COTATICOTATI
Classification: Extra-terrestrial race
Location/Base
of Operations:
Tamal (planet);
a realm of pure thought;
several hundred worlds throughout the universe including Earth and Zenn-La
formerly
Hala (planet of origin), Pama star system, Kree Galaxy
Known Members: None named; the Cotati do not have individual names, although the eldest Cotati who had dwelled on the planet Earth is easily distinguishable from the others.
Affiliations: The
Avengers,
Clumsy
Foulup, Emperor Dorrek I,
Libra
(Gustav Brandt), Mantis, Moondragon, The Priests of Pama, Quasar (Phyla-Vell), Quoi, Shalla Bal,
The Silver Surfer, several white-skinned (or pink, if you prefer) Kree soldiers,
Una;
formerly Kang the Conqueror
Enemies:
Contemplator imposter,
the Kree,
Nenora, the Phalanx,
Skrulls,
Star
Stalker, the Super-Adaptoid, Supreme Intelligence, Thanos
formerly Mantis, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four (Human
Torch, Ms. Marvel, Thing)
First Appearance: Avengers I#130 (December, 1974)
Powers/Abilities: The Cotati have incredible mental powers, and their telepathy can stretch across vast interstellar distances. They also control the entire surface of the planet Tamal.
Traits: The Cotati are sentient plants, and gain sustenance through photosynthesis just like normal plants. They require sunlight, water, and contact with soil for survival. Though generations ago they had limbs, they are now completely immobile, except for the Elder Cotati who can change its form and become mobile. They have incredible mental powers and communicate telepathically. They are a very peaceful race with no individual names and share a giant communal mind.
Biped Cotati have the following features:
Eyes: Two, black
Fingers: None
Toes: None
"Skin" color: Green
Elder Cotati, such as the High Council, take the form of large trees, perhaps twenty feet in height.
History: (Avengers I#133 (fb)) - A long time ago (millions of years) the Cotati lived on one half of the planet Hala. The other half of the planet was populated by the savage Kree. The Cotati were a peaceful race of sentient plants and for the most part, the two races inhabiting Hala left each other alone. They apparently lived in peace for many years until one fateful day when a Skrull ship landed on Hala. The Skrulls, led by Emperor Dorrek I, offered the inhabitants of Hala their knowledge and scientific expertise in exchange for loyalty and resources from the Kree and Cotati. However, to avoid any dissention between the two races regarding which one would represent the Skrull empire, the Skrulls ordered a test to decide whether it would be the Cotati or the Kree with which they would make the deal. The Skrulls would take a group of Kree and Cotati to barren worlds and leave them for one year, and then observe which group had made the most impressive achievements. While the Kree were taken to Earth's moon and built a city in what would become the Blue Area of the Moon, the Cotati were taken to another barren world where they used their mental powers and empathy with plant life to turn it into a lush, tropical land with plentiful vegetation. The Skrulls favored the work of the Cotati, impressed at the creation of life where there was none before. When the Kree heard that the Skrulls were planning on awarding the victory to the Cotati, the Kree remaining on Hala rushed to the Cotati's side of the planet and slaughtered every single living Cotati.
(Avengers I#134 (fb)) - In their dying moments, the Cotati dropped seed pods which soon took root and burst forth an entire new generation of Cotati. This new generation went into hiding on Hala, being unfound by the Kree for thousands of years. Over the centuries, the Cotati allowed their evolution to strip them of their mobility in order to better develop their mental powers. They remained on Hala, the Kree oblivious to their presence, in complete isolation for years until the emergence of a sect of pacifist Kree, who would come to be called the Priests of Pama. Sensing that the Priests of Pama had the same love of peace that they did, the Cotati sent a telepathic summons to the Priests of Pama, and revealed their existence to the Priests. The Priests of Pama and Cotati formed an alliance: the Priests would provide the Cotati with care they could not provide for themselves, and the Cotati would teach the Priests of Pama their knowledge of the mind. For a complete century, the Cotati and Priests of Pama continued this alliance, both holding their own ends of the bargain. However, the Supreme Intelligence eventually exiled the Priests of Pama from Hala, leaving the Cotati alone. They left with the Cotati's blessing.
(Avengers I#134/Avengers I#124 (fb) - BTS) - After a short time, the Cotati used their mental powers to call across space and led the alien Star Stalker to attack the Priests of Pama, knowing that the Priests would find the monster's weakness. By engineering the Star-Stalker's defeat, the Cotati gained permission from the Supreme Intelligence to spread throughout the stars on their mission to protect the universe from the return of the Star-Stalker. The Priests of Pama did so, going in groups of two to every inhabited planet, each group bringing several Cotati with them until countless inhabited planets had resident Cotati, including Zenn-La and Earth, as well as some staying on Hala.
(Giant-Size Avengers#4 (fb)) - There was a prophesy that one day, the perfect human, the Celestial Madonna, would have a union with the perfect plant, and from their union would spring the perfect child, the Celestial Messiah. As it ended up, Mantis was the Celestial Madonna, and the perfect plant was none other than the eldest Cotati on Earth.
