Many centuries ago, the
Phoenix Force entity ends up in
Shi'ar space, where it bonds with a citizen of the Empire named Rook'shir. In conjunction with his blade, Rook'shir learns to control the Phoenix Force, but is ultimately overwhelmed by its power, becoming the first known host to succumb to and go insane from its destructive impulses. Becoming the first
Dark Phoenix, Rook'shir rampages throughout the Empire, destroying many planets in the process. T'korr, Majestor of the Shi'ar empire, creates the Imperial Guard to battle Rook'shir; some of the first members are
Gladiator,
Magic,
Mentor, and
Quasar. Defeating Rook'shir, the Guard becomes the first line of defense of the Shi'ar empire. In
The X-Men #107 (Oct. 1977), the Shi'ar empire comes into conflict with the
X-Men regarding the
Phoenix entity, with the Guard battling them at the command of Emperor
D'Ken and his sister, the Grand Admiral, Princess
Lilandra Neramani. Some time later during "
The Dark Phoenix Saga", the Guardsmen again come into conflict with the X-Men regarding
Dark Phoenix, this time at the behest of Lilandra. The
Borderers division is introduced — a group of Guardsman stationed on one of the Shi'ar's conquered worlds to help its governor enforce Shi'ar law. A renegade faction of the Imperial Guard — mainly made up of Borderers, but also including
Fang,
Hussar,
Quasar, and
Warstar — become traitors, deciding to serve Lord Samédàr,
Deathbird, and the
Brood in a conspiracy to overthrow Shi'ar Princess-Majestrix Lilandra. The renegades battle the Guardsman who remain loyal to Lilandra and the X-Men. After defeating the Brood and the renegades, Lilandra resumes her position as the head of the Shi'ar empire. Despite many of the Imperial Guard having joined with Deathbird against Lilandra, most team members are pardoned for their actions, although Quasar, Warstar, Hussar, and Webwing are later banished. Some time later,
Deathbird stages a successful coup and becomes the new Shi'ar Empress. She sends the Imperial Guard to Earth to battle the combined forces of the
Starjammers and the superhero team
Excalibur, so that she can claim the power of the
Phoenix Force for herself. The Guard are forced to retreat when Deathbird realizes the Starjammers are led by Lilandra. When the Shi'ar and the Kree wage an intergalactic war, the Imperial Guard are commissioned to lead the fight. The Guard steals the original
Captain Marvel's Nega-Bands from his tomb. Using Kree artifacts, including the Bands, the Sh'iar create a massive superweapon, the "Nega-Bomb." Ultimately, the Nega-Bomb device is successfully detonated, killing 98% of all Kree. The Shi'ar annex the remnants of the Kree Empire, with Deathbird becoming
viceroy of the Kree territories. Some time later, the Imperial Guard are informed about a hijacked Shi'ar craft, and join Quasar in a battle against a group of interplanetary marauders known as the Starblasters, who attempt to push the moon away from Earth's orbit. When many of Earth's heroes vanish (sent to the
pocket universe after defeating
Onslaught), Lilandra orders the Imperial Guard to help protect Earth.
Ronan the Accuser leads the Kree in a surprise attack against the Shi'ar, using the
Inhumans as an army to disrupt the Shi'ar control of the Kree. Ronan seizes control in a surprise attack. Threatening to destroy the Inhumans' home of
Attilan, he orders the Inhumans and their king,
Black Bolt, to obey. Ronan compels
Karnak,
Gorgon, and
Triton to covertly join the Imperial Guard, while Black Bolt and
Medusa attempt to assassinate Lilandra at a ceremony ratifying an alliance between the Shi'ar and the Spartoi. Black Bolt manages to defeat Ronan in personal combat; the attempt on Lilandra's life fails because the Imperial Guardsman
Hobgoblin dies in her place.
