Marvel Comics Races and Organizations

This list is being updated and is still under some construction.

Deviants - In Marvel Comics, when the alien race known as the Celestials visited primitive man, they created two divergent races from man: the Eternals and the Deviants. Deviants have no stable genetic codes and thus each generation is different than the previous one, sometimes drastically so. In ancient times, Deviants served as inspiration for certain stories about demons and other similar creatures.

Dire Wraiths - Really nasty aliens, the Dire Wraiths were an off-shoot race of the Skrulls (see the entry below). The males were troll-like and had either red or brown skin while the females were red-skinned and had bulbous bodies, tails, beaks and pupil-less eyes. The males tended to practice science, whereas the females were magic-users. Together, the Dire Wraiths developed machines and star ships that involved a combination of science and sorcery and eventually left the mainstream Skrull race to take up residence in a region of space they dubbed the "Dark Nebula" due to the fact there was a "black sun" there. There they took the indigenous life forms and adapted them to their needs, such the aerial "darkwings" and the blind, telepathic tracking creatures they called "bloodhounds."

The Dire Wraiths eventually spread out into the universe when Wraithworld was discovered by the space knights of the planet Galador. They came to Earth and began infiltrating, eventually warring with the various governments and the super-hero community. They were finally disposed of when the space knight called Rom banished them all to limbo. Although a Dire Wraith Queen has appeared a few times since then, she seems to be the only one who was not banished from the Marvel Universe.

Eternals - Not to be confused with the Eternals of the Doctor Who TV series. In Marvel Comics, when the alien race known as the Celestials visited primitive man, they not only caused humanity to have genetic traits that would allow certain members to later possess powers, but they created two divergent races: the Eternals and the Deviants. The Eternals are long-lived, physically perfect and nearly invulnerable to harm by conventional standards. After many years, they learned to control energies that allowed some of them great superhuman or almost god-like abilities. Also see the entry below Titans.

Homo Mermanii - In Marvel Comics, a sub-race of humans who live and breathe underwater. They have much longer life-spans than human beings and have elfin ears. They are normally blue skinned, but there have been a few exceptions. Homo Mermanii evolved parallel to humanity, building cities and homes underwater. Their capital city is the underwater  kingdom known as Atlantis. The character Namor, the Sub-Mariner, is a hybrid of homo sapiens and homo mermanus.

Homo Mermanii are somewhat stronger than humans due to their bodies being toughened by the pressures beneath the sea. They have gills and need to breathe water, so they cannot venture above the surface without a breathing apparatus of some sort. The Atlantean criminal known as Kang was also able to develop a formula that allowed him to temporarily breathe air and granted him caucasian skin as a side-effect. The effects of this serum only lasted a couple of hours and he'd need to drink more if he wished to stay on the surface longer than that without suffocating.

Homo Mermanii should not be confused with the Atlanteans of the DC Universe (such as Aquaman).

Homo Superior - See Mutant below. 

The Inhumans - Wishing to learn how to thwart their own evolutionary stagnation and how to create powerful soldiers, the Kree alien race experimented on a group of primitive humans and then abandoned them. These "Inhumans" started their own society, isolated from the rest of the world. Inhuman society developed more advanced technology than most of Earth and also continued to expose each newborn to the mutagenic "Terrigen Mists" (a process called terrigenesis) which grants superhuman traits but also deformities or disabilities at times. Originally, the Inhumans' city Attilan was located in the Himalayan mountains. During the Kree-Skrull War (see Marvel Events), Attilan was moved to the Blue Area of the Moon (see Fictional Places, Planets and Dimensions).

The most famous Inhumans are the royal family, including King Blackagar Boltagon (called Blackbolt), his wife Medusa, and the warriors Karnak, Triton, Gorgon and Crystal (who was a temporary member of the Fantastic Four and was once married to the mutant adventurer Quicksilver). Though Blackbolt is the king, he communicates through a form of sign language and does not speak directly to his subjects since he cannot shut off the sonic powers of his voice (if he whispers, a building will shake and if screams, he can bring down a small mountain). The Inhumans are often transported by a giant bulldog named Lockjaw who has marginal intelligence and teleportation abilities.

The most notorious villain of the Inhumans is Blackbolt's brother Maximus the Mad. Originally just a power-hungry villain, Maximus suffered brain damage after Black Bolt used his sonic cry on him and is now insane. With Black Bolt currently missing, Maximus, having convinced the people that he is cured of his madness, now leads the Inhumans.

