GHASZASZH NYIRH
 
 

Real Name:Ghaszash Nyirh

Identity/Class:Demon

Occupation: Agent of Shuma-Gorath, corruptor of men

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Agent of Shuma-Gorath, Old Ones (Erlik Khan, Water Elemental, Arioch, others unnamed), ally of Nightmare

Enemies: Dr. Strange, Kaluu

Known Relatives: None; (Unless the "Old Ones" are all related)

Aliases: Ghaszaszh Nyrih; Kaluu, Dr. Strange, Clea [took the forms of]

Base of Operations: Extra-dimensional realm of banishment; formerly Earth, specifically the African continent

First Appearance: Strange Tales II#9/2 (December, 1987)

Powers: Ghaszaszh Nyirh is apparently an extra-dimensional demon, who has various, apparently vast, mystical powers.  He can change forms, create illusions, shape/distort the forms of humans who worship him, give those same humans some form of food, and shoot powerful energy blasts from his eyes.

History: The origin of Ghaszaszh Nyirh are unknown.

BTS - Prior to the rise of man, the Old Ones ruled the earth.  Included in this group were the demons Shuma-Gorath, Erlik Khan, and Ghaszaszh Nyirh.  At some point in the distant past, they were sealed off from the Earth dimension by Earth's sorcerors, some of which utilized black magic to contain the demons.

(Dr. Strange II#81 - BTS) - To save his friends from the alien sorceror Urthona, Dr. Strange is forced to destroy virtually all of his talismans and scrolls.  (In reality the Vishanti deity Agamatto took them for safe-keeping.)  This act collapsed the barriers which kept the Old Ones imprisoned in their dimensions, allowing them free reign on Earth.

(Strange Tales II#3/2 - BTS) - Ghaszaszh Nyirh is one of the points of evil depicted on Dr. Strange's globe.

(Strange Tales II#8/2 - BTS) - From the city of Kamar-Tai, Dr. Strange views the building of Ghaszaszh Nyirh's temple in Africa and the sacrifices committed to him.

(Strange Tales II#9/2 - BTS) - Ghaszaszh Nyirh sets himself up as a god in a famine-stricken section of Afrcia.  In return for their worship, which includes human sacrifice and the giving up of their souls, Nyirh gives the starving populace food and warps their bodies.

(Strange Tales II#9/2) - Dr. Strange, in a corrupted state resulting from his utilization of black magic, and his new mentor, Kaluu, arive in Africa to combat Ghaszaszh Nyirh.  There they behold the locals waiting to be admitted into Nyirh's temple.  Strange wants to sneak in with a disguise, but Kaluu prevents this.  They ultimately plant Strange's essence in a child whose mother has sold herself to Nyirh.   Inside the temple, which appears to have living walls, they find many deformed supplicants.  When they arrive in front of the demon himself, Strange and Kaluu detonate a spell, apparently destroying the temple and its defenses.  From the explosion Nyirh's voice challenges them.

(Strange Tales II#10/2) - Strange and Kaluu enter the temple, which is merely damaged, not destroyed.  Inside it is empty and maze-like and only through Kaluu'd wisdom do they make it to its master, Ghaszaszh Nyirh.  When confronting the mages he takes Kaluu's form and then Strange's, to attempt to drive a wedge between the sorcerors.  When this tactic fails, he takes Clea's form, but is trapped in this form by Strange.  He then assaults Kaluu, appearing to tear out his heart and when Dr. Strange goes to help, blasts out Strange's left eye with a green energy blast.  Strange flees and is able to seal off the temple with Kaluu, who was crafting an illusion, advising him.  Nyirh is sealed off and his temple destroyed.

(Invaders Now!#4 - BTS) - Ghaszasth Nyirth was invoked by a survivor from Nazi experiments during World War II, who wielded the Spear of Destiny, in a ritual to summon Shuma-Gorath to Earth in Vliet, Netherland.

Comments:
Created by Peter B. Gillis and Terry Shoemaker

Ghaszaszh Nyirh is responsible for Dr. Strange joining the left-eye-eyepatch-wearers-club, (members include Nick Fury and Wolverine in his Patch persona) for a time.  Dr. Strange kept the eyepatch until Dr. Strange: Sorceror Supreme#7, where Agamatto gave him Silver Dagger's left eye. (Eww!)
The eyepatch was apparently an attempt to A.) Make Dr. Strange "pay" for using black magic and B.) make him appear more "mysterious."

Also, Ghaszaszh Nyirh's "true" form may not have been definitely seen.  I take it the spider/insect being depicted in STII#9 is his true form as the temple he is in resembles it, but during his fight with Strange and Kaluu, Nyirh only appears as one of them or Clea so perhaps his true form is never seen.

Additionally, while Nyirh claims that "Nightmare- Erlik Khan- Ghaszaszh Nyirh-- we are one," I assume he is meaning figuratively, in that they all desire the spreading of chaos throughout earth, and that they are not literally the same entity ala Kang/Immortus/Rama Tut.

