RIGELLIAN HIGH COMMAND RIGELLIAN HIGH COMMAND
Membership: At least seven unidentified Rigellians
Purpose: Governing and/or advising
Aliases: None
Affiliations: The Charter, Tana Nile, Recorders, Star Masters (Beta Ray Bill, Morfex, Quasar/Wendell Vaughn, and the Silver Surfer/Norrin Radd, Xenith)
Enemies: Axi-Tun (notably Votan and his agents);
formerly the Star Masters (Beta Ray Bill, Morfex, Quasar/Wendell Vaughn, and the Silver Surfer/Norrin Radd, Xenith)
Base of Operations: Presumably Rigel-3 (the one devastated by one of the Thanosi)
First Appearance: (Mentioned) Starmasters#3 (February, 1996);
(pictured) Cosmic Powers Unlimited#4 (February, 1995)
Abilities: The Rigellian High Command held a position of authority within the Rigellian government.
Under some circumstances, they
could act on behalf of Rigellian race and advise other organizations,
such as the Charter. 
Their only confirmed functions
were instigating/advising formal proceedings in a group such as the
Charter against member parties who had committed a breach of Charter
protocol.
History:
(Starmasters#1 (fb) - BTS / Starmasters#3 (fb) - BTS / FF:
50 Fantastic Years) - Axi-Tun leader Votan’s agents stole a Rigellian
Planet-Lock device, which they used to transport and launch immense
planetoids to cause extinction-level events on target worlds.
(Starmasters#1 - BTS) - Votan's agent's Ramrog's ship used the Planet-Lock to transport their Planetoid Bomb device to slay the inhabitants of Arcturus IV.
(Starmasters#1 - BTS) - When the Charter approached Earth to
establish peaceful relations, Votan's agents released their
"hybrid cosmic plague" into the Hub base, headquarters of the Charter, which killed
everyone aboard -- all 10,451 Charter delegates aboard the Hub-- with the exception of the visiting Quasar.
(Starmasters#3 (fb) - BTS) - Three Rigellians were on the Hub and perished in this attack.
(Starmasters#1 - BTS) - The Axi-Tun framed Protector of the Universe Quasar for the slaughter via altered video footage. Tana received the broadcast, noting the impertinence and wondering how Earth had changed since last she visited it.
(Starmasters#1 - BTS) - Ramrog's ship used the Planet-Lock device to send a planetoid
to destroy Earth. The planetoid was ultimately destroyed by the
combined efforts of Beta Ray Bill, Quasar, and the Silver Surfer.
(Starmasters#3 - BTS) - Prime Administrator Tana Nile led a group of three organic beings and 24 Recorders to the Hub to investigate the cause of the deaths of the Charter delegates. When Recorder 901-E reported that the Hub's telemetric system had recorded a disturbance -- a near collision with Earth of a planetoid originating outside this planetary system -- Tana instructed 901-E to contact Rigellian High Command and determine if any of their Planet-Lock devices had been reported stolen or missing.
After a
group of Axi-Tun warriors led by Dampyre and Throk captured Trimeth and
two others (apparently part of the Mneena Search Party), they forced
Trimeth to summon Tana Nile. Bringing Recorder 901-E with her, Tana
Nile surrendered when the Axi-Tun threatened their captives.
(Cosmic Powers Unlimited#4) - Within the chambers of the
Rigellian High Command, the ruling council gathered to view a
holographic message sent by Recorder 901-E discussing the slaughter
aboard the Hub, Quasar (Wendell Vaughn)'s apparently having claimed
responsibility, the investigation parties' capture,
and its detection of an "as yet unidentifiable chemical compound"
within the ventilation system that it hypothesized to have something to
do with the Charter members' deaths.
The Rigellian High Command planned to
begin proceedings to have the Axi-Tun investigated and, if found
guilty, expelled from the Charter. Additionally, they considered that they must bargain for the
return of Tana Nile as any rescue attempt would undoubtedly fail as
long as the Silver Surfer stood with Quasar (whom the believed to be guilty based on the evidence at hand).
(Cosmic Powers Unlimited#4 - BTS) - Quasar, Morfex, and Xenith
subsequently freed Tana and her associates from their detention cell.
