QUETZALCOATL

Real Name: Quetzalcoatl Ehecatl

Occupation: God of sun, wind, wisdom and culture, patron god of Tollan (modern Tula), tutelary god of of the Toltecs, former ruler of Teotihuacan

Legal Status: Citizen of Omeyocan and Ancient Mexico

Identity: The general populace of earth is unaware of the existence of Quetzalcoatl except as a mythological character. He is well known in Mexico.

Other Aliases: Ehecatl (the god of wind), Kukulcan (Mayan name), Alaghom (Olmec name), Cezalcouati (Mixtec name), The Green-Feathered Serpent, The Plumed Serpent

Place of Birth: Mount Coatepec near modern Citlapetl, Mexico

Marital Status: Married

Known Relatives: Mixcoatl (father), Gaea (mother, alias Coatlique), Hurakan (foster father), Xolotl (twin-brother), Chalchihuitlicue (wife), Quetzalpetlatl (daughter), Nanauatzin (son, possibly deceased), Huitzilopochtli, (half-brothers), Coyoxauhqui (half-sister), Tezcatlipoca, Xipe Totec, Camaxtli (uncles), Ahpuch (cousin), Tonacatecuhtli (grandfather), Tonacacihuatl (grandmother), Hunab Ku (great-grandfather, alias Ometetol), 

Group Affiliation: The Mexican Gods, ally of Apollo, Horus, Indra, Shango, Tawa, and Thor  

Base of Operations: Tlillan-Tlapallan in the Omeyocan dimension, formerly Teotihuacan near Mexico City

First Appearance: (as Kukulcan) X-Men I#25, (as Quetzalcoatl) Thor Annual#10

History: Quetzalcoatl is the son of Mixcoatl, a member of an extra-dimensional race of beings known as the Coatli who were worshipped as gods by the Aztecs and Mayans. Mixcoatl had seduced the earth-goddess Gaea in her role as Coatlique, the Aztec mother-earth, and Gaea gave birth to two sons by him, Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl. He has also been connected to the older wind-god, Hurakan, son of Itzamna, the Chieftain of the Mayan gods, who might have been his foster father or mentor.

Mixcoatl was the brother of Camaxtli, Xipe Totec and Tezcatlipoca, each of them represented a cardinal point of creation in the ancient compass of the Aztecs, replacing a similar compass in the Mayan Empire. Each of the them had a point on the celestial compass and a corresponding color. Tezcatlipoca was the black god of the north, Mixcoatl was the white god of the west, Camaxtli the red god of the east and Xipe Totec, the blue god of the south. Quetzalcoatl overthrew or inherited his father's position in this hierarchy as did his half-brother and cousin, Huitzilopochtli, who replaced his father Camaxtli. The rain-god, Tlaloc, a supporter of Tezcatlipoca, replaced Xipe Totec. In later myths, Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc were often confused as brothers.  

In some myths, Quetzalcoatl was a priest or representative of the ancient Mayan god Itzamna, and possibly took over the worship rites of the ancient earth-god, Gucumatz, who was better known under the name Kukulcan. After the decline of the Mayan Empire, Tezcatlipoca seized control of Earth which he ruled from Teotihuacan ("The City Of The Gods"), and encouraged the Aztecs to perform blood sacrifices to prove their loyalty to him. As Kukulcan, Quetzacoatl, however, supported Itzamna, ruler of the Mayan Gods, and overthrew Tezcatlipoca, who transformed into a jaguar to escape. Quetzalcoatl became ruler of Teotihuacan for 676 Aztec years until he was overthrown by Tlaloc, who was possibly loyal to Tezacatlipoca. After Tlaloc had ruled for 676 Aztec years, he was in turn overthrow by his wife, Chalchihuitlicue, the rain-goddess, who took Quetzalcoatl as her new husband. 

Quetzalcoatl and Chalchihuitlicue had two children, a son named Nanautzin and a daughter, Quetzalpetlatl. According to myth, Quetzalcoatl cast Nanautzin into flames to burn off his mortality and make him a god, and he emerged reborn as a sun-god. Tlaloc also cast his son, Tecciziecatl, into the flames as well, but he didn't shine as bright as Nanautzin as a god and became the moon-god instead.

Tezcatlipoca, however, eventually covertly returned to Teotihuacan posing as a peasant named Toueyo in order to overthrow Quetzalcoatl and once again seize power for himself. His appearance so dismayed Quetzalcoatl's daughter, Quetzalpetlatl, that he called upon Toueyo to calm her not realizing that Toueyo was also Tezcatlipoca in disguise. Tezcatlipoca instead took Quetzalcoatl's daughter to bed to become his wife and became the son-in-law and heir as a result. From behind these auspices, Tezcatlipoca carried out several misfortunes to oust Quetzalcoatl from power. With very few followers left to him, Quetzalcoatl was forced to flee Teotihuacan and Tezcatlipoca once again regained his throne.

