XEMNU THE TITAN
Real Name: Xemnu
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial
Occupation: Would-be conqueror and world repopulater; former television star
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Calvin Beame, a Blip,
Creature of Krogarr, Groot, Kluh,
Korath the Pursuer, Korgo, a Makluan (like Fin Fang Foom),
a Martian, Monster Island's monsters
(Abominable Snowman,
Blip, Brute that Walks, Gog,
Goom,
Gorgolla, It the Living Colossus, a Lizard Man of Tok,
Moomba, Rorgg,
Two-Headed Thing, Zzutak and one of the Flora colossus
(like Groot)), Phalanx, Rocket Raccoon, Roxxon Oil Corporation (Dario Agger, Travers), Shatterax, Ted Silverberg, Taboo (or one of his race), Ultron, Unit, a Venusian; his thralls
formerly Deadpool ("Wade Wilson"), Impossible Man
Enemies: Al the Alien, Mary McGrill Archer, Ulysses Solomon Archer, Big Enilwen, Elsa Bloodstone, Colossus (Piotr Rasputin), Deadpool ("Wade Wilson"), Defenders (Dr. Strange, Hulk/Bruce Banner, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Valkyrie), Doc Samson (Leonard Samson), Elektra, Emma Frost, Joe Harper, the Harpy (Betty Ross Banner), Hulk (Bruce Banner), Impossible Man, Iron Man (Tony Stark), the Leader (Samuel Sterns), Louise "Weezi" Mason, Moondragon, Taryn O'Connel, Poppa Wheelie, Quasar (Phyla-Vell), Razorback, Red Hulk (Thaddeus Ross), Retread, She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters), Thing (Ben Grimm), Adam Warlock, Wide-Load Annie, Jim Wilson, Wonder Man, X-Men (Magik/Illyana Rasputin, Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Bob, The Hulk (see comments), the Living Titan, Amos Moses, the Titan, Richmond Wagner, "White-Thing" (called so by the Hulk/Banner), King of Monster Island
Base of Operations: Monster Island, sea of Okhotsk;
Prison on
Devin-9, Block Z;
prison on the
SWORD orbiting space station;
Monster
Metropolis, underground New York, USA;
the Star Stop, outer space;
a television
studio in Queens, New York;
Fort Carson,
Colorado;
Plucketville
(Florida?);
a television
station in New York City;
Pineville;
an unidentified
prison planet
First Appearance: Journey into Mystery I#62 (November, 1960)
Powers/Abilities: Xemnu has superhuman strength (lifting 80 tons) and vast psionic powers. A telepath and telekinetic, Xemnu can hypnotically control the minds of others, though the number of those he can possess has ranged from planetwide to a few at a time, depending on his physical form and power levels. Xemnu claims his power is at its greatest when being broadcast through a screen, such as a television monitor. He can possess one person and transform that being into a replication of his original body, though notably smaller. He can exist without a physical body indefinitely, usually as a gaseous cloud, and can traverse great distances through space in this form. His telekinesis can be used to generate concussive force blasts, levitate himself or other masses, and animate unliving objects. He can also form a transparent bubble called an “atmos-sphere” around himself and use it to fly. At various times, Xemnu’s body appears wholly organic, while at others he has cybernetic parts. The reasons for this are unrevealed, though it may be related to his taking over the bodies of others. In his cybernetic form, he can enhance or replenish his physical power through infusions of electricity. What appears to be Xemnu's stomach is actually the location of his mouth, which is large enough to consume a full-grown human. Xemnu has cybernetic cables which emerge from his shoulders to drag victims into his maw. People who have been consumed by Xemnu begin to take on his characteristics, including the loss of their mouths, their eyes glowing red and cybernetic parts replacing organic parts. He communicates with others via telepathy. While children appear most susceptible to Xemnu’s mental influence, the Hulk has grown almost completely resistant to it. Xemnu has extensive knowledge of his world’s advanced sciences, particularly genetic engineering.
Height: 11' (originally 20')
Weight: 1100 lbs. (originally 2000 lbs.)
Eyes: Red
Hair: White
History:
(Journey into Mystery I#62 (fb)) - Xemnu was placed on a prison planet for crimes against the universe. When a supply ship arrived on the planet, Xemnu sneaked aboard, stealing it. However, the spacecraft did not have enough fuel to return to his home planet, and Xemnu crash-landed on Earth.
