The Builders were purportedly the universe's first race. "Perfect" beings, they created "systems" to control the structure of space and time, and different races to aid them in their mission.[2]
There were two types of Builders, the Creators and the Engineers. Cultivating the universe for billions of years, they seeded worlds and directed the evolution of civilizations. Never had they been conquered. They were created by Captain Universe who saw them as her children.[3] The Builders considered her their mother and used to worship her.[4]
When the incursions threatened the Multiverse and collapsed their structures in the Superflow,[5] the Builders became desperate and waged a galactic war in their mission to destroy the Earth and preserve the Multiverse. Captain Universe herself intervened and the Builders were forced to leave Earth-616.[4][6] Later, Builders from all over the Multiverse figured out the culprits behind the multiversal collapse, but the revelation destroyed them.[7]
History
Builder Systems[]
The Builders created many "systems" to control the structure of space and time,[2] including races called Alephs, Gardeners, Abyssi, Curators, and Caretakers.
Millions of years ago, the Builders entered the Superflow and spent a million years constructing the newuniversal structure. Their Communications/Ascension Stations in the Superflow would cause White Events to give ascending planets new Builder systems to ease their transition: Starbrands, Nightmasks, Justices, Ciphers, and others.[8] With these new systems, the Builders recalled the Gardeners (except one) and most of the Abyssi died (except one).[9]
Infinity[]
When the effects of the incursions and the collapse of the Multiverse affected the Superflow,[5] the Builders became trapped in less than 5000 realities.[10] The Builders then vowed to save the dying universes using any means necessary, and they decided to destroy every single Earth in the Multiverse in order to preserve it, as the incursions could be stopped by destroying Earths.[6]
The creations of Ex Nihilo on Earth sent a signal to the Builders: "System failure. Multiversal fracture point. World terminal."[11] The local Builders started heading to Earth in order to destroy it and save their universe from the incursion threat.[12][4][6] Along the way they went about annihilating and conquering other planets in their path.[3][13][10] The main Builder invasion fleet was so large it blacked out a sun.[3] Some worlds, such as Galador, were destroyed by their mighty World Killers.[3] Other worlds, such as Whaan Prime, were turned into plague worlds by the suicide of Gardeners on orders of the Builders.[14]
A resistance conformed by the Galactic Council and the Avengers managed to oppose the Builders, although they still had the odds in their favor. The first attempt to stop the Builder invasion by setting up an trap, turned into a disaster as the Builders had set their own trap resulting in the loss of a third of the Galactic Council fleet within minutes followed by their full retreat.[15] They retreated to the Behemoth Ringworld and their analysis revealed that the main Builder invasion fleet had over 22,000 warships, including 600 Worldships and 12 World Killers. The Builders then sent a kamikaze attack of undetectable sentient drone ships against the Behemoth Ringworld where over a 100 million refugees now resided, killing the refugees and devastating the fleet.[12]
Afterwards, worlds began to surrender to the Builders, starting with the Centaurians and then the Kymellians. After a hundred worlds had surrendered, the Kree Empire too surrendered, thus weakening the Galactic Council as they represented 1/4 of the fleet. The Spartax then abandoned the war effort. Following the advice of Captain America, the Council setup another trap for the Builders, which was successful this time, resulting in the capture of two of the World Killers that were then used to destroy almost all of the remaining Builder World Killers, forcing the Builders to disengage.[13] The Builder's main force regrouped near the Kree homeworld of Hala but had lost their last World Killer due to damage it had sustained in the battle. By this time, the Galactic Council had lost hundreds of worlds and half their fleet; therefore, they were counting on reinforcements from a newly grown Brood horde and an Annihilation Wave to brought from the Negative Zone.[9]
The Galactic Council then sent Thor to Builder-occupied Hala on the pretense of suing for peace. As the Builders had arrogantly broadcasted the surrender to the universe, this backfired when Thor liberated the world by slaying the Builder and regaining the Kree Empire as an ally.[16] The Galactic Council followed up the liberation of Hala with victories over the Builders. The Kree liberated the Kymellian homeworld (Kymellia III), the Galadorian Spaceknights freed Centauri-IV, and the Skrull warlords liberated Korm Prime. It was the Shi'ar (aided by the Avengers) who suffered the most casualties in this campaign as they liberated Rigel-3, but lost at Formuhaut and Chize. They then opened a gateway to the Negative Zone and an Annihilation Wave swarm of millions or billions came through but with a gesture a Builder made them devour each other. When Captain Universe arrived to the Builder Command Vessel and started defeating the Builders, the alien entities ordered their Alephs to auto-destroy along with whatever they could take with themselves as the tide of the battle had been turned.[4] After the liberation of Hala, thousands of worlds rose in rebellion against the Builders and aided by the Galactic Council and the Avengers, the Alephs on those worlds were destroyed.[17]