(Silver Surfer III#31 (fb) - BTS) - For an unknown amount of time (years? decades?) some Cotati who remained on Hala had been in communication with some white skinned Kree soldiers. (SEE COMMENTS)
(Avengers: Celestial Quest#2 (fb) - BTS) - At some point in time, the Cotati arrived on a planet called Tamal and made it their own. It became a Cotati world of sorts.
(Untold Legend of Captain Marvel#1) - Una, in a room full of Cotati (or perhaps just regular plants through which she communed with the Cotati) revealed to Mar-Vell that she was a follower of the Cotati and their ways, much to the Kree hero's surprise.
(Avengers I#130) - The Swordsman was buried amidst a garden made up largely of Cotati (unbeknownst to anybody present).
(Avengers I#131) - The eldest Cotati on Earth inhabited the body of the Swordsman and briefly appeared before Mantis before vanishing.
(Avengers I#132-133) - The eldest Cotati, still in the form of the Swordsman, had a conversation with Libra regarding Mantis, who had recently gone missing with the other Avengers. The Cotati promised that Mantis would return soon.
(Giant-Size Avengers#4) - Standing before Mantis and the Avengers, the eldest Cotati on Earth explained Mantis' origin as well as explaining the Celestial Madonna. In the end, Mantis agreed to marry the eldest Cotati and produce the perfect offspring with it as she (as the Celestial Madonna) was fated to do. Immortus officiated their wedding, and the Cotati and Mantis converted their forms to pure energy and left for space to conceive their perfect child.
(Silver Surfer III#4 (fb) / Fantastic Four I#325 (fb) - BTS / Avengers: Celestial Quest#2 (fb)) - Mantis gave birth to the offspring of the perfect union with the Elder Cotati. She spent a year or so raising her son, Sequoia (or Quoi) in Connecticut, after which she sent Quoi to live with the Cotati on Tamal, where the eldest Cotati also went to live.
(Silver Surfer III#7-8) - As she was attacked by the Elders of the Universe, Mantis sent a desperate telepathic call for help to the Cotati on Zenn-La. The Cotati received the call and telepathically communicated the word "Mantis" to Shalla Bal. Shalla Bal, unaware that some among her plants were Cotati, heard the telepathic voice sweeping through her plants, and although she didn't quite believe it, tried to send a telepathic message back through the plants in an attempt to contact Mantis.
(Silver Surfer III#12) - A Cotati aboard the ship of Captain Reptyl observed as Reptyl planned to use the Silver Surfer as an energy source and eventually kill him. The Cotati sent a message to other Cotati on a distant planet light-years away. There, the Cotati debated whether or not they should use their mental powers to assist the Silver Surfer. Eventually, because of his relationship to Mantis and his potential as a galactic guardian, the Cotati decided to assist the Silver Surfer, and used their mental powers to manipulate Clumsy Foulup, who then initiated events that led to the Silver Surfer's rescue.
(Fantastic
Four I#323 (fb) - BTS) -
The Cotati decided that only they were fit to raise the Celestial Messiah. The Elder Cotati removed the powers Mantis had gained as the Celestial Madonna and stole away the pod that was their offspring.
(Fantastic Four I#325 (fb) - BTS) - The Cotati joined forces with Kang (who sought to slay Mantis), agreeing to help him slay her if she refused to stop trying to reclaim her son.
(Fantastic Four I#325) - The High Cotati traveled within a pyramid to Earth, standing beside Kang and revealing the pod that would become the Celestial Messiah. They asked Mantis to cease her Vendetta, and when she refused, they sent Kang and the Priests of Pama to assault Mantis and her allies, the Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer. After Mantis overpowered the Priests, she confronted the Cotati directly, unleashing the psychic powers she had developed under the Priests' previous training to prepare her to join the Cotati. Unable to stand up to Mantis' assault (which was fueled by her burning desire to be reunited with her son), the High Cotati fled with the pod to their chosen realm, a realm of pure thought. Mantis sent her psychic essence after them, leaving her physical form behind.
(Silver Surfer III#30 (fb) - BTS) - The Cotati sought peace with the Silver Surfer, and so they decided to aid him. The Surfer had recently become involved in a second Kree-Skrull war, and in order to aid the Silver Surfer, the Cotati decided to try to inform the Surfer's ally, Shalla Bal, that a Skrull was masquerading as the head of the Kree empire.
(Silver Surfer III#20) - The Cotati on Zenn-La telepathically communicated the word "Skrull" to Shalla Bal after her meeting with the Kree leader Nenora, who was actually a Skrull in disguise. This was the first of their many attempts to inform Shalla Bal that Nenora was actually a Skrull.
(Silver Surfer III#26) - The Cotati communicated the word "Skrull" to Shalla Bal once again while she was speaking with the Silver Surfer.
(Silver Surfer III#27) - The Cotati once again communicated the word "Skrull" to Shalla Bal, just as she was speaking about Nenora. This time, she finally understood what the Cotati were trying to tell her, and realized that Nenora was actually a Skrull in disguise.
