cadet loyal enough to the Majestor to murder the council he was selected to become Gladiator.^[1]

Guardsman to Praetor

He became a fiercely loyal and powerful member of the Guard, personally trained by Deathbird,^{[citation needed]} and was named Praetor. Regardless of the Majestor or Majestrix in charge, Gladiator would heed their orders.^[1]
He was one of the Guard members chosen to battle the X-Men over the fate of Jean Grey, who had seemingly become the Dark Phoenix.^{[citation needed]}
Kallark was later charged with pursuing a group of Skrulls posing as a superhero team. He believed the Fantastic Four to be this group and attacked them. Captain America and Spider-Man found the real Skrull group and assisted in their capture.^{[citation needed]}
Kallark was among a number of Imperial Guard members temporarily relocated to Earth. After learning of a Phalanx invasion of Shi'ar space he confronted Cannonball, sending him, the Beast, Trish Tilby, Joseph and Rogue to assist in his stead.^{[citation needed]}
At another point,^[2] Kallark was enlisted by Pip the Troll to try and liberate the planet Skardon from the apathetic rule of the Champion of the Universe (because Skardon law would not recognize the legitimacy of any challenger unless they could beat the Champion in a boxing match). Kallark fought against the Champion, but lost because the Champion possessed the Power Gem which allows it's wearer access to all the power that has or will exist. Kallark spent a period of time recuperating from his injuries; meanwhile, She-Hulk convinced the Champion to remove the Power Gem, and subsequently pummeled him into submission.
Kallark was sent to Earth to find the Uni-Power, which was traveling from host to host for help against Krosakis. He found it with the Invisible Woman, and was able to convince it to come with him. Krosakis attacked Kallark and the Uni-Power as they left Earth. The Silver Surfer intervened and returned the Uni-Power to Earth while Kallark took Krosakis into Shi'ar custody.^{[citation needed]}

Fighting and serving Vulcan

When Vulcan captured a Shi'ar cruiser with intention of attacking the Shi'ar Empire the Imperial Guard were dispatched to stop him. Vulcan was able to hold is own against the gathered forces but was finally defeated by Kallark (who seriously injured Vulcan).
Vulcan later married Cal'syee Neramani (Deathbird) and upon murdering then Shi'ar Emperor D'Ken ascended to the throne as Emperor Vulcan. Kallark conferred with his new Empress before following the orders of Vulcan, but did so nevertheless.

War of Kings

Gladiator served his new Emperor as he had all others in the past but eventually disobeyed his orders (in this case, the execution of Lilandra) and rose up against his Emperor.
He was present when Lilandra was assassinated by the Fraternity of Raptors agent known as Razor. Razor had taken over his host Chris Powell (Darkhawk) but was overridden too late to stop the assassination.

Majestor

With Vulcan presumed dead and Deathbird incapacitated, Gladiator took leadership of the fragmented Sh'iar empire in order to prevent another civil war. The Shi'ar, having lost the war with the Kree however fell under their rule.
After the Phoenix arrived on Earth and chose five hosts from among the X-Men, Kallark traveled to Earth in order to stop them and rescue his son. He was no match for the Phoenixes however and was defeated and beaten down. The Phoenixes spared him, and Kallark and his son left Earth.

Prelude to Infinity

Kallark arrived at the border of the Shi'ar Empire following the inertial alert from Operation: Broken Frontier. After the death of Superguardian Smasher (Galin) during the action, Gladiator promoted Izzy Kane to be the Superguardian for the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, noting that she was the first Guardsman from Earth. During the interrogation of a member of the race that invaded the empire, the Majestor learned that they had only attacked the empire because they had been fleeing a greater threat. ^[3]

Infinity

Kallark was present during the attack of the Builders and joined the Galactic Council to eliminate the threat.

