HEKA-NUT 
HEKA-NUT
Real Name: Heka-Nut
Identity/Class: Human magic-user;
Egyptian citizen;
26th - 11th century BC (see comments)
Occupation: Sorcerer;
former agent of Chthon, former intermediary of the Elder Gods (Chthon, Gaea, Oshtur, Set)
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Ashake, Chthon, Keku, Ian McNee; numerous unidentified servants;
indirectly Morgan Le Fay and Llyra;
formerly Chthon, Keku, Oshtur (as Ma'at), "the Gods" (see comments);
his former body is/was inhabited by Glitternight, later Dr. Glitternight;
formerly the Elder Gods (Chthon, Gaea, Oshtur, Set)
Enemies: Chthon, Keku, Magik (Illyana Rasputin);
formerly Ashake, Ian McNee;
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: His former body was inhabited by Glitternight, later Dr. Glitternight
Base of Operations: His spirit's location is unrevealed;
his body merged with the energies of Glitternight to become Dr. Glitternight;
his body was previously trapped within Oshtur's canopic jar;
his power was previously trapped within Oshtur's canopic jar;
formerly 26th - 11th century BC Egypt
First Appearance: Mystic Arcana#1 (Magik) (August, 2007)
Powers/Abilities: Heka-Nut possessed vast mystical powers. His natural abilities, which were somewhat less than those of Ashake initially, were greatly magnified by Chthon.
Heka-Nut could pull the soul from other living beings, even other magic-users, binding it to his will and/or corrupting it if desired; beings whose souls were already corrupted or bound elsewhere were resistant to his manipulation.
Heka-Nut's soul could possess others.
Heka-Nut could reanimate and control the dead, using them as warriors and servants.
He could sense the presence of
beings of magic, some degree of precognition, as he could sense that
Magik (Illyana Rasputin) would arrive in his time period before she
actually arrived there.
Heka-Nut could generate mystic bonds able to restrain even other magic-users. Either the bonds themselves of Heka-Nut's power separately could cause fatal agony within seconds if one attempted to escape the bonds or otherwise resisted his will.
Heka-Nut's lifespan was mystically
extending, retaining the appearance of a young adult when at least 1500
years old (see comments)
As a being of magic, Heka-Nut was
highly vulnerable to Magik's soulsword, which separated him from his
magical power. As he had been some deeply corrupted by Chthon's
black magic, separation from his power rendered him virtually mad;
broken, he wandered aimlessly.
Heka-Nut's corrupt nature rendered him unable to wield the Sword of Bone.
Dr. Glitternight, although using
Heka-Nut's body, is considered a different being. See his own entry for
discussion of his abilities.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 6'3" or possibly taller)
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 230 lbs. or more if taller)
Eyes: Solid white (glowing yellow sometimes when using his powers; likely originally brown)
Hair: Presumably shaved bald; black eyebrows; he's got one of
those ornamental fake beards...it is unclear whether he had and actual
beard)
History:
(Mystic Arcana#1/2 (fb) - BTS) - Once Heka-Nut glittered like the stars; he was young and brilliant.
(Mystic Arcana#1/2 (fb) - BTS / Marvel Legacy: The 1960s-1990s handbook: Where Are They Now?: Dr. Glitternight) - Heka-Nut was chosen to act as
intermediary between the Elder Gods (Chthon, Gaea, Oshtur, Set).
(Mystic
Arcana: Sister Grimm#1/3 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel
Universe A to Z hardcover#3: Dr. Glitternight entry) - In 26th century BC (see comments), the sorcerers Heka-Nut and Ashake were tutored in magic by Ma’at (aka Oshtur) and other gods.
The apprentices became good friends and studied faithfully for1000 years (see comments), but Heka-Nut eventually grew jealous of Ashake’s superior skill, feeling that the gods favored her.
(Mystic Arcana#1/2 (fb) - BTS) - The dark god Keku (the primordial
Ogdoad god of darkness and chaos and an
agent of the Elder God Chthon) fanned the flames of Heka-Nut’s envy and
pride, until almost everything good in the sorcerer burned away. Keku
eventually tempted and broke Heka-Nut.
(Mystic Arcana#1/2 (fb) - BTS / / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#3: Dr. Glitternight entry) - Chthon taught his new minion necromancy, transformed him into a vessel of untold power, and convinced the sorcerer -- who was desperate to prove himself -- to collect four talismans of immense mystical power, the Cornerstones of Creation; these would allegedly make Heka-Nut supreme.
