Korath was a soldier of the KreeEmpire who earned the title of The Pursuer. During the Kree-Skrull War, he served in the Starforce under the command of Yon-Rogg, and by 1995, he was helping the team battle the dwindling Skrull opposition. Later tasked to acquire the Tesseract for the Kree Empire, Korath failed when he and several of his teammates were bested by Captain Marvel.
While working with Starforce, Korath attended a briefing where Yon-Rogg revealed that the Kree were considering ending their war against Xandar. However, they were first tasked with a mission to go to Sy'gyl and receive plans for a Xandarian weapon from a defector. Vers asked why the Kree would risk the potential peace for such a mission, prompting Korath to note that the Kree would need the upper hand if their attempts at peace failed and Yon-Rogg agreed that the plans would grant them that. Yon-Rogg dismissed the team, and Korath watched the rest of the team left before leaving himself. In the hangar, Vers saw their pilot, Sun-Val, and asked who she was. Yon-Rogg told her that she knew the territory, prompting Vers to ask if she was Xandarian. Korath said that she was Kree and ordered Vers to treat Sun-Val as a member of Starforce. Vers saluted Korath, confusing him.
While flying to Sy'gyl, the team was attacked by Kree fighters mistaking them as Xandarian. Vers suggested that they fire back, causing the entire team to look at her. However, Yon-Rogg agreed it would help avoid suspicion, so he passed the order to Sun-Val. During the ensuing battle, a hole formed in the hull, causing air to leave the ship. However, Vers managed to activate the shield and stop the ship from losing too much air. When they entered Sy'gyl's orbit, Korath agreed to Yon-Rogg's order not to encounter Xandarian resistance. As the ship entered the upper atmosphere, Sun-Val commented on the quality of the ship they were flying. Yon-Rogg yelled back that Korath was the one who picked it, making fun of him. Korath got defensive, saying that it was all they could manage and that it was not his fault if it was not comfortable. Yon-Rogg smiled and told Korath he did well, asking Vers for help explaining what he was doing. Vers attempted to tell Korath that Yon-Rogg was busting his chops, but Korath could not hear her over the engine. When the engines cut out, Vers yelled the phrase again, although Korath did not understand what it meant. As the group prepared for their mission, Yon-Rogg called Vers over, where he and Korath told Vers that she would be infiltrating the base alone, confusing her. Korath scolded Vers for questioning her orders, but Yon-Rogg told him to check on weapons with the others, so he left.
As the ship landed, Yon-Rogg opened the hatch and told Starforce that Minn-Erva would be the only one with a gun. They started traversing the planet when Vers joked to herself and Minn-Erva asked what she said. Yon-Rogg told them to be quiet and communicate with hand signals. When Bron-Char saw something that gave the team pause, Yon-Rogg sent Att-Lass to investigate, and he came back reporting that it was a Xandarian ship. The team continued to follow Att-Lass to the Nar'dath mountain region, where Yon-Rogg showed Vers the layout of the building they would be infiltrating. Vers and Att-Lass agreed that the mission appeared to be easy, prompting Korath to scold Vers for not taking the mission seriously. However, Yon-Rogg stood up to Korath, telling him that she knew how serious the mission was. Vers left for the bunker and Minn-Erva spotted three Nova Corps men, so Korath was ordered to stay with Att-Lass in case others arrived while Yon-Rogg and Bron-Char dealt with the Corpsmen. Minn-Erva reported to Korath and Att-Lass when she lost sight of Yon-Rogg and Bron-Char, to which Korath responded that they could not see them either. A Stealth Bomb was dropped on the bunker, which Korath and Att-Lass managed to recover from as they joined Minn-Erva. Att-Lass suggested they get Vers from the bunker, but Korath insisted that they go to the ship. Along the way, they discovered that Sun-Val had been killed.
