While some of these enemies are genuinely unique, many assume similar guises as self-styled demons or deities seeking access to the earthly plane from neighboring dimensions (i.e., "There is no Dana; there is only Zul"). So as I've previously mentioned, it's unlikely that Marvel would choose to leverage more than one of these threats--at least not in adjacent phases. I therefore note below where I think that some of these entities have stand-alone appeal outside of representing an unnamed Lovecraftian horror.
The Other-dimensional Threats:
- #9 Nth Man and The Crossroads to Infinity
- #10 The Entropic Man
- #11 The Great Beasts
- #12 The Adversary
- #13 "The Serpent" and Other Dark Gods
- #14 The Demogorge
- #15 Nightmare
- #16 Chthon and the Darkhold Cult
- #17 D'Spayre
- #18 Shuma-Gorath
- #19 Null the Living Darkness
- #20 N'Astirh and The Inferno
- #21 Master Pandemonium
- #22 Belasco
- #23 Mephisto
The Nth Man: I've gushed about this story in other posts, but I've not really described the villain at the center of the Project Pegasus Saga in the pages of Marvel Two-in-One. Unlike the other creatures on this list, the Nth Man wasn't a being seeking access to Earth through a dimensional door. Rather, he was the door itself--a man-shaped hole in reality seeking to turn reality inside out from within the Project Pegasus complex. His battle against The Thing and an eclectic band of heroes present at the complex was the culmination of a multi-part story wherein saboteurs sought to destroy the project using a device called the Nth Projector--a device capable of opening doorways into other dimensions. But their agent chose to use the projector to empower himself, threatening not only Project Pegasus but also the entirety of the multiverse. More than adequate to serve as a a phase-ending show-stopper.
Jude, The Entropic Man: Another product of a multi-part MTIO story, The Entropic Man was a creation of the reality-shaping Cosmic Cube. In a tale that saw the cube stolen from--you guessed it, Project Pegasus--a rogue super-soldier and leader of a cult of nihilists used the device to anthropomorphize entropy as a hooded figure named Jude. Jude wished to bestow the gift of oblivion on all living beings, a desire he demonstrated by turning a couple of unfortunate enthralled bystanders into dust with his touch. In the end, his disciples got cold feet and the cube turned him into a pillar of stone mere hours after his birth--which is probably for the best, as he'd have thought that Thanos only got it half right.
The Great Beasts: Introduced in the pages of Alpha Flight, these elder beings--also known as "The Gods of The Elder Night"--represented a persistent threat to Canada and the wider world thwarted first by the gods of the native inhabitants of northern Canada and more recently by that country's on-again/off-again official super team. While there are several in their number, the monster that most quickly comes to mind when thinking of a phase-ending threat is Tundra--a literal living glacier that can level territory on an almost inconceivable scale.
The Adversary: Introduced in X-Men during the 80s, The Adversary was an ancient mystical being also called The Great Trickster by the Cheyenne. The Adversary came into conflict with the X-Men during a televised battle in the city of Dallas, Texas--one that saw the mutant team seemingly killed in combat. While vulnerable to iron and the Adamantium of Wolverine's claws, the creature nevertheless claimed to have the ability to destroy and recreate the universe on a whim.
The Midgard Serpent and Other Dark Gods: While the MCU has already presented us a take on Ragnarok, the long history of Thor in the comics has included multiple variants on the theme involving different existential threats. Surtur aside, another important component of both the mythological norse concept of Ragnarok and the comics is the Midgard Serpent--treated first as a beast and then later re-interpreted as a deposed heir to the throne of Asgard trapped in the form of the serpent. The latter revelation served as the basis for the multi-faceted "Fear Itself" crossover story that also introduced his followers "The Worthy"--heroes and villains possessed by magical hammers and devoted to spreading the serpent's fear across the Earth.
The Demogorge: A son of the Earth god Gaea--and a brother to Thor--Atum has the affliction that he consumes other mythological demons and deities and becomes a monstrous juggernaut with no control over his rampages. Another mountainous foe capable of serving as the basis for a massive set piece.
Nightmare: A "fear lord" and the master of the realm of dreams, Nightmare is a constant foe of Earth's Sorcerer Supreme Dr. Strange. His ability to attack characters in their sleep is reminiscent of--but greatly predates--Freddy Kreuger. His ultimate aspiration is to extend his influence outside of his dimension.
Chthon and The Darkhold Cult: One of the most overtly Lovecraftian characters on this list, Chthon is an elder god and one of the oldest characters in the Marvel Universe. He was the author of The Darkhold, a tome considered to be the basis for much of the comic universe's darkest magic and a conduit through which he continuously seeks to enter the earthly plane. It's worth noting that The Darkhold--featured prominently in Season 4 of ABC's Agents of Shield--is also the source of all vampires in-universe. (More on them in a later post.)
D'Spayre and The Dweller-in-Darkness: Created by another of the "fear lords" known as the The Dweller-in-Darkness, D'Spayre seeks to break the spirit of the human race. Much like the Nth Man mentioned above, his schemes have driven him to seek access to--and control over--the nexus of all realties, an ideal beachhead for spreading his influence across the multiverse. On a smaller, more intimate level, his plots can also sometimes revolve around crushing the spirits of powerful individuals--a trait that can lend itself to telling stories on both a micro and macro scale. And by essentially serving as a herald for The Dweller-in-Darkness, he can represent an immediate threat as well as the harbinger of the coming of the fear lords.
Shuma-Gorath: Another overtly Lovecraftian entity, Shuma-Gorath is an extradimensional alien deity that previously occupied Earth and thrived on blood sacrifices before being expelled and blocked from this plane by successive human sorcerers including Doctor Strange. A floating eye surrounded by lashing tentacles, this guy is the poster-child for all the nastiness that can lie on the other side of dimensional rifts.
Null The Living Darkness: Seemingly in counterpoint to Shuma-Gorath, Null is an amorphous black cloud with a bunch of eyes and an appetite for mental domination of whole civilizations. Sometime partner of The Over Mind--an alien threat I'll be covering in a subsequent post--as apparently mind control is more fun with friends.
Sundry Demons: Speaking of fun with friends, Marvel has no shortage of demons that have made various power plays throughout the comic book universe's history:
- N'Astirh - Foe of the X-Men who once turned NYC into a hellscape in the Inferno crossover storyline that united the new and original X-Men (then operating under the name of X-Factor)
- Master Pandemonium - A demon master that appeared prominently throughout the distinguished initial run of West Coast Avengers; his arms and legs were made of demons and could spawn a seemingly infinite number of demonic minions
- Belasco - Another X-Men foe, this lord of Limbo was notable for being the source of much of Magik's mystical knowledge and abilities
- Mephisto and The Hood - I list Mephisto last because he's the OG in this subcategory, having been the most common demonic stand-in in Marvel storylines over the last 50 years. (You could also list his rival Zarathos--the entity inhabiting the Ghost Rider--here as well.) While Mephisto has been a player in stories ranging from The Infinity Gauntlet to The Secret Wars, his empowering of the once small-time villain The Hood--turning him into a match for the combined Avengers--is an interesting glimpse into his patience and the subtly of his strategies.
Honestly, I'm sure I could dig further to come up with additional candidates--as this is still a somewhat surface-level investigation of Marvel's many years of stories involving other-dimensional foes--but I think it suffices to show how much runway remains within this sub-genre alone.
Next time: Part 3: It Came from Beyond the Stars!
No comments:
Post a Comment