Ronan the Accuser

"They call me terrorist, radical, zealot because I obey the ancient laws of my people, the Kree.... and punish those who do not. Because I do not forgive your people for taking the life of my father, and his father, and his father before him. A thousand years of war between us will not be forgotten!"

- Ronan the Accuser

Ronan, also known as Ronan the Accuser was a radical member of the Kree race who was disgusted by a peace treaty made between the Kree Empire and Xandar. A ferocious, genocidal militarist, Ronan attempted to eradicate the Xandarians by forging an alliance with the Mad Titan Thanos, offering the Orb in exchange for the destruction of Xandar. After a long search, Ronan acquired the Orb but, having seen it's true destructive capabilities, decided against giving it to Thanos, choosing to take the Orb's power for himself. Using his new-found power, he attacked Xandar, but was defeated and killed by the combined strength of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Outrage over Peace
"Whoa! Who's Ronan?" "A Kree fanatic, outraged by the peace treaty, who will not rest until Xandarian culture, my culture, is wiped from existence!"

- Star-Lord and Broker

Ronan was a sadistic, dogmatic member of the Kree who held a strong authoritative position in his race's military. During the Kree-Nova War, he developed a strong feeling of hate and repulsion against Xandar and its culture, as their citizens had killed his father, grandfather and great-grandfather during the conflict. When the two empires signed a peace treat to end the war, Ronan was disgusted and ashamed and fled the Kree Empire. He took control of the Kree warship Dark Aster, and gained the aid of an army of Sakaarans and the sect of the Exolon Monks, in order to pursues his personal conflict against the Nova Empire. During one of his many actions across the galaxy, Ronan attacked the homeworld of the warrior Drax the Destroyer and murdered his wife Hovat and his child Kamaria. This made Drax lose his sanity and go on a killing spree across the galaxy.

Deal with the Mad Titan
"I promised Thanos I would retrieve the Orb for him. Only then will he destroy Xandar for me."

- Ronan the Accuser

In Thanos' quest to obtain the Infinity Stones, Ronan, who sought to bring about genocide against the Xandarian race, agreed to aid Thanos in his search for the Orb in exchange for Thanos' help in an attack against the Xandarian homeworld. To aid him in his quest, Thanos send his daughters Gamora and Nebula to serve Ronan. In the hunt, Ronan discovered that the Orb was hidden on Morag, he sent his soldier Korath the Pursuer and a small unit of Sakaarans to Morag to retrieve it from the Temple Vault.

The Chase Begins
"My government knows no shame. The Xandarians and your culture are a disease." "You will never rule Xandar." "No. I will cure it!"

- Ronan the Accuser and Nova Corpsman

On the Dark Aster, Ronan was dressed in his armor before he began a ritualistic killing of a member of the Nova Corp. When the Corpsman insisted that he would never be able to rule Xandar, Ronan told the Corpsman that he intended to cure Xandar before crushing his head with his Cosmi-Rod. As Ronan watched the Corpsman's blood draining away, Nebula informed him that Korath the Pursuer had returned from his search mission on Morag. Korath informed Ronan that the Orb had been taken from him by an Ravager outlaw who called himself Star-Lord; Korath explained that his sources had learned that Star-Lord intended to sell the Orb to a man named Broker on Xandar. Ronan, unwilling to be denied his chance for vengeance and desiring not to incur the furious wrath of Thanos, made his decision and ordered Nebula to travel to Xandar and retrieve the Orb from Star-Lord, by any means necessary. Gamora, however, insisted that she should be the one to go as she knew Xandar and Nebula would likely get herself killed. Ronan agreed and sent Gamora to Xandar, telling her not to fail in her mission. Ronan however was unaware that Gamora had decided to leave her life as a killer and planned on betraying him and Thanos by selling the orb to a third party: the Collector, using the money to escape from her family and her life of killing. Soon, Ronan was informed that Gamora had been captured during her mission and incarcerated in the Nova Corps prison of Kyln. When The Mad Titan Thanos learnt of Gamora's capture and betrayal, he summoned Ronan and his other daughter Nebula to the Sanctuary to discuss the recent events. Although Ronan still insisted that Gamora was likely simply captured and was still planning on delivering the Orb to them, The Other informed him that Thanos had sources inside the Kyln who confirmed Gamora's betrayal and demanded that he could to speak to him immediately in person.

Speaking to Thanos
"I only ask that you take this matter seriously." "The only matter I do not take seriously, boy, is you."

