| "Operation: Galactic Storm" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Cover ofThe Avengers vol. 1, 345 (March 1992), art bySteve Epting | |||
| Publisher | Marvel Comics | ||
| Publication date | March – May1992 | ||
| Genre | |||
| |||
| Main character(s) | The Avengers Kree Shi'ar Skrulls | ||
| Volume 1 | ISBN 0-7851-2044-0 | ||
| Volume 2 | ISBN 0-7851-2045-9 | ||
"Operation: Galactic Storm" is a 19-partcomic bookcrossover storyline which ran throughMarvel Comics'Avengers related titles –The Avengers,Avengers West Coast,Captain America,Iron Man,Thor,Wonder Man, andQuasar – between March and May 1992.
The storyline, which involves the Avengers intervening in anintergalactic war between the alienKree andShi'ar empires, is notable for reigniting the longstanding antagonism between Captain America and Iron Man, and its impact on the status quo for Marvel's alien empires, with the Shi'ar annexing the Kree Empire.
The overarchingplotline was devised byMark Gruenwald,Bob Harras, andFabian Nicieza, although each individual issue was written and drawn by the regular creative teams for each title.
The title of the storyline is an allusion toOperation Desert Storm,the Pentagon's operational title for the 1991Gulf War, which had recently been resolved when the idea for "Operation: Galactic Storm" was conceived. Although the phrase is featured in the storyline, the plot bears no relation to the Gulf conflict and was not intended to have any overt parallels.
The crossover was in many ways asequel to a previous Avengers story - the 1971/1972 "Kree-Skrull War." Like the previous story, "Operation: Galactic Storm" features the Avengers getting caught in the middle of a cosmic war waged between two alien empires - this time, the Kree and the Shi'ar (rather than the Kree/Skrull conflict featured in its predecessor) - because that war endangers Earth.
Mark Gruenwald discussed the origins of the storyline as aQuasar story which was expanded when he (then Marvel's executive editor and writer ofCaptain America andQuasar), Bob Harras (at the time theAvengers writer and editor of theX-Men line), and Fabian Nicieza (then editor ofWonder Man and a writer of numerous non-Avengers books) were looking for an appropriate plot for a proposed Avengers crossover.[1]
Harras's role was instrumental in approving the story. As theX-Men editor, he could authorize the extensive use of the Shi'ar, a race which had rarely appeared outside of theX-Men titles, where they had made their debut.
The three creators mapped out the proposed storyline, which was further expanded at an "Avengers summit" where all the writers and editors whose series were involved in the crossover gathered to refine the plot further.
Creators who contributed to the storyline included writers Gruenwald, Harras,Tom DeFalco,Gerard Jones, Len Kaminski, andRoy Thomas (who wrote the originalKree-Skrull War storyline); pencillersGreg Capullo,Steve Epting,Ron Frenz,Jeff Johnson,Rik Levins,Pat Olliffe, David Ross, andPaul Ryan; and editors Nicieza,Ralph Macchio, Nel Yomtov, and Kelly Corvese.
The storyline was tightly plotted so that each issue was supposed to carry the story forward in some way. Each character's characterization was mainly kept consistent with their portrayals from their ongoing titles and long developing themes and storylines were updated and further developed.
The plot begins inCaptain America #398 (March 1992) with the kidnapping ofRick Jones by Shi'ar agents intent on recovering Kree artifacts to aid them in the construction of a superweapon. In the course of rescuing Jones, Captain America discovers that a conflict has begun between the alien Kree and Shi'ar empires.
InQuasar #32 (March 1992), Captain America's fellow Avenger, Quasar, discovers that the use of a nearby stargate by the warring factions is destabilizing Earth'sSun. The Avengers gather and resolve to intervene in the conflict to try to ensure the safety of theirsolar system, either by bringing about a truce or by diverting the two empires from using the nearby stargate.
InAvengers #345 (March 1992), a gathering of over twenty Avengers is divided into three teams to deal with the threat. One team stays on Earth to protect the planet for the duration of the conflict, while the other two are sent to the Shi'ar and Kree homeworlds via the Stargate to attempt to negotiate with the leaders of the two empires.
The "Earth team" is led by theWasp and includes theFalcon,Hank Pym,Gilgamesh,Mockingbird,She-Hulk,Spider-Woman, andU.S. Agent.Quasar,Her, andBinary also remain in the Solar System to guard the stargates.
The "Shi'ar Team" is led byCaptain Marvel and includesLiving Lightning,Scarlet Witch,Starfox,Thor,Vision, andWonder Man.
Finally, the "Kree Team" is led byCaptain America and includesBlack Knight,Crystal,Goliath,Hercules,Iron Man, andSersi.
In the story, U.S. Agent is initially assigned to the "Kree Team," and Hawkeye to the "Earth Team." However, Clint Barton (Hawkeye's real identity) perceives this as a slight and is givenPym Particles to re-assume hisGoliath identity.
This is one of the story's few overt references to the original "Kree-Skrull War" storyline, as Barton also appears as Goliath in that storyline (a fact which Barton and Pym comment on in the story).