Cassandra Nova, in
Charles Xavier's body, contacts Majestrix Lilandra, Xavier's lover. Cassandra drives Lilandra insane and uses her to make the Shi'ar fleet destroy the empire. Cassandra forces Lilandra to send the Shi'ar Superguardians to sterilize the entirety of mutantkind, starting with the X-Men. After a battle with the X-Men, the Imperial Guard come to realize Cassandra's treachery and the danger she poses.
Jean Grey, using Xavier's consciousness, and with the help of the Imperial Guard, is able to force Cassandra out of Xavier's body and imprison her. The Imperial Guard's loyalties are tested when
Vulcan, a powerful mutant intent on conquering the Shi'ar empire, comes on the scene at the start of the "
Emperor Vulcan" storyline. He fights the Guard, killing and wounding a number of them, before he is defeated by
Gladiator, who puts out his left eye. Ultimately, however, Vulcan returns and assumes the Shi'ar throne, and the Imperial Guard are honor-bound to do his bidding. Emperor Vulcan and his fleet battle the Scy'ar Tal, who have devoted their culture and society to the destruction of the Shi'ar empire. After many battles, including Vulcan fighting his brother
Havok and the
Starjammers, the Shi'ar prevail. Vulcan declares that he will return the Shi'ar empire to its former glory. Emperor Majestor Vulcan begins to expand the empire, Things start off well for the Imperial Guard when they slaughter a cadre of new recruits to the
Nova Corps. The Guard follows this by attacking and hospitalizing
Ronan the Accuser on his wedding day. The Kree's retaliation leads to the deaths of a number of Guardsmen. Two new
Smashers, recruited from the ranks of the Subguardians, die, as does Warstar. When ordered to kill Lilandra Neramani, Gladiator abandons his post to protect her. Nonetheless, during an attempt to return her to the throne, Lilandra is assassinated. Vulcan is seemingly killed during a battle with
Black Bolt. With no one in line to inherit the throne, civil war threatens the Shi'ar empire. To avoid further conflict, the Imperial Guard's praetor,
Gladiator, accepts the offer to become Emperor; Mentor becomes praetor in his place. Receiving an all-points distress signal on Earth, she comes with the Avengers to assist the Shi'ar in fighting off a new threat: the
Builders. The Builders threaten all the galactic civilizations, leading the Shi'ar to join forces with the Kree, Skrulls, Spartoi, Brood, and
Annihilus' Annihilation Wave to resist them. After many battles and losses — including the death of
Earthquake — the Avengers and Imperial Guard earn a convincing victory against the main Builders' fleet.
Mentor helps take command of a Builder World Killer and turn it against the Builders. The Imperial Guard and the Avengers proceed to free the occupied worlds — including Earth, which has fallen to
Thanos in their absence. The Imperial Guard helps retake the Peak, the
S.W.O.R.D. space station headquarters. Soon afterward, Gladiator kidnaps the time-displaced incarnation of
Jean Grey, placing her on trial for the destruction done by the
Phoenix Force years earlier. The
All-New X-Men team up with the
Guardians of the Galaxy to rescue Jean from the Shi'ar homeworld, but Jean ends up awakening a new power, enabling her to absorb massive amounts of psionic energy and combine her telepathy and telekinesis, which she uses to defeat Gladiator and the Imperial Guard. When the Shi'ar find out that the reason for the "decay of the universe" is on Earth, they decide to destroy the planet. The
Guardians of the Galaxy,
Sunspot,
A.I.M., and
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Avengers fight back, planning to use a Planetkiller against the Shi'ar. The Planetkiller, however, overheats and explodes, destroyed by
Annihilus'
Annihilation Wave. The Avengers are ready to meet their end, but the
Illuminati intervenes, using the controller disk of a rogue planet that shares the same space with Earth, while
Iron Man uses Sol's Hammer to destroy the Shi'ar fleet, including the Imperial Guards. The Guard are resurrected, along with the rest of the universe, as part of the
All-New, All-Different Marvel relaunch. ==Membership==