Mongul
Mongul is a male comic supervillain who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Pre-Crisis
Mongul
For years, he came to serve as an overlord for an entire world where he had absolute rule over billions of beings. This was until his tyranny caused his subjects to rise up against him after being spurred into a religious fervour by an Arkymandryte. The result of this uprising led to Mongul having to abandon the throne and flee for his life. Thus, he came to know the feeling of defeat but took solace in the fact that the holy man that replaced him on his world came to be an even bigger tyrant than him. (World's Finest Comics v1 #28)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Mongul
Eventually, he came to commandeer Warworld that was now home to another alien race whose forebears had come to settle on it and maintain the artificial planetoid. They came to form an uneasy alliance with Mongul whose desire to rule an empire aligned with their need to commandeer worlds to develop technology. Thus, he came to be a ruthless monarch that ruled Warworld where he instituted the gladiatorial games that drew a fanatical following of the match. (Adventures of Superman v1 #455)
After witnessing the defeat of Draaga, Mongul commanded the Kryptonian to kill his foe but Superman refused with this act of defiance angering the master of Warworld. He then decided to kill both Superman and Draaga himself leading to a battle with the Last Son of Krypton. Mongul barely managed to win the fight and decided to have the two gladiators taken to a prison cell. The warlord had intended to kill Draaga before Superman but the Man of Steel broke free from his restraints and fought Mongul who was defeated. In anger, he fired an energy blast from a device on his chest that seemingly incinerated the Kryptonian as revenge for the earlier defeat. (Superman v2 #32) However, Mongul's direct intervention in the games was seen as an interference and led to widescale riots along with uprisings on Warworld. (Adventures of Superman v1 #455) Unknown to him, the Cleric came to save the Kryptonians life by teleporting Superman away from the fight at the last moment. (Superman v2 #32) Ultimately, Mongul came to be defeated by Draaga who replaced the warlord as the new ruler of the planet after the slave gladiator learned how to overcome his foe's gemstone. Mongul was forced to flee from Warworld and swore his revenge against all those that deposed him. (Adventures of Superman v1 #455)
Mongul apparently fled to a small alien world and managed to conquer it with a small amount of followers and what was left of his Warworld technology. It was here that he was found by the Cyborg Superman, who recognized Mongul's mutual hatred for Superman. The Cyborg offered the fallen warlord a new Warworld to rule but Mongul was not prepared to bow to another leading to a battle between the two. However, Mongul was defeated by the Cyborg and forced him into his service. (Superman v2 #81) Mongul took a massive spaceship to Earth, arriving over Coast City and unleashing 77,000 carnage globes which detonated simultaneously, obliterating the entire city and all who lived there. The ship then launched a collection of 'seeds' which worked quickly worked together to build Engine City for his new master. (Superman v2 #80)
He was kept imprisoned at the Slab when a riot allowed him to break free. Looking for revenge, he came to learn that Superman was missing and decided to sate his vengeance by tracking down the Green Lantern to kill. He tracked down Kyle Rayner whilst being unaware that this was not Hal Jordan but his replacement with the two battling on the beach. (Green Lantern v3 #52) He nearly killed his quarry but was stopped by Superman who along with the new Green Lantern came to defeat Mongul. The warlord was then taken away to be placed in a new cell where he would have less of a chance of escaping. (Green Lantern v3 #53) Mongul came to escape again where he had come to learn from his time at the Slab that the Combine had hidden a ship at Keystone City. The Darkstars came to shutdown their operations and prevented them from using the vessel which meant it was still hidden in the city. Thus, Mongul went out to search for it but had to battle the Flash Wally West where in the midst of their fight they came to uncover the spacecraft. Mongul then attempted to use it to return to the star and return to his old life but was stopped by the Flash who managed to defeat him leading to his arrest by the Keystone police who sent him back to the Slab. (The Flash v1 #102)
When Neron arrived in the mortal world, he had a summons of the entire criminal underworld with scores of supervillains appearing before him at the stroke of midnight. Mongul was among them where he heard the demons words where he offered them power as they had all been failures in the various endeavours. This angered Mongul who resented the assertion of being a failure and wanted him to beg for his life as he attacked him. However, Neron easily swatted the alien despot to the side and killed him with his bare hands as the demon lord consumed his soul. (Underworld Unleashed v1 #1)
Despite his demise, he actually survived and remained active in deep space when he encountered Despero who told him that the Justice League had been destroyed. This led to him travelling to Earth where he came upon the destroyed Watchtower where he confronted Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman within the ruined hulk of their headquarters. The warlord intended to kill the trio of heroes but was defeated and nearly killed by Wonder Woman until Superman stopped her from decapitating the villain. Mongul then used this moment to escape the three where he fled the scene using a working teleporter. (Infinite Crisis v1 #1) He came to acquire something from the trophy room before he escaped whereupon he began to grow Black Mercy plants at a remote farm on Earth where the parasitic organisms began to latch onto any hosts in the area. This was until he was confronted by Green Lantern Hal Jordan and the Green Arrow. The two heroes battled Mongul II only for Black Mercy plants to attach themselves to them and trap them within a dream state. (Green Lantern v4 #7)
