CHANCELLOR KAL'DU
Real Name: Kal'Du (see comments)
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Skrull) technology-user
Occupation: Chancellor to Queen Veranke
Group Membership: The Dard'van religious sect who worshipped the First One (Kly'bn the Eternal Skrull)
Affiliations: Queen Veranke
Enemies: Kree race; humans of Earth, Skrulls who did not share his beliefs (including Emperor Dorrek VII and his security forces)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Skrull Empire, Andromeda galaxy
First Appearance: (Identified, reports covered) Skrulls! #1 (2008);
(in a crowd scene) New Avengers I#40 (June, 2008)
Powers/Abilities: As a Skrull, Kal'Du presumably possessed all of the standard capabilities and weaknesses of a normal member of his species. Specifically, Kal'Du had the ability to alter his size, shape, and color through mental concentration. Presumably the shapes that Kal’Du could assume were limited by his original mass and volume.
Kal'du was a faithful follower of the Skrull gods, Kly'bn and Sl'gur't, the Eternal Skrull and the God of the Infinite Names. As such, he had an extensive knowledge of the contents of the Book of Worlds, a religious tome allegedly written by these almighty deities. Kal'Du also was very familiar with all of the prophecies generated in the past by various (unspecified) prophets.
Limitations: Kal'Du's skills as a chancellor were diminished by his fanaticism which caused him to doubt information that was inconsistent with his religious beliefs.
Height: Unrevealed
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Dark green
Skin: Green
History: Very little personal information has been revealed about the life of Chancellor Kal'Du.
(Skrulls! #1 (fb) - BTS) / New Avengers I#40 - BTS) <"Years ago"> - Kal'Du was among the members of the Dard'van Sect who had accompanied Princess Veranke to the Imperial Throneworld (Tarnax IV) to confront King Dorrek about his failure to heed the words of the prophets and to warn him about "the wave of destruction" and "a devourer of worlds" that had been foretold. He was present in the emperor's chambers when Princess Veranke dared to suggest that Dorrek's disregard of the prophecies made him unfit to rule, prompting the emperor to denounce her as a "religious fanatic and a madwoman" and to order "the traitor" to be taken away from him. Unable to kill her without making her a martyr, Dorrek instead had her exiled to a deserted planet.
(Skrulls! #1 (fb) - BTS) - Although many of Veranke's followers were killed in this rebellion and many more were later executed, Kal'Du was one of the few who survived. Later, after the Skrull Throneworld had been consumed by Galactus, Kal'Du was one of those who rose again and reminded the Skrull people that there was one who had spoken the truth, one for whom words spoken had been prophecy delivered, and that she had been most shamefully sent to rot on the dusty, forbidden terrain of an exile planet on the fringe of the empire's most remote systems.
(New Avengers I#40 (fb)) - After the Skrull Throneworld was consumed by Galactus, many Skrulls came to believe that Veranke had been right after all, and so they sought her out and brought her out of exile to be their queen.
(Skrulls! #1 (fb) - BTS) - Since Veranke believed that a prophecy which stated that "a world of blue" would be their sacred home referred to Earth, she dedicated the Skrull race to claiming that planet, and she and her followers began planning the infiltration that would become the Secret Invasion.
(Skrulls! #1 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Veranke chose Kal'Du to be her chancellor, and she asked him to prepare Warbook Files that would account for all relevant Skrull interactions with Earth and the humans who currently inhabited that destined homeland of the Skrulls. These dossiers would include biographical data and analysis of every known interaction with Earth or humans, and would cover all the failures, successes and incidents in between. The Warbook Files also included historical data about some non-Earth-related events that had occurred during the time the queen had been in exile.
(Skrulls! #1 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Kal'Du completed his research, prepared the Warbook Files and presented them to Queen Veranke for her perusal.
Chancellor Kal'Du has not been heard from since he delivered the Warbook Files to Queen Veranke.
Comments: Created by Ronald Byrd and/or Michael Hoskin and/or Gabriel Shechter
and/or John Rhett Thoms and/or Stuart Vandal and/or Jeph York.
I'd guess John Rhett Thomas, personally--Snood
Although some online sources claim that "Kal’Du" is the way in which this
Skrull's name should be spelt, it was written as "Kal'Du" in the introduction to the Skrull Warbook Files that was
presented in SKRULLS! #1. And since it was Kal'Du himself who wrote that introduction, it can be presumed that
capitalizing the "Du" part of his name was correct.
