Atlanteans (Marvel)
Atlanteans are an aquatic offshoot of Humanity that feature in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
History
Origin
The Atlanteans were a race of underwater inhabitants of the kingdom of Atlantis located on the planet Earth.
One account claimed that the Atlanteans were actually native to the planet Vodan but immigrated to Earth. (Invaders v3 #12)
Around 20,000 years ago, Atlantis was ruled by Emperor Kamuu who led the city's defenses against the raiding Lemurians. To defeat their foes, the Emperor ordered magma from deep underground to be released but this destroyed the seal wall thus sinking Atlantis beneath the waves. (Sub-Mariner v1 #62) It was said that 15,000 years ago, Atlantis was a major world with their kind ruled by a benevolent ruler where they discovered the Savage Land. Whilst exploring it, they learnt of the alien Nuwali's heating systems and replicated the technology in a neighboring region called Pangea that was used as an Atlantean amusement park. However, their reign came to an end when the Deviants invaded Atlantis in order to enslave the human race but their onslaught was thwarted when the Celestials struck against their creation's uprising causing Atlantis to sink. (Fantastic Four v1 #316) One account held that when Atlantis was on the surface where it was situated at the site of the Axis Mundi where the Titan Atlas held the Heavens up in the sky as punishment for his kin's war against the gods. In time, the Atlanteans were noted for dominating the world but began to grow decadent to the point that they could no longer be bothered to conduct their own battles. Thus, they began hiring the Amazons who were led by Queen Myrina. Among their campaigns saw the purging of a Gorgon nest in the western peaks where they kept some of the creatures alive so that their family line could continue in the Amazon nation. In order to avoid payment, the depraved Atlantean rulers slew the Amazon garrison left behind whereupon the council of sorcerers created a scheme against the Amazons. This saw them create the Omphalos that saw them steal the power of Atlas himself who was the axis of the world thus controlling the world. However, they underestimated the power they were harnessing which devastated Atlantis during the Cataclysm which saw the Atlanteans turned into a race of water breathers. (Incredible Hercules v1 #123)
Atlantis itself had been a small above ground continent with many human settlements, when an event tens of thousands of years ago called the Great Cataclysm caused it to be submerged into the sea. 2,000 years later, a group of Homo mermani made the ruins of the human settlements in Atlantis their home and went on to develop a society there using as much of the material as they could scavenge from the wreckage. (Spectacular Spider-Man Annual v1 #9)
Upon settling in the sea, the Atlanteans came to awaken an ancient evil that dwelt there that consisted of the first rulers of the Earth. These were hideous things that had built huge cities, worked uncanny magic, enslaved servants that lived and died in their dark glory. This evil had gone for a time when the stars had turned round in the sky. (Namor: The First Mutant v1 #3)
The first Aqueos vampire according to legend had been formed of sh'g'th tissue created by beings from beyond the stars. (Namor: The First Mutant v1 #4)
During a dark age, the kingdom of Atlantis faced the threat of the Old Atlanteans who were considered the scourge of the oceans in that era. Their number included three different species such as the predatory Chordai, the pillaging Mala and the parasitical Uhari. It was known that these races sought to destroy their enemies, those that they could not destroy they sought to possess and those that they could not possess; they sought to consume. Millennia ago, the Atlanteans fought these ancient foes in a battle underneath the great expanse that used to be their dominion. During the struggle, the Old Atlanteans were driven to near extinction and hunted down with their history being stricken from records. The only piece of knowledge that existed on them was passed down the royal line; from King to King which consisted of a visual record of the three races that made up the Old Atlanteans. As such, despite the passage of millennia, the Atlanteans were the bitterist of enemies of the Old Atlanteans. (Fantastic Four v1 #586) A group of Atlanteans were said to had left Atlantis where they formed the Vodani tribe who settled in waters that the claimed was the home of the True Atlantis. (Defenders: The Best Defense v1 #1)