(Journey into Mystery I#62) - Small town electrician Joe Harper found Xemnu near death in the swamp. Taking the creature back to his shop, he fed it electricity. Revived, Xemnu explained to Harper how he came to Earth. Terrified that he had just saved the life of a criminal monster, Harper attempted to escape, but was taken under mental control by the alien. Determined to return to his own planet, Xemnu took over the minds of the entire world, and forced humans to build him a new spaceship, one that would be so powerful, it would destroy the Earth in the process of launching. As he commanded the others to do his bidding, Xemnu let go of his command of Harper, having gratitude that the human had saved him. However, Harper used his freedom to rewire some components in the Titan's ship, so that just as he got into orbit, a short circuit caused Xemnu to go into a state of shock. The ship flew towards the sun, and everyone except Harper regained their mental faculties, never aware of Xemnu.
(Journey into Mystery I#66) - Still in shock, Xemnu managed to telekinetically cause an asteroid to strike the craft, causing the ship to change course, heading back for Earth. Crashing yet again, Xemnu found himself free of the electrical charge. He came across a carnival owner and took over his mind. The possessed carny then took Xemnu into town as a sideshow attraction, inviting the townspeople to come see the show for free. His powers having dwindled, the Titan was forced to threaten the people physically this time. Around this time, Joe Harper realized that Xemnu's ship was no longer circling the sun and when reports of Pineville shutting itself off from the world came on the news, he realized the alien had returned. Harper confronted Xemnu, and when the Titan attempted to hypnotize Harper's very molecules apart, Harper held up a mirror, causing Xemnu to hypnotize himself instead. Xemnu then faded into nothingness.
(Marvel Feature#3) - The now-gaseous form of Xemnu traveled through space, finally returning to his home planet. There, he discovered a lifeless world wiped out by illness. Heading back to Earth, he found a space shuttle and possessed the astronaut Richmond Wagner. Returning to Earth, "Wagner" and his co-pilot Cal Beame experienced trouble coming into orbit and were saved by Namor the Sub-Mariner. The two publicly quit the space program. "Wagner" convinced Beame to use their newfound celebrity to host a childrens' show. With "Wagner" dressing up in an alien costume (actually reverting to Xemnu's true form). The show, called The Astro-Nuts, became a hit, thanks in part to Xemnu's subliminal spells. Watching the show, Jim Wilson realized something was wrong, and, lacking a way to contact his friend the Hulk, instead went to Dr. Strange. Strange took on the illusional form of the Hulk, and the two visited the set, even as The Astro-Nuts shot up in the ratings and merchandise sales boomed. Posing as the Hulk, Strange was granted a guest-role on the show. However, Bruce Banner, the true Hulk, saw the sham on television, and reverting to his monstrous alter-ego, set out to find the fake. At that moment, Xemnu dropped his pretense, hypnotizing the children viewing his program, in an effort to repopulate his world. Strange, too, dispensed with his ruse, and attacked the Titan. Outmatched, Strange summoned Namor, who also fell to the alien. Beame, having enough, tried to help, but was killed by his "friend." The true Hulk then arrived and began to beat Xemnu savagely, causing the Titan to retreat via molecule dispersement.
(Defenders I#12 (fb)) - Again in gaseous form, Xemnu floated to Miami, where he found Plucketville's mayor, Amos Moses, walking around. He took possession of the man and, returning to Plucketvilled, commanded the townspeople to build a new spaceship for him.
(Defenders I#12) - Some time later, Xemnu attacked and defeated the Hulk as the green behemoth was taking solice in a forest. The Hulk managed to send out a cry of help that was heard states away by Dr. Strange, who, along with the Valkyrie, embarked to find their comrade. Arriving in Plucketville, they were greeted by Mayor Amos Moses. However, Moses/Xemnu commanded various machinery from the town, and the townspeople themselves, to attack the two Defenders, rendering them unconscious. After they regained consciousness, Moses revealed himself as Xemnu. Strange used his powers to wake the Hulk up, who attacked Xemnu. When the Titan attempted to escape on a levitating piece of concrete, the Hulk lobbed Xemnu's rocket at the fleeing alien, causing a massive explosion.
(Incredible Hulk II Annual#5 (fb) - BTS) - Surviving yet again, Xemnu began to research classified extraterrestrial files of the U.S. government. Using them, he built five robots that looked like and possessed the powers of aliens that had previously terrorized mankind: the Blip, Diablo, Goom, Groot and Taboo.
