MANABOZHO
Real
Name:
Manabozho
Occupation:
Ruler of the Anasazi, God of Sky and Heaven
Legal
Status:
Citizen of Shipolo
Identity:
The general populace of earth is unaware of Manabozho except as a figure from
Native American legend. He is well known to his worshippers.
Other
Aliases:
Great Spirit, Minabozho (Chippewa), Messou (Montagnais), Minabush
(Menominee), Nanaboojoo (Potawatomi), Gluscap (Micmac), Yoskeha (Iroquois),
Nanabusch (Delaware), Olelbis (Wintun), Torngasau (Inuit), Ioskeha (Onondoga),
Tshohanoai (Navaho), Glooscap (Mandan), Aba (Choctaw), Apoyan Tachu (Zuni),
Tulugaak (Eskimo), Isakakate (Crow), Wisa'ka (Commanche),
Place
of Birth:
Unrevealed, possibly Shipolo
Marital
Status:
Married
Known
Relatives:
Gaoh (father), Awenhai (mother, deceased), Chibiabos, Wabasso, Coyote
(brothers), Onatah (wife), Hino,
Hotamintanio, Owayodota,
Tawa (sons),
Pawa,
Omamama (daughters), Hiawatha (son by Wewonah), Amitolane, Glendenwitha (daughters in law), Bitsitsi,
Watsusi, Kowwituma (grandsons), Whope (granddaughter), Cirape (nephew), Chahuru, Kineun (uncles),
Raven, Sedna (cousin), Gitche Manitou
(great-grandfather), Gaea (great-grandmother, alias Nokomis)
Group
Affiliation:
The Gods of North America, The Council Elite
Base
of Operations:
Shipolo
First
Appearance:
(unidentified) Thor I#300, (identified) Infinity Gauntlet #2
History:
Manabozho is the youngest son of the wind-god Gaoh and his wife, Awenhai, the
earth 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. According to myth, he and his brother, Nhenebush, later called Coyote,
were enemies before they were even born and even fought in the womb. Their
animosity for each other was so great that their mother could not survive their
birth and she died as a result. Unwilling to accept Manabozho as his brother,
Coyote blamed him for her death and chided him for being the result of her
death. Feeling dishonored, Manabozho fled to Earth where he found comfort in his
great-grandmother Gaea in her role as Nokomis. She comforted him in a cave on
earth and showed him great reverence for the world and heavens around him. He
also developed compassion for mortal men and stole fire from heaven to help keep
them warm. He taught them to not be afraid of night and how to create and pass
on their culture to their descendants. Imparting on them the benefits of culture
and knowledge, Manabozho also learned that Coyote in his role as the trickster
was responsible for creating several of the misfortunes and discord which mortal
man faced and took it upon himself to protect them from the evil of his maligned
brother.
While
living on earth, Manabozho discovered the goddess Nowutset, daughter of the
spider-goddess, Susstinnako, and accepted her as his bride. They had two
children, Tawa and Pawa, who became gods of the sun and moon, respectively.
Gitche Manitou, the Great Spirit of the Anasazi, had a prophecy that their son
would be a great leader for mortal man and they became parents of Atse Hastin,
the divine ancestor of the mortals of earth.
Manabozho's
elder brothers, Chibiabos and Wabasso often visited him on earth and took tales
of his accomplishments back to heaven. Manabozho gave Chibiabos the title of god
of night and Wabasso the god of dawn so that even in his absence, mortal man
would know there was nothing to be afraid of in his absence. While on Earth,
however, Chibiabos was abducted by spirits known as the Anamaqkiu and taken to
the underworld to be their leader. Manabozho went to rescue him and killed two
of the Anamaqkiu, but Chibiabos stayed behind to safely receive the spirits of
mortals who died. The Anamaqkiu, however, sent a great flood to Earth from the
underworld that threatened to cover the earth. Up till now, the Anasazi
protected the children of Aste Hastin and his children in an other-dimensional
part of the underworld free from Coyote’s treachery. As
this world was destroyed, Manabozho rushed ahead and saved all of mankind and
the animals of earth on a great tree that he kept floating on the waters. The
tree eventually came to rest on a mountain and rested there as the waters
eventually receded. Realizing that the waters had receded, Manabozho climbed
higher to make sure that had receded far enough, but instead of coming back
down, he was allowed to ascend into heaven where he was received by Gitche
Manitou. Measured by his deeds, Manabozho succeeded Gitche Manitou and replaced
him as Ruler of the Anasazi. The mortals who Manabozho had saved meanwhile
populated the earth and spread stories of him among all the tribes of earth.
