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: Unrevealed

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: Manala

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

 

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