(Incredible Hulk II Annual#5) - When the Hulk arrived in the area, Xemnu sent the robots, one at a time, to confront his hated enemy. Each fell in defeat to the Hulk. Finally, Xemnu himself confronted the Hulk. The two struggled, but Xemnu was distracted by blasts outside his underground lair, which turned out to be military depth charges. As the two behemoths battled into the air, then atop the Fort Carson Dam, a stray depth charge caused the dam to burst, washing both creatures away in a flood.
(Marvel Two-In-One I#78 (fb)-BTS)) - Once again using the form of Moses, Xemnu met Ted Silverberg, head of a television studio. Xemnu used his new unwitting ally to create all sorts of programs that would help spread Xemnu's subliminal messages.
(Marvel Two-In-One I#78) - Silverberg was confronted by Benjamin Grimm, the Thing, who was upset that his tv studio had made a series based loosely on the Thing. Silverberg reported this to "Moses," who used his powers to calm his underling. When actor Simon Williams, aka the hero Wonder Man, threatened to quit the show out of loyalty to his friend, Xemnu used his mental powers to gain control of Williams' mind. The Thing returned to the studio and was attacked by Wonder Man. As the two battled across the various studios, Grimm realized that the cameras were designed to aid Xemnu's hypnotic powers. He threw Wonder Man into one, shattering the Titan's grasp over the actor. The two then chased after Xemnu who got away in an escape pod.
Several months later, Silverberg used the incident to create his newest television show, "The Xemnu the Titan Show."
(Sensational She-Hulk#6 - BTS) - While on a coal sack run, Ulysses Solomon Archer's space-faring truck was infiltrated by Xemnu.
(Sensational She-Hulk#6) - The truck crashed into the Star Stop Diner, which was located thousands of miles in space from Earth. When Archer's wife Mary McGrill, as well as Razorback, Taryn O'Connell and the She-Hulk (the three of whom had arrived looking for Archer) investigated, they witnessed Xemnu emerge from the craft.
(Sensational She-Hulk#7) - Xemnu revealed that he had altered his master plan slightly. Instead of kidnapping children to repopulate his planet, he now intended to genetically alter unborn children to replenish his race, beginning with Archer and McGrill's. He used his mental powers to knock everyone at the Star Stop unconscious. Waking up, She-Hulk managed to break free of Xemnu's restraints and attacked him before being knocked out again. When she reawoke, she was horrified to find that Xemnu had begun to change her molecular structure to make her more like him and thus, compatible to be his new bride. Just then, Al the Alien, (a friend of Archer's) arrived with a massive space cavalry. The defeated Xemnu was handed over to Big Enilwen, a giant alien that collected teddy bears. Believing Xemnu to be one, he added the creature to his collection.
(Sensational She-Hulk#42 (fb)) - Xemnu used his powers to convince Enilwen to free his teddy bears into the wild.
(Sensational She-Hulk#42) - In space once again, She-Hulk aided Archer and Al against Spragg the Living Hill. After defeating him, they met again with Big Enilwen, who showed them his rock collection. Realizing what this meant, they turned and confronted a freed Xemnu.
(Sensational She-Hulk#43) - Xemnu gloated about his freedom and his plans to defeat She-Hulk and sell her into slavery, but before he could go any further, he was hit in the back of the head by She-Hulk's friend Louise Mason, who was brandishing a large monkey-wrench. Left unconscious, Xemnu's fate after that remains unknown.
(Beyond#4) - The Space Phantom transferred Xemnu into Limbo and adopted his form to fight the heroes on Battleworld. After Pym drugged the Space Phantom's Xemnu form, he replaced Xemnu with Northstar.
(Annihilation: Conquest#1) - Xemnu was turned into a select by the Phalanx. Along with Shatterax and Korath he joined Phalanx warriors on the planet Terma against Quasar (Phyla), Moondragon and Adam Warlock, but Adam Warlock fled with his allies. Xemnu, Korath and Shatterax returned to their leader Ultron to tell him about their failure. Korath was killed by Ultron to teach Shatterax and Xemnu a lesson.
(Dark Reign Files) - Quasimodo researched Xemnu for Norman Osborn.
(Deadpool Team-Up#894 - BTS) - Xemnu returned to Earth and joined the underground network below New York called Monster Metropolis.
