Valknar The Exhumer

Valknar The Exhumer's History

Valknar the Exhumer was a member of the Final Host of Dark Celestials, a race of Celestials mutated and turned rabid by the Horde. After Loki unearthed Zgreb the Sorrower, he summoned the rest of his kind and facilitated their arrival to Earth in order to purge the planet. Before arriving on Earth, the Final Host infected and killed every Celestial in existence, and their bodies were hurled to Earth to herald their arrival. The Dark Celestial's arrival additionally resulted in the emergence of insects from the Horde that had laid dormant deep underneath Earth's surface. Some of Earth's heroes attempted to fend off the invaders to no avail.

Captain America used Alpha Flight's Omega-Level Warp Grenades to teleport the Dark Celestials to the Sun in an an attempt to destroy them, but it failed. They returned to Earth and traveled to the North Pole, where Loki showed Captain America the corpse of the Progenitor, a Celestial infected by the Horde who had fallen on Earth four billion years into the past. In the meantime, the Dark Celestials started bringing about the Earth's end, causing the ocean to boil and setting the air on fire. The Ghost Rider tracked down the Dark Celestials. He rescued Captain America and abducted Loki, prompting the Dark Celestials to chase after them. All of the heroes convened in Sweden shortly afterwards. Black Panther and Captain Marvel charged themselves with the same energy as the Horde, which allowed them go toe-to-toe against the insects. She-Hulk and Thor harnessed the power of the Blood of Ymir they had retrieved from Asgard. Ghost Rider used his powers to take hold of a dead Celestial's armor. Finally, Iron Man suited up on the Godkiller Armor MK II.

Despite their combined strength, the Avengers failed to overpower the Dark Celestials, and in the middle of the battle, the Horde revived the bodies of the Celestials they had infected and felled. After learning of the connection between the Progenitor's death, the Horde and the genetic makeup of humankind, Iron Man rallied the Avengers to join their energies to form a Uni-Mind, since he had been passed on the secrets on how to summon it by Ikaris while investigating the Dark Celestials' arrival. Using the Ghost Rider as a conduit for the Uni-Mind, the Avengers rendered the Horde dormant, reviving the zombified Celestials. The Avengers and the Celestials combined their forces and defeated the Dark Celestials. Afterwards, the Dark Celestials were restrained and teleported away from Earth by the Celestials.