History: The Dominators conquered many worlds, and destroyed what they could not control.

(R.E.B.E.L.S. #4 (fb, BTS)) - <12,000 cycles ago> The Dominators detected intelligent life evolving on their moon, so they destroyed the satellite, not wanting any competition.

The Dominators discovered Earth and kidnapped several earthlings to use in lab experiments. The Dominators were horrified to learn that humanity possessed the metagene, giving the race vast potential for developing superhuman powers. The Dominators shared their find with eight other alien races and banded together as the Alliance to destroy earth's superhumans.

The Alliance waged war with Earth's superheroes and eventually lost. As the Dominators left Earth they detonated a genebomb. The bomb wrecked havoc with a number of earth's superhumans, and inadvertently unleashed the superhuman potential in normal human beings.

(Demon III #6) - In Hell Beelzebub, followed by his Dominator chamberlain feasted on corpses and filthy when he felt a chill in his guts, sensing the demon Etrigan rallying his army against him. He had the Dominator send out a patrol of fly demons to scout out Etrigan's army, but they were completely slaughtered. Etrigan commanded his Dominators to stir up his troops and defend his domain, but Etrigan's army broke through, razed the domain and blasted Beelzebub with eldritch energy, putting him down. Lucifer would cede the city of Dis to Etrigan, making him ruler of Hell.

(Green Lantern IV #12) - A Dominator was present for a gathering of bounty hunters, intergalactic and Earthbound that took place six hundred feet under Thames.

(Green Lantern IV #16) - A group of Dominator bounty hunters arrived in Russia to capture GL Hal Jordan for a bounty set by Amon Sur, but their arrogance and overconfidence was their undoing, and he fought them off.

(R.E.B.E.L.S. #4-6) - The Dominators made the Xylon Expanse their new sphere of influence, but were deeply troubled by Vril Dox being deposed from Maltus and the L.E.G.I.O.N., knowing that anyone who could outmaneuver Dox could be a threat to them. Starro was responsible, and opened s subspace rift in the expanse, releasing a fleet of warships and the powerful slaves known as the High Vanguard. The Vanguard, soon joined by the humanoid Starro the Conqueror, started a massacre on the Dominator homeworld, and Starro begged them for more of a challenge. Starro conquered the Dominator homeworld, and when the emperor became a Starro slave his admiral shot him in the head. The admiral went offworld, sending a subspace transmission to warn other civilizations of the danger Starro posed.

(R.E.B.E.L.S. #7) - Vril Dox trapped Starro on Maltus along with nearby planets using a forcefield. Vril landed on Gil'Dishpan with his teammates, because if Starro conquered them he'd have access to their warp-weave technology and be able to escape the forcefield. The Gil'Dishpan had already been warned by a Dominator fleet admiral, and were prepared to hand Vril over to Starro to push for a nonagression pact. Vril and the Dominator both made it clear that Starro could not be reasoned with, and their debate became moot when Starro launched an invasion on the planet. The Gil'Dishpan launched their conch-cannons, and Vril's team backed them up, but they fell, and their leader Gelmyr became a Starro slave, urging Vril to be subsumed by Starro's mind. Vril and his team fled, with the Dominator in tow. The Dominator dropped a nuclear reactor from his ship onto the planet, destroying the Gil'Dishpan warp-weavers. Strata wanted to kill him for committing genocide, but Vril said he'd killed millions to save billions, and he admired such pragmatism. Vril also commented that being subsumed in Starro's consciousness, a mind idiotic compared to his own, would be a fate worse than death.

(R.E.B.E.L.S. #8, 9) - Vril gave Wildstar a sample of his son Lyrl Dox's hair, and she tracked him to the planet Voorl, which had become a refuge for various races whose planets had been taken by Starro. Tribulus easily captured Lyrl, who was in anguish because L.E.G.I.O.N. troops had killed his mother Stealth. Vril took the news well, which surprised Bounder, and Vril told him he had no love for the woman who once assaulted and murdered him. Strata told Bounder it was a long story. Kanjar Ro contacted the team, offering his help, but the Dominator knew what he really wanted was a rescue because the Vanguard were on their way to Dhor. Ro mocked him for the failure of the Dominators to defend their world, and said he was a caste of one. The Dominator scratched off his caste circle before walking away. Ciji was bonding with him, and decided to call him Xylon to give him a sense of identity. Captain Comet and Adam Strange had gotten word of Starro's exploits, and used the Zeta Beam to reach Vril and offer his help. He told them to go to Dhor to retrieve the Gamma Gong, but the Vanguard were already there and had smashed the gong, so they rescued Kanjar Ro, it'sa inventor. Vril was not pleased, and said he could still use the metal from the gong for his plan. He would split the team to Dhor, Kalanor and the Dominator homeworld to retrieve the three items he needed to defeat Starro. Garv suggested they call themselves the R.E.B.E.L.S, and the members of the team that were part of the original team mocked Vril for the acronym he came up with. Xylon made a caste circle of the L.E.G.I.O.N. emblem, telling Vril he wa spart of his caste until the Dominators were liberated. Garv had a change of heart, and convinced Strata to slip away with him and Rocky, saying their main priority was their son, and they had no reason to be loyal to Vril. Lyrl found them, and said he'd lead them to a spaceport if he could come with them. The High Vanguard arrived to kidnap Lyrl.

