Magique is a member of the Imperial Guard, a multi-ethnic group of super-powered alien beings who act as enforcers of the laws of the Shi'ar Empire. Under her original Guardsman name of Magic, she was amongst the first of the Imperial Guard encountered by the team of superhuman mutant adventurers known as the X-Men who sought to rescue the Princess-Majestrix Lilandra from her insane brother, then-Majestor D'ken. Following the orders of their emperor, the Guard clashed with the X-Men and were on the verge of winning when the band of interstellar freebooters known as the Starjammers arrived to turn the tide of battle in the X-Men's favor.

Later, after the formerly-exiled Deathbird had usurped the Shi'ar throne, Magique was amongst those Imperial Guard members who clashed with the British team of costumed adventurers known as Excalibur and the Starjammers over the fate of the then-bearer of the cosmic Phoenix Force, the alternate future daughter of the X-Man Jean Grey named Rachel Summers.

During the war between the Shi'ar and Kree Empires, Magic - under her new Guardsman name of Magique - was one of a small contingent of Guardsmen that were dispatched by then-Empress Lilandra to retrieve the famous Nega-Bands of the Kree warrior Captain Mar-vell from his tomb. Magique used her sorcerous abilities to create holographic illusions to make Quasar, a member of the Earth team of super-powered beings known as the Avengers, believe that the attacking force was much larger than it actually was. When Magique was rendered unconscious by the Kree scientist Doctor Minerva, her illusions were dispelled.