SALOME ABDOLSALOME ABDOL
Real Name: Salome Abdol
Identity/Class: Human technology user (she may or may not have had any of her father's mutant -- see the comments for the Living Monolith's profile for discussion on that -- genes)
Occupation: Terrorist;
former student
Group Membership: Cult of the Living Pharaoh/Children of the Sun
Affiliations: Formerly the Living Pharaoh (Ahmet Abdol)
Enemies: Fantastic Four (Human Torch/Johnny Storm, Invisible Woman/Sue Richards, Mr.
Fantastic/Reed Richards, She-Hulk/Jen Walters);
Living Pharaoh (in that he killed her)
Known Relatives: Ahmet Abdol (Living Monolith/Living Pharaoh, father), Filene Abdol (mother, deceased);
unidentified aunt, Leila
O'Toole (Plasma, paternal cousin); various cousins, including the Trackers (?)
Abdol claims to be heir to the ancient
Pharaohs, such as Ramses, (as well as Ennead gods, such as
Osiris and
Horus), but I am
not aware of any proof of such a relationship (Abdol specifically claimed to
have found evidence of the relationship of his family to the Pharaohs)
Aliases: Fayah Sahid
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly Malta
First Appearance: Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith (1985)
Powers/Abilities: Fayah had no superhuman abilities (or, if she did, they were dormant)
Height: Unrevealed (perhaps 5'8")
Weight: Unrevealed (perhaps 130 lbs.)
Eyes: Light blue (only one image shows them at all clearly)
Hair: Black
History:
(Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith (fb))
- After the newly married Ahmet and Filene Abdol moved to the American University at Cairo,
Filene became pregnant and gave birth to their
daughter, Salome.
(Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith (fb) - BTS) - After Ahmet announced to the scientific and religious communities of Cairo that the ancient pharaohs were actually mutants who could tap cosmic energies to wield their mysterious powers, the crowd responded fiercely, denouncing Abdol as a heretic who threatened to corrupt their people and to blaspheme their true god, Allah.
(Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith (fb)) - As the crowd rushed him, Ahmet rushed Filene and the infant Salome to their car, where he sped away. Recalling abuse he had received in his youth, Ahmet fled recklessly. Rounding a turn and finding children playing in their path, Ahmet swerved to miss them, crashing and flipping the car. Ahmet and Salome were thrown to safety, but Ahmet found the burning car's doors crushed/fused shut. He begged the mob who had finally caught up to him to help him save his wife, but they stood by in silence while Filene perished in flames.
(Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith (fb) / Uncanny X-Men I#376 (fb)) - Enraged over losing the only person who had ever understood him, Ahmet -- while holding Salome in his hands -- lashed out at the protestors, subconsciously unleashing a plasma bolt that injured and scattered the mob. Puzzled, Abdol wondered if he had gone mad, but a man in a fez (secretly Apocalypse) convinced Ahmet come with him so he could show him his destiny.
(Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith (fb))
- Ahmet and Salome were taken to a temple hidden deep in the Egyptian desert, a
sanctuary tended by the Cult of the Living Pharaoh (either another name for or a
sect of the Children of the Sun), a centuries-old cult that worshipped the pharaohs and
awaited their return. Ahmet was told that he was the living god for whom they had bided the ages.
(Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith (fb) - BTS) - Taking the identity of the Living Pharaoh, Abdol sought to absorb even more cosmic energy, enough to allow him to gain the full, immortal power of the gods. Appreciating the danger of his quest, he sent Salome away to a school in the Mediterranean island nation Malta. The only remnant of the peace and happiness that was now gone to him, she was even more precious than the omnipotence he coveted.
(Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith (fb) - BTS) - Abdol at some point made plans to capture the Fantastic Four to transfer their cosmic ray-energies into him to allow him to become the Monolith again.
(Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living
Monolith (fb) - BTS) - Learning of her father's plans and wishing to
prove she was not a china doll to be protected but rather that her
rightful place was by her father's side, Salome Abdol secretly returned
from Malta and insisted to his cultists on being part of his project;
with her being of her father's "royal" blood, the cultists felt
obligated to obey her.
With her true identity unknown to most cultists
and to Abdol herself, she took the identity of Fayah Sahid.
(Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith) <Perhaps 20-25 years after she had been sent to Malta> - As "Fayah" approached the Baxter Building, she was confronted by numerous cultists who denounced her as a traitor who must pay. However, the conflict was seen by the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), who defeated and drove off the cultists, after which Fayah requested an audience with the Fantastic Four to stop a threat that might destroy the world.
After the rest of the FF had been gathered, Fayah told them she had
been a former follower of Ahmet Abdol until realizing he was a madman.
She continued on, claiming to have accidentally discovered Abdol's
development of a machine to alter brainwaves able to make the whole
would bow down to him; allegedly objecting to subjugation, she claimed
to have stolen a key component from the machine and fled to the USA to
enlist the FF to stop Abdol. As Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards) headed
off to analyze the component, he instructed the Human Torch to watch
over her, but Fayah -- specifically wanting the Human Torch to be
captured along with the others -- requested She-Hulk (Jen Walters) be
the one to watch over her. She claimed that She-Hulk's strength was
legendary even in her native Egypt and she would feel so safe with
She-Hulk guarding her.
