TUONETAR
Real Name:
Tuonetar
Occupation:
Queen of Manala and goddess of the dead
Legal Status:
Citizen of Manala
Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of the existence of Tuonetar except possibly as a mythological character.
Other Aliases:
Yambe-akka, Yambe-aino
Place of Birth:
Marital Status: Married
Known Relatives:
Ukko
(father), Ilmater (mother), Vainamoinen,
Ilmarinen, Lemminkainen (brothers), Suonetar (sister), Tuoni (husband), Kalma,
Kivutar, Loviator, Vammatar (daughters),
Group Affiliations: The Gods of Finland, member of an unnamed alliance of underworld-gods
Base of Operations:
First Appearance: (behind the scenes) Thor Annual 10
History: Tuonetar is one of the Kalevalans, an extra-dimensional race of beings who were worshipped as gods and deities y the ancient Finno-Ugrian tribes of earth. Under unknown means, Tuonetar obtained rule of the other-dimensional realm of Manala, populated by the shades (spirits) of mortals who had worshipped the Kalevalans. She was also taken by the river-god, Tuoni, as his wife and gave birth to several daughters. In ancient times, Manala was said to exist on earth and accessible by the Tuoni river which flowed into it or accessed by a journey that took twenty-eight days. Tuonetar's daughter, Kalma, the goddess of death, ferried the shades of the dead into Manala where they were fed from the table of the dead tended by Tuonetar's other daughters, Kivutar, Loviator and Vammatar, goddesses of pain and disease, to ensure the dead could not return to earth. The hero Vainamoinen deceived Tuonetar's daughters in order to enter Manala in search of the spells he needed. Tuonetar warmed him he would never depart her realm despite having deceived her daughters. Realizing her half-brother would use deception to escape, she instructed the witch goddess Penitar to weave a net across the Tuoni to prevent his escape. Vainamoinen, however, realized what was happening and formulated a plan to escape despite not having found the spells he needed. Transforming himself into an otter, he swam up steam and slipped through the net. Once through it, he changed himself into a small fish and swam back to the land of the living.
In later years, Tuonetar entered into an enmity with the Asgardian death-goddess Hela over unrevealed circumstances. When Hades and Seth began uniting the prospective gods of the underworld in a plan to unite their realms, Tuonetar balked at the prospect of allowing herself to be possibly equal or subservient to Hela and backed out of the gathering.
Her later activities are unrevealed.
Height: 6' 5"
Weight: 410 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
Strength Level: Tuonetar possesses superhuman strength enabling her to
lift (press) somewhere around fifty tons under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Tuonetar possesses the conventional physical attributes
of the Finnish gods. Like all Kalevalans, she is extremely long-lived, using
mystical means to hold on to her youth and beauty. She has aged at an extremely
slow rate since
reaching adulthood and cannot die by any conventional means. She is immune to all
Earthly diseases and is resistant to conventional injury. If she were somehow
wounded, her 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 Ukko and Tapio or for a number of Kalevalan gods of equal power working together to revive her.
Tuonetar also possesses
superhuman strength and her Kalevalan metabolism provides her with far greater than
human endurance in all physical activities. (Kalevalan flesh and bone is about three
times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the superhuman
strength and weight of the Finnish gods.)
Tuonetar also has abilities allowing her to tap into and
manipulate mystical occult energies, such as to conjure and throw hell fire,
erect spheres and barriers of energy and to create objects at will. She has
exceptional senses to detect death where it exists and occurs, and can prophesy
when a person is about to die. She can age mortal beings at will to the point of
death, eventually resulting to the point a person can die, but her victims can
regain their full health after being removed from her presence. She can control
the reality of the underworld, creating incredible illusions and warping the
perceptions of beings who enter her realm against her will. She can travel
between dimensions, send her voice and image across dimensional barriers and
invoke the power of death. She can absorb the souls or astral energies of living
things to attain power beyond the command of her normal powers. Tuonetar is far
more powerful in Manala than she is on earth.
Pets: Tuonetar owns a hell-hound called Surma who stands at the gates of
the underworld refusing to allow the dead to escape. Surma is sometimes called
Manalan-Rakki. Surma's origins are unrevealed.
Base of Operations: Tuonetar rules the other-dimensional realm of Manala, which is sometimes called the realm of Tuoni after the river which encircles it. Manala is accessed by the river Tuoni flowing to the gate Tuonen-portii guarded by the hell hound Surma. Among the other deities known native to her realm are Tuoni, the river-god who bares the name of the river he commands, Kalma, Kivutar, Loviator and Vammatar, Tuonetar's daughters, and Penitar, the witch-goddess who stands as advisor and seer to Tuonetar.
Last updated: 01/08/07