Around two millennia ago, under the reign of the patriarch Ossem the Atlanteans were attacked by the barbarians of Skarka who killed many of the young inhabitants of Atlantis. The survivors in anger wanted revenge with these being led by Ossem's son Balaal where they formed a warmongering faction who also created a cult that worshipped a rival god named Father Set. Ossem went to consult with the god of Neptune but upon his return a coup was initiated by Balaal who intended to sacrifice his father to Set. Neptune intervened where he struck to stop the sacrifice that would empower the serpent god with the cultists being killed in the process. In fear, the Atlanteans dispersed into the oceans with Ossem seeking to find them and reunite them into a nation. He succeeded in this task over the span of decades with their city being rebuilt. Ossem later died of old age but on his deathbed he begged for Neptune to look after his people with the Olympian deity being touched by the Atlantean king's words with him agreeing to the dying request. Neptune began to live among the Atlanteans where he showed them kindness instead of anger with them referring to him as Father Neptune and it was a period referred to as a Golden Age of Atlantean history. (The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual v1 #9)
Many ages ago, a group of Atlanteans departed their people in this time where they came to settle in sunken Lemuria located in the deep beneath the Pacific Ocean. There, they forged an empire where the waters in the region came to change them leading to them gaining more serpentine features as they became known as the Lemurians. (Sub-Mariner v1 #10) Centuries ago, the Atlantean scientist Kyral perfected the cloning process but Thallo later outlawed it. (Namor v1 #20)
Modern
During the 20th century, the Atlantean race began to come into sustained contact with their human 'cousins'. These contacts have often been hostile, and have included many aborted invasions and even separate occasions when large numbers of Homo mermani were rendered comatose or sterilized for periods. By the time of World War II, Nazi Germany launched an offensive against the Atlanteans at their kingdom beneath the Antarctic Circle where a flotilla dropped bombs on their settlements. In the attack, the Emperor was seemingly killed with Namor rallying his people for a counterattack where he was briefly captured but managed to escape. With the Emperor's death, Namor was made the new ruler of the Atlantean realm. (Sub-Mariner Comics v1 #1) In reality, the Emperor Thakorr had rallied his forces to fight off an attack from the Aqueos vampires who attacked their city. Their charge against the underwater vampires failed where they managed to swarm around Thakorr who came to be beaten and turned into one of their kind. (Namor: The First Mutant v1 #4)
During the 1920s a Homo mermani female, Princess Fen of Atlantis mated with the human sea captain Leonard McKenzie, a union which produced the first human/Atlantean hybrid: Namor, the Sub-Mariner. (Marvel Comics v1 #1)
A faction of Atlanteans rejected Attuma and sided with Namor where they created the city of Deluvia. (Alpha Flight v1 #40)
An Atlantean ambassadorial delegation went to meet with people from the surface with this event being supervised by the Super Heroes of Europe. However, during the press conference, the Atlantean ambassador was shot seemingly by Norman Osborn with a special gun. (Civil War: Front Line v1 #8)
An Atlantean terrorist cell later struck the surface world during the period of the Dark Reign. Secretly, Osborn had ordered Namor to deal with the terrorists but the Sub-Mariner refused and stated that he did not take orders from Norman. This led to Director Osborn dispatching the Sentry to deal with the threat where he was ordered to kill the terrorists and take back only one survivor. The event was then spun by Osborn's media as the terrorists killing themselves with a bomb in order to remove any reference to the Sentry killing the others. The lone survivor was taken into custody by H.A.M.M.E.R. for questioning but then secretly fed to Venom whose host was Mac Gargan. (Dark Avengers v1 #6)