(R.E.B.E.L.S. #10, 11) - Strange and Comet caught Vril up with the events of Blackest Night, which they'd first heard about from the JLA com channel. Lyrl Dox agreed to come willingly with the Vanguard, but only if Strata and her family were left unharmed, claiming they were his slaves. Vril was furious with them for letting his son get caught, and he directed the R.E.B.E.L.S. to fly offworld. He correctly predicted that Starro would unleash his son's 12th-level intelligence and disable the forcefield around Maltus. He suggested they go to Earth to seek aid from their superhero community when they flew into the middle of a battle between the Sinestro Corps and the Black Lantern Corps, and Wildstar was left behind on Voorl. Black Lantern Corps member Harbinger destroyed the R.E.B.E.L.S. ship, and the resurrected Stealth wanted to kill Vril, who told her that even in death she was insufferable. When Sinestro Corps member Narok was killed by Harbinger his ring sought out the nearest being who could inspire great fear, and it chose Vril Dox, who found the newfound power exhilarating. Strange and comet brought the R.EB.E.L.S. to the planet Kandato, except for Amon Hakk, who remained in space to repair their ship, and was aided by Wildstar, who'd found her way off of Voorl. Stealth and Harbinger pursued them, and during their battle a transmatter portal opened, the creation of Lyrl for Starro. Lyrl, Starro, and High Vanguard members that had become Black Lanterns poured through. Vril tried to remove Lyrl's Starro spore, but his son told him to get away, and asked Vril to save his master Starro, shocking his father. Lyrl said he would be referred to only as Brainiac 3, and Vril used his power ring to push the Black Lantern's Vril, and Starro back through the portal to Maltus. The ring demanded Vril go to Korugar to join the rest of the Corps, and when he refused the ring flew off his finger for insubordination. Vril told the R.E.B.E.L.S. he was tired of waiting for Starro to slip up, and it was time to take the fight to him. It was clear he was taking it personally that his son had chosen a monster over his flesh and blood.

(R.E.B.E.L.S. #12) - Garv and Strata had Vril drop them off at Port Slarvit, unwilling to go on what they saw as a suicide mission when they had their son to think of. Xylon said he would shoot the next person who tried to abandon the R.E.B.E.L.S., earning him points with Vril. Vril split the team up to complete his plan for a weapon that would sever Starro's connection with his slaves. Adam Strange, Ciji, Bounder and xylon went to the secret Dominator science facility on Kaipei to retrieve a genebomb, which the Dominators had long denied having. The Dominator scientists were not eager to cooperate with Xylon, but military caste trumped the science caste, and he told them they didn't have a choice in the matter. On Kalanor Vril found the decapitated Despero, and told him he'd regenerate his body in exchange for help with Starro. On Dhor Kanjar Ro separated from Captain Comet and Wildstar, who gathered the fragments of the gamma going. Kanjar said he was going to retake his world by force, and Vril told his team to let him go. In truth Kanjar was on a side-mission for Vril which would end his feud with Despero. Despero admired how Vril played his teammates against each other, and wondered why he always pandered to law and order. Vril said law was a bludgeon in his hands.

(R.E.B.E.L.S. #13, 14) - Vril Dox and his R.E.B.E.L.S. had need of the Psions' science labs, and Vril asked Elu where the Omega Men Were. He responded that they had been out of contact since leaving for Starro's home galaxy. Vril used the Psion's lab to grow Despero a new body, and presented him with the weapon he'd constructed from the gamma gong and genebomb that would sever Starro from his star-slaves. The last thing he needed was Despero's Flame of Pytar to charge its' psionic matrix. Lyrl Dox opened his transmatter portal, and snatched his father away. Starro was planning an invasion of Earth, but Lyrl had decided the warlord was beneath his 12th-level intelligence, and wanted to help Vril kill him. He'd deduced the weapon Vril would construct for the task, and broke Vril's arm, not wanting him to be the triggerman because he said he wanted him alive. Starro thought Lyrl's next transmatter portal would take him to Earth, but Lyrl said he'd be sending him to Vril's ship so he could be ambushed. The R.E.B.E.L.S. were prepared when Starro arrived, and the villain was not entirely surprised that Lyrl had betrayed him.Vril had a rare miscalculation; his weapon had no effect on Starro. He clashed with the R.E.B.E.L.S. saying he'd miss them when they were dead because they provided so much sport. He discovered the Psions lab of genetically altered and dissected Starros, and flew into a rage. His proximity to them gave him control over them, and within moments all of the R.E.B.E.L.S. were his star-slaves, save for Vril, who threw up a personal forcefield. The Omega Men returned from their mission, armed with darts dipped in a poison that could kill Starros. They struck the Conqueror, but missed his Starro, forcing Vril to get close enough to him to kill the creature with a dart. The Conqueror's Starro died, severing his connection to trillions of mind-slaves, and killing their Starros as well. Despero performed the coup de grace, and told the R.E.B.E.L.S. they were invited to Kalanor to witness Starro's execution. Vril sent out a broadcast proclaiming his victory, giving his intention to put L.E.G.I.O.N. back on track and finding some way for everyone he helped to thank him. Adam Strange thought that Vril might be a worse manipulator than Starro.

