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 speaking his motto.

"You call me boy?! I will infirm one thousand years of Kree justice on Xandar, AND BURN IT TO IT'S CORE! Then, Thanos, I'm coming for you."

- Ronan betraying Thanos while absorbing the power of the Infinity Stone.

Ronan the Accuser is the main antagonist of the 2014 Marvel film, Guardians of the Galaxy. This film version of Ronan is far more devious and malevolent than his mainstream comic counterpart.

He is portrayed by Lee Pace who also plays 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 a mysterious artifact known as the Orb, and in exchange Xandar will be eradicated to avenge the murder of his father and grandfather. His servants, Gamora and Nebula are assassins trained personally by him as tasked by Thanos.

During his search for the cataclysmic Orb, Ronan and his forces commited numerous murders, including the murder of the entire family of Drax the Destroyer, in which, according to Drax, he took keen sadistic pleasure.

Guardians of the Galaxy
Ronan was awoken from his slumber aboard his starship, the Dark Aster, receiving news that the Orb was found and stolen by Peter Quill (also known as the Star Lord). Infuriated, Ronan sends his apprentice, Nebula, to pursue and retrieve the orb from Quill, only to have Gamora volunteer for the task (with the intention of betraying Ronan). Following Gamora's imprisonment at the Kyln, Ronan learns of her betrayal and the loss of the Orb and is summoned to Thanos' Domain, along with Nebula, to discuss it with him. A brief argument ensues, and Ronan kills The Other and brands Gamora a traitor, leading Thanos to order her immediate capture.

He eventually traces Gamora's last known location to the Kyln and subjects the inmates to torture in exchange for Gamora's current whereabouts. Having gotten no satisfactory answer, Ronan orders the prison facility to be purged to prevent Nova Prime from finding out his true goal, which was to retrieve the Orb and the Infinity Stone in it.

Later, by hijacking a telecommunications station, Drax summons Ronan to the mining colony Knowhere, determined to get his revenge against him for slaying his family. As he arrives, Ronan searches for the Orb and sees Gamora escaping with it in a pod. He sends Nebula to retrieve it while he deals with Drax. During their battle, Ronan says he does not recall killing his family, but it mattered little to him as he "will not recall killing him" either. He easily defeats Drax and left him to drown in a vat of liquid as the Guardians of the Galaxy escape, but not before Nebula destroys Gamora's pod and left her to die in space while she retrieves the Orb and delievers it to Ronan.

However, instead of handing the Infinity Stone over to Thanos, Ronan keeps it for himself and absorbs the immense power of the stone, calling off the deal with Thanos and promising to destroy Xandar before coming for Thanos personally. Korath advised against it at first, saying that Thanos is the most powerful being in the universe. Ronan, convinced of the colossal strength the Infinity Stone blessed him with, begged to differ.

Once the Dark Aster reaches Xandar, meeting ferocious resistance from both the Nova Corps and the Ravagers, Ronan orders all of his fighter planes to execute a kamikaze attack on the city while hiding within his control chamber, awaiting touchdown. But not before the Guardians bust into the control chamber to confront the now-invincible Ronan. After a failed attempt to vaporise Ronan, Drax, overcome with rage, charges at Ronan, who promptly overwhelms Drax, strangling him while recounting his murder of Drax's family with sadistic relish. Of course, Rocket Raccoon arrives at the last moment, flying the Guardian's starship Milano into Ronan, pinning him under. This critically damages the Dark Aster and Groot sacrifces himself as the Dark Aster crashes into Xandar to shield and save the Guardians at the last minute.

Ronan survives the Dark Aster's crash landing and emerges from the wreckage. Enraged over his friend's death, Rocket Raccoon charges at Ronan but he deflects his attack and knocks him down. Ronan then mocks the Guardians for their "pathetic" attempt at saving Xandar before the Xandarians.

As he launches into a ritualistic monologue in preparation for Xandar's annihilation, Quill distracts him by dancing, long enough for Rocket to salvage his cannon and promptly hand it over to Drax to fire at Ronan. The blast shatters Ronan's Universal Weapon, freeing the Infinity Stone which comes into Quill's possession. By linking their bodies together, the Guardians are able to contain the power of the Infinity Stone and channel the energy into Ronan, finally killing him.

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.

Trivia

 * Due to the Skrulls being owned by Fox, the Xanderians may be their replacements in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
 * Lee Pace tried out for the role of Peter Quill / Star-Lord, but it went to Chris Pratt, 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.