PRIESTS OF SHAO-LOMPRIESTS OF SHAO-LOM
Membership: None identified
Purpose: To live
lives of study and meditation, seeking perfection of
the mind and body
Aliases: None
Affiliations: Pamela Douglas, Eternals of Titan (Emlot, Kazantra, Mentor/Alars, others), Kree, Mantis (Brandt), Moondragon (Heather Douglas), Priests of Pama
Enemies: Dragon of the Moon
Base of Operations: Titan
First Appearance: Daredevil I#105 (November,
1973)
History: (Daredevil
I#105 (fb) – BTS) – On Titan, a group of Eternals
formed the Priests of Shao-Lom and began worshiping, meditating and
training
in a temple for “tens of centuries."
(Avengers I Giant-Size#4 (fb) – BTS) – The Priests
of
Shao-Lom were a variant of the Priests of Pama, who had a station on
Earth.
Both groups had connections to the Kree and were prophesied in time to
help
train the Celestial Madonna in an upcoming generation.
(Daredevil I#105 (fb)) – Mentor and Kazantra had
Emlot take
the human child Heather Douglas, whose parents had been killed on
Earth, to the
Priests of Shao-Lom for training and to be raised. They showed her the
Statue
of Kaluba, whom they worshiped nearby. Heather
shaved her head and over the
following years, she trained in mastering her own body and mind,
learning how to
tolerate stress and enjoy pleasure. As an adult, Heather considered
herself
Titan's finest athlete and most renowned geneticist.
(Defenders I#138 (fb)) – Heather used her superior
mental skills to reach out beyond safe zones and tap into an evil
presence that
had existed on Titan since before the Eternals had been there. The
presence
called itself the Dragon of the Moon. Heather was able to seal the
being off
from her mind but he had corrupted her, making her see herself as
superior to
those around her. She began to taunt and ridicule the Priests of
Shao-Lom as she furthered
her training and they were horrified at her arrogance. To honor her own
victory, she selected the name Moondragon for herself.
(Avengers I Giant-Size#4 (fb)) – As part of
Moondragon's
instruction, she was taught mastery of the mind so that she could
commune
better with the plant race, the Cotati. Meanwhile, Mantis was being
trained in
similar ways by the Priests of Pama on Earth. It was believed that one
of these
two women would eventually become the Madonna. Moondragon established
herself
as a priestess, scientist and athlete among the Priests of Shao-Lom,
who would at times
bow before her, and she saw herself as superior to them and all
mankind.
(Daredevil I#105 (fb)
– BTS) – In time, Thanos destroyed Titan, presumably including the
Priests of Shao-Lom. Moondragon believed herself the only
survivor.
(Avengers
I Giant-Size#4 – BTS) – Despite the Priests' training, Moondragon learned she was
not selected as the Celestial Madonna, even as Mantis was.
(Avengers I#211 – BTS) – Moondragon bragged about her upbringing and birthright among the Priests of Shao-Lom.
(Solo Avengers#18/2) - On the day that Heather's new body was ready to be released, the Priests of Shao-Lom attempted to claim Heather for their monastary, but Heather and Pamela both refused, and were determined to depart Titan. As they set off into space, they were trapped in the tractor beam of a vessel operated by the Dance.
Comments: Created by Steve Gerber, Jim Starlin
and Don Perlin.
The Priests of Shao-Lom were Titanian Eternals but
Giant-Size Avengers I#4 states that they had connections to the Kree in
their
origins. This could mean they had Kree training or that they had
reached out
to the Cotati, or they studied and practiced Kree philosophy, or that
they had
inter-breeded with the Kree at some point. This connection has never
been fully
explained.
Solo Avengers#18/2 added by Markus Raymond.
Profile by Chadman.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Priests of Shao-Lom have no known connections to:
(Daredevil I#105 (fb)) – The Priests of Shao-Lom on Titan showed young Heather Douglas the statue of Kaluba the Master, a worshipful space in their temples.
--Daredevil I#105 (fb)
images: (without ads)
Defenders I#138, p15, pan3 (Priests, main image)
Daredevil I#105, p13, pan1 (Priest with young Moondragon)
Avengers I Giant-Size#4, p7, pan4 (Priests with older
Moondragon)
Daredevil I#105, p13, pan1 (Kaluba the Master)
Appearances:
Daredevil I#105 (November, 1973) – Steve Gerber (writer),
Don Heck, Jim Starlin (pencilers), Don Perlin (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
Avengers I Giant-Size#4 (June, 1975) - Steve Englehart
(writer), Don Heck (penciler), John Tartag (inker), Len Wein (editor)
Avengers I#211 (September, 1981) – Jim Shooter (writer),
Gene Colan (penciler), Dan Green (inker), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Defenders I#138 (December, 1984) – Peter Gillis
(writer), Don Perlin (penciler), Kim DeMulder (inker), Carl Potts (editor)
Solo Avengers#18 (May, 1989) - Peter Gillis (writer), James Brock (pencils), Roy Richardson (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
First Posted: 07/01/2018
Last updated: 08/07/2018
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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