Origin[]

Ekz'El-Zorr (later Excelsior) was a magical sword created by the first Kree/Skrull hybrid Dorrek Supreme by merging the two ancestral swords he inherited from his parents, Ryga'a, War-Queen of the Skrulls, and Soh-Larr, the Kree Ultra-Warrior.^[3]

After Dorrek Supreme's death, a prophecy involving the sword was created, that whoever managed to pull out Excelsior from the stone it was embedded in, would prove himself as the reincarnation of Dorrek Supreme.^[3]

Hulkling[]

Many generations later, the Knights of the Infinite tested the young hero Hulkling, the first royal Kree/Skrull hybrid to be born in thousands of years, to see if he was destined to rule them. Hulkling easily pulled off the sword, and he was deemed king of the Knights.^[5]

The sword was used by Hulkling to defeat the evil wizard Moridun the Mage, and Dorrek kept it even after leaving the Knights.^[3] Hulkling has continued to use the sword during missions including defeating Celestial Destructor,^[9] vanishing Paibok and the New Revengers,^[10] and battling Dark Elves during the War of the Realms.^[11]

Kree/Skrull Alliance[]

To defend the Great Mound in Wakanda from the attack of the Cotati, the newly crowned Emperor Hulkling lent Excelsior to the Black Panther.^[12] With the Star-Sword, Black Panther slew many Cotati warriors and fought one-on-one with Swordsman before ultimately destroying the Death Blossom. Having completed his plans, Black Panther sent the Star-Sword back to Hulkling.^[13]

When the Progenitors attacked Throneworld II, Emperor Hulkling slew of the Progenitors singlehandedly with Excelsior. Because Excelsior can disrupt magic, a well placed stab from the sword was all it took to topple the giant.^[1]

Sensing the rise of something that would shift the balance of all things, Doctor Doom arrived on Throneworld II to take Excelsior from Emperor Hulkling by force. When it became apparent that Excelsior was loyal only to Hulkling, Doom swapped bodies with him. Fortunately, Moondragon was able to reverse the effects and temporarily trapped Doom in Rocket's body.^[7]

During Dormammu's invasion, Excelsior was broken while Emperor Hulkling was defending Throneworld II from the Mindless Ones.^[14] Manifold was able to teleport S.W.O.R.D. Commander Abigail Brand with the team of mutants and the shattered sword to Skrullos where Wiccan could repair it. Although he was initially unsuccessful, Wiccan was able to reforge the sword using the Flames of the Faltine borrowed from Dormammu. To reunite Hulkling with his sword, he and Wiccan activated the Nega Wedding Bands and swapped location. Reunited with his mended sword on Skrullos, Hulkling was able to quickly vanquish Dormammu's avatar.^[2]

Image	Description	Source
	Year 20XX (Earth-15061)[] King Hulk, alongside other heroes, used his sword to finally kill Thanos for good.	U.S.Avengers #2
	Year 20XX destroyed by Moridun (Earth-16364)[] King Hulk wasn't seen using Excelsior, but after his reality was changed the sword was seen sitting inside an umbrella holder.	New Avengers (Vol. 4) #6

• The name of the sword might be an allusion to a famous catchphrase of Stan Lee, "Excelsior!"
  • "Excelsior" is a Latin word translated into English as a motto meaning "Ever upward!"
• This weapon appears to be inspired by The Sword in the Stone from Arthurian legends.
  • Additionally, "Excelsior" and "Excalibur" begin with the same letters. Excalibur is another Arthurian weapon, sometimes mistaken as being the same as The Sword in the Stone.
• Hulkling commonly summons Excelsior by proclaiming "By the Power of Excelsior!".^[10] This is likely a reference to He-Man who transformed from Prince Adam into He-Man by holding his sword aloft and proclaiming "By the Power of Greyskull!".