Powers and AbilitiesEdit

Powers

Kallark is a Strontian who went through the Gladiator process. He was deemed to be an Alpha Plus by the Galadorian Spaceknight Ikon.^[4]
Superhuman Strength: Gladiator possesses tremendous physical strength, the exact limits of which are unknown. He has shattered entire planets with the force of his blows. His strength level is dependent on his confidence; as such the more confident he is, the stronger he gets. He has demonstrated several astounding feats of strength such as defeating Colossus with relative ease, knocking out the Thing in two blows, blunting the punches of Hyperion with his open palm and by severe effort knocking him unconscious by breaking his back, and carving one of Vulcan's eyes out and beating the Omega-Mutant unconscious.^[5] His son Kubark remarked that he once saw him tearing apart black holes.^[6]
Superhuman Speed: Gladiator is capable of running and moving at speeds vastly greater than even the finest human athlete. He is able to move at supersonic speeds, meaning several times swifter than the speed of sound, which is roughly 770 miles per hour.^[7]
Superhuman Stamina: Gladiator possesses extraordinary physical stamina. His muscles generate considerably less fatigue toxins then the musculature of human beings or most other known beings for that matter. Gladiator is able to exert himself at peak capacity for at least several days before the build up of fatigue toxins in his blood begins to impair him. During his battle with Hyperion, when the opponents knocked each other out with their respective eye beams, it was Gladiator who got up on his feet faster than Hyperion, who was just rising up.
Invulnerability^[8]: Gladiator's entire body is far more durable than that of a normal human's and is virtually impervious to all physical damage. He can withstand high caliber bullets, powerful concussive blasts, falls from tremendous heights and blows from powerful superhumans. Gladiator can also survive in the vacuum of space unaided and withstand exposure to extreme temperatures, particularly intense heat. He has shown himself to be capable of flying through stars completely unharmed, and has actually withstood the explosive power of a supernova. Gladiator's invulnerability also makes him immune to all diseases, infections, contaminations, corrosives and radiation (with the exception of a rare radiation that drains his powers and vitality)^[9]. However the level of his durability depends on his confidence, so if he is not feeling confident his invulnerability will weaken.
Superhuman Agility: Gladiator's natural balance, agility, and body coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of even the finest human athlete.
Superhuman Reflexes: Gladiator's reflexes are similarly heightened and are superior to those of the finest human athlete.
Flight: By harnessing and manipulating the anti-gravitons, Gladiator is able to defy gravity which enables him to fly. Gladiator's flight speed rivals those of the fastest known starships, and can achieve faster than light speeds in hyperspace. Reed Richards once measured his speed as a hundred times the speed of light ^[10]
Heat Beams: Gladiator is capable of firing highly concentrated beams of energy from his eyes. These beams are capable of reaching extremely high temperatures. The maximum temperature his beams can reach is unknown but they can reach temperatures hotter than that of Stars as they were shown able to burn through Hulk's skin. These beams were also able to cancel out Hyperion's atomic vision, creating a huge explosion which temporarily incapacitated both opponents. The temperature level of his heat beams depends on his confidence.
Microscopic Vision: Gladiator possesses the ability to see extremely small objects and images beyond sub atomic level.
Super Breath: Thanks to his incredible lung capacity, Gladiator is also able to draw in large amounts of air and then expel it all to create gale and hurricane force winds. He can also chill his breath to freeze targets.
Psi Resistance: Gladiator is capable of causing a counter-force against telepathic assaults and probes. However, telepaths of sufficient power are capable of penetrating his psionic defenses to an extent.
Accelerated Healing Factor^[2][1]: If injured Gladiator's accelerated healing factor can heal him to a certain degree. His healing factor enables him to repair cells, body tissues and bones that have been damaged regardless of severity with much greater speed and efficiency than an ordinary human. His healing factor can even regenerate cells and body tissues that have been destroyed but is limited in the sense that it cannot regenerate missing organs or limbs. When Champion defeated him using the Power Gem, he had to spend some time recuperating from his injuries. Gladiator's healing factor also keeps him in optimal health and decreases the rate of his aging by a high degree granting him a life span that is several millennia long.

Power Grids
Official Ratings[11]
Intelligence	3
Strength	7
Speed	7
Durability	7
Energy Projection	6
Fighting Skills	6
	* Dependent upon confidence level
Fan Ratings
Intelligence	3
Strength	7
Speed	7
Durability	7
Energy Projection	5
Fighting Skills	4

Abilities

Gladiator is highly skilled in the combat arts of the Shi'ar, personally trained by Deathbird.

Strength level

Gladiator possesses Class 100+ of superhuman strength. However, this strength scale is strictly for comparisons between characters, and should not be taken at all literally.

Weaknesses

Gladiator is vulnerable to a certain specific wavelength of radiation. A significant portion of Gladiator's powers, especially his strength, stamina, and resistance to physical injury, are affected by his level of confidence. If his confidence in himself wavers, he has been known to weaken substantially.
Also should he lose confidence in his abilities he becomes vulnerable to much weaker opponents (Such as his defeat at the hands of the X-Man Cannonball).

ParaphernaliaEdit

Equipment

Gladiator carries a Shi'ar device that helps stabilize massive objects that he lifts. He may have other devices that contribute to his powers.

Transportation

Flight under his own power; access to Shi'ar starships and star-gates.

TriviaEdit

• The character's powers are considered to be inspired by those of Superman, though they might also be inspired by Mon-El from the Legion of Superheroes (most of the Imperial Guard members created by Dave Cockrum were based on Legionnaires.) The name Kallark is a combination of "Kal" and "Clark", the two aliases of Superman. The name Gladiator could have come from the novel Gladiator by Philip Wylie.