The Kree are blue aliens from the Marvel Cinematic universe. No, Yondu is a Centaurian. No not
Nebula either, she’s a Luphomoid. Yes I know they’re both blue. That’s a Levian.
That’s a smurf. There we go that’s a Kree, no go back, that’s a Flerken.
Okay. So there will be minor spoilers for Captain Marvel throughout and major spoilers
after a warning. Now, this index will delve into the militaristic and noble race of the
Kree Empire as seen in the Cinematic Universe. “For the Good of All Kree”.
The homeworld of the Kree is Hala, a technically advanced and ancient civilization with access
to the Universal Neural Teleportation Network. The homeworld houses many cities and complexes
and has a golden hued atmosphere from the Pama systems star. Transit systems operate
within the cities that snake through the flat topped towers that rise up from metallic structures.
In the hearts of these cities, it is almost impossible to spot natural growth.
Heraldry of the Kree Empire is silver and green and its crests include a three pointed
glyph as well as a ringed planet. The Kree themselves are humanoid and vary
in skin tones from pinks to browns but most commonly dark and light hues of blue. Hair
colour is varied and the most common eye colour is purple, though yellow, hazel, green and
blue were not unheard of. Many Kree in the military choose to shave their head. The variation
in skin tone is, as on Earth and many other planets, a result of adaptation to various
climates and genetic heritage. This may tie into the levels of Nitrogen on the planet
as high concentrations of Nitrogen can change the hue of a blue-skinned Kree to pink. Another
common trait among the Kree is that of tattoos and war paints, even among positions of official
capacity. Physiologically when compared to humans, Kree
biology is far more complex. They are stronger, more coordinated and agile as well as much
more durable, being able to take rather sizable kinetic impact with only a short recovery
period. This is aided by their healing factor, though not at instantaneous levels, is remarkable
enough to inspire humans to study it and found project TAHITI to attempt to utilize Kree
blood as a cure. The use of Kree blood to revitalise a comparatively basic human form
has been accomplished twice. Once with Agent Coulson of SHIELD.
The products of this amazing physiology might be down to genetic engineering as the Kree
are known practitioners of the science, even experimenting with other species and forming
the Terrigen Crystals that were part of a process called Terrigenesis where a subjects
DNA was rewritten to create a new meta ability. The civilization is an Empire, ruled by its
Emperor, though the Supreme Intelligence is seemingly the true seat of power, so let’s
start there. The Supreme Intelligence has control of the Kree Military and its many
branches. As the civilization is highly militaristic, this gives the Supreme Intelligence great
sway over the decisions of the Empire, some would argue complete sway. The Supreme Intelligence
is an artificial intelligence and a compilation of the Kree’s greatest minds. Highly respected
by its citizens regardless of position, the Kree consider direct communion with the Intelligence
an honour and deeply personal experience. Communion is accomplished by linking neurally
to the system and therefore, the Intelligence will adopt the form of the person you respect
most when in discussion. It is therefore unknown if the Supreme Intelligence has a physical
form at all. As one of the Kree beliefs is that the deceased join the collective, perhaps
this could be an addition of a Kree’s consciousness to the Supreme Intelligence?
The role of the Emperor is unknown in the late 20th century but is likely the ruler
of the Empire, but like all Kree, defers to the Supreme Intelligence or at least seeks
its council. As of the early 21st century however, the Emperor has taken a greater stance
on diplomatic relations and appointed ambassadors to rival powers, such as Xandar.
The Kree possess literal nobility in the form of Houses. These houses often act autonomously
with their own agendas, but all must place the good of the Empire before their own gain.
“For the Good of All Kree”. This ideology is the focal point of the Empire and has led
to many acts and conflicts with the ultimate goal of expanding Kree influence throughout
space. The military of the Kree, under the purview
of the Supreme Intelligence, has several divisions. Starforce is an elite taskforce with a focus
on stealth operations and provided with some of the most advanced equipment in the Imperial
armoury. This includes camouflaging armour that is environmentally sealed and houses
a collapsible helmet. The Starforce uniform can operate in a vacuum or underwater and
provides a great deal of protection for the wearer, only outshone in performance by the
armour donned by the Accusers. Most of the military is equipped with directed
energy weapons of various functions but all engage in rigorous close quarters combat,
many even favouring it and sporting melee weapons such as swords, axes and hammers.