- Ronan the Accuser and Thanos

Once they arrived at the Sanctuary, The Man Titan's servant The Other spoke for Thanos, accusing Ronan of being the cause of Gamora's betrayal and demanded Ronan show Thanos respect, however Ronan insisted that Thanos was to blame for everything that had gone wrong. When the Other's taunts began to annoy him, Ronan killed him by breaking his neck with his Cosmi-Rod, demanding that Thanos face him and take the situation more seriously. Thanos was unaffected by his servant's death; however, he mocked and threatened Ronan, claiming that his politics bored him and his entire demeanor was pathetic. Once Ronan was unable to speak with fear of the Mad Titan, Thanos insisted that he would still honour their agreement to destroy Xandar, but if he failed him again, then he would bathe the stairways in his blood. Nebula then confirmed that Ronan would never win a war against Thanos.

Cleansing the Kyln
"Send Necrocraft to every corner of the quadrant. Find the Orb. Any means, any price." "And this place?" "The Nova can’t know what we’re after. Cleanse it!"

- Ronan and Nebula

Thanos ordered Ronan and Nebula to raid the Kyln in order to locate the missing Orb and capture the fugitive Gamora. By the time they arrived with their army of Sakaarans, Gamora had already escaped from the prison with their prize along with her new allies as she continued her quest to sell the Orb to the Collector and escape her life of violence and death that Ronan had forced upon her. Furious that he was once again failing in his quest to locate the Orb for the Mad Titan, Ronan ordered Nebula to capture and torture the guards in an attempt to learn Gamora's location, but found the guard did not know. Realizing that the Nova Corps was coming to retake the prison and that none of the staff had any information, Ronan ordered Nebula and their Sakaaran soldiers to cleanse the prison and have everybody inside executed to keep them silent.

Skirmish on Knowhere
"I do not recall killing your family. I doubt I'll remember killing you either."

- Ronan to Drax the Destroyer

Ronan and his subordinates eventually tracked Gamora and her allies to the planet Knowhere, home of the Collector, thanks to a message from Drax the Destroyer who desired revenge for Ronan killing his wife and daughter years earlier. When Gamora attempted to flee, Ronan turned to pursue only to be confronted and attacked by the furious Drax and so had Nebula pursue her instead while he stayed behind. Drax launched numerous ferocious attacks upon Ronan, but Ronan was easily able to evade Drax's attacks, as his furious rage made his predictable and foolish. As Drax continued to attack his foe, Ronan overpowered him several times while landing several powerful strikes of his own, soon disarming him of his knives. To prove a point, Ronan even allowed Drax repeatedly punch him in the stomach to no effect, only watching his furious rage to continue to grow. Eventually, Ronan beat Drax half to death and slammed his body onto the ground, claiming that he could not recall slaughtering his family and would unlikely ever remember killing him either. With Drax the so called Destroyer defeated and unable to defend himself, Ronan left him to drown in a vat of spinal fluid. Nebula then called Ronan, having retrieved the Orb and, with this information, Ronan returned to the Dark Aster to claim his victory.

Claiming the Power Stone
"BOY! I would reconsider your current course!" "You call me boy?! I will unfurl one thousand years of Kree justice on Xandar and burn it to it's core! Then, Thanos... I'm coming for you."

- Ronan betrays Thanos

With the Orb now in his possession, Ronan returned to the Dark Aster and contacted Thanos to report his success. However when Thanos demanded that Ronan bring him the Orb immediately, Ronan told him that he had reconsidered their deal now he was aware that the Orb contained one of the Infinity Stones and questioned his need for Thanos' assistance in his quest for revenge. Nebula handed the Orb over to Ronan who, ignoring the demands of Thanos and Korath the Pursuer's fears, ripped it apart in order to reveal the powerful stone within. Unafraid of its power, Ronan ripped the Power Stone from the Orb and consumed its energy, causing explosions all around him before he attached it to the Cosmi-Rod in order to control its force, becoming more powerful than even the Mad Titan himself, who watched in silence at the betrayal. As a result, Ronan decided that he no longer needed Thanos' help in invading Xandar and so severed ties with the Titan. Ronan then roared at his former master that, for his insults and mockery, after he ensured that Xandar was destroyed in the name of the Kree Empire he would be coming to destroy him next. Nebula, having resented Thanos' treatment of her over the years, joined Ronan and vowed to help him destroy a thousand planets if he destroyed her monstrous adoptive father, starting with Xandar.

Battle of Xandar
"Xandar, you stand accused. Your wretched peace treaty will not save you now. 'Tis the tinder on which you burn!"

