- "How long did you fight these guys?"
"About, uh, two or three hours."
"Hours? The Chitauri are the suckiest army in the galaxy." - ―Rocket Raccoon and Natasha Romanoff[src]
The Chitauri are a sentient species of cybernetically enhanced beings operating under a hive mind intelligence.
Subservient to Thanos, they were most notable for being the first major threat to Earth that required the formation of the Avengers when they attempted to commence a planetary invasion as part of an alliance between Thanos and Loki.
History[]
Massacre of the Zehoberei[]
The Chitauri accompanied Thanos to Zen-Whoberi and were his infantry during the attack. After Thanos gave Ebony Maw the cue, the Chitauri massacred half of the Zehoberei species.[1]
Chitauri Invasion[]
In 2012, the Chitauri were granted as a personal army to Loki by Thanos in order to conquer Earth and gain the Tesseract. The Other met with Loki at the Sanctuary and showed him his army.
Once having gained the Tesseract, Loki opened a dimensional portal to Earth and allowed the Chitauri to arrive, bringing Leviathans with them. The Chitauri immediately started to wreak havoc on New York City, destroying buildings and gunning down civilians in the streets. The National Guard could not deploy enough troops quickly enough to counter the invasion. Fortunately, the Avengers arrived, having fought Loki repeatedly in an attempt to hinder his efforts at summoning the army. Soon after their arrival, a major battle ensued between the Avengers and the Chitauri.
Not expecting the Avengers, the Chitauri were initially overwhelmed, but soon their numbers increased so much that it became difficult for the Avengers to contain. Captain America took command of the Avengers as well as the NYPD units to defeat the Chitauri. While Black Widow and Thor jumped on Chitauri chariots to defeat the Chitauri riders, Hawkeye defeated Chitauri using his trick arrows. When the World Security Council attempted to destroy Manhattan with a nuclear missile in order to stop the Chitauri from spreading to the rest of the planet, Iron Man intercepted the missile and flew it into the wormhole.
The nuclear missile obliterated the Chitauri Command Center, instantaneously disabling the Chitauri in New York City and ending the invasion.[2]
After their defeat, pieces of Chitauri technology were recovered by S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA,[3] Hammer Industries engineers,[4] and Adrian Toomes' Crew.[5]
Massacre of the Korbinites[]
In 2014, a Chitauri handed Thanos a cloth to wipe off his sword when he rendezvoused with Gamora and Nebula in a Q-Ship following their massacre on Korbin.[6]
Collector's Museum[]
By 2014, a Chitauri had been captured and was kept as one of the specimens being held in Taneleer Tivan's museum before its explosion.[7]
Guarding Nebula[]
In 2018, a Chitauri was ordered by Thanos to guard Nebula on the Sanctuary II, and was tasked with reassembling her cybernetics. However, it was killed when Nebula tricked it by faking a malfunction and taking it by surprise.[1]
Alternate Universes[]
New York Time Heist[]
- "Do you remember that time I was so angry with my father and my brother, I went down to Earth and I held the whole of New York City hostage with an alien army?"
- ―Loki to Mobius M. Mobius[src]
In an alternate 2012 timeline, the Chitauri engaged in a battle against the Avengers in New York City.[6]
Battle of Earth[]
In an alternate 2014 timeline, an alternate Thanos used reverse-engineered Pym Particles to transport himself, his weaponry, and his allies through the Quantum Realm to the main timeline, including the Chitauri. Once there, Thanos summoned the Chitauri, alongside the Black Order, Outriders, Sakaarans, and Leviathans from the Sanctuary II to the ruins of the Avengers Compound.
After the Avengers' allies arrived, the battle began. The Chitauri used Chitauri Gorillas to aid them in the battle. However, the battle came to an end Iron Man used the Infinity Stones, causing the Chitauri, along with Thanos and the rest of his army to disintegrate.[6]
As many Chitauri had been wounded during the battle, their genetic material had been collected from the battlefield by Nick Fury's secret Skrull unit. Their DNA was then placed alongside other enhanced DNA in a vial known as the Harvest and was administered by Super-Skrulls Gravik and G'iah, granting them access to Chitauri physiology.[8][9]
Technology and Weapons[]
Weapons[]
Guns and Rifles[]
- Chitauri Gun: The Chitauri used their energy-based rifles in their invasion of New York City. However, following their defeat, the Chitauri left their guns on Earth.
