Sakaar Imperials

On the planet Sakaar, the ruling class is known as the Sakaar Imperials, a war-like race governed by a monarchy who often have conflicts with the other races on the planet.

Nomadic Hunters to Ruling Class

The Imperials share the planet Sakaar and its moons with three other major races—the insectoid Natives, the grey-skinned nomadic Shadow People, and shape-shifting xenophobes, the Spikes—which are collectively known as the Sakaarians.

As with many elements of Sakaar, the true history of the Imperials remains untold. While some believe that the Imperials came from another planet, others posit that they stem from the Shadow People. According to this theory, one group of Shadows grows tired of living in the deserts of the planet and moves to more moderate climates, which results in their physical differences over time. 

The Empire that the Imperials go on to form does not officially recognize this theory of evolution, however, because they believe themselves to be superior to the Shadow People and other groups on the planet. Rather, the Empire’s scientists speculate that the Imperials are a distinct race who arrived on Sakaar from off-planet on their own accord years after the Shadow People first set foot on the planet.

Regardless of where the Imperials originated, what is known for certain is that the first recorded appearance of an Imperial occurs in the year 1713 Pre along the outskirts of the Great Desert. Imperials start as nomadic hunters following herds of trizelle. After learning how to farm from the insectoid Natives in the year 1150 Pre, the Imperials start to develop city-states along the Vandro River, increasing their population, which eventually leads to conflict with the Natives and other denizens of Sakaar. 

As the Imperial groups grow on Sakaar, the need arises to elect a leader and is accomplished through gladiatorial combat with the last person standing becoming the “Prime Lord.” The most crucial date in the modern-day Imperial calendar system coincides with the birth of the earliest known member of the royal bloodline in the year 0. In the year 23, this royal ancestor leads a failed coup against Andav’s Prime Lord and flees to the south. It’s there where they founded the city-state of Umegus later that year. 

Due to overpopulation and social unrest, Imperial warrior-clans start migrating into the north and further east in search of new land to colonize, leading to hostile competition between Imperials and Natives over land and natural resources as the Imperials start to outnumber the Natives. The Imperial city-states eventually develop into kingdoms, including Fillia, the first known Imperial Kingdom north of the Chaleen Plains in 133 Post, and in the decades that follow, similar Imperial kingdoms are established, such as Okini, Tego, Vandro, Umegus, Wukar, and Kumar. At this point, power is passed down through the bloodlines rather than gladiator battles, or the “Great Games” which still remain as popular entertainment. Successful fighters could eventually earn their freedom and become citizens if they survived long enough. 

In the year 181 Post, silver squares were established as the currency throughout many of the Imperial kingdoms, and the discovery of large silver deposits in the northwest region of the Maga Mountains led to the Kingdom of Vandro’s political and military dominance for centuries.  

The rise of a wealthy and educated Imperial noble class leads kingdoms Vandro and Umegus to begin operating as parliamentary systems, their kings reduced to mere figureheads and senators taking over the duties of governance. The practice of succession through familial bloodlines is formally abolished, but the same rich, land-owning families still retain political power over the generations while the poor masses experience little to no upward social mobility. 

Minor border skirmishes between Imperial kingdoms occur for years until full scale wars break out among the various kingdoms in 199 Post, leading to the “Dark Ages” of Imperial history, characterized by bloody invasions and political assassinations. This instability goes on for hundreds of years until the rise in 486 Post of Angmo, a noble army general who leads a military campaign across Sakaar, annexing all other territories into Umegus. When his march of conquest completes in 500 Post, Angmo names his new political entity the “First Sakaarian Empire,” ostensibly uniting the nations of Imperia, and names himself as its “Father Emperor.” 

Power in Numbers

Like Earth humans, the Imperials of Sakaar feature a range of physical abilities and sizes. Their skin has a pinkish hue and the males have tendril-like protrusions emanating from their chins, though the females do not. While some are still trained as skilled warriors, others have been broken and sold into slavery. 

The only known super-abilities known to the Imperials belong to individuals known as Primes, who appear much larger and stronger than the others. One was Angmo, the Father Emperor and the other the warlord Axeman Bone. Most other Primes are ordered killed under Angmo and his son in effort to avoid competition. 

The Imperials are not particularly adept with technology, but some have managed to use what has come through the Great Portal, though even fewer truly understand how it all works. The Imperials have used their weapons as well as their huge numbers to become the primary power of Sakaar by dominating the Natives and making deals with the Shadow People. 

Imperial Rule

The Imperials live in a patriarchal monarchy known as the Empire and led by its “Father Emperor.” Imperial society is a highly militarized culture wherein most of the politicians are also generals in the Imperial Guard, although many are simply military strategists who rarely see actual combat. A large number of soldiers are needed to keep the slaves in order. As such, the Empire maintains a large standing army, comprised of both traditional Imperial Guard and more recently, the addition of the Death’s Head Warguard, a battalion of cybernetic war machines that arrived on the planet decades ago and since served the Emperor. Joining the Imperial Guard is viewed as a way for lower class Imperials to climb the rigid social ladder, however the Red King increasingly relies on the Death’s Head Warguard and marginalizes the role of the Imperial Guard, much to the dismay of Imperial youths who see the Great Games as their only avenue to improve their social standing.

