Deviants (Marvel)
The Deviants are a Human derived species that feature in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
History
Origin
The Deviants were a shapeshifting race of beings that were created by the experiments of the Celestials. (Eternals v1 #1)
It was said that Ziran the Tester was among their kind that moulded proto-humans into the first Deviants that were creatures with an unstable genetic phenotype. After logging the variety of mutations achieved by this race, they were set free from the Celestial mothership with the test subjects being tasked to go forth and multiply. They journeyed into the bowels of the Earth where they fled in order to eke out a life unlike any they had known on the surface as apes. (What If? v1 #23) According to the accounts of the Deviants, they were created from the human template by the Celestials and were sent back to Earth in order to multiply. Once their population had reached a certain saturation point, their creators would return during the time of the Second Host who devoured great numbers of the Changing People as foods for the gods. Thus, they believed that they were a delicacy to the Celestials until one of the cosmic gods stood against his brethren only for him to be struck down and imprisoned for his defiance. This member would be the Dreaming Celestial and the Deviants would revere him for his actions. (Eternals v3 #5) Around 65 million years ago, the Deviant empire on Earth began to prey on cavemen where they attempted to lay claim to the garden tended to by Vnn and Brrkk. In an effort to escape them, Brrkk was killed and Vnn uncovered the remains of a dinosaur that contained the Star Brand. This transformed Vnn into the planet's living defensive system where he turned his wrath against the Deviants who he slayed where he accidently destroyed the garden he was tending. (Avengers v8 #26)
As millennia passed, the Deviants bred like rabbits and grew in great numbers. (Eternals v3 #1) They created unimaginable scientific wonders and conquered almost the whole world, enslaving captured humans. Then came the final showdown against the last safe haven of humanity: the empire of Atlantis. The Deviants launched a massive attack on their human rivals, but one Atlantean city-state, Netheria, had created an impervious dome that protected them from all the attacks. (Avengers Annual v1 #20) After millennia, they forged an empire that was centred on the continent of Lemuria where they created scientific wonders and enslaved captured humans. (Eternals v1 #2) Around 20,000 years ago, the Deviants had conquered the entire world with the only stronghold of freedom being the empire of Atlantis. In an effort to wipe out their foes, the Deviants launched an all-out assault against their Atlantean rivals but the people of Atlantis had crafted an impervious dome to protect them. (Avengers Annual v1 #20) Around this time, the Deviants crafted a living disease called Spore to destroy the Eternals but the bio-weapon turned against his creators as he sought to consume all organic life. (Wolverine v2 #21) At the height of the Deviant empire, they bred the Mutate Dromedan for use against the Eternal but would instead entomb him after they came to fear his great power. (Eternals v1 #16)
During the midst of this war, the Celestials returned to Earth with the Deviants arrogantly striking against their cosmic creators who retaliated with a weapon of inconceivable power. This resulted in the Great Cataclysm that led to the sinking of both Atlantis and Lemuria. The surviving Deviants led into the underground caverns Subterranea where they were deprived of their human slaves who had perished in the great disaster. To compensate, they turned to genetics and conducted experiments on the few surviving humans that still accompanied them. Their genetic engineering sought to create a race that was adapted working underground with them succeeding in forming the first of a race that were physically stronger than humans and could see in complete darkness. Thus, the underground race of Subterraneans were first created with their first male being Gor-Tok and the first female being his mate Thera. The Deviants set their new slave race to work where they made them undergo hard labor to create underground cities for their masters. However, this enraged Gor-Tok who led an uprising with the revolt succeeding in earning the freedom of his people where he was crowned king by the newly named Gortokians. In the aftermath, the Deviants went back to their genetic experiments to breed new slaves following the revolt with them succeeding in creating two new strains of Subterraneans. These were designed to be more inhuman in form, weaker and more docile to prevent them from rebelling leading to the birth of the Moloids. These new slave races were sent into battle to re-conquer the Gortokians and whilst outnumbering their foe they were defeated by Gor-Tok's forces who were driven for the love of their freedom. The Deviants then fled from Gor-Tok's armies where they abandoned much of Subterranea with the exception of a handful of underground cities that included their new capital the City of Toads underneath sunken Lemuria. (Avengers Annual v1 #20)
Spore was among the targets of the Celestials who sought to destroy the creature though a fraction of it managed to survive that remained dormant over the centuries. (Wolverine v2 #21) When the Deviants believed themselves failed experiments of the Celestials, they slew one of the space gods children and placed the severed head within a temple at Rio Patuca in Honduras. They would allow the blood to flow in order to tape its power so that it would change the world to suit their needs namely turning it into a planet filled with monsters. In time, the temple containing the head would be forgotten and the legend would be regarded as a fairy tale that was told to Deviant children of the world that they could have but was forever denied to them. (Thunderbolts v2 #26) Despite being a legend, a scroll written in Deviant script contained the location of the temple and the means to avoid the traps that protected the Celestial child's head. (Thunderbolts v2 #24) Due to the ancient wars, the terror inflicted on mankind by the Deviants spawned the devil-myths among humans that would plague them even till the modern age. (Eternals v1 #4)