- Ronan the Accuser

As they approached Xandar ready to begin the destruction of the planet, the Dark Aster was confronted by the Guardians of the Galaxy along with the Ravagers, led by Yondu Udonta. So confident in his power, Ronan remained calm and watched as the Ravagers' Eclector fired a wall of flame at the ship before attempting to breach the side, with Nebula sending out their own fleet of Necrocraft to battle them above the skies of Xandar while Ronan looked on, remaining confident even when the Nova Corps arrived to assist the Ravagers in the battle, forming a blockade around the Dark Aster to stop it's movement. Ronan ordered that the Dark Aster continue pushing forward while his Sakaarans battle the attacks in the sky and when the battleship was boarded by the Guardians after Kraglin Obfonteri had breached the side of the ship, Ronan sent Nebula to kill them as he believed their only focus should be to reach the planet's surface so he could destroy it. The Nova Corps stalled the ship's approach on Xandar while Rocket Raccoon and the Ravagers protected the civilians. Unfazed by his enemies' attack and filled with more power than all of them combined, Ronan responded standing before the fleet of Nova Corps ships and Accusing them before sentencing them to destruction. Ronan then used the Stone's power to fire a powerful blast from the Cosmi-Rod which destroyed the Nova Corps' entire fleet, as the burning remains of the army flew to the ground below and Ronan looked at the destruction with a sense of satisfaction watching the pain he was causing to his enemies. While to continued to watch the battle unfold, Ronan found himself confronted by Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, and Groot after they had defeated Nebula and Korath the Pursuer during their hunt for him. The Guardians subdued his bodyguards and shot Ronan in the chest with the Hadron Enforcer, causing a small explosion, however, Ronan was barely affected by the blast and was merely knocked off his feet. Ronan then easily overpowered the group with a single shockwave blast from his hammer. Drax the Destroyer attempted to fight Ronan once again on his own, but Ronan simply grabbed his throat and began to choke him as he lifted him off the ground while mocking him about his dead family, claiming that he recalled their screams which he viewed as pitiful. However, before Ronan could finally destroy the team, Rocket Raccoon crashed his ship into the Dark Aster, knocking over Ronan, heavily damaging the ship, and causing it to crash.

Interrupted Vengeance
"Behold! Your Guardians of the Galaxy! What fruit have they wrought? Only that my father and his father shall finally know vengeance. People of Xandar, the time has come to rejoice and renounce your paltry gods! Your salvation is at hand."

- Ronan the Accuser

The Dark Aster crashed to the surface of Xandar, as Groot sacrificed his life to save his fellow team mates from the explosion. However Ronan was unharmed as he walked calmly out of his ship's wreckage, to the horror of the citizens looking on. Rocket Raccoon furiously attempted to attack him in revenge for killing his dear friend Groot, but Ronan easily used an energy blast to shoot him away Smiling to himself at the desperate and pathetic attempts to stop him that had been proved to be worthless, Ronan the Accuser mocked the Guardians of the Galaxy and prepared to unleash the Stone's power to annihilate Xandar. The moment before he could unleash the power, he became distracted by Star-Lord, who had challenged him to a dance-off. This distraction allowed Rocket enough time to repair the Hadron Enforcer allowing Drax the Destroyer to fire it at him, managing to destroy Ronan's Cosmi-Rod, disarming him and leaving the all powerful Power Stone flying in the air before him. In a desperate move to gain the advantage in the battle and kill each other, both Ronan and Peter Quill attempted to catch the Stone during the split second it hung unprotected in the air before them. Despite Ronan's best efforts to regain the powerful weapon and complete his plan however, Quill was a moment faster and quickly caught the Stone while Gamora called out in horror, as she was aware of what the Stone's power would do to a mortal human like Quill.

Destruction
"You're mortal! How?!..." "You said it yourself, bitch. We're the Guardians of the Galaxy."

- Ronan the Accuser and Star-Lord

The moment the Power Stone was touched by Peter Quill's hand, it unleashed a massive amount of energy, causing a shock-wave which threw Ronan backwards as flames engulfed the group. As Ronan watched on with a sense of delight, the Stone's incredible and near uncontrollable power almost killed Quill as his body was slowly ripped apart from the inside by the Power Stone. Ronan laughed as he watched Quill screaming in horrific pain.

However, Ronan witnessed Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, and Rocket Raccoon come together as a team and grab Quill's hand, helping with the burden of the Stone's power and gaining complete control over it. Ronan looked on in horror and demanded to know how that was possible for a human to survive such power, and Quill informed him it was because together they were a team, before directing the Stone's energy at Ronan, destroying his body and killing him.

News of Ronan's demise quickly reached Hala and incurred great outrage amongst the denizens of the Kree Empire, who marked the Guardians of the Galaxy as heretics and enemies of the Kree people.

Personality
"I was mistaken. I do remember your family. Their screams were pitiful."

- Ronan the Accuser

Ronan was a proud and passionate crusader who fiercely upheld ancient Kree teachings and thought that everyone in the galaxy should be judged by them, holding Kree culture to be superior. Ronan had expressed contempt even towards his fellow Kree who signed the peace treaty with Xandar. He believed his power and self-righteousness gave him the authority to punish those he deemed unwilling or incapable of following his severe moral code, although he was pragmatic enough to form an alliance with Thanos to destroy Xandar.