At the freighter, Minn-Erva attempted to contact their missing teammates to no avail. Korath ordered Minn-Erva and Att-Lass to prepare the ship to leave, prompting a protest from Att-Lass. Korath explained that, as members of Starforce, they would follow their orders to the letter, so Minn-Erva started to get the ship ready. The three were present when Yon-Rogg, Vers, Bron-Char, and Sun-Val appeared. Sun-Val attacked Vers, but Minn-Erva killed her, revealing her to be a Skrull who replaced Sun-Val after killing her. The team then left Sy'gyl and returned to Hala.[5]
"Has a Skrull ever simmed you?" "Once. It was deeply disturbing." "Why?" "Because I stared into the face of my mortal enemy and the face staring back was my own."
Minn-Erva inquired Korath if he ever had an encounter with a Skrull soldier, to which he confirmed this, relating to a time in which he confronted a Skrull who simmed his appearance, noting that it was deeply disturbing. Danvers sarcastically asserted that if he looked more attractive, the encounter would not have been disturbing. Korath looked back at her, maintaining a serious pretense, and claimed that he was not laughing at her joke.
Korath relates to an encounter he had with a Skrull
As Vers listened to Korath's admission and personal encounter with the enemy, Att-Lass mentioned that he never displayed any signs of humor and sarcasm, but Korath claimed that he laughed on the inside, and Bron-Char complemented Korath's appearance, stating that he was handsome. After Korath thanked Bron-Char, the team's short banter was ended by the abrupt arrival of Yon-Rogg, who instructed them to stop and proceeded to debrief them on their Kree mission.
Korath is debriefed on the mission
Yon-Rogg informed them that their mission was to rescue a Kree spy Soh-Larr, whose cover had been blown on Torfa due to an infestation of Skrulls. As Yon-Rogg mentioned that Soh-Larr's cover was blown in light of the bounty that was issued by Talos, the leader of the Skrulls, Korath was warned that the Kree intelligence would be compromised if Soh-Larr was captured. He then told them of the plan, which would be a stealth operation, not to alert any native Torfan citizens.
They then arrived at Torfa and were released from the ship into the water, where they made their way to the distress signal sent out by Soh-Larr. The mission turned out to be an ambush, as a group of Torfans surrounding them revealed their true Skrull form and attacked. During the fight, Korath used his swords to kill many Skrulls, until they retreated to the Helion by the order of Yon-Rogg. However, the Skrulls managed to capture Vers, a prominent new member of Starforce.[6]
Vers managed to escape Skrull captivity and crash-landed on Earth. She then issued contact with the rest of the team, explaining the events. Yon-Rogg told her to wait and ordered the team to travel to her location. After their contact abruptly ended, Korath speculated that if the Skrulls have captured Vers they have changed her mind about the war, stating that she is compromised, but Yon-Rogg remained confident in her, stating that she is stronger than what Korath thinks.[6]
Some time later, the Starforce were contacted by Ronan the Accuser, who revealed that the Accusers neutralized the situation on Torfa following the ambush on Torfa. Ronan berated the Starforce for their failure, and demanded from Korath the current location of Carol Danvers, noting that the Skrulls needed to be eliminated. As Korath prepared to say something, Yon-Rogg insisted that they were still searching for her. Ronan threatened the Starforce, and promised that the Accusers would take care if the situation if they didn't.[6]
Having learned that Vers had turned against the Kree and thinking she had the Tesseract, the Starforce, including Korath, began a battle with her at Mar-Vell's Laboratory. Korath tried to use his swords against her, but she broke his sword and defeated him, along with his teammates.[6]
Eventually, Korath volunteered for an experimental Kree weapons programme to genetically and cybernetically enhance himself, and abandoned Starforce.[1] Korath decided to align himself with Thanos, who allowed him to train with Gamora and Nebula, becoming one of the most dangerous and feared warriors in the universe.[7] As the war was ended and the Accusers were demobilized as well, Korath joined Ronan in his revenge quest on Xandar.[2]
Having made a deal with Ronan the Accuser to assist in his own quest for revenge, Thanos sent Korath to work under the Kree for a time. Under the orders of Ronan, Korath led a platoon of Sakaarans to take Nebula and Gamora to Praxius IX when a lead for the Orb appeared there. The lead turned out to be false, and the party left empty-handed.[7] Following up another lead, Korath traveled to Morag to investigate another possible location of the Orb.