In 1625, Sir Isaac Newton who was a member of the secretive Brotherhood of the Shield embarked on a quest for knowledge that saw him travelling the world. His travels saw him journey to the hidden Deviant city of Ashomia where he captured and brought before their ruler. Sir Newton claimed that he sought knowledge though the Deviants were intrigued by his sequencing and paired him with a female monstrous member of their kind called Morda with the two mating. He tolerated their culture and beliefs in order to gain access to their texts leading to him learning the Hidden Arts from them before leaving the city razed. Thus, Sir Isaac would return to the Brotherhood with his newfound knowledge. (S.H.I.E.L.D. v1 #3)
In the meantime, the human race learnt to split the atom leading to a concerned group of Eternals, Humans, and Deviants forming the secretive Damocles Foundation which sought to study the next dominant species on Earth with them determining this to be Mutants. (X-Force v1 #93)
Judgement Day
To prevent the Celestials prophesised return, Brother Tode called a gathering of Deviants to his royal court with Kro being among the attendees. He was set the task of finding the cosmic beacon in the hidden City of the Space Gods. Kro came to find the hidden city where he battled several of the Eternals but the beacon was activated thus heralding the arrival of the creators of both races. (Eternals v1 #1) When the Fourth Host arrived to judge Earth, the truce with the Eternals was over, so the Deviants attacked New York City to trick the humans into attacking the Celestials. (Eternals v1 #3) When this attempt failed, the Deviants sent an attack team to the Celestial spaceship, which failed too. (Eternals v1 #13)
Without the aristocracy, the Deviants' priests seized power, led by Priestlord Ghaur, who killed the son of Tode, Ranar. Kro returned to Lemuria and was crowned as a figurehead monarch, with the real power in the hands of Ghaur. (Eternals v2 #3)
Ghaur returned to corporeal form and tried to obtain the Serpent Crown with help of the Atlantean Lemurians, led by Llyra, in an attempt to invoke the Old God Set. (Amazing Spider-Man Annual v1 #23) The Avengers and Fantastic Four put an end to their mad plan and Ghaur was disintegrated once more. (Fantastic Four Annual v1 #22) Without Ghaur, and with the abdication of Kro, the Deviants' society fall into anarchy and revolution. First, a warlord called Brutus tried to conquer the different races of the subterrain, but was killed when the Deviants discovered his mutate origin. Later, Brother Visara led the Deviants in killing all the leaders and their followers but was ultimately killed as well. (Eternals: The Herod Factor v1 #1)
After Makkari became the prophet of the Dreaming Celestial, a Deviant army numbering six thousand led by Kra descended upon Olympia where they challenged the Eternals. Ultimately, this was a test as they had come to witness the fabled Skadrach who was believed to be Makkari. Hostilities emerged when Druig attacked the Deviants but Makkari managed to convince Kra to continue the test. This saw Kra believing that Makkari was the Skadrach thus refusing to slay him as it was prophesized that this messiah's life was one of misery that would lead to him being destroyed in the future. (Eternals v3 #7)
After the abdication of Kro, a civil war erupted in Deviant Lemuria where emerged a war leader named Brutus who took leadership of his people. He then created a new breed of mutates which he sent into Subterranea to claim back their former territory from the various warlords that now ruled it. This also saw them claiming their various caches of technology with these being used by Brother Brutus to make himself a dictator of the sub-earth world. This saw them coming into conflict with the Mole Man, Tyrannus and Grotesk who were forced to retreat from their enemy. (Avengers Annual v1 #20)
A faction of Deviants under the leadership of Kro later sought to claim the Matrix Stone in order to harness its power. (Symbiote Spider-Man: Crossroads v1 #4)
Deviant forces later attacked the Atlantean city of Lemuria but during their battle a new enemy arrived namely the Evolutionaries who culled both sides as part of a plan to purge the world of the various non-human races. (New Warriors v5 #2)
It was later discovered that there was a biological connection between Deviants and Mutants. (Eternals v5 #12) Under this premise, the Prime Eternal Druig decided to launch an attack on the newly emerged Mutant nation of Krakoa. (A.X.E.: Judgment Day v1 #1) The Deviants aided the mutants in battle. When the Progenitor declared that it would judge all life on Earth, it appeared to the Deviants as Arishem the Judge, the leader of the Second Host that exterminated most of the Deviants long ago. As the Deviants mostly came to the mutants' aid out of empathy, the Progenitor passed all of them. (A.X.E.: Death to the Mutants v1 #2) Having experienced 'love for the first time, many of the Deviants took on prayer following this event. (A.X.E.: Judgment Day Omega v1 #1)
Overview
