Chitauri

The Chitauri () are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, specifically in the Ultimate Marvel universe (Earth-1610). They were created by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch in place of the Skrulls, who play a similar role in the mainstream continuity of Earth-616. The species first appeared in ''Ultimates'' #8 (November 2002).

The species was also adapted to other media, most notably for films set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The MCU incarnation of the species inspired the version that appeared in Earth-616 continuity beginning with the series ''Nova'' (2013).

Fictional species biography

Earth-1610

The race called Chitauri appeared as Ultimate Marvel's ( Earth-1610) counterpart to the Skrulls. They are a shapeshifting alien species who have attempted to conquer the Earth, most notably during World War II and again in the early 21st century.

The Chitauri claim to be part of "the immune system of the universe", wiping out disorder and free will wherever they find it. They seem to prefer to act behind the scenes, mimicking and influencing the social and military methods of the species they are currently infiltrating. For example, they aided the Nazis in their attempt at world conquest by providing them with the technology to create a nuclear bomb carried by an intercontinental ballistic missile. However, this attempt was thwarted by the prototype super-soldier codenamed Captain America. Through the entire conflict of World War II, the Chitauri were driven out of their operations in Africa and Europe, even from their main Japanese training camps in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Following the end of the war, the Chitauri withdrew to make new plans.

The next attempt at conquest was more subtle (at first), involving long-term methods of manipulation such as will-inhibiting drugs in many nations' water supplies, influencing the media, and R.F.I.D. (radio-frequency identification) microchips to be implanted in schoolchildren, among other means. The Chitauri also infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., particularly the Psi-Division which could telepathically ferret out Chitauri agents. However, S.H.I.E.L.D. was able to detect some of the low-ranking "drone" staff of the aliens, disguised as common office workers, and wiped them out in an assault led by Black Widow and Hawkeye.

The Chitauri planted false information through the compromised Psi-Division that led S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Ultimates into a trap on a small Micronesian island; due to the combined efforts of Iron Man and Thor, the Ultimates, Nick Fury, and a handful of S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers survived, but thousands of S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers were killed and dozens of Helicarriers were destroyed.

The Chitauri then counterattacked by infiltrating the Triskelion and capturing The Wasp. The Chitauri leader (known only by his former Nazi identity Herr Kleiser) took the Wasp to a hidden Chitauri base in Arizona. However, their location was given away when a fleet of damaged Chitauri starships entered Earth's atmosphere, claiming that they were fleeing major defeats across the galaxy by their intergalactic enemies and that the remainder of their forces are forced to the Solar System. Disregarding Kleiser's long efforts, the Chitauri ordered him to destroy Earth and the Solar System with a doomsday bomb as part of a scorched-earth policy and retreat to the "lower fourth-dimension". The Ultimates and all available S.H.I.E.L.D. and military forces immediately converged on the alien fleet.

At the same time, Captain America battled Kleiser, but was unable to defeat him alone. At Captain America's urging/mocking of Kleiser touching Betty Ross, the Hulk was able to kill Kleiser..

During the Chitauri-Kree War, an entire Chitauri armada was fighting their enemies when they encountered Gah Lak Tus. When their ships were damaged by the entity, a rift in the fabric of reality brought a being from another universe, which called itself Galactus. Gah Lak Tus merged with the visitor, and created an even more powerful version of Galactus.

Earth-616

A new iteration of the Chitauri, inspired by their portrayal in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, were introduced into the mainstream Earth-616 continuity, debuting in ''Nova'' (2013). Most of the Chitauri are depicted as simple-minded creatures similar to insects. Additionally, they make use of Leviathans, colossal whale-like creatures created from Acanti and Starshark DNA that transport troops and weapons.

Known Chitauri

Earth-1610

* Califa''Hunger'' #1 (September 2013) – A member of the Chitauri armada which were fighting the Kree.
* Gunther''Ultimates'' #11 (September 2003) – A sleeper agent who infiltrated into S.H.I.E.L.D.
* Herr Kleiser – A Chitauri who infiltrated Earth during World War II. He was shot in head and later eaten by the Hulk.
* Kalxor – A member of the Chitauri armada which were fighting the Kree. His parents were killed by the Kree.
* Rester – The commander of the Chitauri armada which were fighting the Kree.
* Siegfred – A sleeper agent who infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D..
* Wigbert – A sleeper agent who infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D..

Earth-616

Warbringer – A Chitauri Warlord who was kept in hibernation due to his brutal methods. He would go on fight Nova, the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Champions.

Powers and abilities

The Chitauri were able to mimic human form and absorb human knowledge, by sucking the organs or brains out of the humans they imitated, as seen in a scene from the first movie, where a Chitauri pulls a military officer onto the roof of a building, stabs the officer's gut, and starts to suck something out. In their natural form, they appear to be large and reptilian, but no clear images of their native form have been shown.

