Cerebra's Files
D'ken
Real Name: D'ken NeramaniAffiliation: None
Status: Deceased (Vulcan)
Relatives: Lilandra (sister), Cal'syee (Deathbird, sister), Gabriel Summers (Vulcan, brother-in-law), Adam X (X-Treme, son), Black Light (nephew), White Noise (niece)
Alternate-X Versions: (AOA)
Codename Etymology: None
Powers & History: None (normal Shi'ar). As such, D'Ken has a feathered head, some vestigal feathers on his arm and the traditional eye markings but no other outward signs of his avian ancestry.
D'ken ascended the Shi'ar throne upon his parents' deaths and his sister Cal'syee's banishment. Unfortunately, he was a cruel Majestor, and was responsible for the subjugation of countless worlds. Not content with his own galaxy, D'ken sent his scoutships to others, including our own. It was one of these scoutships that, in pursuit of knowledge about potential subject species, destroyed Chris Summers's aircraft and abducted him and his wife Kate, bringing them back to Chandilar.
D'ken took the blonde Kate Summers as a concubine. However, when Christopher (who had been sent to work in the mines) began to rebel, D'ken had him brought to his chambers. Showing his truly evil nature and disdain for human life, D'ken stabbed Kate Summers in front of her husband and let her bleed to death. Worse, as she was pregnant with her and Chris's last child, D'Ken ripped the near-term fetus out and dangled it in front of Chris. Interestingly, D'Ken saved the child from death and put him in a regeneration chamber that also accelerated his growth, so that he could be used as a slave in Davan Shakari's compound on Earth. The child later became the renegade X-Man Vulcan.
Years later, D'ken discovered that a mystical alignment of stars was soon to occur, and that the conjunction would allow him to access infinite power from the fabled M'Kraan Crystal. His sister Lilandra foresaw the disaster that would follow and traveled to Earth to enlist the help of the X-Men. Meanwhile, D'ken traveled to the M'Kraan world with his Imperial Guard and prepared for the ritual. The X-Men arrived via Stargate and together with the Starjammers (led by Chris Summers AKA Corsair) kept D'ken from accessing the neutron galaxy at the heart of the crystal. D'ken was actually struck down by the crystal's own defensive systems, and after the X-Men repaired the damage done by the Guardsman Impulse, D'ken remained catatonic.
In his comatose state, the Empire passed from D'ken to Lilandra, and the mad ex-Majestor was taken away. He still survived on life support but was a non-factor for years. During this time, forces loyal to D'ken tried to use telepaths to heal him, but they all fell into comas. One day, though, the doctors found D'ken's brainwaves to be normal, but the parts of his brain were still disconnected. Chancellor Araki, leader of the pro-D'ken faction, sent word to Deathbird, who arrived with Vulcan. Though Vulcan maintained his blood feud with D'ken, he agreed to revive the Emperor to please Deathbird, who had become his lover. Revived, D'ken, staged a coup against Lilandra, though the Majestrix escaped with the X-Men and Starjammers. Recognizing both Vulcan's danger and his sister's love for the human, D'ken next made the shocking suggestion that Vulcan marry Deathbird and join the Royal Family!
D'ken himself performed the marriage ceremony at the M'Kraan Crystal, right before the Starjammers and Lilandra's forces attacked. Then, just as the Imperial Guard began to gain the upper hand, D'ken grabbed Lilandra and began choking her. However, his apparent victory was short-lived, as Vulcan incinerated D'ken from behind, exacting his revenge for the murder of his mother, and naming himself Emperor by right of combat.
493