Occupation: God of the dead

Legal Status: Citizen of Xibalba

Identity: The general populace of earth is unaware of the existence of Ahpuch except as a mythological deity.

Other Aliases: Ah Puch, Ah Puchah, Yum Cimil, Hunhau, Cumhau, Eopuco, Yum Cimil, Ah Kinchel, "Lord of Death," "Demon Destroyer,"

Place of Birth: Unknown, possibly Teotihuacan (now part of modern Mexico)

Marital Status: Married

Known Relatives: Tezcatlipoca (father); Tlacolteotl (mother); Chin, Itzli (brothers); Mictlancihuatli (sister/wife); Chamer (son), Ixtab (daughter); Xipe Totec, Mixcoatl, Camaxtli (uncles); Quetzalcoatl, Xolotl, Huitzilopochtli, Coyolxauqhui (cousins); Tonacatecuhtli (grandfather); Tonacacihuatl (grandmother);

Group Affiliation: The Gods of Mexico, member of an unnamed cabal of underworld gods

Base of Operations: Mictlan

First Appearance: Thor I Annual 10

History: Ahpuch is a member of the Coatli, an extra-dimensional race of beings who were worshipped as gods by the ancient Aztec and Mayan Civilizations. Not much is known about his early life. According to ancient myths, he was originally a member of the Oxlahuntiku, the ancient gods of the Mayans, and slew or overthrew the Bolontiku, the Mayan lords of the dead in order to conquer Mitnal, the Mayan land of the dead, which he renamed Mictlan, after himself. Although he was a well-known deity in the Mayan pantheon, he was a much feared god of the Aztecs, and worshipped through rituals that exist today as the modern Day of the Dead festivals in modern Mexico.

Ahpuch rules the deepest portion of Xibalba, the underground realm of the Mayan Gods, known as Mictlan reserved for the souls of the deceased. Ahpuch was often supervised and influenced under deities such as Hunahpu and Vucub-Ahpu, two of twelve lords of the underworld, who ruled Xibalba under Itzamna, the ruler of the Aztec and Mayan gods. Disenchanted by the lack of new souls into his realm since the Spanish conquistadors conquered the Aztecs, Ahpuch entered into a dark pact with six other gods of the dead in an attempt to merge their perspective realms and unite them as a whole. The ritual they undertook, however, released Atum in the form of Demogorge the God-Eater. Unable to contain the primeval entity, he ended up consumed by Demogorge and had to be rescued by Thor and an alliance of gods from other pantheons.

In recent years, Ahpuch tried to appear on earth using the body of a mortal youth named Danny Gleason and injecting his immortal essence into him. In doing so, Ahpuch clashed with a mysterious being known as the Phantom Stranger and was exiled back to the underworld. He has since appeared to antagonize Hades, the Olympian god of the dead, traveling Earth incognito as a mortal demonologist to obtain and capture errant evil spirits on Earth. While Ahpuch confesses to admire Hades, his motives appeared motivated into provoking Hades into more dark activities. 

Height: 6’ 2” 
Weight: 310 lbs.
Eyes: (normal) Black
Hair: (normal) Black

Unusual Physical Characteristics: Ahpuch often appears as an eyeless skull-faced deity without hair. He sometimes takes the form of a bloated corpse.

Strength Level: Ahpuch possibly possesses the normal superhuman strength of an Aztec god of his size, height and build who engages in regular physical activities; the typical Aztec god can lift (press) about 30 tons.

Known Superhuman Powers: Ahpuch possesses the conventional physical attributes of the Aztec and Mayan gods, collectively known as the Coatli. Like all of his race Ahpuch is exceptionally long-lived, but he is not immortal: he has aged at an exceptionally slow rate since reaching adulthood and cannot die by any conventional means. He is immune to all Earthly diseases and is resistant to conventional injury. If he were somehow wounded, his godly life force would enable him to recover with superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of his bodily molecules to cause him a physical death. Even then, it might be possible for a god of significant power, such as Itzamna, Hunahpu or Tezcatlipoca or for a number of Aztec gods of equal power working together to revive him. Ahpuch also possesses superhuman strength and his Coatli metabolism provides him with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities. (Coatli flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the superhuman strength and weight of the Aztec and Mayan gods.)

