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the GRAND INQUISITOR
(from Reality-691)

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Alternate timeline (Reality-691) extraterrestrial (Judan) semi-humanoid tech-user (30th to early 31st centuries)

Occupation: Grand Inquisitor for the Universal Church of Truth; ruler of the planet Sarka

Group Membership: Grand Inquisitors of the Universal Church of Truth

Affiliations: Universal Church of Truth minions (including a Sarkan aide and any Black Knights stationed on Sarka); the Protege;
   formerly Replica

Enemies: The Spirit of Vengeance (Wileaydus); Guardians of the Galaxy (Charlie-27, Martinex T'Naga, Nicholette "Nikki" Gold; Major Vance Astro, Yondu Udonta, Starhawk/Stakar Ogord, Aleta Ogord), Replica

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Most High Excellency; Most Exalted One; Your Grace

Base of Operations: The planet Sarka in the Tilnast star system of the Milky Way galaxy;
   also mobile aboard UCT starships

First Appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy I#14 (July, 1991)

Powers/Abilities: The Grand Inquisitor presumably possessed the standard capabilities common to all members of the Judan race. Specifically, his enormous brain generated psychokinetic force that enabled him to support his great weight.

   As a Judan, the Grand Inquisitor would have reproduced asexually but it was never established if he/she/they had ever had any offspring.

Height: 12' (approximately)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Red (multifaceted)
Skin: Pinkish-white and brown
Hair: None

Note: As a Judan, the Grand Inquisitor's body was a bilaterally-symmetrical oval-shaped trunk with enormous facial features (eyes, nose, mouth) on its front, four arms and two legs.

History:
(Guardians of the Galaxy I#14 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, presumably sometime in the 30th century, a Judan whose name has never been revealed joined the Universal Church of Truth. Over time, this Judan rose through the Church until reaching the rank of Grand Inquisitor

(Guardians of the Galaxy I#14 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, presumably in the early 31st century, this Judan was appointed to be the ruler of Sarka, a planet in the Tilnast star system whose native sapient inhabitants, the humanoid Sarkans, had joined the Universal Church of Truth.

(Guardians of the Galaxy I#14 (fb) - BTS) - For an unspecified period of time, this Grand Inquisitor ruled the planet Sarka.

(Guardians of the Galaxy I#12 (fb) - BTS) <3018 A.D.> - A serial killer known to the Sarkans as "the Flamng Demon" began murdering UCT Black Knights who had been assigned to protect Sarka.

(Guardians of the Galaxy I#12 (fb) - BTS) - Soon after the forty-third and forty-fourth victims of the Flaming Demon were found dead on Sarka, an unidentified starship was discovered in the asteroid belt.

(Guardians of the Galaxy I#13-14 - BTS) - Believing that the starship must have been carrying Black Knight reinforcements, the Flaming Demon (a.k.a. the Spirit of Vengeance) rode his Death-Cycle out into space to confront and destroy them.

(Guardians of the Galaxy I#13 - BTS) - Aboard that starship, the U.S.S. Captain America II, Nikki made radio contact with someone on Sarka to ask if they could make repairs there. When she was asked if they (the crew) were Universalites and in response queried what that meant, communications were cut off. Then, as the Spirit of Vengeance approached the starship, communications were resumed and the person on the planet said that the Guardians could land there but only if they first killed the Spirit. The Grand Inquisitor may have been the person to whom Nikki spoke or he may have only decided on that condition.

(Guardians of the Galaxy I#14 (fb) - BTS) - The Grand Inquisitor was aboard the flagship of the Holy Fleet that apparently followed the Flaming Demon to the alien starship.

(Guardians of the Galaxy I#14 - BTS) - While the Spirit of Vengeance was aboard the U.S.S. Captain America II and battling the Guardians because he believed that they were Universalites, several much larger warships of the Holy Fleet surrounded them. With their weapons trained on the alien starship, the fleet then hailed them, saying, "Alien vessel, you are completely surrounded! Surrender the Flaming Demon at once...or be obliterated!" Now convinced of the Guardians' innocence, the Spirit left the starship and flew away, right through the fleet, in an attempt to atone by distracting the fleet with their true target. Unfortunately, his plan did work and the fleet again hailed the aliens, saying, "Alien vessel, you have harbored a heretic -- the penalty is death! You have thirty seconds to make peace with whatever heathen gods you worship!" Realizing that they would be unable to escape before the fleet opened fire on them, Martinex told Nikki to open a visual to the flagship and told Replica that she was going to talk to them for the Guardians.

