COUNCIL of GODHEADS
Membership: Ahura Mazda, Altjira, Amaterasu,
Ammon Ra, Anansi, Anu,
Atar, Athena, Ba'al, Baiame, Balder, Brahma, Buddha, Buluku (also as Ndriananahary & Nyame),
Cronus, Dagda, Dagon/Enlil, Hera, Hercules, Hodiak, Horus, Hunab-Ku, Hwanin, Inti,
Itzamna, Izanagi, Manitou, Marduk, Mitra, Nuadhu, Odin, Osiris, Ouranos,
Quetzacoatl, Seth, Shiva, Shou-Hsing, Svarog, Tame, Tezcatlipoca, Thor, Ukko,
Ulgen, Valka, Viracocha, Vishnu, Yahweh, Yu Huang, Zeus;
See image legend
Godheads by Pantheon
Purpose: To unite the power of the various pantheons of gods for major threats or concerns
Affiliations: People of Earth (primarily the descendants
of their worshippers);
Okonorote, Tomazooma (non-member guests)
Enemies: Celestials, Chaos King (Amatsu-Mikaboshi), Kly'bn, Sl'gur't, Thanos
Base of Operations: The Celestial Axis
Aliases: Council Elite
First Appearance: Thor I#300 (October, 1980)
History:
(Thor I#300 (fb)) - Around 1000
AD, the Celestials’ Third Host came to Earth, and Odin assembled the
heads of the godly pantheons to discuss this threat. A few other gods,
such as the Anasazi’s Tomazooma and the Kamekeri’s
Okonorote,
also attended alongside their leaders. Zeus, Odin and Vishnu were
chosen as representatives to confront the Celestials, who threatened to
sever the dimensional passages of all of the gods’ realms to Earth
unless they promised not to interfere with the Celestials’ plans to
judge humanity’s worthiness. The three gods bowed to the Celestials’
superior power, but Odin began planning to deal with the Fourth Host of
the Celestials by creating the nigh-indestructible Destroyer automaton
and the Odinsword.
(Thor I#301 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking a more peaceful solution, Gaea allied herself with the pantheons’ goddesses and had them gather humanity’s best examples over the next 1000 years.
(Thor I#300 - BTS) - When the Celestials returned in recent years, Odin imbued the Destroyer with the spirits of himself and the rest of the Asgardians, rendering it 2000 feet tall. However, the Celestials combined their own power and melted the Destroyer into slag.
Gaea presented the Celestials with the 12 representatives she had gathered, and the Celestials ruled in humanity’s favor, taking these 12 under their tutelage as the Young Gods.
(Thor I#301 (fb) - BTS) - Thor visited each of the Godheads, convincing them each to donate a portion of life force, and the Asgardians were resurrected.
(Thor Annual I#10 - BTS) - When several of the gods of the dead lost their worshippers, they decided to merge their realms in order to acquire new souls into their realms. Their ritual actually opened a portal back to Atum and he returned to Earth as Demogorge. Sensing the evil energies generated by the seven gods of the dead, he commenced with absorbing them
(Thor Annual#10) - Odin petitioned the Godheads to each send a delegate to oppose Demogorge. Definitely - Odin, and (from left to right) Zeus (Olympian), Vishnu (Daevas), Buluku (Vodu), Osiris (Heliopolitan), Tezcatlipoca (Teteoh), Izanagi (Amatsu-Kami), Manitou (Manidoog), and Ukko (Jumala).
(Thor Annual#10 - BTS) - The Godhead sent representatives -- Apollo, Horus, Indra, Quetzacoatl, Shango, Tawa -- to join Thor in opposing the Demogorge. Ultimately, Thor's vigorous opposition to being consumed by Demogorge caused the god-eater to realize that perhaps it was not time to end this generation of gods, and he restored those he had consumed.
