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Shuma-Gorath (Earth-616)

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Real Name
Aliases
He Who Sleeps But Shall Soon Awake; Chtma-Gorath; Cthuma-Gurath


Alignment


Universe

Base Of Operations
his own dimension

Characteristics
Gender

Eyes

Hair

Skin

Status
Occupation
Lord of Chaos, Master of the Old Ones, 'ruler of hundreds of dimensions'

Origin
Origin

Place of Birth
Presumably his native dimension

Contents

History


Purported to rule over hundreds of dimensions, Shuma-Gorath came to the Earth-Realm over 1,000,000 years ago, along with the other Old Ones. There he ruled the ancient Earth and commanded human sacrifices. He and the other Old Ones were banished from the Earth-Realm by the time-travelling sorcerer Sise-Neg. This was all observed by another time-travelling sorcerer, Doctor Strange, who had hoped to defeat Shuma-Gorath in the past so that his master, the Ancient One, would not need to die in a future conflict with the demon.

Shuma-Gorath somehow managed to return during the Hyborean Age (which spans from about 14,000 to 10,000 BC) about 1,000 years before the sinking of Atlantis, and again set himself up as a god. The Old One fed himself on blood sacrifice and tribal war, but any priest or cultist who sought his favour was also killed. After an age of Shuma-Gorath's torturous rule, some sent out a cry to a new god, Crom. Crom sent a storm of the Northlands, and with it three iron-bound books and a key to unlock them. Armed with the books, a shaman went to confront Shuma-Gorath. He read aloud from the books atop a mountain, and just before he finished the third volume a vengeful Shuma-Gorath incinerated the mortal with a blast of energy. A flame-headed cloud rose from the ashes, however, sealing Crom's spell, and imprisoning Shuma-Gorath within the mountain. The mountain was later named Mount Crom in the avenging god's honor. The three books became known as the Iron-Bound Books of Shuma-Gorath.

Later in the Hyborean Age, the sorcerer Kulan Gath and the sorceress Vammatar fought with their two armies to a standstill. Negotiating, Vammatar revealed that she had the Iron-Bound Books of Shuma-Gorath, while Kulan Gath had the key to open them. Vammatar proposed an alliance sealed by marriage, which would allow them to work together to release Shuma-Gorath and command his power for their own. At the base of Mount Crom, Vammatar turned on Gath, and while they fought Crom sent down a bolt of lightning that created an avalanche. The books were buried, and the newlywed sorcerers were separated, each believing the other to be dead for many years to come.

A century later, Vammatar came into conflict with the young warrior Conan of Cimmeria. At one point, the sorceress set fire to the Village of the Snow Bear where Conan was raised in order to clear a path to Mount Crom. Conan received a dream of its destruction (possibly a vision from his deity, Crom) in which the name "Shuma-Gorath" was chanted repeatedly. With his travelling campanion Hobb, Conan headed north to confront the sorceress and her Witch-Men. Once he arived at Mount Crom, however, Shuma-Gorath took control of Hobb's mind and compelled him to read from the Iron-Bound Books, freeing him from his mountain prison. By this time Vammatar had been joined by Kulan Gath, and for a time the pair seemed to hold the demon with their spells. He was not under their control, however, and the pair were obliterated as Shuma-Gorath finished relating the tale of his imprisonment. Conan took up the books, and used their power to resist the demon's attacks. Shuma-Gorath offered Conan immense power if he would stop, but Conan refused. Instead, Conan threw the books from the mountaintop to the storm above, returning them to Crom. Crom's power then once again sealed Shuma-Gorath in one of his home dimensions.

In modern times, Doctor Strange and his mentor, the Ancient One came under a series of attacks by beings such as Nightmare, Sligguth, Ebora, N'Gabthoth, Dagoth, Kathulos, and the Living Buddha. At one point, Strange detected a peculiar energy trail, which he followed to a black hole that spoke with the voice of Shuma-Gorath, and taunted him with promises of the demon's return. Arriving at his master's side, Strange learned that Shuma-Gorath meant to return through the mind of the Ancient One. Strange fought a losing battle against the demon within the Ancient One's mind, one felt by mystics across the world. Unable to stop the demon, Strange was forced to kill his mentor.