Manabozho
meanwhile sought a suitable bride to rule by his side. Nowutset, however,
refused to be separated from earth. Manabozho, meanwhile, discovered that Coyote
had abducted the goddess Onatah and took her to the underworld in order to force
her to marry him. Manabozho invaded the underworld to rescue her by becoming as
bright as the heavens and illuminating the darkness enough to locate Onatah.
Grateful to Manabozho, Onatah became his wife and gave him several children.
From Shipolo, Manabozho ruled over the Anasazi who became worshipped as the gods of the mortal tribes of North America. Around 1000 AD, Vikings and Norseman landed on parts of Greenland and declared it for Odin and the Asgardian gods whom they worshipped. This conflict led to a brief skirmish between the Asgardians and the Anasazi. The Asgardians backed off from invading North America, but Manabozho and Odin, Ruler of the Asgardian Gods, formed an alliance to defend earth from danger posed by the alien Celestials. Manabozho and Odin then met with the heads of the other races of gods who were or had been worshipped on Earth to discuss the Celestial's possible threat to Earth. The Celestials had threatened to seal off the inter-dimensional portals with each of the godly realms with earth unless the gods made a pledge to stop interfering with mortal affairs. As a result of this pledge, the Anasazi had to lesson their contact with earth, and Manabozho also made a vow to Odin to donate the life energies required to revive the Asgardians slain against the Fourth Host of the Celestials. When Thor came to Shipolo for the life energies required to revive the Asgardians slain in battle by the Celestials, Manabozho provided him the life energies to restore the Asgardians. The Celestial’s Fourth Host decided to spare earth from destruction and left the planet.
Despite this vow, the Native Americans of
earth continued worshipping their gods long after the worship of the Asgardian
gods and much of the other gods of earth no longer sought active worship. The
Native Americans particularly called out to their gods for guidance as more
Europeans began arriving seeking to share lands with the native tribes of North
America. Manabozho and the Anasazi as well as their worshippers called these
invaders and their descendants “white men” because they arrived in ships
with white sails, not so coincidentally because they lacked the more tanned or
bronze skin of the Native Americans. In the late Nineteenth Century, Manabozho appeared before the Comanche brave known as Flaming Star
and inspired him to find the "glowing dust from the heavens," actually
the luminescent dust of a meteorite, and to use it on a costume for a future
hero he foresaw would protect both Native Americans and the descendants of the
Europeans. The man who would first don this costume was a lawyer named Carter
Slade, who called himself the Ghost Rider.
Several
years later, Manabozho was curious about another being other than Slade who also
called himself the Ghost Rider. This being was the mortal stunt person named
Johnny Blaze who shared his body with a demonic entity named Zarathos. Manabozho
brought this Ghost Rider back in time with the help of a human mystic named
Spotted Doe who believed this Ghost Rider to be a malevolent demon. Manabozho
sent agents to fight this Ghost Rider and eventually felled Ghost Rider with his
magical axe, forcing him to return to the form of Johnny Blaze. Manabozho was
preparing to spear the helpless John Blaze when the criminal Tarantula and his
men grabbed Spotted Doe. As Blaze went to Spotted Doe’s defense, Manabozho
realized he was wrong among this Ghost Rider’s motivations and restored him
back to his proper place in time.
