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Quote1 They're the gods of our gods. They're as far beyond us as we are beyond cavemen. Quote2
Maximus the Mage[src]

The Progenitors are an eons-old race living in a controlled planetary system called the World Farm in intergalactic space.[2][3] There are different classes of Progenitors including the Experimenter, Destroyer, Exterminator, Harvester, Ordinator, and Overlord-Classes, each specializing in a different function.[4]

The Progenitors are a highly advanced society dedicated to scientific experimentation, from the quantum level to at least the planetary system level.[5][2][6] This includes experiments on lower lifeforms using mutagens, notably Primagen.[7][2] Despite being primarily science-based and having computer brains,[3] the Progenitors are also magic.[2]

History

Progenitors from Royals Vol 1 9 001

Experimenting on the Kree with Primagen

Kree & Inhumans[]

A millennia ago, the Progenitors experimented on the primitive Kree, mutating them with Primagen to their current evolutionary state.[7] The Kree were deemed failures since their evolution stopped before they could become useful for the Progenitors.[8] When the Progenitors took notice of the Inhumans, they invented the Skyspears, diagnostic tools flung from the World Farm towards Inhuman population centers with the objective to study them.[9]

A group of Inhumans aboard the ship Astarion learned of the Progenitors' existence while looking for an alternative to Terrigen, all of which had been destroyed by Medusa.[7] After investigating a Skyspear which landed on Centauri-IV, this group of Inhumans traced its trajectory back to the World Farm. The explorers were attacked by a Harvester-Class Progenitor as soon as they approached the World Farm,[7] and barely made it alive to a Primagen deposit[10] after killing an Ordinator-Class Progenitor.[4] After defeating an Exterminator and a Destroyer-Class Progenitor sent to deal with them, the explorers escaped with samples of Primagen and returned to Earth. The Inhuman Gorgon stayed behind to buy the rest of the crew time to escape. He boosted his powers with Primagen and destroyed the swarm of Progenitors that were about to attack the expeditionary crew as well as the planet where they were standing.[10]

Having become impressed by the potential of the Inhuman visitors, the Progenitors launched a small-scale attack on Earth in other to assimilate the planet, but stopped by the Moon, where the Inhumans were stationed. Since they had used telepathy and empathic control to defeat the Progenitors they faced, Maximus the Mad determined the best battleground to confront the invading Progenitors was the Astral Plane. An Overlord-Class Progenitor attempted to absorb Medusa's mind into their collective consciousness right as she was in the Astral Plane and had acquired the resolve necessary for a sample of Primagen to work on her. The recoil caused by the assimilation attempt destroyed the Progenitors. Due to this unexpected turn of events, the Ordinator-Class Progenitors that were overseeing the attack from the World Farm determined to leave the Earth alone.[11]

Orbis Stellaris[]

Nathaniel Essex (Orbis Stellaris) (Earth-616) from X-Men Red Vol 2 8 001

Orbis Stellaris piloting an Overlord-Class Progenitor

Recently, Orbis Stellaris took over the World Farm and reprogrammed its Progenitors.[3] He installed his life-support system onto the body of an Overlord-Class Progenitor.[1] Stellaris informed the Progenitors of the Kree/Skrull Alliance and they attacked Throneworld II, but were repelled by the Guardians of the Galaxy.[2] Later, Abigail Brand and Stellaris organized a Progenitor attack on Arakko where they stole Cable's Techno-Organic Virus.[3] They brought it back to the World Farm to propagate.[1]

Alternate Realities[]

Earth-17619[]

In this alternate future, the Progenitors had decimated most of planet Earth. They also transformed Black Bolt and Medusa into a gestalt member of their race.[12]

Sins of Sinister (Moira VII.1)[]

Orbis Stellaris attempted to use the Progenitors and their World Farm to achieve Dominion-status.[6] Over the course of a century, he built a giant Death Sphere to encase the World Farm while the Progenitors worked on achieving his goals. However, Storm, boosted by Khora, used magic and mutation to teleport the World Farm away from the Death Sphere at the cost of her life. The rest of her Brotherhood of Mutants erased Orbis Stellaris' orders, and without an Overlord to command them, the Progenitors returned to maintaining their artificial planets.[13]

Classes[]

The Commander-Class only shows up in a possible future. The last Inhuman, Maximus, thought that the Progenitors wanted to destroy the Inhumans, only to realize the Progenitors were actually curious about their potential. They took Medusa and Black Bolt, then fused them together into a single Commader-Class Progenitor. It is unknown if the other classes were originally other organisms, but their members are viritually identical to each other while the the Commander-Class retains some attributes from the individual Inhumans that created it, including their powers.[8]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

The Progenitors are beings of massive power. The Harvester-Class Progenitor displayed telekinesis, being capable of effortlessly stopping the Astarion mid-flight and destroy it.[7] The Ordinator-Class possessed the ability to fire powerful blasts from different parts of its body. They can sense when the World Farm is disrupted.[4]

Abilities

Progenitors can adapt to the situation.[2]

Weaknesses

Richard Rider (Earth-616) and Progenitors from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 6 13 001

Removing a Progenitor's head disables the body

  • The Progenitors' minds are weak to mental attacks from humans, Inhumans, and other similar beings because of how "alien" their minds are compared to Progenitor minds.[11]
  • Progenitors can be reprogrammed.[3][13]
  • The Progenitors' heads levitate above their bodies via a magnetic field.[2][3] If their head is removed, the body is rendered inactive. This does not necessarily kill the Progenitor as they can survive as just a head.[2] Progenitors can resist Magneto's magnetic powers while focusing on him, but if they get distracted, Magneto can launch their heads off their body.[3]
  • Despite their heads being detached, any damage to the body still inflicts pain.[14]
  • Ekz'El-Zorr can instantly slay them as it disrupts magic and the Progenitors apparently have strong magic in them.[2]
Although Progenitors are generally extremely powerful, it is noted that an Overlord-Class Progenitor is relatively weak. An Overlord-Class Progenitor is built to give orders, not for combat.[14]

Habitat

Habitat

The World Farm, an artificial,[3][13] miniature planetary system that acts as a supercomputer.[5][6][13]

Miscellaneous

Type of Government

The Progenitors are commanded by an Overlord-Class Progenitor.[4] Recently, Orbis Stellaris became their overlord and took over an Overlord-Class Progenitor's body.[1]

Level of Technology

City-Mind from Royals Vol 1 10 002

The Progenitors' molecule-sized quantum computers are used to build other matter

Quote1 They build artifical solar systems in the gulfs between galaxies. Treat entire worlds like petri dishes. Quote2
Abigail Brand[src]

Extremely Advanced: Marvel Boy noticed the Progenitors' technology is "as far beyond Kree tech as the Kree are beyond us." The Progenitors created quantum computers the size of molecules.[4] The Progenitors are a Type IV civilization in the Kardashev scale.[8][15]

The Progenitors' World Farm is on the level of a Stronghold,[6] a type of universal society that is made up of 2–9 interlinked societies that have collapsed space-time into a black hole.[16]

Trivia

  • Al Ewing conceived the Progenitors as a sort of mid-point between the Celestials and the Kree. They are far more advanced than the Kree but they are not so advanced "as to be hanging out in the cosmic realms" like the Celestials.[17]
  • Ewing originally considered having the Progenitors talk solely in alchemical symbols. That idea apparently proved unworkable very fast.[17]

See Also

Links and References

References

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