While hunting for the Orb on Morag, Korath found that Peter Quill had already located and successfully stolen the Orb. Korath and his soldiers took him hostage while Quill attempted to talk his way out of the situation by first claiming he was unaware of what he had found, although Korath noted that he was in fact clearly a member of the Ravagers. Quill then tried claiming to be a legendary outlaw going by the name Star-Lord, who Korath had never heard of.
Tired of his foolishness, Korath refused to listen and ordered his squad of Sakaarans to take Quill and the Orb back to Ronan for questioning on board the Dark Aster. However, Quill managed to escape by shooting Korath in the chest with his Quad Blasters and killing his Sakaaran soldiers with a Plasma Sphere. Korath survived due to his own enhanced skin and body armor and attempted to kill his attacker by shooting back at him.
Quill escaped through the hole in the wall and Korath gave chase across the surface of the planet. Quill was just able to get to his ship by using a Gravity Mine to incapacitate Korath's soldiers. While Quill attempted to start his ship, Korath ordered all of his men to build a cannon. By the time the cannon was ready, Quill used his ship to escape back to Xandar as Korath tried and failed to shoot him out of the sky, as he watched furiously as Quill flew away.
Korath returned to the Dark Aster and informed Ronan, Gamora and Nebula of events on Morag and of the outlaw Star-Lord, who his sources had informed him was planning to sell the Orb to Broker on Xandar. Ronan ordered Gamora to travel to Xandar and retrieve the Orb from Quill when he attempted to sell it to Broker, while Korath remained behind and continued to command Ronan's army, being deemed unworthy to find the Orb.[2]
Having successfully retaken the Orb from the traitorous Gamora, Korath was present when Ronan the Accuser presented his prize to the Mad Titan, with Korath holding it up for Thanos to see. However, Ronan decided to betray Thanos and keep the Orb's power to himself, despite Korath warning that Thanos was too powerful to dare challenge.
The Orb's power caused explosions on the Dark Aster as Ronan consumed the power into his Universal Weapon and told Thanos that after he had destroyed Xandar, he would kill the Mad Titan himself. Korath was disturbed by this due to how extremely powerful Thanos is, and questioned his master's decision as he believed that Thanos was the most powerful being in the universe. However, Ronan reassured him that with the Orb's power, Thanos would not pose a threat.[2]
A fight ensued between Korath's forces and the Guardians of the Galaxy, in which Korath personally fought Star-Lord, seeking revenge for their earlier battle. Korath soon easily over-powered his human foe and mocked his attempts to kill Ronan and reclaim the Orb. As Quill was thrown across space, Korath stood over him and noted that he would ensure none of them would ever make it to Ronan's location as he and their men would kill them all first.
Their fight was interrupted when Drax the Destroyer defended Quill and attacked Korath. Korath briefly gained the upper hand, but the tables were turned and Korath was pinned against a wall by the incredibly powerful Drax. He then proceeded to finally kill Korath, as he tore out a cybernetic part of his head while reciting his attempt at a metaphor while Korath's body spasmed from the electric shocks and he dropped to the ground dead.[2]
Personality[]
"You think you're funny, but I'm not laughing." "You never laugh." "I laugh, on the inside. And I'm not doing it now."
Korath was a ruthless and unexpressive individual who would stop at nothing in obtaining his objective, to the point of confessing that the only times he has laughed have been inside. He was loyal to Ronan the Accuser and Thanos, whom he referred to as "the most powerful being in the universe." Fully aware of what Thanos was capable, Korath tried to reason with Ronan about the consequences of claiming the Power Stone for himself. Ronan, however, assured him that, with the Stone in his possession, Thanos would no longer be a threat. Korath retained his loyalty to Ronan and continued to follow his leader until their respective deaths in the Battle of Xandar.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
Kree Physiology/Bionic Enhancement: As a Kree, Korath possessed all of the various superhuman attributes common among his people, such as superhuman strength, durability, agility, and an efficient healing factor. He also had a robotic part on his head, but it was ripped out by Drax the Destroyer.