Since the war with Xandar killed his ancestors, Ronan not only opposed peace with Xandar, but decided to carry out his retribution on the entire present generation of Xandarians, regardless of their complicity in the war or lack thereof. Ronan saw his warped views as justice, but they ultimately amounted to a form of might makes right. Such a mindset allowed him to kill hundreds of innocent lives, including the inhabitants of the Kyln, if he felt that they would get in the way of his overall plans for justice. Even so, he had enough sense to recognize Thanos' cruelty and betrayed him, although much as this stemmed from his personal insults.

Despite claiming that he engaged in his conflict with Xandar for the honour of the Kree Empire, Ronan took great personal delight in the pain and suffering he inflicted upon his victims. Drax the Destroyer recalled hearing Ronan laugh as he slaughtered his innocent family and when he confronted the Accuser over this, Ronan only mocked him further and claimed to not recall their deaths. When Star-Lord screamed in agony as he was torn apart by the Stone's power, Ronan looked on and laughed at his enemy's suffering without an ounce of pity.

Powers
Ronan possessed all of the various superhuman attributes common among his people, such as superhuman strength and an efficient healing factor.
 * Kree Physiology: As a Kree, Ronan had the following superhuman abilities.
 * Superhuman Strength: Ronan possessed enough strength to knock Drax around like a rag doll and could physically take on the entire Guardians team, single-handedly. He was thought to be one of the strongest of the Kree and was worshiped by some for his great power. His strength was impressive enough that he was even able to survive direct exposure to the Power Stone's power long enough until combining it with his Cosmi-Rod. It is possible that his natural abilities were augmented by exposure to the Infinity Stone.
 * Superhuman Durability: While not indestructible, Ronan had incredible durability that was well beyond that of a human.
 * Superhuman Agility: Despite his massive size, Ronan was easily able to counter all the hits that Drax, in a drunken state, tried to give him, at least when he chose to do so.
 * Regenerative Healing Factor: As with all Kree, Ronan possessed a healing factor which allowed him to recover from injuries in a much shorter timespan than Humans.

Abilities

 * Expert Tactician: Ronan was an experienced and exonerated member of the Kree military, and as such, he was a skilled strategist. He led the Sakaarans during the Battle of Xandar.
 * Master Combatant: As a warrior and military figurehead, it is only natural that Ronan would have extensive combat and military training. He had very impressive hand to hand skills, easily countering Drax the Destroyer's hits with little effort and defeating him in battle twice. He also trained Gamora and Nebula to become expert warriors.
 * Hammer Mastery: Thanks to his training, Ronan is extremely proficient in wielding melee weapons, especially his hammer, the Cosmi-Rod.

Equipment

 * Cosmi-Rod: Ronan the Accuser was the wielder of the powerful hammer known as the Cosmi-Rod, a large staff-like war hammer. In addition to using it as a melee weapon, he can also fire some sort of force that is capable of snapping a person's neck by twisting their head 180 degrees, as he did to The Other. When Ronan pushed the Power Stone into the Weapon, the hammer increased in power and became capable of firing blasts of energy which annihilated the entire Nova Corps fleet and came close to being used to destroy Xandar.
 * Kree Armor: Ronan used a technologically advanced battlesuit that enhanced his strength and durability to levels higher than they already were. The Armor was powerful enough not to shatter when shot in the chest plate with the Hadron Enforcer, although Ronan's strength had been considerably increased by this stage.
 * Dark Aster: Ronan was the commander of his own spacecraft, the Dark Aster, which came with a complete crew and combat squadron.

Family

 * Great Grandfather †
 * Grandfather †
 * Father †

Allies

 * Kree Empire
 * Korath the Pursuer †
 * Nebula
 * Sakaarans

Enemies

 * Thanos - Former Master
 * The Other † - Ally turned Victim
 * Hovat † - Victim
 * Kamaria † - Victim
 * Monstrous Inmate † - Victim
 * Moloka Dar † - Victim
 * Guardians of the Galaxy - Killers
 * Star-Lord
 * Drax the Destroyer
 * Groot
 * Rocket Raccoon
 * Gamora - Former Ally
 * Collector
 * Xandarians
 * Nova Corps
 * Sacrifice Nova Corpsman † - Victim
 * Garthan Saal † - Victim
 * Head Riot Guard †
 * Ravagers
 * Yondu Udonta †
 * Kraglin Obfonteri
 * Horuz †
 * Vorker

Trivia

 * In the comics, Ronan became an anti-hero, torn between his loyalties to the Kree and the heroes of Earth with whom he allied on several occasions: he even became the second husband of the Inhuman princess Crystal and a member of the hero team The Annihilators.
 * In the Ultimate Marvel imprint, Ronan was Thanos's son.