He came to reside on Debstam IV in Space Sector 2811 when the planet was visited by a wounded member of the Sinestro Corps. After finding the ring wielder, he killed him whereupon his Power Ring selected Mongul II as a new member of the Corps. (Green Lantern Corps v1 #19)
Whilst on Korugar, he was surprised and overjoyed at finding Sinestro had been teleported to the planet. This allowed Mongul to attack him where he sought slay the Sinestro Corps leader and lay claim to his followers. At first, he easily managed to overpower the Korugarian where he nearly succeeded in killing him. With such a victory, he intended to then take over the Yellow Lanterns and rename them the Mongul Corps whilst Korugar would become a new Warworld. However, Sinestro then activated an override in his yellow Power Rings causing them to drive spike constructs through his body. Badly injured, Sinestro then dropped the giant yellow Central Power Battery on Mongul thus defeating him and securing his position as the leader of the Sinestro Corps. (Green Lantern v4 #46)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different series of events. Mongul was a dynasty that began with the Warzoons who were a primitive humanoid race of savages that lived as hunters and scavengers that inhabited unnamed jungle world. Long ago, one of their number was a man named Guldejo (Translation: Cruel Wind) where he spied something crashing on his world and went to investigate. This saw him uncovering the ruins of the ancient Necropolis and a strange humanoid alien scientist in search for power hidden there. At first, he saw the alien as a god-like being but saw in the person's eyes nothing but disgust and concluded they were mortal. He would ambush the person and kill them where he took their armour for himself. Gaining power, the figure came to take the name Mongul for themselves and went about creating a dynasty that would turn the planet into Warworld. (Action Comics v1 #1043)
Mongul MDCCXCI lineage was one where the son killed the father and took their name. (Superman: Villains v1 #1) He claimed to come from a long line of martial warriors where he was the eldest child of his parents and had a younger brother in gestation. Mongul felt threatened by the existence of a sibling with this going at odds with his instinct as a conqueror. This led to him murdering his kin whilst in the gestation tank where afterwards his parents attempted to enforce their control over their son. He was said to had gone to counselling and numerous measures were made but these did not change Mongul who by adulthood then murdered his parents. Afterwards, he proceeded to wage war on his world leaving it devastated with Mongul journeying into space to create a new empire that was ruled through conquest where he eventually came to rule the Warworld. (Green Lantern v5 #23.2)
At some point, he had a son named Jochi who was taught in the warrior like culture of his father. (Superman/Batman Annual v1 #1)
After Mongul's defeat, the tyrant was trapped within the Phantom Zone within the Fortress of Solitude. In this time, his son took over Warworld where he sought to challenge the warriors that had defeated his father and invited them to the mobile planetoid. At this point, a disagreement in the Council of Lords let to a challenge for leadership in a succession tournament. Batman and Superman along with their respective allies had arrived where they participated in the tournament with Jochi inducted into the Batman Clan. They fought against contenders and one another as the judges of the tournament had aimed Warworld's weapons at Earth. This was until Batgirl and Steel disabled the weapon whereupon the heroes with Jochi battled the Council. Warworld was damaged and fell towards the Arctic where the Fortress automatically triggered the Phantom Zone Projector sending the entire planetoid into that dimension. Batman and Superman with their allies escaped but Jochi decided to stay on Warworld. The ruined planetoid was destroyed and its remains littered the Phantom Zone where Mongul found his son and killed him for his failure. (Superman/Batman Annual v1 #1)
The Eradicator later freed Mongul from the Black Mercy where he was taken to join Hank Henshaw's Superman Revenge Squad. (Action Comics v1 #979)
After his fight with Zod, he was kept under watch by the Braalians but managed to escape and built a war moon that he tried to use against Earth. This caught the attention of the Justice League but they were captured and forced to fight in a gladiatorial combat. For this, Mongul had kidnapped the Toyman Hiro Okamura and used him to construct mechanical gladiators for use against the heroes. However, he left clues for the Justice League that indicated that he had configured the mechs to combine and allow them to take over them where in their merged form they were able to defeat and capture Mongul. (Dark Nights: Metal v1 #1)
As per tradition, he came to father numerous sons among the Warzoon tribes where he would abandon the wives back on Warworld Prime's surface. (Action Comics 2022 Annual v1 #1) He came to be killed by his son who took the name of Mongul MDCCXCIII and the newest Sovereign Supreme of Warlord. (Superman: Villains v1 #1) Afterwards, he came to learn about the formation of the United Planets that he saw as a threat to his rule. Thus, Mongul decided to strike personally at this governments first meeting where Superman himself was in attendance. The initial strike allowed Mongul to knock out the Man of Steel and he turned his attention to the United Planets delegations that he began to murder with the idea of terrifying them from ever gathering together again. Despite Superman's aid, Mongul succeeded in killing many of the leaders of the worlds gathered for the meeting thus seemingly achieving his goal. (Superman v5 #20) Superman came to pursue Mongul with their fate taking place on Warworld that had come to Earth. Their fight was led to the Kryptonian destroying the mobile artificial planetoid and he managed to defeat the alien warlord. Superman then encased Mongul in a broken piece of Warworld and sent to the Warzoon homeworld where the builders of the mobile planetoid not tolerating weakness. (Superman v5 #22)