(Marvel Universe: The End#2) - A group of Godheads met
to discuss the actions of Akhenaten against humanity: Atar (Vedic/Persian),
Horus (Egyptian), Hunab Ku (Mayan), Izanagi (Japanese),
Ndriananahary (African, an alias of Buluku), Shou-Hsing (Chinese), Thor
(Asgardian), Vishnu (Hindu), Zeus (Olympian). They also discussed
summoning Those of the Forgotten Realm. Horus, who was most familiar
with Akhenaten used the Eye of Ra to spy on the powerful being, but Akhenaten
detected them and attacked, destroying all present, except Thor and Zeus,
who managed to flee. (Marvel Universe: The End#4 (BTS)) - Thanos gained the
virtually unlimited power of the Heart of the Infinite and altered time
so that Akhenaten never gained his power, effectively undoing his actions
and restoring those he had destroyed. However, to those who could understand
or even remember what had happened, these actions were seen as the replacement
of one threat with another, perhaps even worse. (Marvel Universe: The End#5-6) - The Godheads joined together
with a multitude of heroes and villains from Earth and the rest of the
universe to oppose Thanos, who had gained supreme power from the Heart
of the Infinite. Thanos easily wiped out every single being in the universe,
but later was convinced by Adam Warlock to sacrifice himself to restore
the universe to its previous state. (Thor II#61)- Thor was called before the Council Elite
to be tested for worthiness to join them, as a replacement for Odin. Thor
passed the tests of awareness and insight, but failed when he supplied
food to a starving population, rather than teaching them to grow their
own food. In addition, the Council decided that Thor had violated the oath
of non-interference on Earth. Those present were Osiris (Egyptian),
Yu-Hang (Chinese), Zeus (Olympian), and the Hindu Trinity
(Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu). (Thor II#65)- The Council Elite met once again (the same
group) and discussed Thor's continued problems, including his most recent
effort to resurrect a young girl. They discussed whether steps needed to
be taken against Thor, but decided that mankind current plans were sufficient
for the moment. .
(Infinity Gauntlet#2)- The Godheads met in Asgard to
discuss the disappearance of half of the beings in the universe. Those present
were Itzamna (Mayan), Manitou (Native
American), Nuada/Nuadhu (Celtic), Odin
(Asgardian; see comments), Osiris (Egyptian), Svarog
(Russian), Tezcatlipoca (Mexican), and Zeus
(Olympian).
|
(Incredible Hercules#116-117) - The Council of Godheads gathered by Athena to prepare a force with which to combat the Skrullian gods. Gods attending: Altjira (Aboriginal), Anansi (Vodu), Ammon Ra (Ennead; later also present as Demogorge), Anu (Annunaki), Buddha, Hodiak (Inua), Horus (Ennead), Hunab Ku (Ahau), Inti (Inca), Itzamna (Ahau), Izanagi (Amatsu-Kami; present in two forms), Manitou (Manidoog), Ndriananahary (Vodu), Osiris (Egyptian), Shou-Hsing (Chinese), Tame (Akua), Tezcatlipoca, Ukko (Jumala), Ulgen (Tenger), Viracocha (Apu), Vishnu (Devas), and Yu Huang (Chinese). Also present were Okonorote & Tomazooma. (Secret Warriors#10 (fb)) - The Council met to formally usher in Alexander Aaron as the new Phobos, Olympian god of fear. Balder, Hera, & Quetzacoatl presided over the ceremony, though there were lots of other gods present, including godheads such as Brahma, Demogorge, and Inti, and possibly Atar, Buddha, Gaea, Itzamna, and Osiris. And some Eternals, including their leader, Zuras. |
.
(Heroic
Age: Prince of Power#1) - The Council met to discuss who would be the greatest
hero of the heroic age. Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor were proposed by
some, and Athena told them with certainty that it was Amadeus Cho. The other
figures are shadowed, but can be identified as Anansi, Balder, Hodiak, Horus, Inti, and Izanagi
on the one page.
|
Anansi, Balder, Buluku, Inti, Horus, Izanagi, Ukko, Yu Huang Also, in #2 (see godhed115.jpg), we see a bunch out of the shadows gathered around the pained Athena, and they seem to be: Left to right: Inti, Buluku? or Tezcatlipoca (seated with white hair/headdress), Izanagi (standing over Athena), Yu Huang (standing almost over them, coloring is off and he looks young, but the patterns match) , Ukko (the only one I see who wears a helmet like that), Horus (bird-beak) …so you’d think all of them would have been in #1…
Balder and Anansi are clearly seen in a lower panel, and
then pretty clearly Shou Hsing, Ukko (or whoever has
that helmet), and someone in a triangular headdress (presumably Osiris) in.
|
(Chaos War#1) - The Council of Godheads
summoned Hercules and Amadeus Cho before them to judge them on Hercules' recent
empowerment and actions in preparation for the arrival of the Chaos King (Amatsu-Mikaboshi).
Overwhelmed by his new power and outraged that the Godheads didn't use their
power to do anything, Hercules attacked them, battering them about until Thor
arrived and convinced Hercules to get himself under control. Those seen include
Ammon Ra, Balder, Buddha, Inti, Ndriananahary, Osiris, Ukko, Tezcatlipoca, Yu
Huang, and many others, harder to identify. (Chaos War#3) - Chaos King duped Hercules
into identifying the location of the Council's throneroom, allowing the Chaos
King to lead his hordes there to attack. The Godheads swiftly fell before the
assault. (Chaos War#4) - BTS. Those
destroyed by the Chaos King were revived. (Journey into Mystery#627) - The Council
gathered at the Infinite Embassy to discuss the threat of Odin's brother the
Serpent (Cul), Asagardian god of fear, and Odin's plan to destroy Earth to
eliminate the Serpent. Those seen included Brahma, Manitou, Inti, Itzamna, Odin,
Vishnu, Yu Huang, and Zeus. COMMENTS: Created by Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio,
and Keith Pollard.