Both interested in "Fayah" for her beauty and frustrated as he had been
the one to seemingly save her life earlier, the Torch was somewhat
indignant, while She-Hulk teased him.
When "Fayah" -- with her head turned -- further flattered She-Hulk, telling her that she and her people knew all about her, She-Hulk failed to pick up on the menacing expression on her face.
(Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith - BTS) - Meanwhile, as Reed concluded that the "key part" allegedly stolen by "Fayah" was a random assortment of electronic circuits for no purpose, an alarm sounded as a number of the Living Pharaoh's airships approached and surrounded the Baxter Building.
(Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith) - Before She-Hulk could head to join her teammates in battle stations upstairs, "Fayah" -- after confirming the others' location -- activated a device that allowed beams from the aircrafts to strike her briefcase (or whatever type of bag it was) and connect to each other, forming an immense inverted pyramid that cut into and surrounded the Human Torch, and Reed and Sue Richards, transporting them to another, upright, pyramid, within Abdol's base.
(Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith) - She-Hulk activated Reed's external energy blocker to interrupt the ships' energies, but "Fayah" told her she was too late, and her teammates were already gone. Calling her a fool, "Fayah" revealed that she would never betray her master and that this had all been a ruse to separate her from her fellow warriors. "Fayah" further told She-Hulk to be glad the master had no need of her or else she would have been lured into the transport beam as well and would now be suffering the same fate as her comrades.
As She-Hulk confirmed she could not contact the others, she turned to "Fayah" and told her to talk. "Fayah" instead replied that the time for talk was over, and she must leave. "Fayah" attempted to shatter a window with a thrown chair to escape aboard a ladder dropped from a waiting ship (which would both free her and make her mission a success, such that the master would know she was worthy), but was instead captured by the She-Hulk when the Lexan window resisted the impact. She-Hulk then closed on her, threatening if Fayah didn't tell her what was going on that she would begin plucking her limbs like daisy petals.
(Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith - BTS) - Upon appreciating that "Fayah" was trapped, the Pharaoh's cultists considered activating her electrocution band, but another agent apparently recognized Fayah as Salome, and ordered that the Pharaoh himself must make that decision.
(Marvel
Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith) - As Abdol ranted
about his plans to the inert Fantastic Four members, a servant
interrupted him to reveal Fayah's capture; Abdol was furious that his
captured agent had not already been executed, until he saw an image of
her tearfully pounding at the Lexan window and realized it was actually
Salome. At first he raged that his servants had allowed her to put
herself at risk, but they countered that she was of his royal blood and
could thus command them. 
Consumed with his desire for power, Abdol agonized over the life of his
only daughter vs. the chance that she could be made to talk and destroy
his best, and perhaps last, chance to gain everything he had sought
since childhood. As Abdol continued to go back and forth in a cold
sweat, Hassan -- an Egyptian prison guard who had tormented Ahmet as a
youth and whom Ahmet had captured to show him the power he wielded --
taunted him for still being a wimp, which goaded Abdol to push the
button and incinerate Salome, leaving behind only a pile of ashes (note: She-Hulk had
activated Reed's circuitry that woul instantly block all outside
transmission of energy, but she may have shut off the device, or it
might have only acted briefly; it seems less likely that Abdol's
technology could overcome Richards' when it had previously proven
sufficient to block Doom's transmissions).
(Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith - BTS) - Choking back tears, Abdol attempted to put the past behind him, though his servants realized he was going mad. Accusing "the infidels" of taking everything but his destiny from him, Abdol engaged his equipment, which fed him with the FF's energies and transformed him into the Living Monolith, who vowed revenge. The cultists noted their master being more enraged than they had ever seen and speculated that his different appearance might relate to the artificial nature of his transformation. Blaming the FF's ilk for his daughter's death, the Monolith restrained himself from killing them because he needed their power, so he instead decided to destroy their home, New York.
Comments: Created by David Michelinie, Marc Silvestri, and Geof Isherwood.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Salome Abdol should be distinguished from:
images: (without ads)
Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith, story page 8, panel 2 (infant);
pg. 20, panel 1 (full, distant);
pg. 27, panel 1 (activator);
pg. 31, panel 2 (close-up upper body);
pg. 32, panel 2 (face);
pg. 41, panel 2-3 (death)
Appearances:
Marvel Graphic Novel No. 17: Revenge of the Living Monolith (1985) - David
Michelinie (writer), Marc Silvestri (penciler), Geof Isherwood (inker), Kenneth
Williams (assistant editor), James Owlsley (editor); Mark Gruenwald, Ralph
Macchio, Mike Carlin, Danny Fingeroth, Ann Nocenti (consulting editors)
Last updated: 04/11/16
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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