Their species were possessed by an unstable atomic structure and through the manipulation of their own atoms they were able to change their form or appearance. The Deviant strain was constantly changing and some of their products were superior to others. (Eternals v1 #6) They preferred the name Changing People as it emphasized the diversity seen among their kind. (Eternals v3 #5) A scientific name sometimes labelled them as being Homo Descendus. (New Eternals v1)
They were known to possess their own equivalent of the X-Factor chromosome. (X-Force v1 #86)
The Deviants referred to the Dreaming Celestial as the Dreamer who was their creator. They believed that this Celestial had given his life for their kind and in turn they would gladly sacrifice their own lives for him. (Eternals v3 #5) Among the Changing People, a song was sung to their children called "The Skadrach's Doom" that spoke of the emissary of the Dreaming Celestial. According to this tale, the messiah of the Celestial would be a doomed figure who would ultimately destroy himself and everyone they had touched in their lives. Thus, only when they were destroyed did a true beginning start according to the prophecies. (Eternals v3 #7)
Their society included a ruling royal family that were noted for their capacity for bragging. (Eternals v1 #3) As a species, they were not known for their brotherly concern even to their own people. (Eternals v1 #6) According to their way, commoners were expendable whilst those that ruled needed to be saved. (Eternals v1 #10)
Over the centuries, the Deviants had learnt to trust no one including their closest allies. This had become a reflexive reaction that was considered a tragic flaw in their character but it was noted to hold survival value. (New Mutants Annual v1 #5)
A number of their kind were mutated into various monstrous forms and were referred to as Mutates. (Eternals v1 #4) Certain heavily mutated members and those with undesirable traits were known as Rejects. Such individuals were subject to the ritual of Purity Time whereby the rejects were taken in Death Wagons that take them to be destroyed. (Eternals v1 #8) Others were forced to fight in gladiatorial combat where they were made to dare and die. (Eternals Annual v1 #1)
A holy tome in their civilization was the Book of Krask who had a central focus on the Deviant faith in the Dreaming Celestial. (Eternals v3 #3) Certain maps and scripts were written in the language of the Deviants. (Thunderbolts v2 #24) Mutates abided by the ancient code of Deviant combat where they often saluted one another before engaging in a duel. (Eternals Annual v1 #1)
Their advanced knowledge of genetics allowed them to transform human templates into living weapons. (Wolverine v2 #21)
One weapon within their arsenal were brain-mines that were able to stun beings such as Eternals. Another armament was the Flamer that was favored by their kind and projected streams of fire at their targets. (Eternals v1 #4)
They made use of flying aircraft known as raiders that were raiding vessels used to attack the surface. (Eternals v1 #5)
In the old days, the Deviants harnessed monstrous beasts called Rockgnashers that were used to cut through thousands of miles of subterranean tunnels. It allowed them to travel throughout the world without having to be noticed by humanity. However, Deviant royals made use of teleportation technology stolen from the Eternals for this task. (X-Force v1 #97)
Deviant technology allowed them to create powerful organic weapons such as Spore that could even consume Eternals. (Wolverine v2 #21)
Members
- Tode :
- Ghaur :
- Gelt :
- Kro :
- Kra : a male warlord who brought his army of six thousand Deviants to Olympia to witness Makkari who had been called the Skadrach and following a test he decided to not attack him as he believed the Eternal's destiny meant his future was one where he would die. (Eternals v3 #7)
- Karkas :
- Morjak :
- Tutinax : Tutinax the Mountain-Mover was a male Mutate who was heavily feared in the past and brought to the present by the machinations of Zakka the Tool-Maker who he killed. (Eternals Annual v1 #1)
- Zakka : a male Deviant known as Zakka the Tool-Maker who was a great inventor of his people that in the modern day created a time ray that displaced people from the past to the present with him bringing Tutinax who would later kill him. (Eternals Annual v1 #1)
- Brutus :
- Frathag :
- Ereshkigal :
- Sledge : a bald headed Deviant by birth who aided the U.S. in the 1950's and was given citizenship as a result where he worked against his people's schemes. (X-Force v1 #97)
- Ulysses Dragonblood :
- Odysseus Indigo :
Notes
- The Deviants were created by Jack Kirby where they made their first appearance in Eternals v1 #1 (July, 1976).
In other media
Films
- In Eternals, the Deviants appeared in the setting of the live-action film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They were shown as being genetically engineered creatures created by the Celestials to help cull predators on worlds that were going to give birth to more of their kind. The intention was to eliminate predators to allow intelligent life prosper that would be used to help in the birth of the Celestial from the planet. Deviants came to evolve after consuming predators but evolved where they began to prey on the intelligent life. As a result, the Celestials created the Eternals tasked with hunting down the rogue Deviants from Celestial worlds. On Earth, one Deviant came to kill Ajak where it absorbed her cosmic energy to evolve into sapience creating Kro who wanted to take revenge on the Eternals for the death of his kind. Ultimately, he was killed by Thena who defeated him to avenge the death of her companion Gilgamesh.
Appearances
- Eternals v1: (1976)
- Avengers Annual v1:
- X-Force v1:
- Eternals v3:
- Wolverine v2:
- New Warriors v5:
- Avengers v8:
- Eternals v5:
- Symbiote Spider-Man: Crossroads v1:
- A.X.E.: Judgment Day v1: (2022)
External Link
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