Time Runs Out[]
As the Multiverse was being destroyed by the incursions, refugee Builders from across the Multiverse banded together to find the cause. The Builders ambushed the Mapmakers and used one of them to find the location of the Ivory Kings. When they arrived via a genetically engineered Manifold, the Builders discovered that the Ivory Kings, the orchestrators behind the Multiverse's early death, were none other than the Beyonders. The Builders were then wiped out.[7]
Yellowjacket had secretly hidden himself among the Builders as he too was searching for the cause of the incursions. Thanks to the Builders' sacrifice, he was able to inform the Illuminati that the masterminds for the Multiverse's imminent destruction were the Beyonders and not Rabum Alal as they had previously assumed.[18]Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Energy Blasts: Project energy blasts from the hands.[4]
- Force Field: Generate a defensive spherical energy shield.[4]
- Genetic Manipulation: Able to control the genetic code of sentient life with a hand gesture (e.g. a single Builder made an Annihilation Wave of millions or billions devour each other).[4]
Habitat
Habitat
Miscellaneous
Level of Technology
Advanced;
Cultural Traits
Notes
- The Builders are said to be Captain Universe's first "children"[4] and are claimed to be the first race in the universe.[2] However, there are other races with similar claims, like the Proemial Gods[19] and the Watchers.[20] Also, there are beings that predate the universe entirely, such as the Celestials, Aspirants, and Beyonders.[21][22]
Trivia
- Black Swan laughed at the Avengers and Illuminati for considering the Builders to be a threat, claiming the other major factions in the Game of Worlds to be far worse.[10]
- The Builders' plan to destroy all Earths to stablize the Multiverse from the incursions[6] is more or less the plan of the Black Priests.[24]
- According to Black Swan, the Builders' vessels were not built to travel very far outside the Superflow, so when the Superflow became unavailable,[5][6] the Builders were confined to less than 5000 realities.[10]
- To the Builders and their creations, while Captain Universe is "Mother,"[25] Eternity is "Grandfather."[26]
See Also
- 16 appearance(s) of Builders (Race)
- 1 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Builders (Race)
- 4 minor appearance(s) of Builders (Race)
- 17 mention(s) of Builders (Race)
- 2 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Builders (Race)
- 9 image(s) of Builders (Race)
- 3 quotation(s) by or about Builders (Race)
- 2 victim(s) killed by Builders (Race)
- 6 representative(s) of Builders (Race)
Recommended Reading
- newuniversal #1–6 - establishes White Events, Starbrands, Nightmasks, Justices, Ciphers, etc. in their modern interpretation. Introduces the Superflow, the Stations in the Superflow, and the newuniversal structure. Hints at the existence of the Builders.
- Avengers (Vol. 5) #1–3 - introduces Builder systems Ex Nihilo, Abyss, and Aleph. Connects the Builders to Captain Universe.
- Avengers (Vol. 5) #6–9 - connects the Builders to White Events, Starbrands, Nightmasks, etc. (see newuniversal). Deciphers the Builder Machine Code. Introduces the Caretakers and Curators. Brings Nightmask and Starbrand to Earth-616.
- Infinity (Event) - the Builder War. Fully intertwines the Builders with the incursion plot from New Avengers (Vol. 3) and reveals that the Builders are trying to stop the incursions. Establishes that the Superflow is the space between universes that enables the Builders to travel the Multiverse, until the incursions collapsed it.
- New Avengers (Vol. 3) #30 - the end of the Builders.
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Marvel Encyclopedia New Edition #1
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Avengers (Vol. 5) #2
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Infinity #1
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Avengers (Vol. 5) #21
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Avengers (Vol. 5) #7
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 New Avengers (Vol. 3) #11
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 New Avengers (Vol. 3) #30
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #7–8
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Avengers (Vol. 5) #20
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 New Avengers (Vol. 3) #12
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #14–15
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Avengers (Vol. 5) #19
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Infinity #3
- ↑ Infinity #2
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #18
- ↑ Infinity #4
- ↑ Infinity #5
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 3) #29–30
- ↑ Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus #2
- ↑ Fantastic Four (Vol. 6) #25
- ↑ Ultimates 2 (Vol. 2) #6
- ↑ Defenders: Beyond #2
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Marvel Book #1
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 3) #27
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #3
- ↑ Starbrand & Nightmask #3