(Guardians of the Galaxy I#14) - Aboard the flagship, the Grand Inquisitor watched and listened as a kneeling Replica explained to the "most high excellency" how those aboard the alien starship had been attacked by the demon. Sitting in his golden command chair on (presumably) the bridge of the flagship, with a golden cup in his upper left hand, the Grand Inquisitor replied, "We see. Your reverence is duly noted, child -- We rescind the death sentence! However, we will escort your vessel to Sarka...where we will expect a full full accounting of your actions!"

(Guardians of the Galaxy I#14 (fb) - BTS) - Later, after the U.S.S. Captain America II was in dry dock around Sarka and being repaired, Replica and five of the Guardians traveled to the surface of the planet and were taken to have an audience with the Grand Inquisitor.

(Guardians of the Galaxy I#14) - In his throne room, the Grand Inquisitor spoke to Replica, saying, "...We would know why you associate with heathens, little one." Martinex began to answer, asking to be allowed to explain, but the Grand Inquisitor cut him off, saying, "Silence! We do not recognize you, non-believer, only her!" When Replica stated that she had hoped to indoctrinate them by example, as per the teachings of Jiltran, her words inspired the Grand Inquisitor, who replied, "Indoctrinate? What a splendid idea! Guards! Take the heathens to the Indoctrination Chamber!"

   Not unsurprisingly, Charlie-27 had a very negative reaction to that command and immediately punched out the nearest guard. He was soon joined by Nikki, Major Astro, and Yondu. With Martinex knocked out before he could do anything, Charlie-27 soon realized how outnumbered they were and told Vance Astro that, since there was no sense in all of them getting captured, he should leave and see if he could find some help, perhaps from that "Ghost Rider" guy. Reluctantly agreeing that Charlie was right, Astro and Yondu dragged a couple of downed guards out of the room so that they could use their robes to disguise themselves. Seconds later, first Nikki and then Charlie-27 were both rendered unconscious by the guards.

   Shortly after Astro and Yondu had made good their escape and a Sarkan aide had collected the communications stars from the chests of the three fallen Guardians, the Grand Inquisitor gave the guards the order to "Take them away!" When Replica cautiously asked if they were going to be hurt, the Grand Inquisitor reassured her, saying, "Do not fret, my dear. Our mission is to save souls...not to destroy them!" When the aide then presented him with the items found on the heathens' chests, the Grand Inquisitor examined them, saying, "hmm...curious." He then asked Replica, "Do you know what purpose these...baubles serve, little one?" Although reluctant to commit a mortal sin by lying to him, Replica knew that he would be able to use the stars to find Vance and Yondu if he knew they were communicators, so she lied and claimed that she believed the stars were purely ornamental. Musing aloud to himself, the Grand Inquisitor said, "Strange...Perhaps they have some religious significance...Ah, well, it's unimportant!" He then gave the command, "Guards, begin your search for the two who got away!"

 

   While Martinex, Charlie-27 and Nikki were being tortured in the Indoctrination Chamber, the disguised Astro and Yondu explored the city and decided to spend some time in a downtown neighborhood bar talking to the customers in order to learn if the people of Sarka were truly enslaved by the Church.

   In the asteroid belt, Aleta found and rescued the nearly-transparent Starhawk. In the process, he was able to let her see a memory about Malevolence and the Child.

   Concerned about her friends, Replica secretly visited the Indoctrination Chamber where she found that Martinex was the only one of the three Guardians who was still conscious after the torture that had been inflicted upon them. When her attempt to get him to agree to convert so they could avoid being killed for being non-believers failed, a sobbing Replica ran out of the room.

 

(Guardians of the Galaxy I#14) - Ultimately being unable to bear the idea of her friends being killed, Replica assumed the form of the Grand Inquisitor, then entered the Indoctrination Chamber and spoke to the non-Sarkan Universalite on duty, telling him, "Release the prisoners! Their souls have been saved!" When the Universalite hesitated, the false Grand Inquisitor challenged him, saying, "Would you question my word?! Would you see your own soul lost?!" When the torturer assured "Your grace" that of course he wouldn't, the false Grand Inquisitor commanded, "Then obey my order!" and then added, "By my decree they are saved!" Nikki stated that her soul hadn't been saved and expressed her wish that she had her wrist-blasters but Charlie-27 shushed her, whispering that "it was Replica."

   Seconds after the three Guardians had been freed from their bonds, however, the real Grand Inquisitor entered the Indoctrination Chamber and found himself face-to-face with himself. The Grand Inquisitor then demanded to know, "What transpires here?! Who dares to impersonate our royal personage?!" Since her deception was no longer working, Replica shifted back into her human form and tossed the three communications stars to the Guardians. When she mentioned that she wasn't going to leave with them, Martinex disagreed, grabbed her arm and teleported her away with him. The Grand Inquisitor cried out, "STOP TH--?!" but his words were interrupted by the arrival of the Death-Cycle as it burst through the walls and into the Indoctrination Chamber carrying not only the Spirit of Vengeance but Major Astro and Yondu as well. Seeing that Nikki and Charlie-27 were even then beaming out, Astro and Yondu did the same, leaving the Spirit of Vengeance there to do his work and enact his vengeance. As the Death-Cycle's flaming tusks impaled him with a loud "SPLORCHH!" sound, the Grand Inquisitor cried out, "YYAAAGHH!"