Those clearly seen include
Amaterasu, Balder, Inti, and Osiris;
possibly also Izanagi, Ahura-Mazda (or Odin), Ndriananahary, and others...
PICTURED: (1) Zeus, (2) Odin, (3) Tezcatlipoca, (4) Vishnu, (5) Yu Huang, (6) Itzamna, (7) Buluku, (8) Ulgen, (9) Ukko, (10) Manitou, (11) Nuadhu, (12) Tame, (13) Viracocha, (14) Izanagi, (15) Okonorote (non-member guest) (16) Tomazooma (non-member guest), (17) Anu, (18) Ammon Ra, (19) Buddha, (20) Svarog, (21) Osiris, (22) Atar, (23) Horus,(24) Ndriananahary, (25) Thor, (26) Shou-Hsing, (27) Hunab Ku . |
Don Campbell adds: From the time that "Odin" awoke from
his Odin-sleep and ordered Heimdall to punish Thor (Thor I#432) until Odin
was released from Mephisto's soul-shroud and reclaimed his body (Thor I#455),
every appearance by "Odin" was actually Loki in Odin's body. I can only assume
that the Infinity Gauntlet#2 appearance MUST also be an example of Loki pretending
to be Odin, presumably with the secret help of his ally, the Norn Queen Karnilla.
Unless Loki was one of the 50% of the population removed
by Thanos...50/50 chance!
-Snood
In addition to the observed pantheons, in Marvel Universe: The End#2, Those of the Forgotten Zone were referenced. That would presumably cover all pantheons no longer remotely active on Earth.
I will work on profiles on all of the characters in the sub-profiles for this entry.
In a few alternate realities:
(What If? I#32) - A number of godheads and demonlords are
seen as Korvac erected a mystic barrier preventing any other dimensions
from accessing Earth.
--According to a former intern from Marvel - in What
If I#32 - the character seen in the bottom right panel of the
gods and demons blocked from accessing Earth by Korvac was supposed
to be Yahweh - though it looks more like Jesus.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Council of the Godheads should not be confused with:
Godheads by Pantheon
Aboriginal Gods (worshipped by Australian aborigines): Altjira, Baiame
Ahau (worshipped by Mayans): Hunab-Ku and Itzamna
Akua (worshipped by the Oceanic, Hawaiian, Polynesians, etc.): Tame
Amatsu-Kami
(worshipped by the Japanese): Izanagi
Annunaki
(worshipped by the Mesopotamians) - Anu; replaced by Dagon/Enlil {Sumerian}; replaced by Marduk {Babylonian}; replaced by Ba'al-Hadad (Assyrian and
Phoenician}
Apu (worshipped by the Incans): Inti, Viracocha; Okonorote was a non-member guest
Asgardian
(worshipped by the Norsemen, Vikings, etc.): Balder, Odin, Thor
Buddhist: Buddha
Daevas (worshipped by the Hindu)
- Vishnu
(in trinity with Brahma and Shiva)
Dievas (worshipped by the Russian people) - Svarog
Diwati (worshipped by the Filipinos) - Bathala
Heliopolitan (Ennead; worshipped by the Egyptians) - Ammon Ra, Horus, Osiris, Seth
Innua (worshipped by the Inuit/Eskimo): Hodiak
Judeo-Christian-Islam: God/Yahweh/Allah - Jesus Christ - Holy Spirit
Jumala (worshipped by the Finnish) - Ukko
Manidoog (worshipped by the Native Americans) - Manitou; Tomazooma was present as a non-member guest
Olympian
(worshipped by the Graeco-Romans): Athena, Cronus, Hera, Hercules, Ouranos, Zeus
Shin (worshipped by Koreans): Hwanin
Tenger (worshipped by the Mongolians, Siberians, etc.): Ulgen
Teteoh (worshipped by the Aztecs): Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca
Tuatha da Danaan (worshipped by the Celtic people) - Dagda, Nuadhu
Vodu (Orishas/Loa; worshipped by the African people and descendants in Haita, etc.) - Anansi, Buluku (also in his aspect as Ndriananahary and Nyame)
Xian
(worshipped by the Chinese): Shou-Hsing, Yu Huang
Yazatas (worshipped in Zoroastrianism): Ahura Mazda, Atar, Mithra
Ulgen of the Mongolian gods
Ukko the Finnish sky-god
Nuadhu
Tame of the Akua
Okonorote of the Incan/Kamekeri gods
Mesopotamian Anu.
