Origin and War[]

The beings that would later be known as the Proemial Gods emerged out of the chaos of the newborn universe. Initially, they were faceless organisms with no will or awareness. They only existed as caretakers tasked to maintain cosmic consonance, each with a different purpose.^[4] They served the living universe by "mak[ing] ready the way for that which follows."^[1] Eventually, they evolved awareness and assumed unique forms and identities of their own.^[4]

As the Proemial Gods shepherded the young universe, life flourished and their place in the universe became diminished. Diableri of Chaos would not have this and desired to remake the universe in his own image. His dark ambition corrupted most of the other Proemial Gods, with the notable exception of Antiphon the Overseer, and a war broke out among them. Galactus got involved and slew Diableri. He sealed the last two of the corrupted Proemial Gods, Tenebrous of the Darkness Between and Aegis, Lady of All Sorrows, in the Kyln. The neutral Antiphon was also sealed there, possibly later, for unknown reasons and then died there from equally unknown circumstances.^[4] The Proemial Gods were eventually forgotten and their existence was reduced to myths known only to a few.^[5][7]

Annihilation[]

Eons later, the Annihilation Wave destroyed the Kyln, freeing Tenebrous and Aegis. They captured one of Galactus' former Heralds, the Fallen One; however, the Fallen One served Thanos at the time, not Galactus, so the vengeful duo summoned Thanos to lead them to Galactus. Sensing their return, Galactus called for the Silver Surfer to return to him to prepare for the upcoming conflict.^[8]

Allied with Thanos, Tenebrous and Aegis ambushed Galactus and the Silver Surfer, brutally beating them into a near-death state.^[3] This allowed Thanos to capture them for Annihilus.^[2] However, Galactus and the Silver Surfer were later freed from the Annihilation Wave and ended the war with Annihilus.^[9] Tenebrous and Aegis returned to the destroyed Kyln and found Antiphon's corpse in the rubble, but were soon attacked by the Silver Surfer. Although they were far more powerful than the Surfer, they were defeated and seemingly killed when the Surfer splashed them with energy from the nearby Crunch.^[4]

Thanos Imperative[]

Tenebrous and Aegis, apparently, did not die. They joined with Galactus and the Celestials in defending the universe when the Cancerverse began leaking through the Fault.^[10] However, Aegis was killed by the endless Many-Angled Ones.^[6]

Each Proemial God has powers comparable to those of Galactus.^{[11][3][7][12]} They draw their power from the Crunch.^[4] They are grouped with Galactus and the Celestials as "cosmic abstracts" and "high abstracts."^[10][13]

Tenebrous

Aegis, Lady of All Sorrows, Antiphon the Overseer, Brio of Life, Diableri of Chaos, Tenebrous of the Darkness Between

• Other beings that are allegedly the "first" to emerge in the current universe include the Builders^[14] and the Watchers.^[15] Even if the Proemial Gods are not counted for being cosmic beings, they also claim that the Chaos Sprites, the servants of Diableri, are the "firstborn of the Creation Event."^[1]
  • Regarding the Watchers, Antiphon of the Proemial Gods was "tasked with monitoring cosmic consonance," "seeing all but forbidden to act."^[4] He also bears a very striking resemblance to them. This is acknowledged in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #9, though the Handbook also suggests that this may just be a coincidence.

• The Nova Corps thought that the Proemial Gods were just a myth before Tenebrous and Aegis were freed from the Kyln. They were otherwise not widely known.^[5]