   All seven of the Guardians (plus Replica) made it back to the U.S.S. Captain America II safely and managed to escape from the Tilnast star system.

(Guardians of the Galaxy Annual I#2 (fb) - BTS) - The Spirit of Vengeance removed one of the Guardians of the Galaxy's stars from the corpse of the Grand Inquisitor. (see comments)

Comments: Created by Jim Valentino and Steve Montano.

   The Grand Inquisitor may or may not have been the person who sent the two radio messages to the alien vessel after it had been completely surrounded by the Holy Fleet. The edges of the word balloons for those radio messages had jagged edges that were unlike the odd edges of some (but not all) of the word balloons surrounding the Grand Inquisitor's dialogue. Since I can't know for sure, I have chosen to not assume that it was the Grand Inquisitor who delivered those two ultimatums.

   Although the Grand Inquisitor's death at the hands of the Spirit of Vengeance was seemingly, and rather graphically, shown in Guardians of the Galaxy I#14, his death was not actually confirmed until the Spirit referenced his corpse in Guardians of the Galaxy Annual I#2.

   Much of this Grand Inquisitor's skin is pinkish-white in color and, as such, is somewhat different from the Judans who appear in the first two volumes of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and whose skin color is entirely made up of shades of brown. I had assumed that this was a mistake that colorist Evelyn Stein made when she colored that GOTG issue but, after examining my reprint of Strange Tales I#180, I noticed that most of the skin on Kray-Tor's body was also pinkish-white in color. So, since Jim Starlin (as "Ms. Natjiril") had colored that Strange Tales story, it seems that it was the Official Handbook artwork that was inaccurate.

   Although this Judan was the only "Grand Inquisitor" character to appear in the first Guardians of the Galaxy series, he was (almost) certainly just one of many officials who held that same rank within the Universal Church of Truth. However, since almost nothing was revealed about the hierarchy of that Church, it's unclear how much authority the Grand Inquisitors held within the UCT. As the highest Church official on Sarka, this Grand Inquisitor could command the Holy Fleet within the Tilnast system and any Black Knights who were stationed on the planet, but may have been unable to command UCT personnel who were outside of his assigned territory. It's also unclear how many Grand Inquisitors existed throughout the UCT and whether or not they all exercised the same degree of authority over lower-ranked Church officials and holy warriors. For example, in pre-timequake Reality-616, the first Grand Inquisitors encountered by Adam Warlock were basically assassins whose job was to hunt down and kill infidels who had been marked for termination by the UCT but the Magus later referred to his Grand Inquisitors as being those who devastated worlds on behalf of the Church.

   While this Grand Inquisitor was clearly the UCT-appointed ruler of Sarka, very little was revealed about the location from which he ruled the planet. Given that the UCT was a theocratic empire, it seems likely that his base of operations was a palace in what was presumably the planet's capital city, but this is only speculation. Aside from implying that the Indoctrination Chamber was (probably) in the same building complex as the audience chamber/throne room, the story doesn't reveal much about Sarka. Even the city in which all of the on-planet action takes place was never named.

   The story doesn't make it clear how long this Grand Inquisitor had ruled Sarka on behalf of the UCT. So, he could have been its ruler ever since the Sarkans joined the UCT or he could have replaced another Grand Inquisitor (or some other UTC official) who had ruled Sarka before him. Only Jim Valentino knows for sure.

   Since Judans reproduce asexually and how they identify themselves with regards to gender has never been revealed, it's unclear if members of that race should be referenced using male pronouns or female pronouns or gender-neutral pronouns. The fact that the Grand Inquisitor used the first-person plural pronouns "we" and "our" may not be indicative of all Judans since, as the ruler of a planet, the Grand Inquisitor may actually have been using majestic or royal plural pronouns.

   Replica used the male pronouns "him" and "he" when she thought of the Grand Inquisitor. However, she also used the singular pronoun "my" instead of "our" while impersonating him, so her usage of those male pronouns may have been similarly inaccurate.

