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ALIBAR

Real Name: Alibar

Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Asgard) magic user

Occupation: Prince of Zanadu

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Balder, Fandral, Hermod, Hogun, Sif, Thor Odinson, Volstagg

Enemies: >Abu Dakir, Demon-Riders, Jinni Devil, Mogul and his warriors, Mutaurus, Ogur the One-Eyed, Shezada, Sulibeg

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Alibar the Thief, Alibar the Vagabond, Prince Alibar

Base of Operations: Zanadu (the Mystic Mountain), within the Forbidden Land, the border of the lands of Gunderheim, Hindi, and Skornheim, on the periphery of the landmass of Asgard

First Appearance: Thor I#141/2 (June, 1967)

Powers/Abilities: Alibar is a skilled swordsman, horseman, and thief. He has some knowledge of magic, and has access to a variety of magical artifacts from Mogul's stores.

Height: 6'3" (by approximation)
Weight: 670 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

History:
(Thor I#474 (fb) - BTS) - At some point the past, Alibar stole a magical Lamp from "that ne'er-do-well Alaeddin."

(Thor I#141/2 (fb) - BTS) - Alibar invaded Mogul's kitchen to steal food for the poor, but he was captured.

(Thor I#141/2) - Alibar was brought before Mogul, who ordered his death, then decided instead to have Alibar carry the battle standard of Hogun's people and lead his Demon-Riders against Thor and the Warriors Three. Mogul transformed Alibar's clothes into a warrior's raiment and gave him a sword and white steed on which to lead the charge. Alibar quickly realized that Mogul was only using him so that he would be slain rather than Mogul. As soon as his charge began, it became clear to Alibar that he was merely riding in front of the rampaging Demon-Riders, who paid him no heed.

(Thor I#142/2) - Alibar and the Demon-Riders approached Thor, Fandral, and Hogun.

(Thor I#143/2 - BTS) - The Demon-Riders attacked the heroes.

(Thor I#144/2) - His armor and steed having vanished, Alibar joined forces with Thor and his allies against the Demon-Riders. Though they succeeded in driving off the first wave, a new group of forty Demon-Riders soon charged them. Volstagg then arrived and used the Enchanted Rod of Wondrous Wizard Power to banish the Demon-Riders back from whence they had come. The Rod also summoned Alibar, Thor, Fandral, and Hogun into Zanadu.

(Thor I#145/2) - Alibar handed the battle standard to Hogun, and he and his four Asgardian allies stormed Mogul's throne room, to find it uninhabited. Alibar conjured Mogul's image in the tyrant's own Enchanted Crystal, then Hogun instructed Alibar to mouth a spell which seemingly destroyed Mogul -- but in actuality, Mogul was trapped within the Enchanted Rod. Afterward, Alibar became the new prince of Zanadu, freeing Hogun's countrymen and vowing peace.

(Thor I#474 (fb)) - After ruling for some time, Alibar was seduced by Mogul's sister Shezada, who persuaded him to send away the guards watching over the Enchanted Rod. As Alibar slept, Shezada used a spell to free Mogul, who summoned Mutaurus to capture Alibar and send him to the dungeons; Alibar was soon joined by Hogun and Hermod.

(Thor I#474 (fb)) - Alibar was freed by Sif and her allies, and he located the Lamp of Alaeddin, with which he cast a spell that drew both Thor and Mogul into its interior. Thor was freed from the Lamp, then he and Alibar placed a more permanent seal on it. Alibar regained his rule and returned the Mystic Mountain, which Mogul had transported to the edge of the city of Asgard, back to its place within the Forbidden Land.

Comments: Created by Stan "The Man" Lee, Jack "King" Kirby, and Vince Colletta.

I don't know how long ago the original encounter with Mogul was. It was one of the "Tales of Asgard," and could well have been centuries before the modern era. The Marvel Chronology Project puts is before Thor's 19th Century adventures anyway. Mogul claimed that his flying craft gave rise to legends of the Flying Carpet, but obviously flying carpets do exist in the Marvel Universe (e.g. Arabian Knight). However, perhaps his "Flying Carpet" existed before any others, giving an indication of how old the story might be...not that I know when that was, though!

The characters from the Mogul storyline were patterned to some degree after the folk tales of One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, with Alibar having some similarities to Ali Baba.

Alibar supposedly died during the Ragnarok in Thor II#85.

The back-up strips from Journey into Mystery I#97-125 & Thor I#126-145 have beautifully been restored and reprinted in the 2009 Thor: Tales of Asgard.

Additional sub-profile images by Ron Fredricks.

Profile by Snood

CLARIFICATIONS:
Alibar has no known connections to:

Lamp of Alaeddin

Stolen from Alaeddin by Alibar in the past, it was an item of sufficient magical power to contain Mogul.

During the final battle between Thor and Mogul, Alibar recited a magical incantation that shrank the two and pulled them into the Lamp's interior; but Thor--who was totally alien to the magic of the Lamp--was expelled from it, while Mogul was trapped within. Afterward, Thor combined the force of his hammer with the spell of Alibar, such that the Lamp would be sealed forever.

Inside his prison, Mogul's rantings of revenge went unheard by his enemies.

--Thor I#474 ([474(fb)], 474

images: (without ads)
Tales of Asgard, p24, pan2 (Main Image - Alibar in Mogul-conjured armor)
Tales of Asgard, p24, pan1 (Headshot - Alibar, without armor)
Thor I#474, p20, pan4 (Prince Alibar, holding Lamp)
Thor I#474, p18, pan3 (Lamp of Alaeddin)
Thor I#474, p22, pan1 (Mogul being shrunk and pulled into Lamp of Alaeddin)
Thor I#474, p22, pan4 (Thor uses hammer, while Alibar (background) recites incantation, to permanently seal Lamp)

Appearances:
Thor I#142/2 (July, 1967) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Artie Simek (letters)
Thor I#143/2 (August, 1967) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (pencils), Bill Everett (inks), Artie Simek (letters)
Thor I#144/2 (September, 1967) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Sam Rosen (letters)
Thor I#145/2 (October, 1967) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Artie Simek (letters)
Thor I#474 (May, 1994) - Roy Thomas (writer), Sandu Florea (pencils), Bob Petrecca (inks), Ovi Hondru (colors), John Workman (letters), Mike Rockwitz (editor)

First Posted: 04/04/2004
Last updated: 06/05/2022

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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