N'Garai
The N'Garai are a demonic species that feature in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
History
N'Garai were a race of Demons who inhabited the universe. They were said to be the murderous spawn of Chthon. (Marvel Comics Presents v1 #145) They were not native to Hell but rather another dimension and had ties to the Elder Gods. (Invaders Now! v1 #1) It was noted that they had an age old rivalry wit the Undying Ones that were a rival demonic race. (Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme v1 #41) Long ago, as the N'Garai expanded they came upon the Ru'Tai and enslaved them where they were forced to build their masters growing empire. (X-Men v2 #75) During those ancient days, they were said to had been rulers of the planet Earth. (Marvel Preview v1 #7) Mankind came to be slaves to the N'Garai elder gods who took the world by fire and storm where they used the native people as playthings. According to one account, their rule came to an end when they were driven away by the one true God. (Deadly Hands of Kung Fu v1 #22)
At some point, Apocalypse killed an entire tribe of N'Garai singlehandedly where he tore them to pieces. (X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula v1 #4) Knowledge of these demons were present within human ancient books of sorcery with one such tome residing in the deepest vaults of the Vatican library. (X-Men: Black Sun v1 #4) A number of humans came to worship the demons and established a cult called the Camarilla of the N'Garai. (Marvel Preview v1 #7)
Chthon's murderous spawn the N'Garai arrived in order to ensure the birth of their creator from Victoria Montesi by taking her away. (Marvel Comics Presents v1 #145)
After the death of his teammate John Proudstar, a grief-stricken and angry Cyclops was wandering the X-Mansion grounds when in a fit of rage, he shot an optic blast into some trees. Unbeknownst to him, the blast destroyed a cairn in the Westchester County where the ornate column possessing ancient designs on its surface was a portal to the N'Garai dimension. From the cairn emerged the then N'Garai leader Kierrok, who easily bested the X-Men's leader, throwing him through a window. Entering the mansion, Kierrok revealed his identity and also claimed to have come for the X-Men's souls. The X-Men fought him but he seemed to be immune to all their powers. Worse, his very presence drained their energy. It was only when Wolverine flew into full berserker mode that Kierrok was defeated. Nevertheless, Kierrok simply regenerated stronger than ever. Using a mental probe, the Professor determined that they must seal the cairn to cut off Kierrok's power and sent Storm off to destroy it. Though she met resistance when she attacked by smaller demons emerging from the cairn, Storm managed to lash out with a bolt of lightning, destroying the portal. Back at the mansion, though had Kierrok disappeared with the cairn’s destruction, the Professor worried that they had not seen the last of these demons. (X-Men v1 #96) A few months later, on Christmas Eve, another N'Garai emerged from the ruins of the cairn, presumably having survived the X-Men's earlier fight with Kierrok. It attacked and killed a human couple that was nearby and then headed towards the mansion, where Kitty Pryde was alone. After a chase that destroyed a big portion of the mansion, during which she found that her phasing power didn't protect her, Kitty lured the demon into the Danger Room. Even the Danger Room's defenses proved to be no match for the demon however. Kitty finally managed to kill the demon by burning it to a cinder with the afterburners of the Blackbird. It was the first incident that demonstrated the N'Garai's weakness against fire. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #143]
As the N'Garai sought to invade Earth, their slave caste the Ru'Tai rebelled against their masters after being inspired by the actions of Wolverine who they revered as the Mai'keth and thus claimed back their dimension. This saw Keirrok being deposed and killed where his knowledge was taken by the Ru'Tai that began to scout Earth and brutally study humans for recycling the universal energy within them. (X-Men v2 #75) Despite the Ru'tai rebellion, the N'Garai managed to re-establish themselves and sought to conquer Earth once more. (X-Men: Black Sun v1 #1) This saw them ally with the demonic sorcerer Belasco in order to gather five bloodstones to allow them to control Limbo. From there, they intended to conquer the entire omnivese. Both Belasco and the N'Garai shared a mutual enemy in the X-Men where they decided to target the X-Mansion to gather the bloodstones from there. This saw them possess a number of the X-Men but they faced opposition from the Mutants along with Pilgrimm and the Ru'tai. The Ru'tai sought to stop the resurgence of the N'Garai and attempted to stop the mystical ritual but were not allied with the X-Men. (X-Men: Black Sun v1 #3) During the event, thirteen cairns appeared at various sites of mystical power around the Earth. (X-Men: Black Sun v1 #4)
A number of these demons manifested in Avebury, Wiltshire in England where they were killed by Spitfire and Union Jack. (Invaders Now! v1 #1)
The N'Garai led by one of the Mabdhara emerged back on Earth at the Xavier School in order to shed the blood of an innocent child to allow them a foothold into the mortal world leading to a battle with the X-Men. (X-Men Legacy v1 #260.1)
In Abergylid, Wales, a group of N'Garai emerged from a cairn in secret where they accompanied Kierrok the Damned as they sought out innocents to sacrifice to their master. Their activities were unknown as they were invisible but Pixie was able to see them due to the darkness that stained her soul due to Magick. (Free Comic Book Day 2008 X-Men)
Overview
These demons were deadly with their blood, fangs and claws being poisonous. A N'Garai were extremely durable single-minded killing machines. (X-Men Legacy v1 #260.1) N'Garai were said to be nearly impossible to stop to mortal humans. (Marvel Comics Presents v1 #145) They considered themselves children of the Elder Gods. (X-Men v1 #96) Whilst holding foul alien minds, the demons were still vulnerable to telepathy allowing telepaths to affect them. (X-Men: Black Sun v1 #5) When killed, their bodies dissolved leaving no remains behind but it left a reeking smell behind. (Invaders Now! v1 #1)
It was said that they were pure animals driven by instinct and rage with only savagery matching their own capable of defeating them. (X-Men v2 #75)
The top of their hierarchy consisted of the masters of their kind who were known as the Mabdhara.
