Ronan the Accuser (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

"They call me terrorist, radical, zealot because I obey the ancient laws of my people, the Kree.... and punish those who do not. Because I do not forgive your people for taking the life of my father, and his father, and his father before him. A thousand years of war between us will not be forgotten!"

- Ronan the Accuser

"Xandar, you stand accused! Your wretched peace treaty will not save you. 'Tis the tinder on which you burn!"

- Ronan to Xandar before destroying the fleet of Nova Corp fighters and pilots

Ronan the Accuser is the main antagonist of the 2014 Marvel movie Guardians of the Galaxy. He is a powerful Kree Warrior, the commander of The Dark Aster, the boss of Nebula and Korath and a former accomplice of Thanos. This film version of Ronan is far more devious and malevolent than his mainstream comic counterpart.

He was portrayed by Lee Pace who also played King Thranduil from The Hobbit franchise.

History
A Kree radical, Ronan continues to fight an ancient war between his people and the Xandarians . Ronan has struck a bargain with the Machiavellian Thanos — retrieve the Orb, and in exchange Xandar will finally be eradicated. Ronan leads his army to hunt down the Guardians of the Galaxy when they come between him and his genocidal goal.

Events in the movie
Ronan determined not to miss the opportunity to take revenge on the Xandarians, sent Gamora to retrieve the Orb without knowing that she planned to betray him and Thanos. Later, Ronan is called by the Other because Thanos wants to talk to him. During the meeting the Other passes belittling Ronan, eventually yelling at him for raising his voice in Thanos's presence. Ronan, tired of the Other's insults, kills him with his Universal Weapon, prompting Thanos to turn around and speak to him directly, saying their deal is still in place but he will kill him if he does not bring him the Orb.

Ronan finally tracks Gamora thanks to a message from Drax, Ronan pursues Gamora but is stopped by Drax that only seeks revenge against him for murdering his family. Ronan easily defeats Drax, Nebula called to inform him that she has recovered the Orb. Having recovered the Orb, Thanos contact him that he hand over the Orb, then Ronan decides to stay with the Infinity Stone and informs him that after destroying Xandar, he will be the next.



Ronan arrives to Xandar in his Dark Aster, when he is about to destroy Xandar the Nova Corps stop him obstructing his vision, while the Ravagers and Rocket protect the civilians and the others decide to confront Ronan, but they are no problem for Ronan who easily wins. When Ronan is prepared to kill, Rocket collides his ship with the Dark Aster causing the destruction of this. When it seemed that they had defeated the Accuser, Ronan appears from the rubble, and starts make fun of them by calling them "Guardians of the Galaxy", but only stops when Star-Lord distracts him with a dance duel, in that Drax destroys the Universal Weapon.

Quill immediately grabs the Orb that almost killed him for his power, but his teammates hold his hands to help him against Ronan, who didn't understand how simple mortals could withstand the power of a Infinity Stone and demanded to know how they could do that; with Quill proclaiming that they true are the "Guardians of the Galaxy". Enraged, Ronan tries to attack again with his hammer, only to find out that it has already been destroyed moments before Quill and his teammates use the power of the Orb to disintegrate Ronan. In his last painful moments, Ronan screams out of in raging pain before his body explodes, killing him and ending his tyranny for good.

In Lego
Ronan also appears as a collectable character in the 2013 video game, LEGO Marvel Superheroes and has been released as an official Lego minifigure in the set 76021.

Disney Infinity
Ronan appears in Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition, trying to prevent the Guardians from stealing his Infinity Stone. He follows them to Knowhere, but eventually gets defeated by them. He is also available as a playable character for the Guardians of the Galaxy Play Set and Toy Box 2.0.

Personality
"YOU CALL ME BOY?!!! I will infirm one thousand years of Kree justice on Xandar, AND BURN IT TO ITS CORE!!! Then, Thanos......... I'm coming for you!"

- Ronan betraying Thanos after absorbing the power of the Infinity Stone

Ronan was extremely passionate about his crusade; however, he delusionally believed that his cause, which was the genocide of Xandar and all its living creatures, was righteous. He did not see himself as a fanatic or a terrorist (both of which he was) instead he simply considered himself a follower of ancient Kree laws, and in his mind anyone who refused to follow them was an enemy who deserved execution.

Ronan proudly hated Xandarians, considering their culture and very existence were a disease and he was simply "curing" the universe by eradicating them. He took immense pride in his religion of a Kree, however his species and superiors actually signed a peace treaty with the Xandarians, indicating that he had no respect for anybody who disagreed with his own beliefs. Ronan had no respect towards his allies; he callously sacrificed his own soldiers during the attack on Xandar and showed no concern over Korath's death nor Nebula's abandonment. He even betrayed and threatened Thanos (whom many considered the most powerful being in the universe) after coming into the possession of an Infinity Stone.

Quotes
"(Prisoner: You will never rule Xandar.) No. I WILL CURE IT!"

- Ronan plotting to eradicate Xandar.

"What are you doing?"

- Ronan, confused by dancing Peter "You're mortal! How?"

- Ronan's final words before the Guardians kill him "I don't recall killing your family. I doubt I'll remember killing you either."

- Ronan during his fight with Drax on Knowhere. "I was mistaken... I do remember your family. Their screams were pitiful-"

- Ronan recounting killing Drax's family. "Behold! Your Guardians of the Galaxy! What fruit have they wrought? Only that my father, and his father shall finally know vengeance! Xandarians, it is time to renounce your paltry gods! YOUR SALVATION IS AT HAND!"

- Ronan about to destroy Xandar. "Yes. That was our agreement. Bring you the orb and you will destroy Xandar for me. However, now that I know it contains an Infinity Stone, I wonder what use I have for you..."

- Ronan to Thanos

Trivia

 * Due to the Skrulls being owned by Fox, the Xandarians may be their substitutes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
 * Lee Pace tried out for the role of Peter Quill / Star-Lord, but it went to Chris Pratt instead, who also played Emmet from The LEGO Movie.
 * While Ronan the Accuser has never been the nicest guy in the Mainstream Marvel Comics, he was portrayed as more of an Anti-Villain as the Supreme Accuser of the Kree Empire; while in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he's a renegade who's collecting the Infinity Stones for Thanos and is more than willing to commit genocide on the Xandarians.
 * Describing Ronan, Gunn said, "He is the primary villain, and he is a really twisted guy, he has a really religious bent in this film. He has a very sick and twisted view of what morality is; strength is virtue and weakness is sin and that is what he lives by, and I think he is very scary because of his beliefs, which are real to him." Pace, who originally auditioned for Peter Quill, described Ronan as a "psycho" and a "monster".


 * This incarnation wears face paint rather than a mask.
 * His death scene is similar to that of Agent Smith, Hektore, Himiko, and King Sombra.
 * Ronan is easily among the most amoral and evil Marvel Cinematic Universe villains, rivaled only by the Red Skull, Daniel Whitehall, John Garrett and Kilgrave.
 * He is also one of the few villains in the franchise to be DIRECTLY killed by a hero, another being Ultron. In his case, he is killed by Star-Lord.