(Mystic Arcana#1/2 (fb) - BTS) - First targeting
the Sword of Bone (Oshtur's Cornerstone), Heka-Nut spent 500 years searching
for it.
Finding the Sword hidden by an enchantment in the Valley
of Kings, Heka-Nut spent more centuries fighting through traps and spells
but still failed to recover the Sword of Bone.
(Mystic Arcana#1/2 (fb) - BTS) - <11th century BC> - Sensing
the arrival of time-traveling modern era mutant Magik (Illyana
Rasputin), who was traveling with her teammate Mirage (Danielle
Moonstar), Heka-Nut tried to mystically ensnare them.
(New Mutants I#32 - BTS / Mystic Arcana#1/2 - BTS) - Via the power of her newly created First Tarot, Heka-Nut's former ally Ashake sensed Heka-Nut's efforts to ensnare Rasputin (and Moonstar), Ashake mystically intercepted them and brought them to her home.
(Mystic Arcana#1/2 - BTS) - After Ashake invoked Shu to conceal Moonstar (whom she'd given a sleeping draught), Heka-Nut's minions confronted and ultimately captured Magik and Ashake.
(Mystic Arcana#1/2 - BTS) - Magik and Ashake were brought to Heka-Nut's boat and mystically bound.
(Mystic Arcana#1/2) - Aboard
his ship, Heka-Nut mockingly noted to Ashake that because Ashake had
tried to protect Magik from him, she ended up in his clutches, as well.
Admitting that she feared Heka-Nut's power, Ashake informed him that
she could not simply abandon a child to a monster who wished to use her
as a cat's paw.
Magik summoned her soulsword in preparation to free herself and Ashake, but Ashake as was agonized as a result; Heka-Nut explained that Ashake would be dead in the space of three breaths if she continued to resist him, and Magik sheathed her sword.
Impressed by Magik's power and no
longer content to merely use her as a pawn, Heka-Nut attempted to claim
her soul for himself; however, he found her soul both corrupt and
already bound elsewhere, so he instead took Ashake's soul to force
Magik to aid him.
Heka-Nut then instructed Magik to
enter the crypt and to bring him the Sword of Bone or they both were
lost; though he would retain Ashake's soul as a hostage, her body and
mind would accompany Magik and act as her guide.
Heka-Nut gave his word
that if they brought him the Sword of Bone, he would return Ashake's
soul uncorrupted and set her free, but he further warned that he would
be watching through Ashake's eyes and that he would fully claim Ashake
the second they betrayed him.
(Mystic Arcana#1/2 - BTS) - Via
scrying from
Otherplace/"limbo" (concealed from Heka-Nut's discovery by Ashake via a
momentary illusion), Magik bypassed the remaining traps and ultimately retrieved the Sword of Bone.
Transporting through Otherplace
again, Magik brought herself and Ashake back to Heka-Nut.
(Mystic Arcana#1/2) - As they returned, Heka-Nut refused to honor the agreement, noting he was unwilling to give up the tool that delivered to him the Sword of Bones. As he forced Ashake to give him the Sword, he noted that Ashake would be his finest slave while Magik would be the first of many beings of power to be devoured by the Sword's burning blade.
However, as soon as Ashake relinquished
the Sword to Heka-Nut, it
reverted to its inert bone form in his unworthy hands.
Magik then
struck the distracted Heka-Nut with her Soulsword, disrupting his power
and shattering his mind.
Ashake reclaimed the Sword of Bones, after which Ashake placed
Heka-Nut's lost power within a jackal-headed canopic jar sent by Oshtur with plans to hide
the jar, while Heka-Nut wandered off, noting his failure and begging Keku for mercy.
(Mystic Arcana#1 - BTS) - Posing as Oshtur, Chthon rescued sorcerer Ian McNee from a dream (roughly at dusk) that he was drowning in the Serpent's Sea (the realm of Set) in exchange for helping "her" by restoring the sorcerer Heka-Nut to save the mystic realms.
Ian could do this by using the First Tarot and gathering its four aces, the Cornerstones of Creation (the Sword of Bones was pictured on the Tarot cards).
(Mystic Arcana#1/3, Mystic Arcana: Black Knight#1/3,
Mystic Arcana#3 (Scarlet Witch) - third story, Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1/3) -
McNee gathered
the Cornerstones of Creation: The Sword of Bones, Ebon Rose (Gaea's Cornerstone), Serpent
Crown (Set's Cornerstone), and the Black Mirror's Darkhold page, which accessed the
power of the Darkhold (Chthon's Cornerstone).
(Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1 - BTS, 1/3 - BTS) - Ian McNee suspected the truth based on some inconsistencies in the story of "Oshtur."
(Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1/3 (fb) - BTS) - In preparation for the coming conflict, Ian made plans with former holders of the Sword of Bone, Ebon Rose, and the Serpent Crown -- Ashake, 6th century sorceress Morgan Le Fay, and the Lemurian Llyra, respectively -- to oppose Chthon's plot.
(Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1/3) - Pressured by Chthon (still posing as Oshtur), McNee
summoned the four Cornerstones of Creation and began the spell to
restore Heka-Nut, aided by Ashake, Llyra, and Morgan Le Fay.
(Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1/3 / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#3: Dr. Glitternight entry) - Ashake
brought the canopic jar
containing Heka-Nut's power, and Ian McNee restored Heka-Nut's soul,
brought it forward in time, and gave Heka-Nut shelter within his own
form.
(Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1/3) - With
Heka-Nut restored, Chthon revealed his true nature and prepared to use
Heka-Nut to control McNee and through him use the Cornerstones to
control all creation.
However, McNee called on his allies, and Morgan
and Llyra called on the Rose and Crown's power to temporarily bind
Chthon.
As Heka-Nut began taking over McNee's form, McNee urged
Ashake's haste, and Ashake
traveled forward in time both to help McNee resist Heka-Nut and to help
Heka-Nut remember whom he once was.
Heka-Nut noted his pleasure at
Ashake being present for his rebirth and that their age-old enmity
would soon be ended. 
Using the Sword of Bone's logic,
Ashake pierced Heka-Nut's mind, and she noted that she bore him no
enmity and wondered why one so great as him would hate one such as
herself. Heka-Nut could not recall the reason, but felt there must be a
reason.
Using the Ebon Rose's strength to
tie Heka-Nut to his truth, Ashake reminded him of the time when there
was respect and friendship between them.
Initially considering such a friendship absurd, Heka-Nut then remembered learning magic with Ashake and being taught by the gods themselves.
As Ashake the Serpent Crown to
flood Heka-Nut with feelings, Heka-Nut recalled that he was happy for a
time until he began to resent the Ashake's skill, feeling the gods had
favored her. Desperate to prove himself, Heka-Nut accepted Chthon's
offer to gather the Cornerstones, which would make him supreme.
Ashake then used the Sword of
Bones to sever the
connection between McNee and Heka-Nut; his mind freed, Heka-Nut urged
McNee to use what power he had left and to revive himself and banish
Chthon; using the Cornerstone's power, McNee banished Chthon from the
Earthly plane, although Chthon took the Cornerstones with them.
Comments: Created by David Sexton.
Fleshed out and first pictured by Louise
Simonson, Steve Scott, and Kris Justice.
Time
The 11th century BC date is confirmed in
initial story, Mystic Arana #1 (Magik): second story.
That same story has Ashake note that Heka-Nut serving the Elder Gods for a thousand years before being corrupted.
That same story also has Ashake says that Heka-Nut spent 1000 years searching for the Sword of Bone. Three pages later Heka-Nut says he spent 500 years searching for it, but he then continues that he spent centuries more trying to overcome the traps/spells in the Valley of Kings.
The 26th century BC date in the
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe for the start of Heka-Nut
serving as an intermediary of the Elder Gods was based upon the
thousand years of service, plus the five hundred years searching for
the Sword of Bone that Heka-Nut references.
However, given that Ashake
describes 1000 years of seeking the Sword of Bone and that Heka-Nut
specifies 500 years trying to find out where it was and then "centuries
more" trying to recover it from the Valley of Kings, the 26th century
appears to be erroneous. While the 1000 year references given are
likely approximations rather than exact time periods, Heka-Nut's
origins would more likely start in the 31st century BC.
From the unicorn's mouth/mind:
Big thanks to Heka-Nut creator David Sexton in helping to clarify multiple issues from Heka-Nut's stories, some of which he and I figured out together (I consulted directly with David for the Mystic Arcana handbook and the Marvel Tarot). Of course, all in-story research came from young sorcerer Ian McNee, whose initial research -- as reported in Marvel Legacy: The 1960s-1990s Handbook trade paperback (2008)'s Where Are They Now? section on Dr. Glitternight -- speculated that Heka-Nut evolved/progressed into Dr. Glitternight. Subsequent research/consideration noted Glitternight to be a pre-existing being that inhabited Heka-Nut's burnt out, soulless husk back in the 11th century BC, as reported in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#3: Dr. Glitternight entry.
