Known as the locusts of the universe, the Horde are ravenous, extraterrestrial, insect-like beings who invade and consume planets.[3] Operating as a hive mind,[4] they are collectively treated as a single entity.[5] They are intelligent[6] and serve as instruments of reaping, termination, and quietus for a mysterious, all-powerful cosmic being called the Fulcrum, in contrast to the Celestials who are instruments of creation.[5] To the Celestials themselves, the Horde is a deadly disease, which kills them or corrupts them into Dark Celestials.[7]
The Horde has visited the Earth several times. The first was when they infected the Progenitor, who fell and died on the newly formed Earth, causing the planet to become a hotspot for the supernatural and superpowered.[7] The Horde returned in modern times following the awakening of the Dreaming Celestial,[3] though having grown fond of Earth, the Dreaming Celestial appealed to the Fulcrum.[2] Most recently, the Horde infected the Celestials and attacked the Earth with the Final Host of Dark Celestials, though the regular Celestials were cured of the infection thanks to the Avengers.[8]
History
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The Horde are a species of insect-like beings that serve the Fulcrum, balancing the universe on the opposite side of the Celestials. After the Celestials visit a planet and enhance one hundred specimens into Eternals and another hundred into Deviants, they leave them to their own devices for nineteen cosmic cycles. Once the planet is ready for reaping, the aggregate energy from the base species is channeled to the Fulcrum. If the planet's aggregate energy signature is consistent with the Deviant life-force, the life-force is transferred to the Horde. Otherwise, it's transferred to the Celestials. Whereas the Celestials are instruments of creation, the Horde are used as an instrument of destruction.[5] While the Horde prefer to feed on infant worlds, they can also target Celestials due to the great energy flowing within them.[9]
Roughly four billion years into the past, the Horde infected the Celestial Progenitor. In the agony of death, the Celestial fell to Earth, where he perished. The Horde proliferated through the primordial surface of the planet, with countless eggs becoming buried deep underground as the centuries passed. In 1,000,000 BC, Zgreb the Aspirant travelled to Earth in search of the Progenitor and came into contact with the plague that felled its fellow Celestial. Instead of killing Zgreb, the Horde mutated it into a rabid Dark Celestial, the first of its kind. The Avengers of the Stone Age came into conflict with Zgreb. They knocked it down and buried it deep underneath the surface.[9] Not long afterwards, the First Host of Celestials visited Earth to investigate the disappearance of the Progenitor and Zgreb. The prehistoric Avengers attacked the space gods but were defeated; learning of the Horde infection, the Celestials spared the Avengers and left Zgreb buried underground, possibly to avoid being infected themselves.[10] The Celestials believed that humanity's capacity for mutagenesis and superhuman change from the Progenitor would enable them to cancel out the Horde, so they could someday to be used as a "cure" for the Horde.[10]
In modern times, the Horde was drawn to Earth after the Dreaming Celestial awakened,[3] but they were eventually repelled when the Dreaming Celestial convinced the Fulcrum to spare Earth.[2]
Countless Horde insects started hatching from the dormant eggs deep within the Earth and making their way to the surface when the Final Host of Dark Celestials came to Earth to destroy it. The Horde was additionally used by the Dark Celestials to infect and kill all existing Celestials.[11] During the final battle against the Dark Celestials, the Horde reanimated the bodies of the Celestials, but when the Avengers realized that humanity's genetic makeup contained the key to the Horde's defeat, they used the Uni-Mind, taught to them by the Eternal Ikaris, to render the Horde dormant. This freed the Celestials under their control, allowing the Celestials to defeat the Dark Celestials.[10]
Alternate Reality Versions[]
Earth-TRN1510[]
As the 61st century of Earth-6160 was being erased and rewritten, Galactus, the Seeder of Worlds, perished. His body soon became infested by the Horde as they fed on his energy which allowed them to propagate.[12]Powers and Abilities
Powers
_(Multiverse)_from_Avengers_Vol_8_5_001.jpg){kind=link}
A Celestial infected with the Horde
Weaknesses
Habitat
Habitat
Population
Trivia
- The Horde are similar to the Exterminators in that they are both instruments of death and destruction used to balance out the Celestials' life and creation.
- The idea that the superpowered beings of Earth are Celestial-designed "antibodies" comes from Earth X, where the Celestials implanted into humanity's genome dormant "seeds" that manifest as powers (mutants, Inhumans, mutates, etc.),[15] and the purpose of these super beings is to protect a Celestial growing inside the planet until it is ready to be born.[16] Some of Earth X has been brought over to the mainstream continuity before (the Celestial Madonna has claimed that there is a Celestial inside the Earth),[17] but in this case, instead of superpowered beings protecting the planet for an unborn Celestial, the Celestials are using them as a cure for the Horde.[10]
See Also
- 12 appearance(s) of Horde (Race)
- 5 minor appearance(s) of Horde (Race)
- 5 mention(s) of Horde (Race)
- 3 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Horde (Race)
- 7 image(s) of Horde (Race)
- 4 victim(s) killed by Horde (Race)
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Avengers (Vol. 8) #4
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Eternals (Vol. 4) #9
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Eternals (Vol. 3) #6
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Eternals (Vol. 4) #1
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Eternals (Vol. 4) #2
- ↑ Eternals (Vol. 4) #8
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Avengers (Vol. 8) #4–5
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #1–6
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Avengers (Vol. 8) #5
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Avengers (Vol. 8) #6
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #1
- ↑ Ultimates (Vol. 4) #8
- ↑ Eternals (Vol. 4) #1–2
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #1–3
- ↑ Earth X #0
- ↑ Earth X #9
- ↑ S.H.I.E.L.D. #4