Although it's not that popular, I really like the second series of Strange Tales.  It has some Dr. Strange stories which are unlike any other out there and combined with Dr. Strange II#76-81 and Dr. Strange:Sorceror Supreme#1-4 comprise writer Peter B. Gillis' underated run on the character.

by The Squid

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Old Ones should not be confused with:

• The Old Ones of Atlantis, the people of Suma-Ket, @ Namor#34, 35
• The Elder Gods, including Set, Gaea, and Chthon @ Conan the Barbarian I#7
• The Ancient, members of "the first race of vampires", @ Blade: Vampire Hunter II#1
• The Ancients, a group of Lemurian telepaths who stole and hid the Serpent Crown, @ Sub-Mariner I#10, Daredevil Annual#4B/5
• The Ancients, an extra-terrestrial race who created some hybrid earth-extraterrestrial corn, @ Incredible Hulk III#21
• The Ancient One, Dr. Strange's mentor, Strange Tales I#111/2
• Old Man Cole, from Cable II#96

A frequent source of confusion/contention, even amongst the writers for the Appendix:
 

•  The Elder Gods of the Marvel Universe refers specifically to those being present during the formation of Earth (and are thus billions of years old), who apparently originated from Earth as well. These include Chthon, Gaea, and Set, among a few others. Most of these being degenerated into demons, and are considered Class One demons. The vast majority of these Elder Gods/Demons were slain by Demogorge, the offspring of Gaea and the Demogorge, a powerful god-like force, which sought to cleanse the Earth to allow humanity to develop. Gaea alone was allowed to remain on Earth, while a few, such as Chthon and Set, managed to escape extra-dimensionally.
•  The Elder Gods of the Hyborian Era: The Hyborian Era stories make numerous references to the Elder Gods--not referring to the ones described above. Perhaps it is more appropriate not to capitalize "elder", as these may be gods considered ancient during Hyborian Era (roughly 12, 000 to 8, 000 BC, and possibly as far as from 16, 000 to 5, 000 BC). While these stories are mostly derived from material created by Robert E. Howard, Howard's idea of the history of the Earth is not necessarily the same as the Marvel Universe. These are NOT the same as the true Elder Gods, who had been banished from Earth (except Gaea) long before the Hyborian Era. These Gods are not clearly defined, but have been hypothesized to be Crom, Mitra, Asura, and a few others of the gods of various pantheons, most of whom are descended in some part from Gaea. The Gods should be referred to as the "Elder Gods of the Hyborian Era" or the "Primal Gods" to provide distinction from the true Elder Gods.
•  The Old Ones: Lovecraft's stories have a separate group of elder Gods, who represent pre-human demons that ruled the Earth in the distant past. Shuma-Gorath, Chthulu, Ghaszaszh Nyirh,etc. are in this class. Lovecraft's work has served as a basis for many storylines and characters in the work of REH and in the Marvel Universe as well. The term "Elder Gods" is often used to describe them in the Hyborian Era stories, and even in modern era stories. However, again, these are NOT the same classification of characters as the true Elder Gods. Lovecraft's history is NOT the same as the Marvel Universe's. In the MU, these beings are considered Class III demons, and are thought to have extra-dimensional origin. They may well be older than Earth, making them older than the true Elder Gods. However, some specific nomenclature is necessary to avoid confusion.

• The N'Garai: This is a race of demons who ruled the Earth in eons past. As confirmed in Marvel Comics Presents#145+146, they are the spawn of Chthon. Whether this is in the literal sense, their being his actual children, or figurative, created by him magically, hasn't been clarified. However, the fact that they are connected to one does not qualify them as true Elder Gods. They were likely spawned by Chthon AFTER he fled from Earth (or perhaps they were dormant until after Demogorge left and then hatched later. They may be contemporaries from the Old Ones, but they are believed to be a separate entity. Several writers have referred to the N'Garai when using the term Elder Gods--most notably Chris Claremont, who did this consistently throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
  In addition, the Lovecraftian Old Ones should be distinguished from:
  The Old Ones of Atlantis, the people of Suma-Ket, also known as the Unforgiven Dead, @ Namor#34, 35

• Also, since we've discussed Class One and Class Three Demons:
  Class Two Demons are those who appear to have originated from/on Earth, but come from a period much later. These include the Hell-Lords, such beings who rule realms of Hell, and some of whom play at the role of "Satan." The classic examples of these are Mephisto, Satannish, Thog, etc. In addition, the demon servants of these beings are also considered Class Two demons.

• The classification system, introduced in the OHotMU, says nothing about power, but refers instead to time and place of origin.

Appearances:
Strange Tales II#9 (December, 1987) - Peter Gillis (writer), Terry Shoemaker (pencils), Randy Emberlin (inks), Carl Potts (editor)
Strange Tales II#10 (January, 1988) - Peter Gillis (writer), Richard Case (pencils), Randy Emberlin (inks), Carl Potts (editor)
Invaders Now!#4 (February, 2011) - Alex Ross (story), Christos Gage (story & writer), Caio Reis (artist), Bill Rosemann (editor)

Last updated: 10/29/16

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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