SIR URSUSSIR URSUS
Real Name: Presumably Ursus
Identity/Class: Terrestrial fauna (ursine) mutate (New Men)
Occupation: Knight, warrior
Group Membership: Knights of Wundagore (notably Sir Hogg, Sir Hystrix, Sir Gote, Sir Lepard, Sir Lyan, Sir Ossilot; likely Sir Ram), New Men (inclusive of the previously listed Knights of Wundagore; presumably including Count Tagar, Sir Porga, and Bova Ayshire)
Affiliations: Jonathan Drew, High Evolutionary (Herbert Wyndham), Magda, Magnus
Enemies: Chthon;
indirectly Gregor Russoff;
Known Relatives: None, although he considered the High Evolutionary as his figurative /adoptive father
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
last confirmed in the High Evolutionary's citadel atop Mount Wundagore, Transia, Europe, Earth
Powers/Abilities: An ursine semi-humanoid biped, Ursus likely had superhuman strength and durability, +/- enhanced olfactory (smell) and auditory (hearing) senses.
He also may or may not have sharp claws and teeth, and he may or may not have been covered with thick fur.
As a Knight of Wundagore, he was trained and experienced in armed and
unarmed combat, wore armor, and he likely wielded a sword and blaster
His fully armored form likely appeared thusly.
He presumably sometimes flew atop an atomic
steed, upon which he likely wielded some sort of energy lance.
Atop an atomic steed, he likely appeared thusly.
History:
(Thor I#135 (fb) / Uncanny
X-Men Annual#12/3 (fb) - BTS) - The Magnus-possessed Jonathon Drew convinced
Wyndham to train his New Men to become highly-skilled, highly
principled warriors as the Knights of Wundagore. Although Wyndham was
dubious about this, he soon saw that the striving to teach them the
code of honor and chivalry was the ideal way to instill the code of
conduct in the uncultured creatures.
(Uncanny X-Men Annual#12/3 (fb) - BTS) - For over a decade, Wyndham continued to create New Men (to whom he was known as the High Evolutionary), and the Magnus-possessed Drew continued to supervise their training as knights.
(Web of Spider-Man I Annual#4/2 (fb) - BTS / Quicksilver I#9 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, via his genetic accelerator and Isotope B, Herbert Wyndham evolved a bear into semi-humanoid biped form.
(Web of Spider-Man I Annual#4/2 (fb) - BTS) - After being knighted by the High Evolutionary, he became Sir Ursus.
(Uncanny X-Men Annual#12/3) - Ordered to scout the area on their atomic steeds,
Sir Leppard, Sir Ursus, Sir Leppard and three other Knights of Wundagore were
briefly buffeted by harsh winds before being confronted by the
malevolent force of the Other (the elemental host of Chthon).
Although the Knights flew to challenge it, the Other considered them to be like gnats before him, and that even the blasts from their lances were but matches before a raging inferno.
In response, the Other used winds to smash them against the mountainside.
(Uncanny X-Men Annual#12/3 (fb) - BTS / Web of Spider-Man I Annual#4/2 (fb - BTS) <1958; see comments> - After two hours, the two-pronged
assault from Magnus' Spell of Binding and the Knights fighting
alongside the High Evolutionary resulted
in Chthon being trapped again within Mount Wundagore.
Although proclaiming victory, the High Evolutionary appreciated that half of his noble knights had perished in the conflict.
(Web of Spider-Man I Annual#4/2 (fb)) - Presumably the next morning, the High Evolutionary surveyed the
dead and wounded, noting that 17 of his 42 beloved New Men had died the night before. He
further considered that he had casually had them trained -- Sir Hystrix
in specific, but the other Knights of Pendragon in general -- as
warriors
and that they might have been better to have never known what it like
to be human than to come to this end.
Comments: Created by Mark Gruenwald,
Ron Lim and Tony DeZuniga.
Close-up appearance of Knights of Wundagore on atomic steeds (not Ursus, as this was in the modern era in their first known encounter with Thor):
Based on relatively recent data, Sir Ursus may have
been created anywhere between 1931 and 1958. However, retcon shenanigans, necessary or otherwise (for more details, see the comments of the profile for Natalya Maximoff) may have changed that.
Most significantly, Wanda and Pietro are not the
children of Magda and Magneto, so the 1958 date of Magda arriving at
Wundagore Mountain is fine, as is the involvement of Robert and
Madeline Frank (Whizzer and Miss America), for whom it pretty much had
to be in the 1950s.
It remains unresolved when (or even if) Wanda and
Pietro were on Mount Wundagore. Given Wanda's connection to Chthon, it
seems almost certain that she had to have been there, but given that
she was born about 25 years ago (I think Wanda is closer to 30, and so
being born closer to about 30 years ago), as part of the sliding
timescale.
The question remains, did the battle with Chthon vs.
the Knights of Wundagore occur in 1958, with Chthon being bound to Mt.
Wundagore at that time, and then Chthon later bonded to Wanda about 30
years ago as part of the sliding timescale? Or does the battle of the
Knights vs. Chthon get moved forward to "30 years ago"?
And, it makes we wonder...if Natalya was killed by Wanda's father, perhaps Chthon was Wanda's father...
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Sir Ursus should be distinguished from:
First posted: 02/22/2025
Last updated: 02/22/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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