New Atlantis
After their leader Namor allied with the X-Men, the Atlanteans began to build a support pillar that would keep the newly established mutant nation of Utopia near the coast of San Francisco from sinking. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #520) Around this pillar, called the Atlantean column, they established a city called New Atlantis. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #521)
The inhabitants of New Atlantis were briefly conquered by Attuma after he became Nerkkod, Breaker of Oceans of the Worthy. (Fear Itelf: The Deep v1 #1)
Among the subparts of New Atlantis was a region known as Little Lemuria that was home to a number of Lemurians. (Namor: The First Mutant v1 #7)
Atlantis was later attacked by the Squadron Supreme in retaliation for Namor and the Cabal having destroyed the worlds of some of its members. After Hyperion beheaded Namor and Power Princess killed Attuma, the Squadron Supreme recalled the information of Atlantis' previous attacks on the surface world. Hyperion then lifted Atlantis above the ocean and then threw it onto the ground enough to kill the other Atlanteans present. (Squadron Supreme v4 #1)
Namor then begins to work to unite the different branches of Atlanteans when it comes to keeping the oceans safe from surface world invaders. (Namor: The Best Defense v1 #1) After his failure to get the Vodani on his side, Namor turned his attention towards the Sea Blades faction. Having siphoned the aquakinetic abilities of Hydro-Man, Namor parted the oceans and leaving the Sea Blades and their leader to asphyxiate unless they ceded leadership to him. Their leader Karris agreed to the terms upon being awestruck with Namor's ability. (Invaders v3 #1)
Afterwards, the spirit of the Atlantean people was broken due to the constant disasters that had struck their people with this only being exasperated during the Final Hosts attack on Earth and the death of a number of their race at the hands of the Roxxon Energy Corporation. In response, Namor had the Roxxon mercenaries captured and brought to Atlantis for execution but the Avengers intervened where they took them to the surface to face trial. Namor then came to see how the people were turning from him for his failure in protecting them and in response he decided to wage a war against the surface world. This saw him gather a group of undersea warriors where they formed the Defenders of the Deep as the Atlanteans prepared for a war against humanity for control over the oceans of the world. (Avengers v8 #9)
Overview
It was said that Atlanteans possessed a unique scent that made them easy to track to those with enhanced senses. (Wolverine v3 #45)
Atlantean society was divided into a caste system that included builders and mechanists with it expected that an individual to be grateful in their role and not to change castes. (Namor: The First Mutant v1 #2)
A rare Atlantean offshoot or subspecies with the inherent capacity for casting magic through song. (Incredible Hulk v3 #9)
It was said that they had a similar concept of honour and saving face as that among Asian cultures. (New Warriors v1 #2)
Subjects swore their allegiance to the Throne Imperius of the monarch. (Fear Itself: The Home Front v1 #4) A Praetorian Guard served the monarch who were trained to handle delicate assignments such as undercover missions. (Captain America v4 #16) They once possessed a team of superpowered warriors and champions who formed a team called the Swift Tide. (King in Black: Namor v1 #1) At one point, a group of elite warriors of the Atlantean army formed a unit called the Sea Blades before the split from the kingdom decades ago. (Invaders v3 #1)
One source of entertainment was a game called Whips that involved a ball with instruments used in order to win. It held a long history as a sport to the lower castes of Atlanteans. (Namor: The First Mutant v1 #7)
