KUKULCAN

Real Name: Gucumatz

Identity/Class: Mayan god

Occupation: Wind god

Group Membership: Ahau

Affiliations: El Tigre (former ally/pawn)

Enemies:  X-Men (Angel/Warren Worthington III, Beast/Hank McCoy, Cyclops/Scott Summers, Iceman/Bobby Drake)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Feathered Serpent, Gucumatz, the Plumed Serpent, Kukulkan

Base of Operations: Unrevealed

First Appearance: (BTS) Namora#1/1 (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 (perhaps Class 50) and endurance, plus mystical abilities. He can command ambient elemental energies, such as having control over the air and wind--by harnessing the power of the sun, he could create a "solar sphere" which enabled him to fly; 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 and the Feathered Serpent idol, he could control the wills of those of Mayan descent and restructure matter at will.

Height: Unrevealed
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Unrevealed

History:
(Mexican 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#1/1 - BTS) - Kukulcan was worshiped by the tribesmen of the lost city of 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 tribesmen.

(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 near San Rico, 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 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, and Dick Ayers.

If you want to get really technical, although Kukulcan possesses, transforms, and controls el Tigre in X-Men I#25 and 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.

An image of the "real" Kukulkan can be found in a group-shot with the other Ahau (Mayan) gods.--Ron Fredricks

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 first novel "The Man of Bronze". In the original novel, the real Kukulcan 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.

Separated from Quetzalcoatl by Markus Raymond.

New and additional images by Ron Fredricks.

Profile by William Uchtman and Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Kukulcan should not be confused with:


images: (without ads)
X-Men I#25, p20, pan3 (Kukulcan possesses el Tigre)
X-Men I#26, p5, pan1-2 (after possessing el Tigre, Kukulcan forms solar sphere and takes flight)
Thor & Hercules: Encyclopedia Mythologica, p4 ("real" Kukulkan)


Appearances:
Namora I#1/1 (August, 1948) - Bill Everett (writer/artist), Stan Lee (editor)
X-Men I#25-26 (October-November, 1966) - Roy Thomas (writer), Werner Roth (pencils), Dick Ayers (inks), Stan Lee (editor)


First posted: 02/11/2002
Last updated: 06/22/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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