Debatable...many
writers spell "Shi'ar" as "Shi'Ar"; or Galan as Galen; or "von Doom as
"Von Doom" just because they like it that way, even though trhe
precedent is the first spelling. But, for the purposes of this profile,
I think it's fine to leave it the way it was spelled in the comic since
that was the precedent.
--Snood
I've listed New Avengers I#40 as Kal'Du's first appearance because he claimed to have been in the chamber of Emperor Dorrek VII when then-Princess Veranke confronted the Skrull ruler. However, since none of her supporters who were present during that confrontation were named in that issue, I've also included the comic which makes the only in-universe references to Kal'Du as his first mention.
The name of the religious group led by Veranke, the Dard'van sect, received its first in-universe mention in Secret Invasion: Who Do You Trust? #1/2 (August, 2008) when Ambassador Grrix revealed to Commander Abigail Brand of S.W.O.R.D. that the crystal he wore on a cord around his neck was the symbol of his religion, the Dard'van sect, which he said was "considered extreme by some." As far as I know, this is the only time that the name of the sect was mentioned outside of various handbook profiles.
Given that Queen Veranke's government was a theocracy, I thought (okay, ASSumed) that the word "chancellor" was the title of some religious position that Kal'Du held within that government. However, it turns out that the most relevant definition of a chancellor is a high-ranking official of a country (or, in this case, an interstellar empire). In this context, it's probable that he was the administrative head (Chief of Staff) of Queen Veranke's government (and/or her Chief Aide) and was responsible for preparing reports on matters that required her attention. Any other duties that his office may have required of him have not been revealed.
Although the Bendis-written New Avengers I#40 stated that the confrontation between Veranke and the emperor took place on the planet Satriani, it actually occurred on the Skrull Throneworld, the same planet from which the captured members of the Terran group known as the Illuminati escaped in the also Bendis-written New Avengers: Illuminati II#1 (February, 2007).
Skrulls!#1 (why couldn't it have been called Skrull Warbook Files?) and Secret Invasion Saga#1 were both handbook-type one-shots that were written in an in-universe style, one by Kal'Du and the other by Tony Stark. Both issues were somewhat interesting but neither of them really added any significant new information about the Skrull race. Additionally, neither one-shot took the opportunity to fill in blank areas of Skrull history or clarify the various contradictions in canon that have developed over the decades. For example, the files on characters like Emperor Dorrek I, the Shaper of Worlds and Tantalus all seemingly confirm that the information from the storylines that introduced them was accurate without dealing with the fact that those backstories had vastly different chronologies. Given that Tantalus is an alien Deviant who is no more than several tens of thousands of years old, how could he have inspired the ancient Skrull Deviants from millions of years ago to rise up and slay the other two branches of Skrullkind? As a result, this question, and others, remain unanswered to this day.
Here is my reproduction of Kal'Du's introduction to the Warbook Files.
Why did I bother including it in this profile? Because it's the only direct evidence (aside from the analyses) for
Kal'Du's existence that has ever been presented. In the absence of any image, I felt that including his exact words
was the least I could do. I did consider, briefly, the possibility of also copying down all of his analyses but I decided
that that would have been going a bit too far.
I agree that Kal'Du's information should be included in comments or
history as appropriate for each subject, rather than compiled herein.
SKRULL WARBOOK FILES
Prepared by Chancellor Kal'Du at the request of her
excellence most high, Queen Veranke.
If I may be so bold, my exalted Queen: You were not the first to speak of the importance of honoring the First One to Emperor Dorrek, but you were the most impassioned, the most poignant. I was in the emperor’s chamber on the day you spoke, after his palatial halls had been most ashamedly sundered by the aggressive Earth "heroes." This grouping of Earth's most powerful beings — among them Iron Man, Black Bolt, Charles Xavier of the X-Men, Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner and the accursed Reed Richards — were defending their planet from yet another misconceived Skrull attack. In this case, Dorrek had instigated an altercation where our people were forced to endure yet another humiliating poke in the eye from these misbegotten inferiors.
(There was one silver lining to be taken from this episode, my Queen, as these Warbook Files will later reveal...}
But you stood firm that day, reminding Emperor Dorrek of his higher calling to the First One, that the state of His prophecy was clearly in play. And as that truth was summarily ignored by the emperor, as your pleas were shouted down by his sycophants, we stood strong by your side. Many of your followers that day were killed in the rebellion, and many were later executed. I was among the few to survive and, in wake of recent calamities to befall the wayward Skrull Empire, rise again and remind our people that there was one who spoke the truth, one for whom words spoken were prophecy delivered, and that she had most shamefully been sent to rot on the dusty, forbidden terrain of an exile plant on the fringe of our most remote systems.