(Deadpool Team-Up#894) - Hunting for the Punisher, Deadpool made his way underground, coming across Xemnu, now shorter and silent, who acted as a type of guard to Monster Metropolis. A psychic attack on Deadpool failed and he instead he accompanied Deadpool into the underground city to where the now cyborg Punisher was. Xemnu later revealed through projections from his eyes that Deadpool had been manipulated into killing the Punisher, so Deadpool's mission was over.
(Hulk III#30 (fb) - BTS) - After years of repairing his mind and body Xemnu travelled the galaxy to mind-control some of the most powerful denizens he could find to use them to kill the Hulk for him. He used every bit of technology he had ever acquired to create and train his own army to stop the Hulk.
(Hulk III#30) - Xemnu planned to kill the Hulk in a rematch some of the biggest gamblers in the galaxy were betting on. Impossible Man was sent along by the Galactic Consortium to cover the fight for Galactic League Fighting and explained the situation to the Red Hulk, who didn't know who Xemnu even was. When Xemnu the Titan arrived on Earth through the teleport tube in Death Valley, California he told the Red Hulk he would soon know his name after he collected Earth as his prize for killing the Hulk and all of its inhabitants trembled before him as their new leader. Surprised a Red Hulk was attacking him Xemnu nonetheless used his telepathic abilities to force the Red Hulk to beat himself up. When the green Hulk arrived and proved still immune to Xemnu's telepathy he summoned his mind-controlled monsters including a Blip, a Makluan, a Martian, a Venusian, Zzutak, Taboo (or a member of his race) and a Creature from Krogarr to kill the Hulk for him. When the Impossible Man realized that the Hulk was no match for the raw power of Xemnu's alien army and the Red Hulk no match for Xemnu's telepathy he used a Valizian compounder to merge the mind and body of the Hulk and Red Hulk. Annoyed by Impossible Man's interference Xemnu looked on as the merged Hulk defeated Xemnu's alien army. Revealing that his army were just cannon fodder Xemnu summoned a creature of pure destructive strength he had created from Hulk's DNA: Kluh. The merged Hulk defeated Kluh, then used the defeated Makluan and forced him to spit fire at Xemnu, whose fur was mostly burnt off. A few punches later the merged Hulk kicked Xemnu back through the portal, defeating him.
(Uncanny X-Men II#9 - BTS) - At some point, Xemnu was captured and placed in the brig of SWORD's orbiting space station, but freed by fellow inmate Unit. He arrived in Las Vegas, causing havoc by psychically enslaving tourists.
(Uncanny X-Men II#9) - Emma Frost and Iron Man created a heavy duty psionic screen for the Red Hulk, who fought alongside the Cytorrak-empowered Colossus and stopped Xemnu.
(Thunderbolts Annual II#1 (fb) - BTS) - Xemnu was captured by Elsa Bloodstone and held captive at Bloodstone Manor along with other monsters.
(Thunderbolts Annual II#1) - Xemnu got injured by Deadpool and Elektra when they were thrown into the same prison as him by Elsa's allies Living Mummy and the Frankenstein Monster.
(Rocket Racoon#2) - Imprisoned on prison planet Devin-9 in Block Z Xemnu became cellmates with Korgo, Rocket Raccoon and a four-armed alien. After Rocket made it clear he was nobody to mess with Xemnu and their other cellmates helped him plant a Groot toothpick in the cell's ground. Rocket, who considered Xemnu the Titan a far too long name, decided to call Xemnu just Bob. As requested Xemnu brought Rocket the toilet to water the Groot toothpick, so it would grow. Groot helped them all escape the prison.
(Uncanny X-Men III#33 - BTS) - At some point, Xemnu relocated to Monster Island, sea of Okhotsk.
(Uncanny X-Men III#33) - Xemnu was one of the many monsters who witnessed the arrival of X-Men Magik and Shadowcat and got into a fight with them. They had come to Monster Island to save a little mutant girl called Bo. After they found her Magik teleported herself, Kitty and Bo back to the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.
(Rocket Racoon#11) - Xemnu ended up imprisoned on prison planet Devin-12 and was incidentally soon reunited with his old cellmates. Rocket once again had a Groot toothpick as a means to escape and told Xemnu upon his arrival to get the toilet.
(Immortal Hulk I#28 (fb) - BTS) - Returning to Earth, Xemnu resumed living on Monster Island.