Warworld was then invaded by Superman and his team called the Authority as they attempted to liberate the planet from the tyrant. However, Mongul was prepared for their arrival and was also aware that the Kryponian's powers had weakened making him ill-prepared for the confrontation against Mongul's Champions. (Action Comics v1 #1036)
Overview
Personality and attributes
The original bearer of the name had chosen Mongul (Translation: Strongest) for themselves with this being taken by every successor. (Action Comics v1 #1043) Among the people of Warworld, he came to be known as He Who Holds All Chains where he was feared and respected by its inhabitants. (Action Comics v1 #1030)
He believed that to rule well that one had to do so with an iron fist. (World's Finest Comics v1 #28) It was said that Mongul craved control and longed for order. (Sinestro v1 #9)
It was said that he was a master strategist who was always several steps ahead of those he bested. Mongul believed that only he was worthy of veneration from his slaves. (Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps v1 #1) He had stated that he was a man of action and not the kind of person who simply spoke of his deeds. (Green Lantern v4 #46) It was also said that Mongul like a bit of sport in his battles. (Sinestro v1 #10)
He was noted to lie and promised to spare people only to kill them once they outlived their usefulness. (Green Lantern v3 #52)
Every few months, it was said that his mood would grow dark and he sequester himself away from others for weeks at a time without informing his children. (Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps v1 #1)
He claimed that he never liked members of the Khund race. (Green Lantern v3 #52) Sinstro had commented that he did not like Mongul but this was because the tyrant reminded the Korugarian of himself. It was this reason that the two were competitors with rivalling views on order. (Sinestro v1 #9)
Another one of his children that was shown as a male known as Jochi. (Superman/Batman Annual v1 #1) Whilst trapped within the Black Mercy, he came to have a 'daughter' born from the consciousness of the plants who took the name of White Mercy. She was born through a connection to the Green where she existed primarily within the dream world of plants and could not only channel dreams but also nightmares. (Trinity v2 #5)
One of his close subordinates was an elderly being called Chaytil who had served four Monguls in his life time. The man had lost an arm and both legs where he only had a staff that he used to walk around on by dragging himself across the floor. (Action Comics v1 #1030)
Powers and abilities
It was said that his yellow hide was almost impenetrable. (Sinestro v1 #9)
The armor worn by him was based on an ancient suit worn by an alien scientist. (Action Comics v1 #1043) On his chest was a device that could fire powerful energy blasts that could incinerate certain foes. (Superman v2 #32)
Mongul II became a member of the Sinestro Corps after killing one of its members leading to him acquiring their Power Ring for his ability to instil fear. (Green Lantern Corps v1 #19)
He made use of a number of weapons within his arsenal that included:
- Black Mercy : genetic manipulation over time was used to develop these blooms into powerful unique weapons where they came to form a bizarre symbiotic relationship with humanoid beings as it formed psychic links with a host. The first generation of plants trapped their hosts in a fantasy dream existence but Mongul found this too benign a fate and thus had a new breed created that left those enthralled in a state of dread. (Green Lantern v5 #23.2)
- Golden Fury : a plant whose blossoms could release spores and pollen increased the capacity for violence to those exposed to its effects. (Batman/Superman v1 #6)
In the centre of Warworld, he sat at a throne where he had psychic rapport with the computer core. Once achieved, both him and the mobile artificial planetoid became a single individual. This connection was able to expand his perceptions allowing him to see half the galaxy. However, it was its arsenal of weapons that made the vessel dangerous where it could launch warheads that were strong enough to disintegrate entire planetoids by the impact. With a mere thought, Mongul could unleash these missiles or even the floating macro-laser cannons that fired devastating beams. In addition, it possessed self-repair capabilities as part of its self-preservation programming. There was a danger in using the control helmet that served as a command console for Warlord as it created a massive energy drain on the mind. Thus, those that used it could suffer from a massive cerebral haemorrhage. (DC Comics Presents v1 #28)
Warworld fell under the control of Warworlders who ruled as Emperor alongside privileged representatives of each conquered world that comprised his empire. (Adventures of Superman v1 #455)
At his command was the Dread Horde that rampaged through space and conquered worlds on behalf of their master. (Superman: Villains v1 #1) On Warworld, a Council of Lords served under him who ruled by the survival of the strongest. (Superman/Batman Annual v1 #1) Warworld's hordes included the Chainsmen who served as slavemasters of every race and had spilled the blood of countless people in service to their master. Meanwhile, the people of Warworld often wore chains on their arms with the iron being a symbol of their culture and society as it marked their servitude to their master Mongul. (Action Comics v1 #1030)
Chief among his minions included Mongul's Champions that included:
- Teacher :
- Mother :
- Darling :
- Orphan :
- Unmade :
He once commanded a smaller planetoid called the war moon that he would deploy against his enemies. (Dark Nights: Metal v1 #1)
The original Warworld was once a primitive jungle world until the first Mongul had the Warzoons make it into a graveyard for civilisations and became covered in engine cities. It was the site of an ancient city located deep beneath the surface with this being known as the Necropolis. According to legend, one part of the first and greatest of the old gods named Olgrun was buried on the world. (Action Comics v1 #1043)
Notes
- Mongul was created by Len Wein and Jim Starlin where he made his first appearance in DC Comics Presents v1 #27 (November, 1980).