Imperial society functions as an oligarchy, wherein the small number of patricians who are members of the Imperial Senate make all decisions of any importance, subject to the approval of the Emperor. The Emperor can make most decisions on his own but often seeks the approval of the Senators, many of whom are close acquaintances, to give his policies a greater sense of legitimacy. In practice, the Emperor rarely hears dissent from the Senate, as most Senators are his political cronies or wealthy oligarchs who remain largely unaffected by the vast majority of his policies, which tend to have a disproportionate negative impact on the lower classes.

Empire Builders

The ruling class of Imperials—including the Emperor and the oligarchs—do not make many friends on their rise to power. Initially, treaties are made with the Natives and Shadow People to battle the alien Spikes. The Shadow Treaty guarantees political independence of the Shadow People, in exchange for a certain number of Warbound Shadow dedicated to service to the Empire.

The Father Emperor’s son and successor, Angmo II, AKA Red King, eventually makes moves to destroy any potential threats to his reign and violates the treaty with the Natives, limiting their breeding, ordering hives destroyed, and enslaving them. Bruce Banner, AKA Hulk, and his Warbound overthrow the king and free everyone, including the poor Imperials. Since then, the Imperials, Natives and Shadows struggle with peace and stability. At this point, Sakaar is not considered a power in the cosmic community. 

The Rise and Fall of Imperial Civilization

The kingdoms were not able to co-exist peacefully, and a time of war and bloodshed called the Dark Ages erupted, lasting for hundreds of years. Eventually, a general from Umegus named Angmo rose up and systematically brought all of the Imperial groups together under the First Sakaarian Empire. At that point, Angmo dubbed himself the Father Emperor. 

The newfound peace did not last long. The alien Spikes landed and a nearly 50-year war erupted. Angmo managed to make deals with the Natives as well as the Shadow People, including Hiroim the Shamed, that helped, but it was technology delivered from the mysterious Great Portal—including an army of Death’s Head robots and their munitions—that finally pushed the Spikes back, leading to another time of peace and prosperity. 

During the war, Angmo had the city of Geot transformed into Crown City, establishing it as the new capital. At this point, he also brought back the Great Games which had been put on pause during the Spike Wars. The popular history says that Angmo died in a hunting accident, which then shifted the power to his son, Angmo-II who referred to himself as the Red King. However, one source says that it was actually Axeman Bone who killed Angmo in battle.

Before ascending to the throne, Angmo-II had chosen Caiera the Oldstrong as his Shadow. She served him throughout his reign as king. While his father had looked to at least maintain peace throughout the land, his son was a vain, violent, amoral leader who only sought to increase his own power and smite his enemies. He even had his own children killed to avoid them overthrowing him. The Red King's rule was marked by rich Imperials getting richer, poor Imperials barely surviving and a rumored goal of wiping out the Natives altogether. 

The Red King's plans for total domination hit a major roadblock when the Hulk was transported to the planet by way of the Great Portal. He was quickly ambushed and fitted with an Obedience Disk before being sold into the gladiatorial system. Along with his allies—including Imperials Elloe Kaifi and Lavin Skee—the Hulk first became famous as a fighter and then managed to overthrow the Red King and take the throne for himself, freeing everyone on Sakaar in the process. However, Miek, one of the Warbound, thought the green gladiator had lost his edge, so he rigged a massive explosion that nearly destroyed the whole planet. Caiera managed to hold the place together, but she appeared to die in the process. Enraged, Hulk got in a spaceship with a handful of survivors, including some Imperials, and flew off to his home planet for vengeance. 

The explosion took out most of Crown City and, as a result, many of the Imperial leaders. With that, Sakaar became destabilized with many warlords rising up to take power by force. One of the bloodier leaders was Axeman Bone who was opposed by Princess Omaka. Each side claimed one son of Hulk and Caiera, with Hiro-Kala siding with Axeman and Skaar opposing them. It was soon revealed that the Red King still lived as a cyborg. All of that chaos came to an end when Galactus came to feast upon the Old Power held within the planet, destroying it in the process. 

The Imperials who went to Earth with Hulk backed his brief war against the heroes who had sent him into space in the first place. Some were locked up during the fighting, but were later released. Others clashed with the Sakaar Natives after learning what Miek had done to their planet. While Elloe continued to live with the Warbound, some Imperials and Natives made their way to the Savage Land and established the Village of New Imperia. They were attacked by Miek who was searching for a way to restart his race on Earth. He killed many of the Imperials but also took some of them to use as incubators for the larvae he began producing. Hulk and the Warbound showed up to investigate and Miek appeared to die in one of the ensuing battles. At that point, the Imperials requested that Elloe lead them as Queen. 

Another contingent of Sakaar Imperials survived aboard the stone ships hidden on the planet by the Shadow People, having escaped before Galactus destroyed the planet. Led by Hiro-Kala, they traveled to Giausar and the Microverse. The Hulk's son destroyed the former, using it to poison Galactus. In the latter, he stole a planet called K'Ai and used it to attack Earth. Hulk, Skaar and their allies went to K'Ai and managed to stop Hiro-Kala with some help from Axeman Bone. He and any other surviving Imperials presumably still live on the planet, wherever it now resides. 

While there are still Imperials living in other parts of the cosmos, they have also re-established themselves on Sakaar, though under mysterious circumstances. The planet was reconstituted as the home of the Time Stone until Kl’rt, AKA Super-Skrull, made off with it. Still, Sakaar remains, now with Imperials living alongside Natives and Shadow People in tribes, like the one Amadeus Cho helped against Warlord. With another chance at life, perhaps the Imperials will go a different route than the one that led them to become the despotic rulers of Sakaar.