HINO

Real Name: Hino

Occupation: God of storm and thunder, Patron god to the Dakota and Sioux Indians

Legal Status: Citizen of Shipolo

Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of the existence of Hino except as a figure from Native American legend. He is well-known to his worshippers.

Other Aliases: Heno, He-No (Cayuga name), Heng (Huron), Haokuh (Sioux), Wakinya (Dakota), Kadlu (Inuit), Awahili (Navaho), Asgaya (Cherokee), Henga (Osage), Tlanuwa (Choctaw),

Place of Birth: Somewhere in the Algonquin Territory

Marital Status: Married

Known Relatives: Manabozho (father), Onatah (possible mother), Wabasso, Coyote (uncles), Hotamintanio, Sosondowa (brothers), Omamama (sister), Hasteoltoi (niece), Tawa (half-brother), Pawa (half-sister), Amitolane (wife/cousin), Cirape, Anpa, Glendenwitha (cousins), Gunnodoya and the Asgayas (sons)

Group Affiliation: The Anasazi

Base of Operations: Shipolo (Native American Heaven)

First Appearance: (behind the scenes) Captain America IV #7 (actual) Captain America IV #11

History: Hino is the son of the sky-god Manabozho and Onatah, the corn goddess, members of an other-dimensional race of beings known as the Anasazi, who were worshipped as gods by the Native American tribes of North America. His wife is Amitolane, the rainbow-goddess, who follows behind him after a storm and cleans up after him. The sworn enemy of all things evil, Hino is the eternal enemy of Coyote, the trickster who would teach evil to mortals, demons known as the Anaye and evil spirits known as the Anamaqkiu. In the years before Europeans settled North America, Hino was sometimes followed by his mortal partner in arms, Gunnodoya who might have been one of the Asgayas, his mortal sons. While exploring the banks of modern Lake Champlain, Hino’s mortal son, Gunnodoya, was swallowed by the great serpent Misikinebek. Hino allowed himself to be swallowed as well and then saved his young ward by ripping open the side of the serpent from within. Hino also slew Unketila, another serpent that once terrorized the banks of the Missouri River.

Hino was considered along with his half-brothers, Hotamintanio and Sosondowa, the great warriors of the Anasazi and often defended Shipolo and earth from threats. When the Vikings began exploration of North America, they brought their native deities, the Asgardian gods, with them. Hino clashed with Thor trying to prove his superiority over the thunder-god, but before they could decide who was the true thunder god, their confrontation was ended by Manabozho and Odin, Chieftain of the Asgardian gods, who sought a truce between their comparative pantheons. Hino and Thor separated under less than amicable circumstances knowing they would meet again some day.   

Hino was reportedly the father of the mortal Eighth Century warrior, Arak Red-Hand, the last surviving member of the Quontauka Indian tribe. Arak became the ancestor of the Twentieth Century Indian brave known as Flying Fox, a member of the All-Star Squadron during World War Two.

In recent years, Inali Redpath, a SHIELD agent of Sioux heritage, was slain in a clone facility and called upon the spirits of his ancestors. Apparently aided by his grandfather, Inali was reborn in a cloned body, backed by the power of Hino. Inali used the power and a group of cloned bodies watched over by his father to try to retake America for the Native Americans. Hino’s power burned out Inali's bodies every time he used these powers, but they were replaced each time in the body of another clone. After Inali slew Barricade, another SHIELD agent, he confronted and overpowered Captain America. He then brought a powerful storm to terrorize Miami, but Captain America summoned Thor to quell the storm and confront Hino. Ultimately, Inali released Hino to oppose Thor directly, but this left him powerless and Cap quickly dropped him. When SHIELD destroyed Inali's clone supply, Inali was rapidly consumed by Hino's power, and without his connection to Earth, Hino apparently vanished back to Shipolo.

Height: 7'0"
Weight: 475 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

Strength Level: Hino possesses Class 100 level strength enabling him to lift (press) well over 100 tons under optimal conditions.  

Known Superhuman Powers: Hino possesses the conventional physical attributes of the Native American gods. Like all of the Anasazi, he is exceptionally long-lived, but he is not immortal like the Olympian gods; he has not aged 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 her to recover with superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of her bodily molecules to cause her a physical death. Even then, it might be possible for a god of significant power, such as Manabozho, Raven or for a number of the Anasazi of equal power working together to revive him. Hino also possesses superhuman strength above that of any other Native American god and his Anasazi metabolism provides him with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities. (Anasazi flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the superhuman strength and weight of the Native American gods.)

Hino has greater physical strength and stamina than any other Native American god with the possible exception of Manabozho. Her can perform physically for long periods of time without tiring.  

Hino also has limited mystical skills to tap into and control the elemental energies of earth, mostly that pertaining to storm and weather. He can call upon storm clouds with his drum, control lightning strikes with pinpoint accuracy and generate hurricane level storms powerful enough to devastate several squares miles or whole cities. The power of the storm is sometimes equal to the pounding of his drum; by lightly pounding it, he can create a moderate storm that can increase or decrease in intensity with the speed and force of his pounding. His exact power level is unknown, but his power level may approach that of Thor or even Zeus.  

Abilities: Hino is an exceptional warrior in unarmed combat incorporating forms of Native American wrestling.

Weapons/Paraphernalia: Hino sometimes carries a small drum to call upon storms. He is also quite adept with a bow and arrow as well as with a dagger.

Pets: Hino is sometimes accompanied by Oshadagea, his eagle partner.  

Comments: The lake where the Iroquois story of Misikinebek occurs is not identified, but it could have occurred at Lake Champlain which is already famous for lake monster sightings. There are twelve other such lakes in New York where it could just as easily have happened.

In Captain America IV#7, Captain America identified Inali as a Cherokee (or, more specifically, he identified his equipment as that of a Cherokee shaman). Either Cap was mistaken and just not up on Native Americans, or they just didn't like the sound of Asgaya, so they just made his a Sioux in the latter half of the story.

Nearly every pantheon on earth has its own concept of a god of storm and thunder including Catequil (Incan), Enlil and Ninurta (Mesopotamian), Indra (Hindu), Lei Kung (Chinese), Pajonn (Finnish), Perun (Russian/Slavic), Shango (African), Takamikasuch (Japan), Tawhaki (Polynesian), Thor (Norse) and Zeus and Poseidon (Greek/Roman). The exceptions seem to be Egyptian myth, which is not a region known for rain or weather, Aztec/Mayan myth, which is already obsessed with a culture involved with blood sacrifices and Celtic myth, whose thunder-god, Taranis, is merely their version of Zeus. The closest "thunder-god" in Aztec myth could be Hurakan, a wind-god for whom the word "hurricane" comes from. In Egyptian myth, the closest analogue could be Bata, the labor-god, inasmuch as Hercules is the Olympian god of labor and is equated as a hero figure.

Clarifications:  Hino is not to be confused with:

  Last updated: 05/15/06

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