The Malvans are a human offshoot who fled the rebel wars to another sector of the Galaxy altogether. There they established an empire that has since degenerated as the Malvans have sunk into a monomaniacal fascination with the Gladiatorial Games they sponsor. They are a fairly diverse branch of the human genome and mutate easily, and the Malvans also cruise the spacelanes looking for super powered humans and aliens to bring into their contests.
Some years ago, the Phazor of Malva was assassinated by one of the gladiators, an ambitious heavy-worlder named Mongul, who takes the games very seriously. Since his ascension to the throne, Malva has become known as War World to the rest of the Galaxy.