Real Name: Hatap
Identity/Class: Extratemporal human magic user (1st Century BC to modern era to 1st Century BC)
Occupation: Former Pharaoh
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Cleopatra, Iron Man (Tony Stark)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "The Mad Pharoah" (misspelling used throughout the story), the mummy
Place of Birth: Sinope, Pontus
Base of Operations: Egypt in the 1st Century BC (ca. 31 BC)
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense I#44/1 (August, 1963)
Powers/Abilities: Hatap appeared to have normal human physical abilities and vulnerabilities. He also possessed a knowledge of sorcery, the extent of which is largely unrevealed (see comments). He created a potion to place himself in a state of suspended animation for over 2000 years. In the modern era, he cast a spell of sickness which caused a group of archeology workers to be stricken with a plague.
He possessed a golden charm, which allowed him to travel between time-periods, seemingly via a magical "Chariot of Time".
In the ancient past, Hatap also had access to an army of soldiers that was large enough to threaten (but apparently not defeat) Cleopatra's army.
Height: 6' 3"
Weight: 192 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
History:
(Tales of Suspense I#44/1 (fb)) - Little is known about the
past of the Pharaoh Hatap, but because of his knowledge of the black
arts and his ruthless crimes, he earned the title the "Mad Pharaoh".
Approximately 2100 years ago, he had staged a rebellion against
Cleopatra. When the tide of the battle turned against him, he took a
potion to put himself in a state of suspended animation. Believing him
to be dead, Cleopatra had Hatap embalmed and entombed in a sarcophagus,
as befit a man of his stature, according to his final will and
instructions.
(Tales of Suspense I#44/1) - In the modern era, Tony Stark--both as himself and as Iron Man--assisted his archeologist friend Paul in the excavation of Hatap's tomb. Iron Man tunneled into the tomb, then he and Paul entered and found the sarcophagus of Hatap, which they opened to find the Mad Pharaoh's mummy.
(Tales of Suspense I#44/1 - BTS) - At some point, Hatap revived and left his sarcophagus. Somehow learning of Tony Stark's reputation as "one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century" (see comments), Hatap was determined to take Stark back to his own era, so he could use him to help defeat Cleopatra and rule Egypt as he originally planned. That night, Hatap cast a spell that afflicted Paul and the other men working at the excavation site--excepting Stark--with a plague.
(Tales of Suspense I#44/1) - Hatap walked into Stark's tent and introduced himself, then he showed Stark the plague-stricken archeological team and demanded that Stark accompany him to the past, otherwise the plague would spread across Earth.
After coercing Stark's cooperation, Hatap cured the ailing men, then used his magic charm to summon his "Chariot of Time," which transported the two of them back to ancient Egypt (Stark had taken along his attache case, with his collapsed armor stored inside).
After arriving in the past, Stark broke away from Hatap, donned his Iron Man armor, and flew to the court of Cleopatra, where he helped to defend against an attack by a Roman legion. Earning the gratitude and friendship of Cleopatra, Iron Man informed her of Hatap's plans and helped her fight off his army.
Fearing defeat at Iron Man's hands, Hatap sought to use the magic charm to return to the modern era, but Iron Man squirted some oil on the charm, causing it to slip out of Hatap's grasp. Diving to retrieve the magic charm, Hatap tripped and lost his balance, and he was apparently killed when he inadvertently landed on an upturned sword dropped by one of his defeated soldiers.
The remnants of Hatap's army fled, and Iron Man used the charm to return to his own time, despite Cleopatra's requests that he stay and rule by her side.
Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Robert Bernstein, and Don Heck.
I guess his potion, or his magic spells, saved him from the embalming process. I'm also not sure why he didn't just use the magic charm, rather than taking the potion, in the first place.
My guess is that the Chariot of Time's power was limited in that it couldn't permanently transport Hatap to the future because he didn't "belong" there yet, so he had to get there via the suspended animation route. But Iron Man had no such problem returning at the story's end because he already "belonged" to the future.--Ron Fredricks
You'd think Hatap might have taken some serum or used some spell to allow him to recover from seemingly fatal wounds.