Via mind-thrusts, Tana confirmed Quasar's innocence and the Axi-Tun's guilt and goal of eliminating all other races in the cosmos.
(Cosmic Powers Unlimited#4 (fb) - BTS) - Days later, newly elected representatives from the member worlds gathered at the Hub to finalize sanctions against the Axi-Tun.
(Cosmic Powers Unlimited#5) - Tana joined the Star Masters in traveling to Tun to take Votan into custody at the Charters' request. Despite Votan briefly taking mental control of Tana and forcing her to dampen the will of the others, Tana ultimately facilitated the defeat of Votan and those Axi-Tun loyal to him. The Star Master's enforced Tana's decree to have Votan taken to be tried by the Charter.
Comments: First mentioned in a story by Mark Gruenwald.
Appeared in and fleshed out somewhat by Greg Wright, Scot Eaton, Dave Hoover, Pam Eklund, Don
Hudson, & Dave Hoover.
In every other story we see, the Rigellians are
ruled by the Grand Commissioner. As far as I know, this story is the
only one to reference the Rigellian High Command.
Yes, I'm also pretty sure that this is the only
story in which any sort of Rigellian "ruling council" is ever seen.
In every other story that comes to mind, it is the Grand Commissioner who is
the highest Rigellian authority.
If I had to guess, I'd say that the ruling
council was an advisory body, perhaps like how the Cabinet of the United States
is the principal official advisory body to the president of the United States.
It's possible that this council, as part of the command hierarchy of the
Rigellian Empire, was authorized to make decisions if the Grand Commissioner
was for some reason unavailable. As to why he might have been unavailable at
the time of the Charter crisis, I have no idea.
Additionally, Rigellians (like Tana Nile) are usually depicted
with skin that is pale yellow in color. However, the skin tones of the seven
members of the Rigellian High Command from CPU#4 are somewhat different .
On pages 2 and 4, their skins are a sort of pale brownish-yellow (like Dijon
mustard?) but on page 5 their skin is decidedly pale pink in color, like that
of the Recorder and like those of Quasar and Morfex (in his Axi-Tun form) on
page 7. Bad lighting in the council chamber?
Rigellians have been depicted with the wrong
skin colors in several other comics. One that comes to mind is Maximum
Security: Dangerous Planet #1, where two Rigellian delegates (Nelet Pa named)
and their Recorder with all depicted with skins whose color was a deeper pink
than Lilandra. However, they were only a few of the aliens who had been colored
incorrectly in that issue.
On page 27 of Cosmic Powers Unlimited
#4, in a scene set on the bridge of the Axi-Tun starship, an (unnamed) Axi-Tun
enters, bringing with him a Recorder that he states he had found attempting to
transmit their position to the Rigellian High Command. When Aldebron asks if
the Recorder succeeded, the minion reveals that he stopped him in time. This
Recorder is presumably the same Recorder (901-E) who hid and transmitted the
hyperspatial recording that the Rigellian High Command were viewing earlier in
the issue.
--Donald Campbell.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS: 
The Rigellian High Command has no known connections to
images: (without ads)
Cosmic Powers
Unlimited#4, story pg. 1 (High Command in their chambers; upper part of
image as the main image in the profile; full image to the right
(showing the Rigellian holo-projection)----->;
pg. 3, panel 1 (faces - green and blue);
pg. 4, panel 1 (various faces, close-up, in various degrees of fullness);
panel 2 (blue & red full);
panel 4 (purple, upper)
Appearances:
Starmasters#1 (December, 1995) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Scot Eaton (penciler), Bob Almond (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Starmasters#2 (January, 1996) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Scot Eaton (penciler), Bob Almond (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Starmasters#3 (February, 1996) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Scot Eaton (penciler), Don Hudson (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Cosmic Powers Unlimited#4 (February, 1995) - Greg Wright
(writer), Scot Eaton & Dave Hoover (pencilers), Pam Eklund, Don
Hudson, & Dave Hoover (inkers), Jon Andreani (assistant editor),
Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Cosmic Powers Unlimited#5 (May, 1995) - Greg Wright (writer), Scot Eaton (penciler), Don Hudson (inker), Mark Gruenwald
(editor)
First posted: 04/25/2024
Last updated: 04/28/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
© 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!