Ahpuch also has several undefined mystical powers possibly occult in nature granting him the power to perceive death and project and summon hellfire, even to weave and shape objects like chains and swords out of it. He claims to be immune to death, and in one of his forms, he resembles a living corpse. He can also change his body into that as a desiccated skeleton, or a humanoid being with a skull for a head (his traditional appearance).

Pets: Ahpuch is attended by Moan, a veracious vulture-god who preys on the remnants of the dead. Moan once served the original Lords of Xibalba, slain by the heroes, Hunahpu and Xbalanque. Moan 's origins are unknown; it is unknown if he is a regular vulture with mystical attributes or a god in animal form.

Base of Operations: Xibalba ("place of fear") is one of several worlds in the cosmology of the Mexican Gods. Although generally described as the underworld, it is actually a loose-collection of inter-linked worlds which includes Mictlan, the lowest region, reserved for the shades ("spirits") of the dead. Xibalba is linked to Earth by means of an inter-dimensional portal at Tulai Zuvai ("Place Of Seven Caves And Seven Ravines") located somewhere near modern-day Coban, Guatemala.

During the Mayan Empire, Xibalba was ruled by the Bolontiku, twelve governors or lords who stood in judgment over the souls of the dead. Despite it's location as the land of the dead, it was also the location where ancient myths claim the Mayan gods created the first human beings. The Lords of Xibalba were identified as Hun-Came ("death"), Vucub-Came ("suffering"), Xiquiripat ("injury"), Cuchumaqiq ("bloodloss"), Ahalpuh ("infection"), Ahalcana ("disease"), Chamiabak ("bare bones"), Chamiaholom ("grinning skull"), Quiqxil ("dust"), Quiqrixqaq ("ashes"), Quiqix ("flight") and Patan ("underworld"). Of these beings, Hun-Came and Vukub-Came are given sovereignty over the other ten, who are believed to have been demons assigned with causing suffering. Several other beings are believed to preside in Xibalba, such as Moan, the vulture-god, who served the Bolontiku and watched over the spirits of the dead, and Camazotz, the bat-god, who guarded the underworld and attacked the living who dared to enter.

Like the underworlds of the Chinese and Sumerian Gods, Xibalba was a multi-layered world kept in perpetual night which held a council place for the twelve lords, gardens, a ball court and several structures resembling a great city. Like the realm of Hades, it was surrounded with a number of rivers including a river of blood, a river of scorpions and a river of pus. The Lords of Xibalba greeted guests by making them sit on a stone throne heated to burn all those who sat in it. They further entertained themselves by sending visitors through a series of houses designed to torture and inflict harm. These houses included a House of Gloom that was kept in pitch darkness, a House of Lances filled with angry spear-wielding spirits, a House of Ice kept perpetually cold, a House of Tigers filled with ferocious cats, a House Of Fire stoked in perpetual flame and a House Of Bats filled with numerous flying bats. The heroes, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, are known to have survived all of these houses. Sacrificed by the Lords of Xibalba, Hunahpu and Xbalanque later returned to life and devastated Xibalba with flame.

In later myths, Xibalba is conquered by Ahpuch, the god of the dead, who was known to the Aztecs as Mictlantecuhtli. Overthrowing the remaining Lords of Xibalba, Ahpuch seized Mitnal, the land of the dead, which was located on the lowest level of Xibalba, and renamed it Mictlan. During the Aztec Empire, Xibalba was made up of the realms of Apochquiahuayan, Tepetl Imonamiquiyan, Itztepetl, Itzehecayan, Pancuecuetlayan, Temiminaloyan, Opochcalocan and Chicunauhmictlan where Mictlan was located. Instead of a land of darkness, it was described as land of everlasting peace where gods like Xochiquetzal, the goddess of love, lived within Itzehecayan.

Comments: This profile includes Ahpuch's activities in Marvel and DC Comics and the God of the Dead series