Mentor (Imperial Guard)

For the Mentor who is head of the Titanian Eternals, see Mentor (A'lars).

Mentor
Mentor by Clayton Henry
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	X-Men #107 (Oct 1977)
Created by	Chris Claremont Dave Cockrum
In-story information
Alter ego	Unrevealed
Species	Cyborg
Team affiliations	Imperial Guard
Abilities	Superhuman intellect and tactical ability

Mentor is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe.

Publication history

Mentor first appeared in [Uncanny] X-Men #107-109 (October 1977-February 1978) as a member of the Shi'ar Imperium's Imperial Guard and was created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum.

The character subsequently appears in The Uncanny X-Men #157 (May 1982), ROM Annual #4 (1985), X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers #2 (June 1990), Uncanny X-Men #275 (April 1991), Quasar #32 (March 1992), Imperial Guard #1-3 (January -March 1997), Inhumans Vol. 4 #4 (September 2000), JLA/Avengers #1 (September 2003), Uncanny X-Men #477 (October 2006), #479-480 (December 2006-January 2007), #485-486 (June–July 2007), and X-Men: Emperor Vulcan #4-5 (February–March 2008).

He is also involved in the War of Kings storyline and the writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning have described their take on the character: "We want to show Mentor as being terrifyingly able, and one of the most dangerous and capable members of the Imperial Guard. His astonishing brainpower is enhanced (in military terms) by sheer, analytical ruthlessness".^[1]

Mentor appeared as part of the "Imperial Guard" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #6.

Fictional character biography

Mentor is a long-time member of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, an army of powerful beings that enforce Shi'ar Imperial law on all planets within the Shi'ar Galaxy and serve the rulers of the Shi'ar Empire. Mentor was among the first of the Guard to clash with the X-Men and Starjammers as they fought to free Shi'ar Empress Lilandra Neramani from her brother, D'Ken and Davan Shakari.^{[volume & issue needed]} Mentor swore his allegiance to Lilandra after D'Ken's defeat.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Unlike many of his fellow guardsmen, he remained steadfast in his loyalty to Empress Lilandra during the attempted coup of the Shi'ar throne by her sister Deathbird, which pitted X-Factor and Excalibur against the Guard once again.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Mentor was one of the Imperial Guard members stationed on Earth for a time.^[2]

In the battle between the Imperial Guard and Vulcan, he acted as a tactical advisor to Gladiator on Vulcan's weakness, and oversaw the temporary neutralization of his powers, establishing him as one of the survivors of the battle that proved otherwise disastrous for the Guard.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Mentor serves as Praetor of the Imperial Guard after Gladiator becomes the new Shi'ar Majestor.^[3]

Inspiration

Several of the members of the Imperial Guard are at least partly based on members of the DC Comics team Legion of Super-Heroes. (Dave Cockrum, co-creator of the Guard, also had a long run as artist on the Legion). Mentor is based on LSH member Brainiac 5.^[4]

Other versions

Age of Apocalypse

See also: Age of Apocalypse

Mentor made an appearance with the Imperial Guard in Gambit and the X-Ternals #2 (April 1995).

Notes

1. ^ ALL THE KINGS' MEN: The Knights, Comic Book Resources, March 5, 2009
2. ^ Imperial Guard #1-4
3. ^ Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #2
4. ^ Degaton, Per, and Will U. "Mentor," Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Accessed Apr. 22, 2009.

References

• Mentor (Imperial Guard) at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
• Mentor (Imperial Guard) at the Comic Book DB

External links

• Mentor (alien) At the Marvel Universe
• Mentor (Imperial Guard) at the Marvel Database Project