Ronan the Accuser (Earth-199999)

Ronan the Accuser was a Kree warlord who became obsessed with destroying the life and culture of the people of Xandar. Ronan believed that they were responsible for the deaths of his father and grandfather, and saw their culture as being antithetical to that of the Kree. As a result, despite an ongoing peace treaty between the Kree and the Xandarians, Ronan made it his life's goal to obliterate Xandar and its people, and by 2014 had reached an agreement with the mysterious and powerful Thanos to do so together in exchange for Ronan retrieving the Orb on Thanos's behalf. Thanos gave Ronan his adoptive daughters Gamora and Nebula to assist him in this endeavor. Gamora betrayed Ronan and Thanos however, and formed an alliance with a ragtag group of misfits who came to be known as the Guardians of the Galaxy (a name coined sarcastically by Ronan himself). Ronan did gain control of the Orb and the almighty Power Stone contained within, but the Guardians—alongside the Ravagers and the Nova Corps—repelled Ronan's fleet from an attack on Xandar, downing his Dark Aster flagship and vaporizing him with the Power Stone.

Biography

Xandarian crusade

In 2014, Ronan reached a deal with Thanos to retrieve for him the Orb, a mysterious artifact of great power. In exchange, Thanos would destroy Xandar, the home planet of the Xandarians, whom Ronan detested. Ronan sent Korath and others to get the Orb from Morag, but they were too late: just as they arrived, a human outlaw named Star-Lord absconded with it to sell it to the Broker on Xandar. Ronan told Nebula, Thanos's daughter, to go to Xandar and get the Orb, but her sister Gamora demanded to go instead, insisting that she knew the planet better. Gamora arrived on Xandar and found the Orb in Star-Lord's hands, but both of them were taken into Xandarian custody and imprisoned on the Kyln. There, sources belonging to Thanos's right hand, the Other, learned that Gamora intended to sell the Orb to a third party. The Other informed Ronan of such and demanded that he meet with Thanos personally at his Sanctuary.

There, Ronan angrily tried to put the blame on Thanos for his daughter betraying them. The Other attempted to chastise him, but Ronan snapped his neck and killed him. Thanos was unconcerned, but returned the onus of responsibility to Ronan, assuring him that his options were to bring him the Orb or die. Ronan soon received a radio message from someone named Drax, who challenged him to combat on Knowhere in an attempt to get revenge for Ronan having killed his wife and daughter. The exact content of Drax’s message is unclear, but he seemingly told Ronan that the Orb was there. Indeed, when Ronan’s fleet arrived with Nebula, Gamora, Star-Lord, and their companion Rocket were attempting to escape with the Orb. Nebula and others chased after them in the sky and into space, while Ronan easily trounced Drax on the ground, dropping his unconscious body in a vat of yellow liquid to die. Nebula claimed the Orb, leaving Gamora floating in space and seemingly killing her in the process.

Upon attaining the Orb, Ronan learned that it contained the Power Stone, one of the six colossally powerful Infinity Stones. Upon realizing the power he wielded, Ronan reneged on his deal with Thanos, vowing to come for him after destroying Xandar. Possessing no love for her "father," Nebula sided with Ronan. Ronan installed the Power Stone in his Cosmi-Rod to harness its power more effectively. Ronan led his fleet on a direct assault on Xandar, aiming to reach the surface of the planet and thereby use the Power Stone to obliterate all life on the planet in seconds. But he was met by a fleet of ships led by Star-Lord's Milano, along with allied Ravager and Nova Corps ships. The energy of the Power Stone led to heavy casualties on the part of the Nova Corps, but Star-Lord and his allies were able to board the Dark Aster and cause it to plummet to the surface. As an unscathed Ronan prepared to achieve his vengeance, Drax used Rocket's Hadron Enforcer to destroy the Cosmi-Rod, sending the Power Stone flying and allowing Star-Lord to grab it mid-flight. Grasping hands with his allies, Star-Lord was able to harness the Power Stone's energy and vaporize Ronan.