The vast majority of N'Garai tended to be from their warrior caste who were not terribly intelligent but became much more organized when receiving orders from their Mabdhara generals. (X-Men Legacy v1 #260.1)
At one point, they held a slave caste known as the Ru'Tai that were used to build much of their empire. Claws of the Ru'Tai were sorcerous and could retard a person's healing factor. Unlike the N'Garai, they claimed to have vision and understood about the universal energy of balance. Their kind had a collective intelligence though some won the right of individuality and sense of self where they could adopt a name. One type of Ru'Tai were the Mongrels that were a warrior sect which walked on all fours. (X-Men v2 #75)
Similarly, humans were considered animals that were to be bought where they were pampered as pets, worked to death, hunted for sport or eaten by the N'Garai. (Deadly Hands of Kung Fu v1 #22)
On Earth, they had mortal followers in the Camarilla of the N'Garai that had some of the most powerful demon sorcerers on the planet. (Marvel Preview v1 #7)
The N'Garai could create demonspawns of light and smoke that were summoned to protect their cairns from harm. (X-Men v1 #96)
On Earth, a cult of humans came to worship the N'Garai and sacrificed innocents to them whilst seeking their demonic masters return. This cabal were called the Camarilla of the N'Garai and consisted of cultists that were knowledgable in magic. (Marvel Preview v1 #7)
In their tongue, the name they gave to Wolverine was Mai'keth. (X-Men v2 #75)
A creation of the N'Garai were Sa'arpools which were magical dimensional gateways. (Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme v1 #41)
Members
- Kierrok :
- B'Terak : (Free Comic Book Day 2008 X-Men)
- M’Drul : (Free Comic Book Day 2008 X-Men)
Notes
- The N'Garai were created by Bill Mantlo, Chris Claremont, and Dave Cockrum where they made their first appearance in X-Men v1 #96 (December, 1975).
- The Marvel Tarot v1 #1 (2007) that the dimension of the N’Garai was located in the Flickering Realms that was considered the dark heart of Chthon. There was said to be no map of this realm due to its constantly shifting landscape leading to danger everywhere.
Alternate Versions
- In Adventures of the X-Men v1 #4 (1996), the N'Garai was shown to exist in an alternate reality that was designated as Earth-TRN566. The demons served waited for the prophecised time when they would be let loose on Earth and scour it of humanity and feast on the remains. Centuries ago, the family of Erich Zann were said to had made a pact with the N'Garai to tend to the great Cthulhu's true offspring the Dweller in the Darkness during its gestation until the day when the end of the world was set to occur. By the modern age, Kierrok recited the passage that would allow the demons to arrive and conquer the world with only the Book of R'yleh containing the spells needed to banishing them back to their dimension. The X-Men came to battle the demons with Cyclops unwittingly coming on the town where the ceremony was held where he came to convince Zann to lend his aid and the man decided to recite the counterspell knowing that it would banish him to oblivion along with the N'Garai which he did after seeing the courage of Scott Summers.
In other media
Video games
- In Marvel Heroes, the N'Garai featured as one of numerous antagonists within the MMORPG.
Appearances
- X-Men v1: (1975)
- Uncanny X-Men v1:
- Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme v1:
- X-Men: Black Sun v1:
- X-Men Legacy v1:
External Links
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