Supervillain Origins: Ronan The Accuser

With a name like that it’s no wonder he’s feared throughout the galaxy. Welcome to Watchmojo.com and today we will be exploring the comic book origins of Ronan The Accuser. As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginations and different versions to a character’s past. We have chosen to primarily follow the storyline which unfolded in 1967’s Fantastic Four #65. Born and raised on the planet Hala under the Kree empire, Ronan became a member of the Accuser Corps: the Judge Dredds of Kree. 7 foot 5 and weighing in at over 480 pounds (with armour), this big blue baddy rose quickly through the Accuser Corps ranks. Wielding a hammer lovingly named The Universal Weapon, Ronan struck terror into the hearts of everyone he encounters. An organic super computer made up of the Kree’s greatest minds called The Supreme Intelligence (or Supremo to his friends) then appointed Ronan Supreme Public Accuser for all of his hard work. This gives him powers and status second only to that of the Supreme Intelligence itself. On one of his very first missions as Supreme Accuser, which also turned out to be his first appearance, Ronan was sent to track down and prosecute the Fantastic Four for destroying a robotic Kree sentry on Earth. Things don’t go quite as planned when our dynamic quartet turn the tables and send Ronan packing. Intending to face them in a rematch, Ronan’s plans were put on hold by the Supreme Intelligence who forbid him to do so. This doesn’t sit too well with our ambitious Accuser and he plots to overthrow his master with Imperial minister Zarek. Ronan’s plans were foiled again however, this time by the Avengers. The Supreme Intelligence decides that Ronan may be getting a little too big for his britches and assumes control of his mind. This puts Ronan into direct conflict with Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) Ronan eventually emerges from his mind-melded stupor and goes back to a fulfilling life of brutal justice. Like all native Kree, Ronan is largely humanoid in appearance with blue skin. He cannot survive in Earth’s atmosphere without a special breathing apparatus. Because of his home world’s strong gravitational pull, Ronan is afforded a denser physical structure than that of a human and has superhuman strength and endurance as well. Ronan’s powers include, but are not limited to the ability to adapt to any environment, hostile or otherwise, the generation of a suspended animation field to paralyze enemies and the ability to make himself invisible. However, like any good Accuser knows, you can’t dispense justice without a really big hammer. In Ronan’s case, it’s more of a Swiss-army hammer that can manipulate matter, fire off and absorb energy blasts, slow down or speed up localized areas of time and teleport him wherever he fancies. Pretty much a universal plot device. All in all, it can’t be said that Ronan is an outright bad guy, even if he is a Kree, but he has come into conflict with earth’s heroes enough times to at least get him an honourable mention as an anti hero. At the very least, Ronan is doing his job and if every so often he has to smash an Avenger then who can blame him with a name like that? Over the years Ronan the Accuser has appeared in various media, finally making his first live action appearance when he was portrayed by actor Lee Pace in 2014’s “Guardians of the Galaxy”, where he served as the film’s primary antagonist. Are you a fanatic fan of Ronan the Accuser? For more super comic book origins be sure to subscribe to Watchmojo.com