Inspiration

Millar's conception of the Chitauri was inspired by British conspiracy theorist David Icke. In his interview with Credo Mutwa, Icke learned of the Chitauri and believes the world is secretly run by an elite called the Illuminati who are in reality shapeshifting reptilian humanoids. The term Chitauri to describe these humanoids was taken from Icke's ''The Reptilian Agenda'', where Zulu Shaman and historian Credo Mutwa and David Icke reveal the story of the Chitauri (reptilian) takeover of planet Earth and how a shapeshifting Chitauri (“Talker”) race has controlled planet Earth for thousands of years. Essentially, the term Chitauri is the Shona term meaning "talker" in reference to the reptilians, as shown above in the two different meanings referenced in parentheses.

Comparison with Skrulls

Another race called Skrulls, physically resembling the Skrulls of the mainstream Marvel universe, appear later (led by the billion-year-old Skrull Emperor, Kl'rt); these Skrulls dislike being confused with the Chitauri, whom they call terrorists. They have extremely advanced technology, but have not been observed to shapeshift. These Skrulls were seen only in an alternate timeline in which Reed Richards contacted their world via his teleporter. The events leading to that timeline were altered in ''Ultimate Fantastic Four'' #29, and contact was never made.

In other media

Television

* The Chitauri appear in ''Ultimate Spider-Man''. This version of the species is led by Korvac and resemble their MCU portrayals (see below).
* The Chitauri appear in the '' Avengers Assemble'' episode "Avengers: Impossible".
* The Chitauri appear in '' Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Maximum Overload'', with vocal effects provided by Dee Bradley Baker. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
* The Chitauri appear in the ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' (2015) episode "The Backstabbers", with several serving Nebula.

Film

The Chitauri appear in '' Ultimate Avengers'' and '' Ultimate Avengers 2''. This version of the species are reptilian creatures who can generate fire blasts from their hands and largely lack shapeshifting abilities, with the exception of their leader Herr Kleiser (voiced by Jim Ward).

Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Chitauri appear in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). This version of the species are grey reptilian humanoids with bio-mechanical physiology who lack shapeshifting abilities and are allied with Thanos through his vizier, a hooded being called the Other (portrayed by Alexis Denisof). Their technology ranges from hovercraft-like skimmers and Necrocraft, to living airborne troop carriers called Leviathans that are all neurally linked with a mothership.
* The Chitauri first appear in '' The Avengers'' (2012), where the Other, acting on Thanos' behalf, lends the Chitauri to Loki to invade Earth. While they eventually overwhelm the Avengers, Iron Man destroys the mothership with a hijacked nuclear missile, killing the invading forces.
* In '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', Hydra cell Project Centipede salvages Chitauri metal and utilizes it in several of their devices throughout the first season. In the pilot episode, the Chitauri appear via archive footage. Additionally, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Grant Ward recovers a Chitauri neural link from an illegal arms dealer. In the episode " FZZT", it is revealed that several firefighters were sent to New York following the events of ''The Avengers'', with a group from Wrigley, Pennsylvania recovering a Chitauri helmet containing a rust-like alien virus that slowly kills anyone exposed to it. During the subsequent S.H.I.E.L.D. investigation, Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons recover the helmet and create a serum to counteract the virus.
* The Other and a Chitauri soldier appear in ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' (2014). The latter appears as a prisoner of the Collector while the former attends a meeting between Thanos and Ronan the Accuser, during which Ronan kills the Other for berating him.
* Chitauri technology appears in '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015). A Hydra faction led by Baron Strucker study it until the Avengers discover his hidden lab. When Iron Man recovers Loki's scepter, Wanda Maximoff causes him to hallucinate the Chitauri's return, which eventually leads him to create Ultron.
* In ''Luke Cage'', Hammer Industries use salvaged Chitauri metal to create ammunition known as Judas bullets, which are capable of piercing Luke Cage's bulletproof skin. Additionally, Willis Stryker works with Mariah Dillard to manipulate the NYPD into arming the Emergency Service Unit with mass-produced Judas bullets.
* Chitauri technology appears in '' Spider-Man: Homecoming'' (2017). When Damage Control begins salvaging leftover technology from the aliens' original invasion, Adrian Toomes and his cohorts steal the technology to build and sell powerful weapons until they are eventually foiled by Spider-Man.
* The Chitauri appear in '' Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018), primarily serving as Thanos' enforcers in his mission to obtain the Infinity Stones. In a flashback, they invaded Gamora's home planet and slaughtered half of its populace on Thanos' orders.
* Past versions of the Chitauri appear in '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019). They arrive in the present to help Thanos thwart the Avengers' attempt to undo his victory in ''Infinity War'', but Iron Man uses the Infinity Stones to disintegrate Thanos and his forces.

Video games

* The MCU version of the Chitauri appear as enemies in '' Lego Marvel's Avengers''.
* The Chitauri appear in '' Marvel Avengers Academy''.
* The Chitauri appear in ''Fortnite Battle Royale'' as part of the ''Avengers: Endgame'' tie-in event.
*The Chitauri appear in '' Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.''

Miscellaneous

The MCU version of the Chitauri appear in the '' Marvel Universe LIVE!'' arena show.

References

External links

*

Chitauri
at Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki

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Characters created by Mark Millar
Comics characters introduced in 2002
Fictional humanoids
Fictional mass murderers
Fictional reptilians
Marvel Comics alien species
Marvel Comics extraterrestrial supervillains
Marvel Comics shapeshifters
Science fiction film characters
Skrull
Ultimate Marvel characters