Kree - A race of aliens who are nearly identical to humans biologically save that they are naturally stronger and more resilient to injury. The Kree Empire is a militaristic government usually ruled by the Supreme Intelligence, a living computer who is all creepy-looking in that he's basically a giant green head with tentacle hair. Kree warriors are composed of soldiers, robot sentries, and "accusers." The Kree were blue-skinned people and one of their own attempted to use an object called the "Crystal of Ultimate Vision" to give himself god-like powers. This failed and resulted in the rest of the Kree race becoming stagnant in their evolution. To fight this, some Kree bred with other races, producing some Caucasian off-spring. The Supreme Intelligence has also occasionally attempted to jump-start the Kree race back into an evolutionary state.

The Kree has fought against the Shi'ar Empire and have a long-standing rivalry with the Skrull race (see the Skrulls entry below for further details). The Kree have also attempted to take over Earth at times and have been repeatedly beaten away by the super-hero teams the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. A Kree soldier named Captain Mar-Vell eventually deserted the Kree empire and became a hero on Earth and throughout the cosmos, many of whom called him simply "Captain Marvel" (not to be confused with Billy Batson in DC Comics).

Life Model Decoy ( LMD ) - Life Model Decoys are life-like androids originally developed by S.H.I.E.L.D. (see entry below). Tony Stark (AKA Iron Man), being a major technological backer of the organization, also used them from time to time. An LMD is designed to replace a VIP whose life may be in immediate danger or whose physical presence is required in a dangerous situation.  A group of LMDs once achieved apparent sentience and renamed themselves Deltites, replacing several key members of S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA before Fury defeated them.

Mutant - A mutant is one who is born with superhuman abilities naturally, as opposed to post-humans who require an outside stimulus to develop powers. In mainstream Marvel comics, mutants are humans born with the "x-gene" (sometimes called the "x-factor"), a specific trait that allows them to manifest inhuman abilities or characteristics which usually emerge during puberty. Aside from the x-gene, the only common factor mutants have in the Marvel Universe is that their brain-wave patterns are uniquely different from the rest of the human race. In Marvel, mutants are often referred to as homo sapiens superior (or simply "homo superior") as opposed to homo sapiens.

Nova Corps - The Xandarian Nova Corps (see entry further below).

Post-human - In the Marvel Comics Universe, this term refers to someone who received superhuman abilities from outside factors (radiation, freak accident, genetic experimentation, etc.). This is different from a mutant, who is born with the  x-gene that naturally gives them powers. Peter Parker (Spider-Man) was bitten by an irradiated spider and wound up with its radioactive venom entering his blood. Had he been a normal human, he may have become ill from this. Instead, an unknown factor in his genes allowed him to survive and gain superhuman abilities. Because of this unknown factor, he may have developed different powers if the outside stimulus had been different in nature. This unknown factor is due to alien intervention. You see, way back in prehistoric times, the aliens known as the Celestials experimented on primitive man, creating the genetic potential for super-humans within some members of the human race.

Shi'ar - A race of humanoids who evolved from avian-like life forms and thus have feathers instead of hair and hollow bones, which increases their stamina and agility and allows them strength to lift up to one ton. The Sh'iar are a highly advanced race and power rests on the monarchy. Though they are deeply involved in developing advanced sciences, the Shi'ar are a spiritual people who believe in soul mates and the forces of destiny and prophecy. The Shi'ar Empire includes various races who have sworn allegiance to the Shi'ar royal family and so are under their protection.

The Empire is protected by the Shi'ar Imperial Guard (a group whose members are mostly composed of characters who are nods to the Legion of Super-Heroes of DC comics). The members of the Guard are from different races and they are most often led by the powerful alien warrior named Gladiator, a guy who can give Thor a good fight. Members of the Shi'ar race who are born with actual wings are considered genetic throw-backs.

The Shi'ar have a longstanding relationship with the X-Men of Earth and are the possessors of the M'Kraan Crystal (see Weapons, Items and Artifacts). The Shi'ar has at times been led by corrupt forces, such as Emperor D'Ken. The Shi'ar have at times warred with the Kree and had conflicts with the Skrull Empire.

S.H.I.E.L.D. - In the mainstream Marvel comics, S.H.I.E.L.D. began as a military intelligence division of the U.S. government and focused on fighting off threats too formidable for normal agencies, such as the terrorist cult called HYDRA. The agency was conceived of by Col. Nick Fury following his experiences with super-humans and technologically advanced enemies during World War II. Although he wrote the proposal for the organization soon after the end of WW II, it was not put into action until decades later. Months after that, Nick Fury was officially appointed as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The acronym originally stood for Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division (can you tell Stan Lee was working overtime to come up with that?). Throughout its history, the main HQ of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been a flying fortress known as the Helicarrier, but bases and safe houses are scattered all over the world.