But now you are home. Now you are where you should have always been. On the throne of Skrull power, uniting our people as we have never been united before, under the generous aura of love that He has for us.
We who were forsaken are now redeemed. Finally and fatefully, with His blessing
and with your leadership, Earth will be ours.
As it was written. So it shall be.
Now, to the matter at hand: This dossier will account for all relevant Skrull interactions with Earth and the humans that currently inhabit our destined homeland. The history is long and troubled, as Earthlings have proven unfailingly stubborn and quite resilient in the face of interstellar attacks — not just those of Skrull origins. Our previous attempts at staging the planet for infiltration have always failed: they've been insufficient in planning, hobbled by the false bravado of various rancid personalities, and always lacking in proper accord with scriptural realities.
There is, however, much to learn from these incursions. As you well know, the failures of yesterday hold the key to charting the victories of tomorrow. As our brave scientists on Tarnax X put the finishing touches on your bold master plan to infiltrate Earth, I hope you find the information delineated in the Warbook File to be most helpful in charting His final victory. It includes biographical data and analysis on every known Skrull interaction with Earth or humans. All the failures, successes and incidents in between are broken down for your perusal. Much has happened while you have ben in exile, and this historical data will get you up to speed on these events.
We are blessed with your rise. He has sent you to perform His will.
As it was written, so it shall be.
Your Devoted Chancellor Kal'Du
The Skrull Warbook Files that Chancellor Kal'Du prepared at the request of
"her excellence most high, Queen Veranke," contained dossiers on 94 individuals, groups and locations. Here is a list
of those dossiers, with links to any that have profiles on the Appendix:
•Princess
Anelle
•Hokk Algol
•Araki imposter
•Bartak
•Cadre K
•Chosen Eight of Fate
•Citadel
of Light and Shadow
•Contemplator imposter
•H. Warren Craddock
imposter
•Crusader
•De'Lila
•Prince Dezan
•Dro'ge
•Dire Wraiths
•Emperor Dorrek
I
•Emperor Dorrek
VII
•Ethan Edwards
•Flaw
•Fantastic Four imposters
•Gorth
•Granok
•Irving Griffin imposter
•Hagar the High Judicator
•Hero imposters
•Hulkling (Dorrek VIII)
•Inorganic
Technotroids
•Inquisition Crash
•Intelligencia
•Jaketch the Apprentice
Executioner
•Jazinda
•John the Skrull
•Kalamari
•Karza
•Kerth
•Kholdsor
•Karant Kiar
•King's
Crossing
•Kravo
•Kralians of Kral IV
•Kreddik
•Wassily Kurov imposter
•Krimonn
•Kylor
•Lyja
•Monstroid
•Morfex
•Morrat
•Mrok
•Muraitak (Nova Corps member)
•Nenora
•Paibok
•Pleasant Valley
•Prime Skrull
•Prime Ten
•R'Kin
•Empress
R'Klll
•Rachman
•Rat Pack
•Raksor
•Raven's Perch
•Raze
•Resurrection
Stone seeker (Jaddak)
•S'Byll
•S'Bak
•Doc Samson's patient
•Sensational
Hydra
•Shaper of Worlds (formerly the Skrull Cosmic Cube)
•Agent Siri
•Skragg
•Samuel J. Skrull
•Skrull Kill Krew
•Skrull Slavers
•Skrull X
•Sl'Gur'T
and Kly'bn
•Super-Skrull (Kl'rt)
•Talos the Tamed
•3-D Man
•Tantalus
•Titannus
•Velmax
• Vranx
•Warskrulls
•Wolverine
imposter
•Wilcox, Oklahoma
•X-Men imposters (I)
•X-Men imposters (II)
•Xavin
•Xorr
•Yorak
•Zabyk & Myrn
•Zankor
•Zedrao
•Zirksu
•
Zuhn
Profile by Donald Campbell
CLARIFICATIONS:
Chancellor Kal’Du should not be confused with:
images: (without ads)
New Avengers I#40, pages 4-5, panel 1 (Main image - Crowd scene)
Skrulls!#1, page 4 (Kal'Du's name as written in the Warbook Files)
Mentions:
Skrulls! (2008) - Ronald Byrd, Michael Hoskin, Gabriel Shechter, John Rhett Thomas, Stuart Vandal & Jeph York
(writers), John Rhett Thomas (editor)
Alleged Appearance:
New Avengers I#40 (June, 2008) - Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Jim Cheung (penciler), John Dell (inker),
Tom Brevoort (editor)
First Posted: 12/15/2021
Last updated: 12/15/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and ©y; 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 http://www.g-mart.com/ for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!