Gladiator (Kallark)

Gladiator
Gladiator battles the Fantastic Four on the cover of Fantastic Four #249 (Dec. 1982). Art by John Byrne.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Uncanny X-Men #107 (Oct. 1977)
Created by	Chris Claremont (writer) Dave Cockrum (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Kallark
Species	Strontian
Team affiliations	Imperial Guard Annihilators
Notable aliases	Captain Universe, Cal Kramer
Abilities	Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and durability Psionic abilities Flight

Gladiator is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Gladiator and the Imperial Guard were created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum as an homage to DC Comics' Legion of Super-Heroes, with all the Imperial Guard's original members created as analogs of Legionnaires. Gladiator was the analog to Superboy; the name "Gladiator" was a conscious homage to the Philip Wylie novel Gladiator (1930) on which Superman was partially based. Gladiator's name, Kallark, is a combination of Superman's Kryptonian and human names: Kal-El and Clark Kent.

The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #107 (Oct. 1977). Since then, he has been periodically featured in X-titles, Fantastic Four, Rom the Spaceknight, Silver Surfer, Nova, and New Warriors. His origin was revealed in War of Kings: Warriors #1 (2009).

He has played important roles in some of Marvel's major storylines, such as Operation: Galactic Storm (1992), Maximum Security (2001), and War of Kings (2009). During the Heroes Reborn era (1997), he starred in the three-issue Imperial Guard miniseries.