Superhuman Strength: Korath had the strength that rivaled that of Drax the Destroyer thanks to his Kree physiology and his cybernetic augmentations. He could jump from great heights and land in a crouched manner unfazed, with the ground beneath him being left with a crater marking where he landed. His blows could hurl a grown humanoid several feet across the air at great speed. However, Drax was able to overpower and pin him against a wall, leaving him helpless before Drax ripped off a cybernetic part of his head, killing him.
Superhuman Durability:
Korath withstanding energy blasts
Korath's body was much more resistant to physical damage than the body of a normal human being. He was durable enough to withstand Vers' blows and photons blasts, and later be thrown through the air with a lethal shot of Quad Blasters of Star-Lord and only be stunned by these attacks. However, removing the cybernetic parts of his head could kill him instantly, as Drax killed him doing it.
Superhuman Agility: Korath was able to fight Drax and dodge his attacks, before being subdued. He was also very agile while using his twin swords in combat against Vers.
Superhuman Stamina: Korath can fight for extended periods of time. He valiantly fought Vers for a while. He also fought Drax the Destroyer for a long time without getting tired.
Superhuman Reflexes: Korath possesses great reflexes, which is common among Kree. When fighting Drax the Destroyer, he dodged two straight knife throws at his head.
Regenerative Healing Factor: As with all Kree, Korath possessed a healing factor which allowed him to recover from injuries in a much shorter time span than humans.
Longevity: Korath possessed a long lifespan, not aging noticeably in the twenty years between his service at the Starforce and his death at the hands of the Guardians of the Galaxy. This trait is common among Kree.
Korath, having trained throughout his life in combat with fighters such as Gamora and Nebula, was a highly trained armed and unarmed combatant. He was skilled enough to defeat Star-Lord with relative ease and initially managed to overcome Drax the Destroyer for a while, during his fight, before the latter killed him.
Sword Mastery: As a member of the Starforce, Korath used two energy swords as his way of fighting in battle. He was able to defeat several Skrulls and fight against Vers for a while, before being subdued. While training with Gamora and Nebula, Korath used a sword with great skill.
Expert Marksman: Korath used a Necroblaster in battle, being armed with it in an attempt to stop Star-Lord from escaping on Morag.
Multilingualism: Korath was well versed in the native languages of several species, including Sakaar's and Humans.
Equipment[]
Weapons[]
Kree Energy Swords: Korath was armed with a pair of Kree energy swords that can be charged with blue energy that enabled them to easily slice through metal like butter.
Universal Weapon: Korath briefly held Ronan's main weapon during his talk with Thanos, as Korath handed the weapon back to Ronan to successfully absorb the strength of the Power Stone.
While a member of Starforce, Korath possessed a uniform of Kree origin to use on his missions. These uniforms have built-in universal translators that allow their wearers to understand the language of anyone they interact with and be able to speak their language back to them. The uniforms also contain a device capable of analyzing and identifying any object placed within it on the uniform's sleeve. The uniform's color scheme can also be customized to suit the user's preferences via a device located on the uniform's sleeve, though Korath himself never had any reason to do this. It also includes a collapsible helmet that can fit around the wearer's head. The helmet can generate its own atmosphere and allows the wearer to breathe in the vacuum of space, as well as underwater, where it will give off a blue glow to provide light.
Vehicles[]
Helion: During missions with the Starforce, Korath was transported on this ship with his teammates.
Necrocraft: Korath and his team of Sakaarans used a Necrocraft to fly over to Morag with the aim of finding the Orb to bring back to Ronan.
In the comics, Korath-Thak was a Kree cyber-geneticist, and the founder of a project to develop cybernetic warriors for the Kree militia. He was also one of the members of the Starforce and the former leader of the Pursuer Corps.
Behind the Scenes[]
Korath's early designs included blue skin, but painting Djimon Hounsou's skin was scrapped during production.
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