   The idea that the Spirit of Vengeance had acquired one of the Guardians of the Galaxy's communications stars by removing it from the corpse of the Grand Inquisitor was presented in Guardians of the Galaxy Annual I#2. Unfortunately, it's seemingly impossible for that Judan to have had one of the stars on his person when he died. The Grand Inquisitor got the stars after they were confiscated from the three Guardians (Martinex, Nikki and Charlie-27) who were captured by UCT guards in Guardians of the Galaxy I#15, and Replica is shown tossing three stars to Martinex when she later helps the three captives escape from the indoctrination chamber. That story even actually shows each of those three Guardians using their own stars to remotely activate their starship's teleporter so that they could beam back to it in orbit around Sarka. So, if all three stars were accounted for in that story, how could the Grand Inquisitor have had one on him when he died?

   To make matters worse, the story in that GOTG annual depends on the Spirit of Vengeance having acquired that star because it (somehow) enabled the Spirit to travel (on his Death-Cycle) through hyper-space to Main Frame's world. So, without that star, he would have been unable to leave Sarka. Plus, Martinex (probably) wouldn't have been able to summon him in the first place.

   With that in mind, while Martinex, Nikki, Charlie-27 and Astro were all shown using their own stars to teleport themselves (and Replica) to safety, Yondu was not shown doing so. This leaves open the possibility that he may have dropped his star after entering the torture chamber and decided to grab hold of Astro so as to be beamed out with him instead of wasting any time looking for it. The fact that Astro's right arm was hidden behind the Spirit's flaming skull in panel 4 of page 21 makes that explanation possible. However, since Yondu was shown (still) wearing his star on the very next page, that would also mean that he must obtained another star immediately after returning to the starship. That seems a bit odd, but it may be better than nothing.

The Universal Church of Truth that exists in Reality-691
   This timeline's version of the UCT was "based loosely" on the Universal Church of Truth that had existed in Reality-616 until Adam Warlock retroactively altered history in order to make it so that neither it nor its founder, the Magus, had ever existed in that timeline. While it at first appeared that this UCT might have been just a divergent version of that original UCT, it was soon revealed that, despite their very strong similarities, there were significant differences between the two theocratic galactic empires. Perhaps the biggest difference was that the 691 Church had somehow come into being as a sect that worshipped a deity known as the Magus even though, unlike what happened in the pre-timequake Reality-616, no such entity actually existed in their timeline. Sadly, no explanation for how the Magus had come to be worshipped was ever provided.

   Another major way in which the two versions of the UCT differed was in their later histories. For one thing, the Church in Reality-616 had Sarks (like Autolycus) as members and had conquered and enslaved a race of green-skinned armless bipeds by the early 21st century. In contrast, although the Church in Reality-691 had converted the people of Sarka and committed genocide against that armless race before the year 3018 A.D., those events had occurred so recently that a last priest of an outlawed faith was still alive on Sarka and the rotting corpses of that genocided race were not old enough to have decomposed into skeletons. This indicates that the 691 Church hadn't taken control of Sarka's sector of space until about a millennium after the 616 Church had done so in its timeline, and implies that the 691 Church, lacking the direct leadership of their god, had not expanded across their universe as quickly as the 616 Church had.

   Another possible difference in their chronologies concerns exactly when the Church was founded. In (pre-timequake) Reality-616, the Magus founded the UCT after he conquered the planet Sirus X sometime before the year 3000 B.C. In contrast, Interface told Martinex that the 691 UCT had searched space for their god for an unspecified number of centuries without success, and that it was only then, "over a thousand generations ago," that they had begun trying to create their god in their own image. Even if one assumes that a generation was only 20 years long, that would still place the founding of the 691 UCT sometime before 17,000 B.C. However, in that Guardians of the Galaxy Retrospective that he posted on his Image board back in 2005, Jim Valentino revealed that, if he had continued on the title after issue #51, he had been planning to introduce the Her of that timeline and reveal that she was the actual biological mother of the Protege. This would have established that the origin of the Protege that was revealed by Interface in issue #16 was just a false story that the Church had made up about the child-god's origin. Of course, Mr. Valentino was removed from the title before he could write that story but, if that idea were still somehow valid, that could indicate that the 691 UCT may have been founded much more recently than that story had implied.

Profile by Donald Campbell.

CLARIFICATIONS:
This Grand Inquisitor from the planet Sarka in Reality-691's 31st century has no known direct connections to:

Additionally, this Grand Inquisitor has no known connections to:

images: (without ads)
Guardians of the Galaxy I#14, page 8, panel 6 (main image)
      pages 10-11, panel 2 (his audience with the aliens)
      page 12, panel 5 (examining the baubles)
      page 20, panel 5 (catching Replica impersonating him)
      page 21, panel 5 (being killed by the Spirit of Vengeance)

Appearances:
Guardians of the Galaxy I#14 (July, 1991) - Jim Valentino (manual labor), Steve Montano (repromaster), Craig Anderson (slave driver)

First Posted: 07/07/2024
Last updated: 07/07/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

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