David also noted that "Heka" means magic, and "Nut" means night.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Heka-Nut should be distinguished from:
(Mystic Arcana#1 (Magik): second story) - After Magik struck Heka-Nut with her Soulsword, disrupting his power
and shattering his mind, Ashake placed
Heka-Nut's lost power within a jackal-headed canopic jar sent by Oshtur with plans to hide
the jar, while Heka-Nut wandered off, noting his failure and begging Keku for mercy.
(Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1/3 - BTS) - Posing as Oshtur, Chthon rescued sorcerer Ian McNee from a dream (roughly at dusk) that he was drowning in the Serpent's Sea (the realm of Set) in exchange for helping "her" by restoring the sorcerer Heka-Nut to save the mystic realms.
Ian could do this by using
the First Tarot and gathering its four aces, the Cornerstones of
Creation (the Sword of Bones was pictured on the Tarot cards).
(Mystic Arcana#1/3, Mystic Arcana: Black Knight#1/3,
Mystic Arcana#3 (Scarlet Witch) - third story, Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1/3) -
McNee gathered
the Cornerstones of Creation: The Sword of Bones, Ebon Rose, Serpent
Crown, and the Black Mirror's Darkhold page, which accessed the
Darkhold's power.
(Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1, 1/3) - Ian McNee suspected the truth based on some inconsistencies in the story of "Oshtur."
(Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1/3 (fb) - BTS) - In preparation for the coming conflict, Ian made plans with former holders of the Sword of Bone, Ebon Rose, and the Serpent Crown -- Ashake, 6th century sorceress Morgan Le Fay, and the Lemurian Llyra, respectively -- to oppose Chthon's plot.
(Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1/3) - Pressured by Chthon (still posing as Oshtur), McNee
summoned the four Cornerstones of Creation and began the spell to
restore Heka-Nut, aided by Ashake, Llyra, and Morgan Le Fay. 
(Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1/3 / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#3: Dr. Glitternight entry) - Ashake brought the canopic jar containing Heka-Nut's power, and Ian McNee restored Heka-Nut's soul, brought it forward in time, and gave Heka-Nut shelter within his own form.
(Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1/3) - With
Heka-Nut restored, Chthon revealed his true nature and prepared to use
Heka-Nut to control McNee and through him use the Cornerstones to
control all creation.
Ashake ultimately used the Sword of
Bones to sever the
connection between McNee and Heka-Nut; his mind freed, Heka-Nut urged
McNee to use what power he had left and to revive himself and banish
Chthon; using the Cornerstone's power, McNee banished Chthon from the
Earthly plane, although Chthon took the Cornerstones with them.
images: (without ads)
Mystic Arcana#1 (Magik), second story, pg. 9, panel 2 (upper body, face);
pg. 10, panel 3 (upper body & face in profile);
panel 4 (full, mystic burst);
pg. 17, panel 1 (mostly full, straight-on full body);
pg. 18, panel 4 (energy release after slashed by Soulsword);
pg. 19, panel 1 (released energy approaching Ashake);
pg. 20, panel 3 (broken, wandering);
pg. 21, panel 1 (canopic jar)
Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1, third story, pg. 4, panel 6 (canopic jar);
pg. 5, panel 1 (canopic jar split, Heka-Nut released);
panel 4 (Chthon over Heka-Nut over Ian McNee);
pg. 8, panel 1 (asking for help);
panel 2 (connection severed by Sword of Bone)
Appearances:
Mystic Arcana: The Book of Marvel Magic (2007)
Mystic Arcana#1 (Magik) (August, 2007) - first and third story (McNee) - David Sexton (writer), Eric Nguyen (artist), Nathan Cosby (assistant editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)
second story (Magik) - Louise
Simonson (writer), Steve Scott (penciler), Kris Justice (inker), Nathan
Cosby (assistant editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Mystic Arcana: Black Knight#1 (September, 2007) - third story (McNee) - David Sexton (writer), Eric Nguyen (artist), Nathan Cosby (assistant editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Mystic Arcana#3 (Scarlet Witch) (October, 2007) - first and third story (McNee) - David Sexton (writer), Eric Nguyen (artist), Nathan Cosby (assistant editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1 (January, 2008) - third story (McNee) - David Sexton (writer), Eric Nguyen (artist), Jordan D. White (assistant editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)
First posted: 01/08/2020
Last updated: 01/08/2020
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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