The Atlantean system of faith was complicated and arcane. (All-New Invaders v1 #10) State religion was based upon the interaction with the living environment where it was said to be similar to Australian Aborigine culture. (Civil War: Front Line v1 #8) Funerals were a sombre affair that were rich in symbolism that had been handed down their ancient race across centuries. (Fear Itself: The Home Front v1 #4)
At Atlantis, one tradition was the Ritual of Renewal whereby the monarch dipped Neptune's Trident into the flames that created it. (Sub-Mariner v1 #17)
The monarch of Atlantis wore the Seal of Governship as a ring to signify their position. (Tales of the Marvels: Inner Demons v1 #1) They also wielded the Imperial Trident as a sign of their authority. (Fear Itself: The Home Front v1 #4) Another relic from Atlantis was the Horn of Gabriel that could be used to summon mighty sea monsters. (Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America v1 #2)
Criminals were referred to as a Peshach that had no direct translation but roughly meant an immoral person. Atlanteans punished their criminals by taking their skin off in strips. (Wolverine v3 #45)
As a people, they had seven thousand years experience in the art of waging war. Among their military infantry included centurion-class soldiers where large numbers of them formed into legions. (Namor: The First Mutant) An elite unit of great warriors of the Atlantean army were the Sea Blades who once served with distinction. (Invaders v3 #1) At one point, they had a team of champions who were elite warriors that were part of the Swift Tide. (King in Black: Namor v1 #1)
The people of Atlantis did not separate magic from science with them holding skilled science-mages. (Invaders Now! v1 #4) Followers of Ophion hid their faces in shame of Atlantis's limited dominion with these radicals that mankind was destined to fall on its own accord whereupon Atlantis could rule both land and sea. (Secret Empire: Brave New World v1 #1)
An artefact of importance to their people was the Vault of Law that was an ancient ornate storage chest used by ancient kings to safeguard precious items. It was mystically sealed by the Prime Logomancer and could only be opened by the true ruler of Atlantis. (Namor: The First Mutant v1 #1) It was held as one of the most sacred Atlantean artifacts. The Vault of Law was mentioned in the Coral Scrolls and the Book of the Eighteenth Cataclysm with the legends stating that only a king or queen could open it. (Namor: The First Mutant v1 #2)
Their genetic engineering skills allowed them to create new breeds of animals such as the heefa fish that were held sacred by the Atlantean people. (Namor the Sub-Mariner Annual v1 #2) One drug created in Atlantis was Hook that was noted for being vile but it had an even worse affect on humans as it was aggressively addictive to them. (Heroes for Hire v3 #1)
They made use of specially designed Whale Ships and Shark Ships. (Sub-Mariner Comics v1 #1)
Words in Atlantean included:
- Fortanu Vasyama : a way of saying 'it just happened yesterday'. (New Avengers v1 #7)
- Krada : word that meant 'pale crab' in their language and was used as a slur against more human appearing Atlanteans. (Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel v1 #4)
About two thousand live in the capital city of Atlantis and its immediate vicinity. Others live in small enclaves from pole to pole. (Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner v1 #1)
Members
- Namor :
- Namora :
- Namorita :
- Attuma :
- Andromeda :
- Krang :
- Dorma :
- Thakorr : In reality, he died fighting off an attack on Atlantis by the Aqueos where he came to be bitten and turned into a vampire. However, none of his kin were aware of this and they believed that the old emperor to had been killed. (Namor: The First Mutant v1 #4)
- Tyrak :
- Vyrra :
- Aradnea : a female Atlantean mystic who served Attuma with her being born, bred and engineered as a conduit for the Undying Ones. She aided in the conquest of New Atlantis but was killed by Loa. (Fear Itself: The Deep v1 #3)
- Ossem : male patriarch of Atlantis around two millennia ago who led his people during the predations from the barbarians of Skarka who killed many leading to the young survivors forming a warmongering faction that created a cult which worshipped the rival god Father Set.