At a later point, Strange was forced to destroy most of his talismans to prevent the alien sorcerer Urthona from using them. (It was later revealed that Agamotto intervened, sequestering them away from even Strange himself.) Doing so weakened dimensional barriers, enabling the Old Ones, Shuma-Gorath included, to once again establish a foothold in the Earth-Realm.

Doctor Strange and Kaluu battled his forces, with Strange being forced to embrace the use of black magic to do so. After merging with Arioch, Strange confronted Shuma-Gorath in its own dimension. There Shuma-Gorath told the mortal that Strange could not possibly defeat him, as the power needed would corrupt Strange until he became him. In Limbo, the battle appeared to Belasco and the visiting Fantastic Four as a vision of flame. Shuma-Gorath soon created a replica of the Earth, which he then used to ravage the real Earth by turning the sky into flame. Strange's attempts to protect the Earth-replica only created a mystical backlash that pained Earth's other sorcerers, and Shuma-Gorath taunted the Sorcerer Supreme that he could not hope to win as both a Protector and a Destroyer.

Strange chose to become a Destroyer, using the replica as a weapon and ultimately merging with Shuma-Gorath as the demon had earlier predicted. Now partially under Strange's control, Shuma-Gorath impaled himself on one of his own tentacles. The demon was destroyed, though Strange's own ego was also destroyed in the process. Guided by Kaluu, Strange's spirit travelled through many dimensions, burning off the taint of Shuma-Gorath and mending Strange's ego on the return to the Earth-Realm. In the process, Shuma-Gorath also slowly re-formed, though still prevented from reaching Earth.

Later, Shuma-Gorath was invoked by Nicholas Scratch, who tricked the Fantastic Four into reading a spell which allowed the demon to come to Earth. Scratch offered the Fantastic Four and Salem's Seven as a sacrifice, but Shuma-Gorath was interrupted by Doctor Strange. Strange teleported Shuma-Gorath to Stonehenge, where he banished the demon to a place "beyond space and time".


Powers and Abilities

Powers

Shuma-Gorath is a powerful and ancient demon that possesses vast supernatural powers. In his native dimension he is virtually omnipotent. Given his past reformations, it is unknown if he can ever truly be killed.

Among his many (mostly-uncatalogued) mystical powers are the ability to communicate with and control others across dimensional barriers, to create and direct powerful blasts of mystical energy, and to affect transmutations on a planetary scale.

His skin is rubbery and armored, making him difficult to damage except by the most powerful magics. Though he often appears as a scaley being with six to eight tentacles and a great, central eye, during the Hyborean Age he was also seen to have numerous pincers, claws, and insectoid limbs, in addition to a large, fanged maw. Similarly, he has been depicted as either greenish or purple in color. Presumably, he can alter his form to his will. His size seems to be related to his power, as he is truly gigantic in his home dimension.

Shuma-Gorath's name is often invoked across many dimensions by beings seeking dark power.

Abilities

None known.

Strength level

Superhuman with an unknown upper limit.

Weaknesses

None known.


Paraphernalia

Equipment: None known.
Transportation: None known.
Weapons: None known.


Notes

  • Name created by Robert E. Howard; Character created/adapted by Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner


Trivia

  • Shuma-Gorath appeared in Capcom's Marvel Super Heroes, and as a playable fighter in Marvel vs. Capcom.
  • A sorcerer from an alien dimension named Shagreen, once invoked the power of an entity known as Cthuma-Gurath. This may have been another name used by Shuma-Gorath. Whether Shuma-Gorath maintained worshippers on Shagreen's world has yet to be revealed.
  • Shuma-Gorath, along with his followers, bear a striking resemblance to the Old Ones described in H.P. Lovecraft's works of weird fiction, notably Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth.

Appearances in Other Media

Purple Shuma Gorath
Purple Shuma Gorath

Shuma-Gorath appears as a playable character in video-game Marvel Super Heroes (1995 video game), apparently trying to get the Infinity Gems. He also appeared in video-game Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, where Shuma-Gorath's goal is unclear. He was voiced in both of his appearances by actor Frank Perry.

Shuma-Gorath was colored purple for his primary color palette in the first of these video games, and also in the endings. Notably, Shuma-Gorath was purple in Marvel Premiere #10 (September 1973) and Marvel Premiere #14 (March 1974). However, in the other video game this was changed, although he appears purple in his cameos for the endings of Storm and Dhalsim.



See Also


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Links and References


Retrieved from "http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Shuma-Gorath_%28Earth-616%29"
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