- Chitauri Staff: The Chitauri's ground troops used staffs during their invasion of New York City. Some Chitauri attempted to use the staff against Natasha Romanoff. Chitauri left their staffs on Earth following their defeat.
Explosives[]
- Chitauri Bomb: The Chitauri brought bombs to their invasion of Earth, and brought their bombs with them. They attempted to use one on civilians, but Steve Rogers saved them.
- Chitauri Grenade: The Chitauri used grenades during thier invasion of New York City. These grenades had detenator cores and activation indicator lights.
Characteristic Traits[]
The Chitauri are a powerful, reptilian warrior race, a hybrid between organic beings and machines. They have a caste-like society, with each caste (nearly a different species in itself) fulfilling a different role in Chitauri society. They are controlled by a Mother Ship which never shows on the battlefield and act as one during the war. They have superhuman physical attributes, superior strategy, energy-based rifles and flying vehicles, but their main strength is in their great numbers. The Chitauri, as well as their sister species, have no sense of self-preservation, as they will attack their opponents regardless of how strong they may be.
Biology[]
The Chitauri are a cold-blooded, technologically advanced race. They are born as fully organic beings, but their soldiers are cybernetically enhanced at an early age with electronic neural networks and armor fused into their bodies. Infantry are now dependent upon chemical stimulants to enhance their strength and agility and internal reactors to power their cybernetic implants.[10]
Their cybernetic augmentations grant them a degree of enhanced strength that makes them agile and strong enough to climb on buildings and Leviathans with relative ease, as well as one being strong enough to temporarily restrain Captain America. They have superior communication with each other via their Hive Mind, and thus are apt at strategy and coordination. Despite their interrelation, they are able to act independently, intelligent enough to engage in combat, assess various situations, and assist each other.[2]
A form of ailment that plagues their race was inadvertently discovered by firefighters and apprehended by Coulson's Team via a Chitauri Helmet salvaged from the Battle of New York. Due to their half biological and half cybernetic bodies, this "virus" has both biological and cybernetic properties. It interacts with biological tissue, such as affecting nervous tissue and lying dormant in epithelial tissue, but it is transmitted by electrical shocks, such as the static of rubbing against an infected item. In humans, it causes a gradual buildup of electrostatic energy in the brain, eventually releasing a burst of 2,000 megajoules. This massive amount of energy leaves a burn mark on the forehead and just before erupting causes nearby metallic objects to float, caught in the resulting electric field. Additionally, the virus alters the host's molecular density and polarity, resulting in the affected bodies found dead floating in the air.[11]
Relationships[]
Allies[]
|
Enemies[]
|
Appearances[]
Trivia[]
- In the Ultimate universe, the Chitauri are shapeshifting race kin to the Skrulls, but far more mutated and dangerous. They were one of the first threats faced by the Ultimates, but their background story reveals that they were present on Earth since World War II.
- Following their appearances in The Avengers, the Chitauri were introduced for the first time in the Mainstream Comic Universe. This version resembles much more of their Cinematic counterparts.
- The Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the Chitauri is similar to the Phalanx, a cybernetic alien race from the comics who communicated through a hive-minded intelligence.
- The name "Chitauri" derives from Chi Tauri, the name of a binary star in the constellation Taurus.
- In a deleted scene in Avengers: Endgame, Rocket Raccoon reveals that everyone in the galaxy knows to blow up a Chitauri Mothership to defeat them and criticized the time it took for the Avengers to defeat them when Black Widow mentioned it took 2-3 hours, citing that the Chitauri are the "suckiest army in the galaxy".
Behind the Scenes[]
- Joss Whedon revealed that he chose to include the Chitauri over Skrulls or Kree because this particular race didn't have any wide background story and they could be used even for a small part.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Avengers: Infinity War
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Avengers
- ↑ Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude - This Scepter'd Isle
- ↑ Luke Cage: 1.05: Just to Get a Rep
- ↑ Spider-Man: Homecoming
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Avengers: Endgame
- ↑ Guardians of the Galaxy
- ↑ Secret Invasion: 1.05: Harvest
- ↑ Secret Invasion: 1.06: Home
- ↑ Marvel Studios Visual Dictionary
- ↑ Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1.06: FZZT