The Kree and Shi'ar Avengers teams go on to encounter various factions (including their super-powered teams,Starforce and theImperial Guard, respectively). They are largely unsuccessful in engaging them in negotiations. Captain America's team are repeatedly captured and imprisoned by the Kree authorities while Captain Marvel's team engages in several short battles with various Shi'ar forces.
During the course of these encounters, it is revealed that the Shi'ar created a massive super weapon—the "Nega-Bomb"— using Kree artifacts. This bomb is capable of devastating an area equivalent to that of the Kree Empire.
Also, during the conflict, the Kree's military leaders are assassinated by the Shi'ar agentDeathbird, theSupreme Intelligence regains (temporary) control of the Kree forces, and Skrull agents are revealed to be surreptitiously manipulating the court ofLilandra Neramani into escalating the conflict.
Eventually, Captain Marvel's Avengers delegation manages to convince Lilandra to initiate peace negotiations with the Kree. However, by this point, the Nega-Bomb has been stolen by Skrull agents and her efforts to recall the weapon fail.
Despite the presence of Avengers members Wonder Man and the Vision in the Nega-Bomb's massive interior, the device is successfully detonated inWonder Man #9 (May 1992). The Kree Empire is devastated by its effects, with billions dying instantaneously.
InAvengers #347 (May 1992), the various Avengers gather on Hala, the Kree homeworld, and discover that most of the events of the war - up to and including the Nega-Bomb's detonation - have been manipulated and engineered by the Supreme Intelligence to jumpstart the Kree's stagnant evolution.
Horrified by this revelation, and faced with the problem of what to do now with the captured Supreme Intelligence, a group of Avengers decides that the Supreme Intelligence should be killed for its act of genocide.
Disagreeing with this idea completely, Captain America holds a vote, and when a majority of Avengers agree that killing the Intelligence is not appropriate, he orders that no Avenger should kill the creature. Iron Man refuses to follow this order (invoking his seniority as a founding member), and he and the other dissenting Avengers- Black Knight, Hercules, Sersi, Thor, Vision, and Wonder Man attempt to terminate the creature, apparently succeeding.
A Shi'ar delegation then appears and announces that they will annex the devastated Kree Empire, with Lilandra's sister Deathbird becomingviceroy of the Kree territories. The Avengers return to Earth divided and disillusioned by the events of the storyline, and the consciousness of the Supreme Intelligence is shown to have survived and escaped to a waitingspaceship crewed by Skrulls.
The immediate aftermath of the storyline is explored in theCaptain America andQuasar titles.Captain America #401 (June 1992) examines the effects of the conflict on Captain America, including his disappointment in teammates who disobeyed his orders and in the Avengers group as a whole.
Quasar #35 and #36 (June - July 1992) explore the larger repercussions of the storyline, including the impact on the wider cosmos of the Nega-Bomb explosion, the sudden demise of billions of lifeforms, and the collapse of a major space empire.
Other comics which tie directly into the events of "Operation Galactic Storm" includeSilver Surfer (vol. 2) #79 (April 1993) which features the return of two Kree characters,Doctor Minerva andCaptain Atlas, who are thought to have died after "Operation: Galactic Storm"; andX-Men Unlimited #5 (June 1994) which features the Shi'ar's formal ceremonies of the annexation of the Kree Empire into the Shi'ar empire, likewiseAvengers Forever #8 (July 1997), features how the events of the crossover may lead (and led at least in one timeline) the Avengers to become aparamilitary group that controls a vast and repressive interstellar empire, Iron Man's actions at the time having been provoked byImmortus to create a crucial schism in the team that would prevent them from following this path.
In a more general sense, the implications and repercussions of the events depicted in the crossover have had a wide and ongoing impact on many stories set in theMarvel Universe, most especially those featuring the Kree, Shi'ar, and Skrull, as the events of the crossover altered the status quo of each of these races to varying degrees.
Many subsequentAvengers storylines feature attempts by surviving Kree to exact revenge on the Avengers team for their supposed role in the Nega-Bomb's detonation, more specifically Avengers #364-366 and the 1998 four-part Avengers crossoverLive Kree or Die!.[2] The former introduces Deathcry to the Avengers, a Shi'ar rebel who is part of a secret movement seeking to aid the Kree suffering under Shi'ar rule. Deathcry would ultimately leave the Avengers in Avengers #389 to help fight alongside the Kree.
The crossover events "Avengers Forever" and "Maximum Security" restore the Kree Empire to its former glory. Using the Time Crystal acquired in "Avengers Forever," the Supreme Intelligence evolves the Kree into a new monstrous form known as the Ruul. Pretending to be a newly discovered species, the Ruul manipulate the Galactic Council, a coalition of the universe's oldest planetary ruling powers, into turning Earth into a prison planet for alien criminals and attempt to weaponizeEgo the Living Planet. However, Earth's heroes liberate Earth and free it from Ego.
The original crossover:
Aftermaths:
PostQuasar #36 related stories:
The storyline has been collected into twotrade paperbacks as well as a volume in Marvel's "Epic Collection" line.
Issues #55 and 56 in the second volume ofWhat If ask "What If the Avengers Lost Operation: Galactic Storm?".