UKKO
Real Name:
Ukko-Ylijumala,
Occupation:
Chieftain of the Finno-Ugrian Gods, god of sky, rain and thunder,
Legal Status:
Citizen of Celestial Kalevala
Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of the existence of Ukko except as a mythological character.
Other Aliases:
Jukko (alternate spelling), Ukkonen, Ylijumala, Jumala, Mader-Atcha (Saami
name), Maa- Emoinen (Karelian name), Remu (Samoyed name), Taara (Estonian name)
Place of Birth:
Marital Status: Married
Known Relatives:
Inmar (father), Ilma (mother), Ilmater, Rauni (sisters/wives),
Nahti, Tapio,
Pellervoinen (brothers), Pajonn, Otso, Kuu (sons), Vainamoinen,
Ilmarinen, Lemminkainen (step-sons), Tuonetar,
Suonetar,
Beiwe (daughters),
Kalma, Kivutar,
Loviator, Vammatar (granddaughters),
Tuulikki (nephew), Nyyrikki
(niece), Gaea (alias Akka, grandmother), Jumala
I (grandfather, possibly deceased),
Group Affiliations: The Gods of Finland, The Council of God-Kings
Base of Operations:
First Appearance: (behind the scenes) Thor #300
History: Ukko is a member of an extra-dimensional race of beings known as the Kalevalans who were worshipped as gods by the ancient tribes and nomads of Finland and Lapland in the First Century BC. Not much is known about Ukko and the Kalevalan gods, but it has been suggested that Ukko and his ancestors once lived on earth as human beings, instilling their mortal followers a reverence for nature, divine laws and wisdom and a knowledge of the world and universe around them. Sometime around two thousand years ago, Ukko lead the ancestors of the Finnish people from the land between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains north to the land of Suomi, now known as modern Finland.
Ukko was worshipped as a god of storm and weather. Having taken over the worship rites of the sky-god, Jumala, Ukko and his brothers divided Ancient Finland into a number of or realms or provinces, each of them dominating a region of the land and a portion of their worshippers. Nahti claimed Ahtola along the coast as his realm in his role as the sea-god, Tapio claimed the inland forests of Tapiola as his domain and Pellervoinen took the fields and meadows of Metsola to create farmland. Ukko claimed the skies to look over all of creation, later creating the other-worldly realm of Kalevala as home for all the gods when they departed earth. They were often at war with the witch-goddess Louhi who ruled the frozen north of Pohjola and dominated a host of evil and diabolical entities. Several centuries later, when Christianity came to Finland, and mortals outgrew a need for gods, many of the gods departed the earthly realm for Kalevala and limited trafficking with mortals.
Ukko took the earth-goddess, Rauni, as his wife and they had three daughters, Sarakka, Juksakka and Uksakka, who became goddesses of fate and childbirth. On Earth, he encountered Ilmater, the goddess of air, and they sired several children who also grew up to become gods. Pajonn became god of storm, Kuu became god of the moon, Beiwe became goddess of the sun and Tuonetar became goddess of night and later goddess of the dead. According to myth, Ilmater held these children within her body until she went down to Earth and fell asleep while floating in the ocean. A duck looking for land came to rest on her knee, and she woke and shook it off of her. The frightened duck flew away dropping the eggs which hatched to give birth of her children. Possibly, the duck was Ukko taking a form to seduce Ilmater, much as how Zeus, Chieftain of the Olympian Gods, often appeared in Ancient Greece to his mortal paramours. According to myth, Ilmater held her lost child, Vainamoinen, within her body for several more years until he was an old man, although in later folklore, Vainamoinen's father is identified as Kave, a mortal chieftain of Ancient Finland.
In later years, Ukko was called into a gathering by Odin, Chieftain of the Asgardian gods of the west, to meet with the other god-kings of earth to discuss the threat of the Third Host of the Celestials to earth. The Celestials had threatened to seal off the inter-dimensional passages between the gods realms to earth unless the gods promised not to interfere with the Celestial's plans for humanity. Odin had already begun making plans for the Fourth Host of the Celestials to occur in one millennia and had extracted an oath from Ukko and the other god-kings of Earth. In modern years, Ukko granted Thor a portion of the life-energies required to restore the Asgardians to life after their life-forces had been scattered by the destruction of the Destroyer decimated by the Celestials.
Since his disappearance from earth, Ukko has visited the
mortal realm on very few occasions. Although a very distant and solitary figure,
he has also proved to be a very shrewd and beneficent deity.
Height: 7' 5"
Weight: 410 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: White, Black in his youth
Strength Level: In his youth, Ukko possessed superhuman strength enabling
him to lift (press) 80 tons under optimal conditions. Today, his strength is a
little less and he can lift (press) around 50 tons under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Ukko possesses the conventional physical attributes
of the Finnish gods, or Kalevalans, native to the other-dimensional realm of
Kalevala. Like all Kalevalans, he is extremely long lived, but not immortal as
the Olympian Gods. He ages at an extremely slow rate 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 Ahti, Tapio or Apunen, or even a another god
from another pantheon, such as Zeus or Odin, working together to revive him.
Ukko also possesses
superhuman strength and his Kalevalan metabolism provides him 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.)
Ukko has considerable power to tap into and manipulate
mystical and elemental energies. In his youth, he could control and command the
sky, enabling him to whip up storms, throw lightning bolts, control the weather
and create rainstorms. The level of his mystical power is unrevealed, but it is
known that he could project his voice and image across long distances. His exact
level of power is unrevealed, but it possible he was on the same level of such
gods as Zeus, Odin and the Dagda.
Weapons: Ukko wields a sword as well as a hammer.
Transportation/Pets: Ukko often rides about in a cart pulled by a large
ram. The sound of the wheels of the cart create thunderstorms in the atmosphere
of earth.
Comments: Ukko has yet to appear in the Marvel or DC Universe, but he
does have an appearance in Marvel's Hercules & Thor :Mythological Encyclopedia
describing Marvel's interpretation of the gods and goddesses in the Marvel
Universe.
Very little is known about the gods of Finland. The majority of info here is theorized and extrapolated from scant and partial info, recurring parallels occurring in other pantheons and the known history of the Finnish people.
Kalevala is the ancient name of Finland. Pohjola is the ancient name of Lapland.
Last updated: 09/04/12