(Immortal Hulk I#28) - Xemnu's telepathically sensed Dario Agger of the Roxxon Oil Corporation thinking about the Hulk and seeking to cause him pain. When Agger came to Monster Island himself to request Xemnu's assistance, Xemnu asked what he wanted; Agger responded, "a Hulk."
(Immortal Hulk I#29 - BTS) - Xemnu sent a variety of creatures from Monster Island to attack four locations around the world, coordinating with Roxxon to ensure that no other super-heroes would be available, forcing the Hulk and his allies to respond to the emergencies.
(Immortal Hulk I#30) - When the Hulk was swallowed by one of the monsters he tore his way through its stomach, causing the creature's monstrous parasites to emerge alongside him and assaulting civilians. The news media quickly blamed the Hulk for unleashing the parasite creatures. Xemnu then entered the fray, declaring to television audiences ("boys and girls") that he had come to save them, using his mental powers to contain the parasites within energy spheres.
(Immortal Hulk I#31) - Xemnu appealed directly the television audiences, telling them he was Xemnu "from the Magic Planet." While speaking to the audience as though they were children he used his hypnotic powers to subtly alter their minds, calling up memories of their childhoods to associate with him ("Remember Saturday morning television? The smell of a new plastic toy? Remember being happy?"). Recognizing Xemnu as "White-Thing" the savage Hulk attacked Xemnu, which caused his control over the parasites' spheres to dissipate, freeing the monsters. The Harpy fought the parasites as the Hulk continued to beat Xemnu; Xemnu deliberately held back against the Hulk so that he would appear like a victim, continuing all the while to narrate to the "boys and girls" watching. As the Hulk tore out Xemnu's right arm, members of Gamma Flight became concerned that Xemnu's control over the monsters would be lost and so Gamma Flight member the Absorbing Man attacked the Hulk. Having fallen under Xemnu's spell, the Absorbing Man now thought that he had watched Xemnu on television when he was a child. Before the Hulk could continue to fight Xemnu his allies at Shadow Base translocated him back to their facility. Xemnu's mental domination over those who were watching and listening to him continued as people forgot about the Earth's other super-heroes, instead mentally replacing them with Xemnu. Xemnu was likewise now remembered as the Hulk, as even the Hulk no longer remembered that it had been his alias. The Hulk's ally Charlene McGowan found herself recalling an encounter with Daredevil from years ago, but with Xemnu in Daredevil's place in her memories.
(Immortal Hulk I#32) - Xemnu replaced people's fondest memories of super-heroes with himself, including taking the place of Spider-Man in his television debut (Amazing Fantasy I#15), replacing Captain America at the time of the Avengers' first line-up change (Avengers I#16), Mister Fantastic confronting Galactus with the Ultimate Nullifier (Fantastic Four I#50), Wonder Man appearing on Late Night with David Letterman (Avengers I#239) and Havok in his speech to the media at Eagle Plaza (Uncanny X-Men I#226). Other people continued to absorb Xemnu's false memories, such as a teenager in New Jersey who believed he saw Xemnu "embiggen" (clearly replacing Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan in his memories).
At Roxxon Plaza in New York, Agger and Xemnu watched television accounts of the effect Xemnu was having. Xemnu explained that his powers were strongest when transmitted "in a context. Through a screen. Through a culture." He explained that he had spent years allowing himself to be thought of as harmless. Agger believed himself to be immune to Xemnu's powers and reminded him of their deal - that Agger would be free to exploit and exhaust the Earth's resources, then give what was left to Xemnu. Xemnu claimed that at this future stage, the Earth would be much like his home planet; he also intnded to begin converting humans into beings like himself. Xemnu explained that repairing the injuries the Hulk performed on him had left him in need of sustenance, saying in a mawkish voice, "I am vewy hungwy." Agger's aide Travers was prepared to feed Xemnu by bringing him someone who wouldn't be missed to consume in an hour but Xemnu insisted that he be fed immediately; Agger thus permitted Xemnu to consume Travers as his chest opened up to reveal a maw; cybernetic cables emerged from his shoulders to pull Travers in and consume him.
