passed by and asked Christopher for the whereabouts of their comrade Hepzibah. Christopher was too afraid to answer. After they had left, he felt guilty and went to the guards' quarters, starting a fight after killing one of them. Raza and Ch'od jumped in, and together they got past the guards, freed the cat-woman, and sneaked on board a Shi'ar starship. Christopher used his pilot call-sign, Corsair. Naming Christopher their captain, they became the Starjammers, a group of space pirates rebelling against D'Ken's tyranny. Further adventures The Starjammers have had many adventures across the universe, many of them on Earth with the X-Men, during which Christopher Summers finally met his long lost sons, now X-Men. At times, the group ran with Professor X and even his consort, the Shi'ar ruler, Lilandra. The group participated in the defeat of the cosmic threat Magus, assisted by Professor X and the New Mutants. When the Skrulls made an incursion into Shi'ar territory, the Starjammers were overwhelmed, kidnapped and duplicated. They were later rescued from their imprisonment by the X-Men. The Hulk and Silver Surfer recruited the Starjammers to assist in a raid on Troyjan held space, to rescue several friends of the Hulk. A violent fight broke out, with the Starjammers slaying several enemies. It was ended with an alien bureaucrat offered the option of the Starjammers and allies simply asking to see the person they wished to confront. The group was also temporary allies of the Avengers. For some time, they were prisoners of the Collector, a cosmic being interested in preserving unique specimens of life. They became trapped in a conflict between the Collector, Galactus and the well-meaning but dangerous efforts of Wolverine of the X-Men. A recent Starjammers series introduced a new member of the Starjammers. Although some readers believed it was out of Marvel Universe continuity, the events of the series were referenced in a recent entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe series, confirming its canonical status. The Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire The Starjammers figured significantly in the Uncanny X-Men story arc "The Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire", a 12-issue story arc following on the events of X-Men: Deadly Genesis. Within this story arc, the long-lost third son of Corsair, Gabriel Summers, now the powerful mutant known as Vulcan, travels from Earth to Shi'ar space seeking revenge against the mad emperor