- In The Krypton Companion (2016), Wein commented on the characters creation, "Well, [Mongul] had Starlin visuals, but he was my creation" and it was noted specifically that he was designed as a villain to physically challenge Superman.
Alternate Versions
- In JLA: Destiny v1 #1 (2002), an alternate version of Mongul was shown to exist within the Elseworld setting. This version encountered a space travelling Lex Luthor who was journeying through space on a Kryptonian ship. After killing him, Mongul travelled to Earth where he established himself as the mysterious warlord Khouriga Edjem who ruled the nation of Kamburu.
- In Green Lantern: Blackstars v1 #1 (2019), an alternate reality was created by Controller Mu after using the Miracle Machine to alter history. This reality saw the Blackstars becoming the prominent peacekeeping force in the universe with the Green Lanterns never having been created. Mongul was among the mighty conquerors in space who was humbled by the Blackstars after he refused their recruitment initiative. This saw him being defeated and imprisoned after he refused to submit to Belzebeth.
- In Future State: Superman - Worlds at War v1 #1 (2021), an alternate version of Mongul was show to exist in the possible timeline of Future State. He was shown to had captured Superman who he forced to fight numerous gladiatorial matches on Warworld over the years.
In other media
Television
- In Justice League, Mongul appeared in the setting of the animated television series set in the DC Animated Universe where he was voiced by actor Eric Roberts.
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Mongul appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Gary Anthony Williams.
- In Young Justice: Invasion, Mongul appeared as a villain where he made his first appearance in the animated television series in the episode "War" where he was voiced by actor Keith David. He appeared at the trial of the six Justice League members on the planet Rimbor. Whilst there, a cloaked Vandal Savage told him that the Reach were on Earth and intended to use its Metahuman population to control the galaxy. This would prove to be a danger to Mongul's plans and he took Warworld to Earth in order to eliminate it. Captain Atom and the Reach learn of his intentions where they attempted to negotiate with him but he ignored them. Whilst the Justice League defended Earth from Warworld's attack, the Team infiltrated the warship to shut it down. Superboy, Arsenal and Wonder Girl confront Mongul who defeated the three with ease. Bumblebee managed to reroute Warworld's power core onto Mongul thus weakening him that allowed Superboy, Arsenal and Wonder Girl to knock him out.
- In Justice League Action, Mongul appeared in the setting of the animated television series in the episode "Galaxy Jest" where he was voiced by actor John DiMaggio.
Films
- In Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Mongul appeared in the animated direct-to-DVD film where he was voiced by actor Bruce Timm
Video games
- In Superman: The Man of Steel, Mongul appeared as a boss level antagonist in the setting of the 2002 video game.
- In Superman Returns, Mongul appeared as an antagonist in the video game where he was voiced by actor Todd Williams.
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame, Mongul appeared in the setting of the video game tie-in to the animated series where he was voiced once again by actor Gary Anthony Williams.
Appearances
- DC Comics Presents: (1980)
- Adventures of Superman v1:
- Superman v2:
- Showcase '95 v1: (1995)
- Green Lantern v3:
- The Flash v2:
- Underworld Unleashed v1:
- Infinite Crisis v1:
- Green Lantern v4:
- Green Lantern v5:
- Batman/Superman v1:
- Sinestro v1:
- Trinity v2:
- Action Comics v1:
- Dark Nights: Metal v1:
- Superman v5:
- Superman: Villains v1: (2020)
- Action Comics v1:
- Action Comics 2022 Annual v1:
External Links
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