Engaging a Kree at range in dangerous, engaging a Kree in CQC is stupid.
The Accuser Corp is ranked higher than all other military factions of the Kree and operates
under the direct orders of the Supreme Intelligence. Despite their position, they operate in cohort
with other divisions but are the only ones able to authorise certain actions, such as
the destruction of a planet. The Accusers were notable for having incredibly
durable armour, distinctive cowls and carrying the large hammers that acted as a symbol of
their authority. The name Accuser likely stems from the fact that they carry the ability
to judge, discipline and enact justice both within Kree society and without, this is not
alluded to in the films, but must be the case (as it is in the comics) as the functional
title is still the same. The Accusers also have their own fleet of
ships, such as the Dark Aster, captained by Ronan the Accuser which are the most formidable,
powerful and heavily armed vessels in the Kree armada. In 2014 however with the signing
of the Xandarian peace treaty, the Accusers were disbanded.
Kree language is a series of glyphs and they utilise universal translators when communicating
with other species. Their names are usually double barrelled with a forename and surname
of once syllable. The Surname is likely a family one but many Kree have only a single
name, often of more than one syllable. In the case of Ronan and Korath, titles are affixed
to them as a designation, the Accuser and the Pursuer respectively. Another name, Taryan
is the head of the Kasuis House, suggesting Kasius is a family name. It seems that if
a Kree has a single syllable name, there are addressed by their full title but if a first
name is longer, then it is the only name used in face-to-face conversation. Though, there
are some exceptions such as is Maston-Dar and Vers. Though Vers is likely due to her
amnesia and loss of family name. The history of the Kree is one seldom without
extended periods of conflict. During the 20th and 21st centuries, the Kree Empire was engaged
in active campaigns against the Skrull species and the Nova Corp of the planet Xandar. The
Xandar War in particular had been raging for around 1000 years with it becoming a known
fact in Kree society that the Nova Corps were arrogant, impure and unworthy would-be-tyrants
while the Kree were the noble race of guardians bringing the universe to order. This war was
eventually settled in a peaceful negotiation between Hala and Xandar that ended the hostilities.
For many however, the war had become a part of their life and its conclusion in peace
without a clear victor and therefore a true resolution, sparked great unrest in the populace.
Rioting and protests on Hala were common and factions even broke away from the Empire in
favour of continuing the Kree campaigns. Compiling the unrest was the dissolution of the Accusers,
which in turn had individuals like Ronan marshal his loyal forces and likeminded personnel
to seek his own method of defeating Xandar. Which he did by allying himself with the Mad
Titan, Thanos. There is also the ancient war of the Kree
that lead to the formation of the Inhumans on Earth. Thousands of years ago a faction
of the Kree Empire, potentially known as the Reapers, used their advanced genetics knowledge
to create foot soldiers for the Empire with superpowers. It failed in most cases except
on C-53, Earth where a small percentage of the human population experimented on by the
Kree Faction exhibited results. These individuals were then exposed to Terrigen Mists which
caused them to exhibit genetic mutations and the evolution of a variety of superpowers.
