Webwing is a former 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. Part of the division of the Guard known as the Borderers, the mollusc-like Webwing was amongst those Imperial Guard members who allied themselves with the treacherous Shi'ar High Council member Lord Samédàr who was aiding an attempted coup of the Shi'ar throne by Deathbird. Even after the ploy was discovered, Webwing, like most of the other Guard members present, still chose to side with Samédàr against the team of superhuman mutant Earthlings known as the X-Men who were defending then-Empress Lilandra.

Following a meeting of the intergalactic council, Earth was declared a threat to the entire cosmos and consequently it was deemed to turn the planet into an intergalactic prison. Criminals from numerous alien races were teleported to Earth, among them the former Imperial Guard members who had allied themselves with Deathbird and Lord Samédàr all those years ago, including Webwing. These former Guardsmen had allied themselves with a lone member of the alien D'bari, calling himself Starhammer, who sought revenge on Jean Grey for the crimes of Dark Phoenix.