(R.E.B.E.L.S. #15, 16) - All of Maltus protested Vril and the mess he'd made of the planet. Vril railed that he was being treated unfairly, but Amon Hakk told him the people had a point. A sniper almost killed Vril, and it was clear he could not rebuild the L.E.G.I.O.N. on Maltus. Adam Strange said he could use Rann as a base, and Vril promised he could find a way to revitalize the lifeless planet. Strange and Sardath took Vril to Ran, which was still a painful sight to Adam. He reflected on the many times he'd saved the planet, bemoaning that it took one failure to undo all the good he did. Sardath did not believe Vril could bring life back to Rann, because he himself had tried and found the situation hopeless. Vril dismissed him, saying all he needed to do was move the planet's current location and asking Sardath for the largest zeta-beam he had. Vril used the zeta-beam to teleport Rann to the former location of Tamaria in the Vegan system, and cloned samples of Rann's native flora and fauna to make the planet habitable. He intended to rebuild the L.E.G.I.O.N. using lifeforms instead of robots, and to clean up the Vegan system to regain his reputation. Despite media appearances where he praised his own altruism most of Vega was skeptical, and kept referring to him as the son of Brainiac. He told the R.E.B.E.L.S. he was the antithesis of his father, but Adam Strange warned him that he'd landed in a political hotbed, and the neighboring planets might not want him interfering. The L.E.G.I.O.N. recovered a stolen Arcturian vessel, but wounded GLC member Atlin Ad'ms in the process. The GLC warned him, but he said he had a duty to his shareholders to aggressively pursue peacekeeping unless the GLC wanted to buy out his contracts. Captain Comet thought the new L.E.G.I.O.N. would blow up in his face, and planned to quit until Starfire joined the team to defend her native system, and he was impressed with her charisma. As they got to know each other her sister Blackfire attacked Rann, seeing their planet where hers once was as an affront.

(R.E.B.E.L.S. #17) - The invasion of Rann was halted by GLs Altin Ad'ms and Gorius Karkum, and Blackfire wondered why the Corps was suddenly showing an interest in the Vegan system. Neither the Rannians nor the Tamaraneans appreciate the interference, and attacked the GLs. Adam Strange used a zeta-beam to teleport himself, the GLs and Blackfire into space. They said they could resolve their differences without outside help, and Blackfire agreed that she could talk to Adam if he was not directly working for Vril Dox. A Thanagarian warfleet interrupted their discussion. Vril Dox was aboard, having brokered a peace treaty between the Thanagarians and Rann. They no longer shared the same solar system, let alone the same planet, and those who blamed Rann for Thanagar's destruction were dead or deposed. They returned to Rann, and Vril offered the empty southern continent to Blackfire and her people as a new home. She admired the brilliant and ruthless egomaniac, seeing a lot of herself in him.

(R.E.B.E.L.S. #21, 22) - Vril Dox sent out a message to potential client worlds, including the Dominators, after a run-in with the GLC. He said the L.E.G.I.O.N. used police by consent utilizing each planet's laws, but the Guardians sought justice using only their own capricious whims.

(R.E.B.E.L.S. #23) - Vril, Blackfire, Sardath and the R.E.B.E.L.S. welcomed Honor Lantern John Stewart to Rann, and after a public handshake and media coverage they went behind closed doors for negotiations. Stewart demanded that Vril allow the corps to do their jobs in the Vegan system, and after Vril orchestrated a terrorist attack by the Citadelians the GLC foiled them, forcing Vril to be on friendlier terms with the GLC, at least in public.

(R.E.B.E.L.S. #25, 27, 28) - Xylon and the R.E.B.E.L.S. left Rann for the Psion Homeworld after Starro the Conqueror kidnapped Vril Dox. They freed Dox, and prevented Starro from invading Rann.

Comments: Created by Jim Shooter, Mort Weisinger and Curt Swan.

In the pre-Zero Hour 30th century the Dominators waged war against the United Planets, fought the Legion of Super-Heroes and conquered Earth.