Manabozho
was summoned in recent years to protect the sacred lands of his worshippers from
white men who threatened to destroy a dam and in order to loot a town with scuba
gear. Destroying the dam would be a threat to the sacred lands. Johnny Blaze as
the Ghost Rider once again unwittingly fought against Manabozho believing him to
be involved in the plot, but Manabozho nailed Ghost Rider with a spirit arrow,
forcing him back to human form. Neither Ghost Rider nor Manabozho was able to
stop the dam from blowing up. However, Blaze was sent back in time to his
Nineteenth Century experience with Manabozho, and was returned moments before
the dam was destroyed. Returned in time to stop the explosion, Ghost Rider
stopped the terrorists and saved the sacred lands.
Due
to his alliance with the other god-kings of earth, Manabozho became a member of
the Council Elite, which comprised the rulers of the other gods of earth
dedicated to defending Earth from future threats to it. On Odin's request, Manabozho sent Tawa from
among his pantheon to battle Demogorge and years later reunited with the other
sky-gods to discuss the potential threat of Thanos using the Infinity Gauntlet.
Manabozho was briefly stranded in Asgard as a shift in the space/time continuum
created by Thanos ripped their realms apart from Earth's Celestial Axis, but Thanos was finally
defeated by the collective heroes of earth subsequently restored their worlds to
normal.
Height: 6’
7”
Weight: 475 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
Strength Level: Manabozho possesses superhuman strength enabling him to
lift (press) 95 tons under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Manabozho 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 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 Zeus or Odin or for a number of
Anasazi gods of equal power working together to
revive her. Manabozho also possesses superhuman strength 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.)
Manabozho
also has exceptional mystical power above any other Anasazi god, equal to Odin,
Zeus and the Elders of the Universe. He can tap into and manipulate the
Manabozho also has exceptional physical endurance against harm. He can appear underwater for long periods of time and still breathe even without air present or exist on the highest land formation of earth where the temperature, elevation or lack of oxygen would otherwise be fatal to human beings.
Weaponry:
Manabozho sometimes wields a mystical
axe
Pets: Manabozho employs a number of bird-like agents called Thunderbirds. Resembling large eagles or birds of prey, these birds are infallible and follow his orders without error. It is not known as to how many of them exist, but a few of them have been identified, such as Skyamsen, Oshadagea (given to Hino), Hoita, Aidee and Tlanuwa, He has also been known to command flying serpents called the Piasa, resembling prehistoric pterodactyls, such as Hokhokw, Hobomokko (slain by the second Ghost Rider) and Kelok, who was killed by Coyote for slaying Wekwek, the falcon-spirit.
Base of Operations: Manabozho rules and presides in the other-dimensional realm known as Shipolo which includes a number of smaller lands and regions including, but not limited to Alignak (home of the sun-god), Aningan (home of the moon-goddess), Maski (home of the war-god), Seana (the land of the dead) and Adlivun (an underwater realm ruled by Sedna). The main landmass of Shipolo resembles a large land mass resembling an asteroid suspended in an other-dimensional void that experiences periods of daylight and nighttime and which is preserved by undefined forces which keep the boundaries of this realm from eroding. Visitors to this realm experience a phenomenon where this world seems to extend into infinity without discernible end. Shipolo is connected to Earth by a bridge of light called Ekutsihimmiyu similar to the Asgardian Bifrost. The underworld of Seana is adjacent through the cave called Sipapu named for a similar cave on earth. This underworld is native to a number of beings, demons and evil spirits ranging from Anamaqkui, the spirits of the dead, and cannibalistic demons known as the Anaye. Shipolo is also populated by variously named dragons, fairy-like beings called the Jagoh and sentient animal spirits, such as Luk (grizzly), Wekwek (falcon), Yawpa (hummingbird), Tsiskagili (crawfish), Uktena (elk), Dakwa (salmon), Aniwye (skunk) and a man-ape typically called Sasquatch (not to be confused with the Canadian hero by that name).
Comments:
Updated: 10/27/2013