Imperial Guard (comics)

The Imperial Guard is a team of fictional super-powered alien warriors appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Imperial Guard serves the rulers of the Shi'ar Empire, both by enforcing Shi'ar Imperial law on all planets within the Shi'ar Galaxy and as the Emperor or Empress' personal guard. Appearing primarily in comics relating to Marvel's X-Men titles, the Imperial Guard has been both allies and opponents of the X-Men many times over the years.

The original incarnation of the Imperial Guard was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum, and first appeared in Uncanny X-Men vol. 1 #107. Originally a homage to DC Comics' Legion of Super-Heroes, with its members all having similar costumes and powers to Legion members, the Imperial Guard has since come to include members who are not direct Legion counterparts.

Resemblances to DC Comics' Legion of Super-Heroes

The Imperial Guard has many intentional resemblances to DC Comics' Legion of Super-Heroes. The original members seen in Uncanny X-Men #107 were designed by artist Dave Cockrum, previously best known for his work on the LSH, and all had direct counterparts among the Legionnaires, with similar super-powers and costumes:

Imperial Guard

An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, including the regular armed forces, and maintain special rights, privileges and traditions.

Because the head of state often wishes to be protected by the best soldiers available, their numbers and organisation may be expanded to carry out additional tasks. Napoleon's Imperial Guard is an example of this. Some imperial guard units, such as those used in the British Empire, still exist.

In the post-colonial period, the term has been used colloquially and derisively to describe the staff of a person, usually a politician or corporate executive officer, that acts to prevent direct communication with the person.

List of Imperial Guards

Imperial Guard (Napoleon I)

The Imperial Guard (French: Garde Impériale) was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he was careful of its use in battle. The Guard was divided into the staff, infantry, cavalry, and artillery regiments, as well as battalions of sappers and marines. The guard itself as a whole distinguished between the experienced veterans and less experienced members by being separated into three sections: the Old Guard, Middle Guard and Young Guard.

History

The Guard had its origin in the Consular Guard (Garde des consuls), created November 28, 1799, by the union of the Guard of the Directory (Garde du Directoire exécutif) and the Grenadiers of the Legislature (Grenadiers près de la Représentation nationale). These formations had for principal purpose the security of the executive and legislative branches of the French Republic and gathered a small number of soldiers, about a thousand. One may question their utility, as they did not oppose Napoleon's 18 Brumaire coup of 1799. The Consular Guard changed its name to the Imperial Guard on May 18, 1804. Its headquarters were located at the Pentemont Abbey in Paris.

Imperial Guard (Russia)

The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard (Russian: Лейб-гвардия leyb-gvardiya, from German Leib "Body"; cf. Life Guards / Bodyguard) were military units serving as personal guards of the Emperor of Russia. Peter the Great founded the first such units following the Prussian practice in the 1690s, to replace the politically motivated Streltsy. The Imperial Guard subsequently increased in size and diversity to become an elite corps of all branches within the Imperial Army rather than Household troops in direct attendance on the Tsar. Numerous links were however maintained with the Imperial family and the bulk of the regiments of the Imperial Guard were stationed in and around Saint Petersburg in peacetime.

Organization

The final composition of the Russian Imperial Guard at the beginning of 1914 was:

Guards Corps St. Petersburg District. Headquarters, St. Petersburg, Millionaya. (Guards units not part of the Guards Corps were the Guards Replacement Cavalry Regiment and Guards Field Gendarme Squadron.)