The resulting army proved rebellious (as humans tend to be), so the Kree eventually withdrew
from the experiment and left behind several of its number to watch for further Inhuman
activity. The research, although technically a success, was branded as a failure and forgotten
about from then on. Upon the re-emergence of the Inhuman population however, another
Kree faction attempted to supress this information knowing that the Kree would potentially drag
another civilization into its constant warfare. Alongside the Xandar-Kree war there was the
continued campaign against the Skrulls which were a race that could morph their features
and hide from sight. This race was known for infiltrating planets and subverting them to
the Skrull’s cause by gradually replacing people in positions of power. This war, as
with the Xandarian conflict, was less of an all-out assault and more of a prolonged campaign
of identifying corrupted planets, purging the Skrull infestation and bringing those
worlds under Kree protection. If all was lost and beyond saving, then the planet was reduced
to cinders by the Accusers and the loss used to justify the continued campaigns against
the horrid Skrulls. At some point near the star of the war, the planet Skrullos, no prizes
for guessing which species’ homeworld that was, was utterly obliterated by the Kree Empire
to try to halt the spread. Despite this however, the Kree know the value
of negotiation and have entered into several pacts such as the Confederacy, an alliance
between the Kree, the Astrans, Kallusians, Remorath, Rajaks and another unknown species.
The purpose of this compact was to ensure the procurement of Inhuamns to bolster the
Confederacy’s member planets and in return, they would safeguard planet C-53 from external
threats. There are also the Sakaaran species who have been conquered by the Kree and liberated
from their home planet of Sakaar, which itself is a wasteland of junk. In return for this,
they fight for the Kree in their army. The level of Kree involvement with the Confederacy
seems to suggest that it was a smaller scope deal managed by an individual Kree House,
the House of Kasius in this case. Propaganda is prevalent in their society with
daily announcements about the status of the various campaigns being fed to the general
public over PA systems highlighting the villainous endeavours by the enemies of the Empire and
the days without incident to the Kree people and it has strongly affected how the Kree
view themselves. Most Kree within the Empire view themselves
as being in the right in all things and the military in particular see themselves as heroes.
Not just noble warriors, but full on heroes to which the rest of the galaxy is thankful
for intervening. Most of this index I have presented so far has been from the Kree’s
point of view but this is where things are going to get spoilery for Captain Marvel.
So the Kree’s many wars and conflicts can easily be explained by their desire to impose
their rule across as many systems as they can. The Skrulls refused Kree oversight and
had their homeworld destroyed as a result. Attempts from the Skrulls to hide from the
Kree led to them being persecuted and pursued across numerous worlds where their hiding
out eventually dragged the Empire’s attention. Because secrecy was their safety, the Kree
could easily manipulate planetary governments into acting out against the Skrulls and supporting
the Kree. If the planet continued to resist the Kree, then the Empire could accuse the
planet of being too far gone and cauterize the hostilities.
The Sakaarans that were in the Kree’s military? They were never used as anything more than
soldiers and had a reputation as paper-people, disposable and low threat, but were thrown
against enemy forces in droves. Are these the actions of an Empire that seeks to guard
its protectorates? Yet these actions are kept within the higher echelons of Kree Command,
such as the Accusers being the only ones sanctioned to bombard a planetary surface. Immoral experimentation
on humanity was buried and never addressed within the Empire. All of this leads to easy
control over the flow of information, allowing the Empire to forge its own image where it
indoctrinates its citizens and soldiers into thinking that they are the moral authority
that the galaxy needs. Xandar, as we see in the films as far from the overzealous tyrant
that they’re painted as and if anything, it’s the Kree that come off the worst in
this regard. Further methods of control over its own people
can be seen in the fact that the Supreme Intelligence adopts the form of someone you most respect
when in direct communion with it, making you far more likely to heed its council and respect
its authority. It is unknown if the Supreme Intelligence
still exists in modern Kree society as the peace treaty with Xandar was a controversial
decision brought about by the Emperor, the new leader of Kree society. The Emperor could
have replaced the Intelligence; however I think it more likely that both positions have
existed for some time and what we are witnessing is a shift in power from the control orientated,
unquestionable Intelligence to a more diplomatic Emperor, explaining the level of unrest in
the Empire last we saw of it. Thanks for listening to this Cultural Index
on the Kree Empire. The votes for the next episode are in the comment’s below and this
time the choices are from another comic-based race, the Kryptonians, or the Nova Corp of
Xandar, going with the comic book adaptations this time for both species.
Thanks again for watching, I’ve been RIc and I hope to see you again for the next video.
Until then, goodbye. “For the Good of All Kree!”