(Silver Surfer III#29) - After Shalla Bal was captured and drugged by Nenora, the Cotati used their mental powers to free Shalla Bal of the influence of the drugs, allowing her to escape her cell.
(Silver Surfer III#30) - The Cotati explained themselves and the motives for their actions to Shalla Bal.
(Silver Surfer III#31) - The Cotati on Hala were sought out by Clumsy Foulup and some white-skinned Kree soldiers who requested the Cotati's assistance in foiling the Contemplator imposter's plan to take over the Kree empire. The Cotati agreed to aid Clumsy and the soldiers. When the Contemplator imposter used his mental powers to control the inert form of the Supreme Intelligence, the Cotati used their own mental powers to usurp control of the Supreme Intelligence, and defeated the Contemplator imposter, driving him into madness with their telepathic attack. They then used the Supreme Intelligence's form to declare Clumsy Foulup the leader of the Kree empire.
(Avengers: Celestial Quest#2 (fb)) - Quoi grew up on Tamal.
(Avengers: Celestial Quest#3) - The Avengers and Mantis touched down on Tamal to meet with Quoi and protect him from Thanos. They were welcomed by many Cotati, including the Elder Cotati that had taken the form of the Swordsman and coupled with Mantis to conceive the Celestial Messiah. He informed the Avengers of the history of the Cotati.
(Avengers: Celestial Quest#5) - After Quoi was kidnapped by Raptra, the Avengers prepared to rescue him. However, the collective voice of the Cotati accused the Avengers of failing to protect Quoi and blamed them for allowing their Celestial Messiah to be stolen. The Cotati, through the form of the Swordsman, attacked the Avengers. Vision knocked out the Cotati in the form of the Swordsman, but then the Cotati, who controlled the entire planet of Tamal, continued their attack through the use of the vegetation, razor sharp leaves, and gas that knocked out Thor and Scarlet Witch. Vision, Mantis, Haywire and Silverclaw continued to fight through the attack and managed to get to their ship and escape the planet.
(Annihilation: Conquest - Quasar#1) - A Cotati who dwelt with the Priests of Pama on a Kree fringe world assisted Phyla-Vell in exploring her newly-acquired quantum bands, and learning to master the dark influence of Annihilus, who had corrupted them. When the Phalanx and Super-Adaptoid invaded the world, the Cotati was slain during the onslaught.
Comments:
Created
by Steve Englehart, Sal Buscema, and Joe Staton
When my computer didn't list the word "Cotati" as a spelling error, I looked up what it meant. The only definition I can find is a small town in California called Cotati with approximately 5700 people living there.
The chronology of the establishment of communication between the white skinned Kree soldiers and the Cotati is unknown, so I just guessed at a place where it was likely to have been established. In addition, it is possible that these white skinned Kree soldiers are actually Priests of Pama in disguise. In Avengers Index#7, Olshevsky notes that a Cotati may
have been seen in a garden on Titan in Daredevil I#105. The Cotati received an entry in the All-New OHotMU Update#3. Profile
by Stunner and Snood
Clarifications:
Not to be confused with
images:
Avengers I#133, Page 1 panel 6
--Per Degaton
Avengers I#134, page 15 panel 6
Silver Surfer III#12, page 11 panel 1
Fantastic Four I#325, p13 (High Cotati)
Avengers I#130-134 (December,
1974-April, 1975 ) - Steve Englehart & Roy Thomas (#132) (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Joe Staton (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Giant Size Avengers#4 (June, 1974) - Steve Englehart (writer), Don Heck (pencils), John Tartaglione (inks), Len Wein (editor)
Silver Surfer III#4 (October, 1987) - Steve Englehart (writer), Marshall Rogers (pencils), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Michael Higgins (editor)
Silver Surfer III#7-8 (January-February,
1988) - Steve Englehart (writer), Marshall Rogers (pencils), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Michael Higgins (editor)
Silver Surfer III#12 (June, 1988 ) - Steve Englehart (writer), Marshall Rogers (pencils), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Michael Higgins (editor)
Fantastic Four I#323 (February, 1989) - Steve Englehart (writer), Keith Pollard (pencils), Romeo Tanghal (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Fantastic Four I#325 (April, 1989) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rich Buckler (pencils), Romeo Tanghal (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Silver Surfer III#26-27 (August-September, 1989) - Steve Englehart (writer), Ron Lim (pencils), Tom Christopher (inks), Craig Anderson (editor)
Silver Surfer III#29-31 (November 1989-January, 1990 ) - Steve Englehart (writer), Ron Lim (pencils), Tom Christopher (inks), Craig Anderson (editor)
Avengers: Celestial Quest#3-5 (January-March, 2002 ) - Steve Englehart (writer), Jorge Santamar'a (pencils), Scott Hanna & Scott Koblish (#5) (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Annihilation: Conquest - Quasar#1 (September, 2007) - Christos N. Gage (writer), Mike Lilly (penciler), Bob Almond (inker), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Last updated: 12/29/04
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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