It's strange that an Egyptian, who had lived 2,000 years earlier, would be so eloquent at speaking English...stranger still that he knew of Tony Stark's reputation--I assume he used some sort of telepathic language translation spell on himself and Tony Stark so they could understand each other, which would also explain how Iron Man and Cleopatra understood each other.
And I think Hatap sort of resembles that unidentified visitor who menaced George Farren--since the visitor claimed to have been an immortal from ancient Egypt, perhaps there was some connection between him and Hatap.
The Mad Pharaoh has an entry in Marvel Legacy: The 1960s Handbook, from which the main image and some of this profile's information was taken.--Ron Fredricks
Profile by Snood. Expansion by Ron Fredricks.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Mad Pharaoh (Hatap) has no known connection to:
The Chariot of Time has no known connection to:
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A golden charm in the form of a miniature chariot, it utilized the force of black magic--"mystic powers known only to ancient Egyptian sorcery"--to summon the Chariot of Time. It could transport people from the modern era to the 1st Century BC, and back, by simply rubbing it twice. It was carried by Hatap when he placed himself in suspended animation over 2,000 years earlier in ancient Egypt. After he revived in the modern era, Hatap used it to transport Tony Stark and himself back to his own era. Following Hatap's defeat, Stark (as Iron Man) used the charm to return to his own time; its eventual fate is unrevealed. (Comment: It was unrevealed if this magic charm could transport people to any other time-periods.) --Tales of Suspense I#44/1 |
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A friend of Tony Stark's, Paul (last name unrevealed) was an archeologist excavating the Egyptian tomb of Hatap, the so-called "Mad Pharaoh". With the help of Iron Man, Paul was able to enter the tomb. He found the sarcophagus of Hatap, which he opened to find what appeared to be the lifeless mummy of Hatap. But hours later, after Hatap revived and went into hiding, Paul notified Tony Stark about the missing mummy, and he was concerned that one of the excavation workers had stolen it. But Paul and his workers were afflicted with the plague when Hatap used his sorcery to cast a spell upon them, all in an effort to coerce Stark into traveling back in time to the ancient past of Egypt. When Stark agreed to cooperate with him, Hatap cured Paul and his men of their illness. |
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Days later, while exploring Hatap's tomb, Paul showed Stark an unusual hieroglyphic drawing of Cleopatra embracing a golden-armored figure--Paul was unaware of Stark's time-travel adventure to the past, where he actually met Cleopatra as Iron Man. (Comment: I guess maybe Kurt Busiek forgot to include Paul when he came up with the "Eighth Day"/Octessence/Exemplars story-line.) --Tales of Suspense I#44/1 |
images: (without ads)
Marvel Legacy: The 1960s Handbook, p33 (main image - Mad Pharaoh)
Tales of Suspense I#44/1, p6, pan5 (headshot - Mad Pharaoh)
Tales of Suspense I#44/1, p13, pan1 (with his army defeated, Mad Pharaoh attempts to use Chariot of Time; Iron Man [background])
Tales of Suspense I#44/1, p13, pan3 (Mad Pharaoh trips and falls upon upturned sword; Iron Man [background])
Tales of Suspense I#44/1, p7, pan2 (Mad Pharaoh holds Chariot of Time)
Tales of Suspense I#44/1, p7, pan5 (Mad Pharaoh and Tony Stark travel to the past with Chariot of Time)
Tales of Suspense I#44/1, p5, pan1 (Paul opens sarcophagus and looks upon mummy of Hatap; Iron Man [background])
Tales of Suspense I#44/1, p5, pan3 (Paul informs Tony Stark that mummy is missing)
Tales of Suspense I#44/1, p13, pan6 (Paul shows Tony Stark unusual hieroglyphic)
Appearances:
Tales of Suspense I#44/1 (August, 1963) - Stan Lee (plot/editor), Robert Bernstein (script), Don Heck (pencils/inks), Sam Rosen (letters)
First posted: 09/07/2001
Last updated: 05/05/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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