Xemnu's influence caused people to remember the Hulk only as "the terrorist" Robert Banner as even the Hulk's ally Amadeus Cho and reporter Jackie McGee had difficulty sorting out their memories of the Hulk and Banner. However, Charlene McGowan being trans had a stronger sense of her own identity than others and began to suspect her memories of Xemnu were false, eventually finding a video clip of herself referencing Daredevil. McGowan shared this with Doc Samson and theorized that Banner was under the same influence as them but that he was being targeted deliberately, while the rest of them were merely on the periphery of Xemnu's powers.
(Immortal Hulk I#33) - Banner reverted to his savage Hulk persona, who could now identify Xemnu as the instigator of the rewritten memories. Accompanied by his allies Harpy, Doc Samson and Rick Jones (actually being possessed by the Leader) they stormed Roxxon Plaza. Xemnu sent an army of humans who had had begun to convert into creatures like himself, revealing that Travers was among those he used for parts. When Agger tried to call for help he discovered that he had also been under Xemnu's mental control and been unaware that Xemnu was slowly converting all of Roxxon Plaza's staff into creatures; Xemnu's subtle mental effect played into Agger's own swaggering over-confidence. Their partnership now ended, Xemnu admitted that while he had been satisified with their deal it was "not satisfactory enough." Opening his maw, Xemnu began to consume Agger.
The Hulk arrived at the top of the plaza to find Agger partially digested and partially transformed into a being like Xemnu. Xemnu then attempted to seize control of the Hulk's mind and make him his ally but Rick Jones summoned up the Hulk's "Green Scar" personality, who resisted Xemnu's power and smashed Xemnu apart, severing his head and left arm. Xemnu's defeat caused his mental control over others to be ceased, restoring people's memories to normal.
(X-Men Unlimited III#34 (fb) - BTS) - Having reconstituted his physical form following his defeat, Xemnu returned to Monster Island. Proclaiming himself King of Monster Island, Xemnu used his psychic abilities to bend several monsters to his will, amongst them were Goom, Rorgg, the Two-Headed Thing and a Giganto.
(X-Men Unlimited III#27) - Xemnu was seen on Monster Island when mutants Strong Guy and one of Multiple Man's dupes found themselves on the island after dealing with the ferocious blue offspring of a crustaceous monster.
(X-Men Unlimited III#34) - Just as the two mutants
were about to leave Monster Island they were discovered by Goom. Eager
to bring the mutants to Xemnu, Goom opposed Strong Guy. The battle that
followed quickly attracted the attention of Rorrg, the Two-Headed Thing
and a Giganto who were all under Xemnu's control. The monsters brought
the two mutants to Xemnu who was seemingly impressed with their efforts
and revealed his newly developed master plan to amass a mutant army to
conquer the island nation of Krakoa after which he placed the mutants
under his mind control.
However, Xemnu came under attack by the same ferocious blue
little monsters that had previously attacked Strong Guy and Multiple
Man. Having dented Xemnu's chrome cranium, Goom and the other monsters
regained their senses for a brief moment. Still able to use some of his
hypnotic capabilities, Xemnu once again took control of Rorrg, the
Two-Headed Thing and the Giganto who then attacked Goom. Mere moments
later another monster appeared, aptly named Crustor by the Multiple Man
dupe, the crustaceous monster helped ward off the other monsters while
the dupe and Strong Guy successfully defeated Xemnu, ending his reign.
Comments: Created by unknown writer, Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.
When he originally appeared, he was called Xemnu the Hulk. However, by the time he was brought into Marvel continuity, the "Hulk" name was being used by another character you may be familiar with. Xemnu's first two appearances were reprinted in Monsters on the Prowl #11 and 14. In fact, #14 missed a couple of "Hulk" references. He was also colored a golden-brown in his original appearances, but that has since been forgotten, and his white fur from his reprint appearances is accepted as the way it was then.
Xemnu was the first Kirby-era monster to be brought into proper Earth-616 continuity.
Xemnu had what appeared to be cyborg parts in his first appearances in the 1960s and in Marvel Feature#3, but they disappeared during his later appearances, only to show back up in Sensational She-Hulk#42-43. My guess is that once he started possessing bodies, they naturally didn't require the cybernetics that his original body did. Why they returned later has been unrevealed.
Two deceased members of Xemnu's race have been seen. In Fantastic Four I#359, Devos the Devastator had the head of a Titan among his trophies (which also included the heads of a Skrull, an Elan and a Kree Sentry, as well as the living creature Dreadface). In Wolverine II#134, the Collector (the Elder of the Universe) had turned the body of a Titan into a floor rug.
