KUKULCAN
Real Name: Gucumatz
Identity/Class: Mayan god
Occupation: Wind God
Group Membership: The Ahau
Affiliations: El Tigre (former ally/pawn)
Enemies: X-Men (Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Feathered Serpent, Gucumatz, the Plumed Serpent
Base of Operations: Unrevealed
First Appearance:
(BTS) Namora#1 (August, 1948);
(seen; see comments) X-Men I#25 (October 1966)
Powers/Abilities:
Kukulcan possesses
the conventional powers of the Mayan Gods. He has superhuman
strength (Class 50 perhaps) and endurance plus mystical abilities
enabling him to fly and command ambient elemental energies, such as having
control over the air and wind. He
can also teleport under certain conditions.
Using certain mystic totems, he has attained additional powers.
Using the Sacred Pendant of Kukulcan, he has possessed people and
transformed them into a form similar to his own. Using the Solar
Stone with the Feathered Serpent idol, he
could control the wills of those of Mayan descent and
restructure matter at will.
History: (myth) - Kukulcan was one of the Mayan gods of Ancient Mexico until around 800 AD when the Aztec Empire first began to grow in importance and began assimilating all the smaller races of the Yucatan.
(Namora#1 - BTS) - Kukulcan was worshipped by the tribesmen of the Apaco, but they were tricked by the American Jim Derry into obeying a phony statue of Kukulcan given voice by Derry's men so that he could steal their treasures. Namora revealed the trick to the Apaco.
(X-Men I#25, 26-BTS) - Treasure hunter el Tigre
found and located the
two halves of the Sacred Pendant of Kukulcan (one in the Pyramid of
Kukulcan in the Central American jungle, the other at the City
Museum in New York). When he joined the two halves together, el
Tigre was possessed by and transformed into a reincarnation of Kukulcan.
Despite the efforts of the X-Men, Kukulcan returned to San Rico,
where he activated the Solar Stone (a large gem set in the
Feathered Serpent idol), which increased his powers. He then set
about restoring the Mayan pyramids to their former glory and and
placing all those of Mayan descent under his control. The X-Men
traveled to San Rico and again confronted him. In the course of
the battle, Kukulcan inadvertently knocked the Feathered Serpent
idol into a large chasm, causing his powers and essence to fade,
leaving only el Tigre.
COMMENTS: Created by Roy Thomas, Werner Roth, Dick Ayers.
In addition, in Conan of the Isles, Metemhoc, a native of Antilla (settled by some of the survivors of ancient Atlantis), referred to Conan by the name, Kukulcan, as a form of praise.
I also vaguely remember some adventure with Doc Savage and the
"Feathered Serpent." I'm not sure whether these should be considered
in-continuity, even though Doc Savage has crossed over with the MU at a few
points.
The Doc Savage story involving the Feathered Serpent
occurred in the early issues, in an adaptation of the novel "The Man of Bronze".
In the original novel, the real Quetzacoatl was not involved....it was just a
criminal posing as his son (using advanced science) to mislead the
superstitious. The Son of the Feathered Serpent was actually Don Rubio Gorro,
your garden variety corrupt Latin America government figure
--Per Degaton.
Profile by William Uchtman and Snood. Separated from Quetzalcoatl by Markus Raymond..
CLARIFICATIONS: If you want to get really technical, although Kukulcan possesses, transforms, and controls el Tigre in X-Men I#25, 26; Kukulcan himself is actually physically behind the scenes. The transformed version of El Tigre is not the physical form of the god Kukulcan, but I think this gets down to splitting hairs.
Appearances:
Namora#1 (August, 1948)
X-Men I#25-26 (October-November, 1966) - Roy Thomas (writer), Werner Roth (pencils), Dick Ayers (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Last updated: 12/07/08
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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