- Balaal : male son of king Ossem of Atlantis who two millennia ago was among the survivors of Skarka attacks that created a warmongering faction who formed a cult that worshipped Father Set. He staged a coup against his father and intended to sacrifice him to Set only for Neptune to intervene where he killed the cultists. (The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual v1 #9)
- Kurod Ormaon : a male Atlantean who disguised his true identity as a human bio-chemist and pharmaceutical engineer named Bernard Waterman that hated his fellow kind and humans. He established a criminal operation on the surface where he farmed the drug Hook on humans that were used to produce better narcotics that he sold back on the Atlantean market with him making a great deal of profit. (Heroes for Hire v3 #1)
- Oudvrou : a name given to an elderly female Atlantean warrior who survived an encounter with the Aqueos vampires and lived during the time of the Shallow Peace with them. (Namor: The First Mutant v1 #1)
- Machan : a male red haired blue-skinned Atlantean who was a trusted advisor to King Namor. (Invaders v3 #1)
- Karris : a bearded blue-skinned male Atlantean who headed the Sea Blades that served Emperor Thakorr before going rogue when Namor came to power. (Invaders v3 #1)
- Govan : a bald headed Atlantean ambassador who was part of a mission who took part in a press conference where he was injured by Norman Osborn using a gun. (Civil War: Front Line v1 #8)
- Hanna : a blonde haired pink-skinned female Atlantean member of the Praetorian Guard who served Namor and was dispatched to investigate the threat of the Interrogator who was targeting Captain America. (Captain America v4 #16)
- Seth :
- Shakkoth :
- Shalak :
- Sharkskin :
- Shem :
- Squid :
- Stegor :
- Sulumor :
- Talan :
- Tanas :
- Tareva :
- Teneel :
- Thakos :
Notes
- The Atlanteans were created by Bill Everett where they made their first appearance in Motion Picture Funnies Weekly v1 #1 (April, 1939).
Alternate Versions
- In Fantastic Four v2 #2 (1996), an alternate version of the Atlanteans appeared in the Heroes Reborn reality set on a Counter-Earth. When Franklin Richards created Counter-Earth to save the lives of the heroes who sacrificed their lives battling Onslaught, he created an alternate version of Atlantis and the Atlantean people.In this reality, the Atlanteans were terrorized by pollutants leading Namor to wage war against the surface world. However he was defeated by the combined efforts of the Fantastic Four and Avengers and soon learned that his own Warlord Krang manipulated the events of the battle and called off the invasion.[18] Namor then came to the aid of Counter-Earth to protect it from destruction at the hands of Galactus.
- In Ultimate Fantastic Four #24 & #25 (2005), the Atlanteans were introduced into the Ultimate Marvel universe. It was revealed that Mary Storm was part of a secret project known as the Atlantis Project to find the lost city which was a goal that took 15 years to accomplish. Her obsession and being hired by a major corporation meant that she seemingly abandoned her family leading to Franklin Storm telling his their two children that she died. When the Susan and Johnny Storm grew up, she returned to their lives and asked for their help in uncovering the city. There, they found the sarcophagus of "King" Namor who was actually an Atlantean criminal imprisoned 9,000 years ago. When speculating the fate of Atlantis, he stated that there was a war between Atlantis and Lemuria for centuries which led him to conclude that the war ignited leading to the destruction of his civilization. He further stated that Atlantean civilization was millions of years more evolved than Humans and it was an easy feat to learn English within an hour.
- In Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four v1 #24 (2007), an alternate version of the Atlanteans were shown to had resided on Earth-20051. King Namor was responsible for setting up a diplomatic facility called Trident Station that was to showcase Atlantean culture as a sign of unity amongst the underwater race as well as to show their society to the world. One of the relics that were to be placed at the site was the Tridents of Lemuria that were the oldest known Atlantean artifacts.
- In House of M v1 (2015), a version of the Atlanteans resided on Battleworld with these residing in the Monarchy of M and led by King Namor. They were making diplomatic negotiations with the House of Magnus though secretly Quicksilver was meeting with Namor to stage a coup to unseat his own father Magneto who was the Baron of his realm.
- In Black Panther v7 (2018), a universe was seen where the Wakandans had colonised space and over centuries formed the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda. Distant relatives of the Atlanteans of Earth emerged known as the Teku-Maza who hailed from a Jovian world that consisted mostly of water where they became the first conquests of the Imperial Wakandans.
- In Major X v1 (2019), an alternate reality was shown that was home to the E-Xistence. This was a realm where Mutants fled persecution at the hands of the Catalyst and formed a refuge where their kind could live in peace. A number of Atlanteans were noted to had migrated to this land where the were led by Nomar and followed the dictates of the X-Ential.