Xemnu's appearances in Immortal Hulk are glorious (and gruesome!). The rewritten flashback scene in Immortal Hulk I#31 where Xemnu strikes an acrobatic Daredevil pose is terrifically funny. But in general, it does a great job of making Xemnu frightening and exploring some of the mysteries around the character (why hasn't he been much of a villain in recent years? where's his mouth? is he cybernetic?). Tying him back to his first true Marvel Universe appearance in Marvel Feature I#3 by emphasizing Xemnu as a television character and using that as his means to mind control everyone is also a very sharp idea -- in today's nostalgia-laden and social media-driven culture, Xemnu is all the more timely. Not every author can make "I am vewy hungwy" terrifying, so kudos to Al Ewing!
Xemnu the Titan received Handbook profiles in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Update '89#8 (December, 1989), Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Master Edition#9 (August, 1991), Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone (November, 2005), Dark Reign Files (February, 2009) and the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update#1 (February, 2010).
Updated by MarvellousLuke (Uncanny X-Men and X-Men Unlimited), Markus Raymond (Hulk, T-Bolts & Rocket), Immortal Hulk by Prime Eternal. Profile has been fully reworked, updated and extended by MarvellousLuke.
Profile by Madison Carter, Markus Raymond, MarvellousLuke and Prime Eternal
CLARIFICATIONS:
Xemnu has no known connections to
Astronaut, came back with "Rich Wagner" and starred on children's show. When Xemnu revealed himself, Cal attacked him and was killed.
--Marvel Feature#3 ( Marvel Feature#3 (fb), 3
Small town electrician who found and revived Xemnu. Defeated him twice, once by rewiring Xemnu's ship's control board, and then by turning Xemnu's hypnotic powers back onto him.
--Journey into Mystery I#62 ( #62, 66
Mayor of Plucketville. Was vacationing in Miami when Xemnu possessed his form. Xemnu later re-used his form to form alliance with Ted Silverberg.
--Defenders I#12 (Defenders I#12 (fb), 12, Marvel Two-In-One I#78
Astronaut who was possessed by the gaseous form of Xemnu.
--Marvel Feature#3 (Marvel Feature I#3 (fb), 3
Xemnu consumed most of the staff of Roxxon Plaza (including Travers). The remains of his victims were then converted into beings similar to himself; these creatures had no mouths and were partially cybernetic; possibly their only organic parts were their skeletons and skin. Many of these creatures were destroyed by Doc Samson, the Harpy, the Hulk and the Leader (who was possessing the body of Rick Jones). Dario Agger was also partially consumed and converted into a creature, although his transformation was incomplete.
--Immortal Hulk I#33
Images: (without ads)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Update '89#8 (main image)
Journey into Mystery I#62, p1, pan1 (full body)
Marvel Feature#3, p8, pan3 (on television show)
Defenders I#12, p4, pan1&2 (reintroducing himself to the Hulk)
Sensational She-Hulk#43, p7-8 (facing the She-Hulk)
Annihilation: Conquest#1, p14, pan1 (as Phalanx select)
Immortal Hulk I#32, p6-7 (Xemnu's mouth)
X-Men Unlimited III#34, pan24 (King of Monster Island)
Marvel Feature#3, p7, pan3 (Cal Beame)
Monsters on the Prowl#11, p6, pan1 (Joe Harper)
Defenders I#12, p12, pan5 (Amos Moses)
Immortal Hulk I#33, p26 (thralls)
Marvel Feature#3, p7, pan3 (Rich Wagner)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Master Edition#9, Xemnu's entry (master)
Appearances:
Journey into Mystery I#62 (November, 1960) - Jack Kirby (pencils), Dick Ayers (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Journey into Mystery I#66 (March, 1961) - Jack Kirby (pencils), Dick Ayers (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Marvel Feature#3 (June, 1972) - Roy Thomas (writer), Ross Andru (pencils), Bill Everett (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Defenders I#12 (February, 1974) - Len Wein (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Jack Abel (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Incredible Hulk Annual#5 (1976) - Chris Claremont & Len Wein
(writers), Sal Buscema (pencils), Jack Abel (inks), Len Wein (editor)
Marvel Two-In-One I#78 (August, 1981) - Tom DeFalco & David
Michelinie (writers), Ron Wilson (pencils), Chic Stone (inks), Jim
Salicrup (editor)
Sensational She-Hulk#6 (October, 1989) - John Byrne (writer/pencils), Al Gordon (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Sensational She-Hulk#7 (November, 1989) - John Byrne (writer/pencils), Al Gordon & Bob Wiacek (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Update '89#8 (December, 1989) -
Peter Sanderson (writer), Josef Rubinstein (inks), Mark Gruenwald,
Gregory Wright, Sara Tuchinsky (editors)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Master Edition#9 (August,
1991) - Len Kaminski, Peter Sanderson, Mark Gruenwald, Glenn Herdling,
Murray Ward (writers), Keith Pollard (pencils), Josef Rubinstein (inks),
Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Sensational She-Hulk#42 (August, 1992) - John Byrne (writer/artist), Renee Witterstaetter (editor)
Sensational She-Hulk#43 (September, 1992) - John Byrne (writer/artist), Renee Witterstaetter (editor)
Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone (November, 2005) -
Madison Carter, Jeff Christiansen, Sean McQuaid, Stuart Vandal, Eric J.