Images:
Thor I#300, pg. 12-13, bridging panel 1 (main image)
Thor Annual#10
Infinity Gauntlet#2, pg. 16, panel 1 (seated panel)
Marvel Universe: The End#2
Marvel Universe: The End#4-6
Thor II#61
Thor II#65
All-New
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#2: Council of Godheads entry - numbered and legend
Incredible Hercules#116-117
Heroic Age: Prince of Power#1
Heroic Age: Prince of Power#2
Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z softcover#2 Update Appendix:
Council of Godheads (previously unpictured headshots)
Appearances:
Thor I#300-301 (October-November, 1980), Mark Gruenwald & Ralph
Macchio (writers), Keith Pollard (pencils), Gene Day (#300) & Chic
Stone (#301) (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Thor Annual#10 (1982), Mark Gruenwald & Alan Zelenetz (writers),
Bob Hall (pencils), Rick Bryant, Joe Rubinstein, Andy Myshynsky, Al
Gordon & Kevin Dzuban (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Infinity Gauntlet#2 (August, 1991), Jim Starlin (writer), George Perez (pencils), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Craig Anderson (editor)
Marvel Universe: The End#2 (May, 2003), Jim Starlin (writer/pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Marvel Universe: The End#4-6 (June-August, 2003), Jim Starlin (writer/pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thor II#61 (May, 2003), Dan Jurgens (writer), Ben Lai (pencils), Ray Lai (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thor II#65 (August, 2003), Dan Jurgens (writer), Ben Lai (pencils), Ray Lai (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
All-New
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#2 (2006) - Jeff
Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Sean McQuaid, Mark O'English, Ronald Byrd, Michael
Hoskin, Eric J. Moreels, Stuart
Vandal, Bill Lentz, Richard Green, Anthony Flamini, Barry Reese, Mike Fichera, & Chris Biggs (writers), Michael Short
(assistant editor), Jeff Youngquist & Jen Grunwald (editors)
Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#2 (May, 2008) - Jeff
Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Sean McQuad, Madison Carter,
Mike Fichera & Stuart Vandal (coordination assistants), Sean
McQuaid, Stuart Vandal, Ronald Byrd, Michael Hoskin, Mark O'English,
Eric J. Moreels, Madison Carter, Mike Fichera, Al Sjoerdsma, Chad
Anderson, David Wiltfong, Chris Biggs, Jacob Rougemont, Rich Green,
Kyle Sims, Anthony Flamini, David Sexton, Bill Lentz, Barry Reese,
& Jonathan Couper-Smartt (writers), Brian
Overton (copy editor), John Denning & Cory Levine (assistant editors), Mark
D. Beazley (editor, special projects), Jeff
Youngquist & Jen Grunwald (editors)
Incredible Hercules#116-117 (June-July, 2008), Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente
(writers), Rafa Sandoval (penciler), Roger Bonet (inker), Mark Paniccia
(editor)
Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica (2009), Anthony Flamini
(head writer, coordinator), Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, Paul Cornell
(consulting writers), Kevin Sharpe (The Apu entry art), Jeff Youngquist
(editor)
Heroic Age: Prince of Power#1 (July, 2010),
Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente (writers), Reilly Brown (penciler), Terry Pallot (inker),
Nathan Cosby (associate editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Heroic Age: Prince of Power#2 (August, 2010), Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente (writers), Reilly
Brown (penciler), Terry Pallot (inker), Nathan Cosby (associate editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Secret Warriors#10 (January, 2010), Jonathan Hickman
(writer), Alessandro Vitti (penciler & inker), Lauren
Sankovitch (associate editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Chaos War#1 (December, 2010), Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Khoi Pham (penciler),
Tom Palmer (inker), Jordan D. White (assistant editor), Mark Paniccia (senior
editor)
Chaos War#3 (January, 2011), Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Khoi Pham
(penciler), Tom Palmer (inker), Jordan D. White (assistant editor), Mark
Paniccia (senior editor)
Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z softcover#2 (2011) - Mike
O'Sullivan (softcover/update appendix head writer/coordinator), Markus
Raymond, Stuart Vandal, & Mike Fichera (softcover/update appendix coordination assistants)
Journey into Mystery#627 (November, 2011), Kieron Gillen
(writer), Richard Elson (penciler & inker), John Denning
(assistant editor), Ralph Macchio (senior editor)
For the record, before this was resolved in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, here is some speculation from the comments section:
In Thor I#300, William did a very nice
job of identifying the above, unnamed Godheads:
Here's a dissenting opinion, per Ronald Byrd:
First Posted: 01/21/2003
Last updated: 08/26/2022
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
All characters mentioned or pictured are
™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
(Heroic
Age: Prince of Power#2) - When Agamemnon of the Pantheon extinguished the
Promethian Flame that granted Olympians their immortality, Athena screamed in
pain. She was comforted by Izanagi