- In Free Comic Book Day Vol 2021 Avengers/Hulk v1 #1 (2021), an alternate version of the Atlanteans appeared in a world designated as Earth-10222. On this world, Atlantis never sank and instead the Atlanteans became the dominant ruling race of the world. It was shown that this world had its own incarnation of the Avengers consisting of Atlanteans that served as their heroes. This was until an attack in their past altered their timeline leaving the reality a desolate dead world.
In other media
Television
- In The Marvel Super Heroes, Atlanteans featured in a number of episodes in Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner series.
- In Fantastic Four, the Atlanteans appeared where they were from the city of Pacifica in the 1967 animated television series which appeared in the episode "Danger in the Depths". They were a highly advanced underwater civilization of blue-skinned natives who could not survive on the surface without technology. The Atlanteans of Pacifica were ruled by Prince Triton and had numerous aristocrats with their city besieged by the barbarian tribes of Attuma.
- In Avengers: United They Stand, the underwater dwelling blue skinned people of Atlantis made an appearance in the episode "To Rule Atlantis". They were ruled by Namor with the barbarian Attuma seeking to usurp control of the kingdom. To achieve that goal, Attuma used a dynamo machine to cause earthquakes to devastate Atlantis and blame the surface world. Members of Atlantis's court were secretly aligned with Attuma and sought to depose Namor.
- In Avengers Assemble, a horde of homo mermanus led by Attuma attack the surface world where they seek to sink New York City. The Atlanteans in this setting except for Attuma have a much more fish-like appearance. In the episode "Beneath the Surface", it was shown that Lady Zartra who was formerly a lieutenant of Attuma began to see him as a corrupt tyrant leading to her rebelling against his rule. She and other likeminded Atlanteans formed resistance movement seeking to overthrow him and arranged for the acquisition of the Serpent Crown. Zartra would use the Crown to summon Giganto to serve her as a weapon against Attuma but had a confrontation with the Avengers who were pursuing the Serpent Crown. Ultimately, the Avengers allied with Zartra's forces when Attuma's horde arrived leading to a battle against them for the Serpent Crown with the Atlantean warlord being defeated. In "Avengers Underground", after the Avengers apparent death a number of Atlanteans arose to the surface to claim the surface world for the exiled Attuma. They were effortlessly defeated by the Squadron Supreme who now ruled Earth where Hyperion left one alive to take this news back to Atlantis whilst he killed the others. When King Attuma ruled the throne, factions within his kingdom were secretly members of the Shadow Council that were looking to topple the rulers of both Atlantis and Wakanda.
Films
- In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, a variation of the Atlanteans appeared in the setting of the 2022 live-action film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Video games
- In Marvel Ultimate Alliance, the Atlanteans appeared in the setting of the video game. A mission involved the heroes journeying to Atlantis that had been taken over by the Masters of Evil who had supported a coup against Namor and placed Attuma in charge. The warlord believed he would become the sea kingdoms' new ruler as foretold in the Atlantean Chronicles. Attuma uses sonic emmiters to cause the Atlanteans to riot and turn against Namor. Attuma is assisted in his goal by Byrrah, Tiger Shark, and Warlord Krang. When Attuma and Tiger Shark are defeated, Tiger Shark mentions that Doctor Doom was their benefactor in Attuma's plot. Within the game, there is also a temple devoted to Negrete, whose shrine is protected by temple guardians trained to defeat any trespassers. The Eyes of Negrete are holy objects used by the temple priests for access to the inner sanctums of the temple. In the Atlantis briefing, Captain America mentions that the Atlanteans disliked surface dwellers. Atlanteans within this setting were shown to worship a deity known as Negrete and have a temple in her name.
Appearances
- Motion Picture Funnies Weekly v1: (1939)
- Fantastic Four v1:
- Sub-Mariner v1:
- Namor v1:
- Wolverine v3:
- Namor: The First Mutant v1:
- Civil War: Front Line v1:
- Squadron Supreme:
- Avengers v8:
- Defenders: The Best Defense v1:
- Invaders v3:
- King in Black: Namor v1: (2020)
External Links
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