Moreels, Ronald Byrd, Barry Reese (writers), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
Beyond#4 (December, 2006) - by Dwayne McDuffie (writer), Scott Kolins (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Annihilation: Conquest#1 (January, 2008) - Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
(writers), Tom Raney (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Bill Rosemann
(editor)
Dark Reign Files (February, 2009) - Michael Hoskin & various others (writer), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update#1 (February, 2010) -
Jeff Christiansen, Stuart Vandal, Sean McQuaid, Michael Hoskin, Mike
O'Sullivan, Rob London, Kevin Garcia, Madison Carter, Markus Raymond,
Ronald Byrd, Chris Biggs, Gabriel Shechter, Eric J. Moreels, Jacob
Rougemont, Mike Gagnon (writers), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
Deadpool Team-Up#894 (June, 2010) - Ivan Brandon (script), Sanford
Greene (pencils), Nathan Massengill (inks), Axel Alonso (editor)
Hulk III#30 (April, 2011) - Jeff Parker (writer), Ed McGuinness (artist), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Uncanny X-Men II#9 (May, 2012) - Kieron Gillen (writer), Carlos Pacheco (pencils), Cam Smith (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Thunderbolts Annual II#1 (February, 2014) - Ben Acker & Ben Blacker
(writers), Matteo Lolli (artist), Jordan D. White (editor)
Rocket Racoon#2 (October, 2014) - Skottie Young (writer), Jean-Francois Beaulieu (artist), Sana Amanat (editor)
Uncanny X-Men III#33 (April, 2015) - Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Kris
Anka (pencils, inks), Mike Marts, Xander Jarowey (editors)
Rocket Racoon#11 (July, 2015) - Skottie Young (writer), Jean-Francois Beaulieu (artist), Sana Amanat (editor)
Immortal Hulk I#28 (February, 2020) - Al Ewing (writer), Tom Reilly, Matías Bergara (artists), Wil Moss (editor)
Immortal Hulk I#29 (March, 2020) - Al Ewing (writer), Joe Bennett (pencils), Belardino Brabo, Ruy José, Cam Smith (inks), Wil Moss (editor)
Immortal Hulk I#30 (March, 2020) - Al Ewing (writer), Joe Bennett (pencils), Belardino Brabo, Ruy José, Cam Smith (inks), Wil Moss (editor)
Immortal Hulk I#31 (April, 2020) - Al Ewing (writer), Joe Bennett, Javier Rodríguez (pencils), Belardino Brabo, Ruy José, Cam Smith, Álvaro López (inks), Wil Moss (editor)
Immortal Hulk I#32 (May, 2020) - Al Ewing (writer), Joe Bennett, Javier Rodríguez (pencils), Belardino Brabo, Ruy José, Cam Smith, Álvaro López (inks), Wil Moss (editor)
Immortal Hulk I#33 (May, 2020) - Al Ewing (writer), Joe Bennett, Nicolas Pitarra (pencils), Belardino Brabo, Marc Deering, Ruy José, Mark Morales, Nicolas Pitarra (inks), Wil Moss (editor)
X-Men Unlimited III#27 (March 21, 2022) - Jason Loo (writer, pencils, inks), Lauren Amaro (editor)
X-Men Unlimited III#34 (May 9, 2022) - Jason Loo (writer, pencils, inks), Lauren Amaro (editor)
First Posted: 09/28/2005
Last Updated: 09/16/2022
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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