NAMTAR
Real Name:
Namtar
Occupation:
God of death, Vizier to Eriskegal
Legal Status:
Citizen of Allatum
Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of the existence of Namtar except as a mythological deity.
Other Aliases:
Mutu (Assyrian name), Mott (Phoenician name), Melech/Moloch (Canaanite name)
Place of Birth:
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives:
Enlil
(father), Asherah
(mother), Reshef, Horon (brothers), Hadad,
Martu, Ninurta,
Nergal, Kinyras,
Gibil (uncles), Inanna, Ninlil, Gatumdug, Anath (aunts), Shamash,
Nanna,
Telepinu, Ninkasi, Zintuki, Dumuzi, Gestinanna (cousins),
Group Affiliations: The Gods of Mesopotamia
Base of Operations:
Allatum
First Appearance: (as Moloch) King Conan #3
History: Namtar is a member of an extra-dimensional race of beings known as the Anunnaki who were worshipped as gods by the various races of Ancient Sumeria. The Anunnaki were ruled over by Anu, who had freed them from the subservience of their ancestors. Anu was in turn overthrown by his son, Enlil. As he departed Earth, Anu cursed Enlil to father three miserable sons. Enlil later raped the goddess Asherah, and fathered Reshef, god of pestilence, Horon, god of famine and Mot, known to the Sumerians as Namtar, the god of death.
Namtar became the vizier and advisor of Eriskegal, goddess of the dead and ruler of Allatum, the extra-dimensional realm set aside for the spirits of their worshippers. Namtar escorted the goddess Inanna through the underworld when she arrived for her lover, Dumuzi, abducted by Eriskegal. Namtar instructed Inanna to leave an article of her clothing at each of the gates of the underworld in order to humiliate her before Enlil freed her.
When the god Baal
came to Allatum to seize the secrets of life and death for mortals, Namtar
invited him to partake of the table of the dead. Having tasted the food of the
underworld, Baal was not permitted to depart until his wife Anath, the queen of
the gods, invaded Allatum and confronted Namtar. She demanded that Namtar
restore Baal to life, and once Baal was restored to life, Anath slew Namtar
herself, earning the eternal wrath of Eriskegal.
It is unrevealed as to whether Namtar has been restored to
life. The Phoenician and Canaanites revered him by a number of names, but his
worship was eventually replaced by the Hebrew and Christian faiths who converted
him into an aspect of the Biblical devil.
Height: Various, usually about 5' 10"
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Various, usually Blue
Hair: Various, usually Black
Strength Level: Unknown, Namtar possibly possesses the normal strength
level for a Mesopotamian god of his size, height and build who engages in
extensive regular exercises; the typical Mesopotamian god has superhuman strength enabling
him to lift
(press) 30 tons under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Namtar possesses the conventional physical attributes
of the Anunnaki or Mesopotamian gods. Like all of the Anunnaki, he is extremely
long-lived, but he is not immortal like the Olympian gods. 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 Anu, Ea or Enlil or for a number of
Mesopotamian gods of equal power working together to revive him. Namtar also possesses
superhuman strength and his Anunnaki metabolism provides him with far greater than
human endurance in all physical activities. (Anunnaki flesh and bone is about three
times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the superhuman
strength and weight of the Mesopotamian gods.)
Namtar also has a number of abilities, possibly mystical in origin,
enabling him to perceive where death is about to occur, but not to affect it. He
can traverse dimensions to lead the dead to the underworld, often taking a
number of forms from a desiccated corpse to the traditional form of a grim
reaper. Contrary to some accounts, he is not demonic, but he does have some sway
over demonic forces.
Comments: Namtar has not yet been seen in Marvel or DC Comics.
Clarifications: Namtar is not to be confused with:
Last updated: 11/14/13