Some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were recruited for having paranomal talents (such as the Psi-Division and Esper units) and on several occasions Fury brought in costumed heroes to help with missions. S.H.I.E.L.D. research teams (aided by Stark Enterprises) developed a lot of advanced weaponry, as well as androids known as Life Model Decoys (see entry above).

After several years of operation, a group of LMDs called Deltites went rogue and attempted to overthrow both S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA. Though Fury defeated them, S.H.I.E.L.D. was disbanded. Sometime later, the U.N. re-organized it as a global peace-keeping/intelligence force. Nick Fury was brought on as director again and the acronym was changed to Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage and Logistics Directorate.

Years later, Fury discovered that the new Prime Minister of Latveria (see the Latveria entry in Fictional Places, Planets and Dimensions) was supplying technology to criminals in the U.S. He then arranged her illegal assassination, despite being ordered by the White House not to interfere since they had put her into power. Now an enemy of the U.S., Fury went underground and has been hiding ever since.

In the wake of the Super-Human Registration Act (see the Glossary), S.H.I.E.L.D. oversaw the majority of registered super-human operatives in America including the Avengers Initiative, under the leadership of Director Tony Stark (AKA Iron Man). Following the events of the Skrull Secret Invasion, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been disbanded and replaced by Norman Osborn's new organization, H.A.M.M.E.R.

Skrulls - A race of green-skinned shape-shifters, the Skrull Empire is a militaristic race intent on conquest and is always ruled by an Emperor or Empress. Their strength and speed is equivalent to that of human beings. A Skrull who assumes the appearance of the Hulk will not also possess the incredible superhuman strength that the Hulk actually wields. Also, shape-shifting is not an effortless gift natural to all Skrulls. Some find it more difficult to shape-shift than others and these Skrulls will often become mechanics and scientists rather than warriors. An off-shoot race of the Skrulls became the shape-changing magic-users known as the Dire Wraiths.

Skrulls require enhancements or genetic engineering to duplicate actual super-powers beyond shape-shifting. Two famous Skrulls who were engineered to possess true super powers are Kl'rt the Super-Skrull (who imitates the abilities of the Fantastic Four and possesses the power of hypnosis) and Paibok the Power Skrull (who was wielded ice and electrical powers, could shift his skin into organic steel, and also had hypnosis).

Millenia ago, when the Skrulls were in a contest of scientific achievement against the Kree and won, the Kree took revenge by massacring the Skrull delegation. In response to this unprovoked attack, the Skrulls began a rivalry with the Kree that continues to this day and it was this event that led their race to focus on warfare. The Skrulls also hold a special hatred for the super-hero teams known the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, who have thwarted most of their invasion attempts on Earth.

The Skrulls were based on Skrullos and later claimed the planet Tarnax IV as their new Throneworld. It was later destroyed by the planet devourer Galactus (see Marvel Cosmic Beings). Later, the alien warrior Devos (a former ally of Paibok's) destroyed most of the new Skrull Throneworld. What remained of the weakened empire was then decimated by the forces of the villain Annihilus during the story Annihilation. Following this, what remained of the Empire began employing more covert tactics and relying on magic and religion as well as science. They have recently begun an attempt to take over of the planet Earth in the crossover Secret Invasion.

Titans - When two Earth-born Eternals (see entry above) named A'lars (or "Mentor") and Sui-San settled on a colony beneath the surface of the Saturn moon called Titan, they fathered a large community who came to be known as the Titans. Mentor's last two children were Eros (who later became the hero Starfox) and Thanos (the "mad Titan"), who was born deformed. Obsessed with death, Thanos' first crime was to wage war on the Titans, leaving only 100 of the several thousand of them left alive. Thanos also personally killed and dissected his own mother Sui-San, all in an attempt to discover why he had been born different.

Xandarian Nova Corps - On the planet Xandar, the Nova Corps was created. Each recruit was imbued with the "Nova Force", granting them abilities such as great strength, resiliency, energy manipulation and flight. They were also each given a uniform that acted as a life-support system for space travel and helped to regulate their powers.

Later, Xandar was destroyed and most of the Nova Corps with it. One of their leaders passed his powers to a young Earthman named Richard Rider, making him the first human to wield the Nova-Force. The people of Earth considered him a super-hero and called him "Nova" (sometimes "Kid Nova").

Later, the planet Xandar was resurrected and the Nova Corps reformed. Recruiting people from several races and worlds, the new Nova Corps operated for a few years, protecting planets from dangerous threats. But then came the onslaught of the villain Annihilus during the crossover story Annihilation. After the devastating attacks, Richard Rider is now the sole survivor of the Nova Corps. His powers have increased, as he is now the only wielder of the Nova Force. Along with this, he now possesses the World Mind, a Xandarian living computer that held all of the Nova Corps' information files. Whether the Corps will ever be reborn is yet to be seen.