Quetzalcoatl and his followers fled to Anahuac, the home of his ancestors. Tezcatlipoca, however, sent demons to terrorize him en route. Some of the demons convinced Quetzalcoatl that they would only stop terrorizing him if he sampled their wine. It was then that Tezcatlipoca once again became involved by impersonating a god named Titlacauepan and introduced Quetzalcoatl to wine, making him so drunk that he raped his own daughter, Quetzalpetlatl. By tasting wine, Quetzalcoatl had broke one of his priestly vows. Tezcatlipoca revealed to Quetzalcoatl in his smoking mirror that he had become an aged decrepit man as a result of his degradation. Taking his true form as the feathered-serpent, Kukulcan, Quetzalcoatl fled, forcing himself into self-imposed exile promising to return in a certain number of years.  

In 1518, Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortez landed in Mexico and was welcomed by King Montezuma II, mortal ruler of the Aztec Empire. They confused Cortez as the returning Quetzalcoatl, and Cortez used the confusion to more better conquer the Aztecs for their gold and land. The Aztecs belief that Cortez was their returning god made it that much more easier for the Spanish Conquistadors to conquer the Aztec Empire in the name of the Spanish Government.

Despite his absence from earth, Quetzalcoatl was still worshipped by a tribe known as the Apaco, who were deceived in modern years by a American opportunist named Jim Derry into obeying a phony statue of Kukulcan given voice by Derry's men so that he could steal their treasures, but Derry was exposed by the Atlantean woman named Namora who revealed the nature of the deception to the Apaco. A treasure hunter who called himself El Tigre meanwhile found and located the two halves of the Sacred Pendant of Kukulcan, one in the Pyramid of Kukulcan in the Central American jungle and the other at the City Museum in New York. When he joined the two halves together, El Tigre was overcome by and transformed into a mortal reincarnation of Kukulcan. He then also set out to find the Solar Stone, a large gem set in the Feathered Serpent idol in San Rico, to increase his power. Clashing against the X-Men, Quetzalcoatl appeared on earth as Kukulcan and knocked the Feathered Serpent idol into a large chasm, causing El Tigre's powers and essence to fade and return him to his normal form.

Quetzalcoatl was eventually sent by Itzamna to aid Thor and many other gods against the menace of Demogorge the God Eater, who had been released by Ahpuch and several other gods of the dead. Unable to affect the entity in battle, Quetzalcoatl was consumed along with the underworld gods as well as with his allies and was freed after Thor caused a shift in the creature's palate and freeing Quetzalcoatl and the other gods. Becoming Atum once more, his true being, Demogorge departed Earth.

Quetzalcoatl was eventually returned to earth by the Olympian god Phobos. Working for the sorceress Circe (not to be confused with the goddess with that name), Phobos used a mystic gem contained in Superman's Fortress of Solitude to unleash Quetzalcoatl upon earth as Kukulcan. Manipulated by Circe, Quetzalcoatl became convinced that Superman was a servant of Tezcatlipoca but eventually realized he had been deceived after watching the Man of Steel risk his life to save the people of the small Mexican republic of Tattamalia. To undo the damage he had done, Kukulcan ascended into the sky to create rain and then returned to Omeyocan as Quetzalcoatl once more.

In an alternate reality, Tezcatlipoca was again usurped by Quetzalcoatl who even took his arraignments of leadership. In this timeline, Quetzalcoatl, possibly representing Itzamna, met with the godheads to discuss Seth, who had conquered Asgard in this reality.

Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 425 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

Strength Level: In his humanoid form, Quetzalcoatl possesses superhuman strength enabling him to lift (press) almost 50 tons, but as Kukulcan, he has Class 100 level strength enabling him to lift (press) well over a hundred tons.

Known Superhuman Powers: Quetzalcoatl possesses the conventional physical attributes of the Mexican Gods. Like all of the Coatli, he is exceptionally long-lived, but 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 Itzamna, Tezcatlipoca or for a number of Mexican gods of equal power working together to revive him. Quetzalcoatl 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 Mexican Gods.)

Quetzalcoatl also has mystical abilities greater than any other Mexican god with the obvious exception of gods like Itzamna, Tezcatlipoca and possibly Tlaloc, but only a few demonstrations of his power have been revealed. He can tap into and manipulate elemental energies to control the weather, enabling him to create rain storms and control the wind to fly. He can teleport between dimensions and sense differences in the atmosphere. He can also change and alter his form.

As Kukulcan, Quetzalcoatl resembles a great golden serpent of great size. In this form, he has far greater strength and invulnerability and can fly through the air by means of two small wings. He still has all his mystical powers in this form since it is obvious he could not fly by just the size of his wings as Kukulcan. In this form, he can stretch himself to appear as tall as the sky and coil around mountains to cause earthquakes.

Abilities: Quetzalcoatl is a beneficent and charismatic god capable of great compassion.

Pets: Quetzalcoatl has great reverence for living things and is often surrounded by a variety of animals including birds and serpents.

Comments: This bio of Quetzalcoatl also involves his appearances in Marvel and DC Comics. He is also mentioned by name in Kolchak: The Night Stalker (Episode: The Mummy).

In the Marvel Universe, specifically Thor #301, Gaea, the Greek-Roman Mother Earth, has been established as the ancient mother earth of all the Earth's pantheons of gods, including Coatlique of the Aztecs,  Jord of the Germanic tribes and Aditi to the Hindus. This makes Quetzalcoatl siblings with Thor, the Titans, and the Adityas (ancestors of the Hindu Gods).

Clarifications: Quetzalcoatl is not to be confused with:  

Last updated: 07/30/13

 

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