OURANUS
Real Name: Ouranus (possibly)Occupation: Sky-Father
Legal Status: Citizen of Olympus
Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of the existence of Ouranus except as a mythological deity.
Other Aliases: Father-Sky, Atum-Re (Egyptian name), Buluku (Dahomey name), Buri (Norse name), Gitche Manitou (Algonquin name), Hunab-Ku (Mayan name), Inn (Japanese name), Jumala (Finno-Ugrian name), Nuadhu (possible Celtic name), Ometeol (Aztec name), Papa (Polynesian name), Prajapati (Brahmanic name), Purusha (Hindu name), Rod (Slavic name), Tecumotzin (Incan name), Tirawa (Navaho name), Tornarssuk (Inuit name), Uranus (Roman name), Vatea (Maori name), Yin (Chinese Name), et al
Place of Birth:
Place of Death: Mount Olympus, Thessaly (now part of modern Greece)
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Atum (possible father), Gaea (alleged mother), Cronus, Varuna (sons), Rhea (daughter), Zeus (grandson),
Group Affiliations: Ancestral Father of the Gods of Earth, possible ally to the Council Elite
Base of Operations: Olympus
First Appearance: (name) Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe #8, (physical) Journey into Mystery #97
History: Virtually nothing is known about the origins of Uranus, beyond the fact that he is considered the paternal ancestor or sky-father of all the major pantheons of gods of earth. According to accounts, the Elder Gods were the first sentient beings to exist on earth after coalescing out of the Demiurge or sentient biosphere of the planet. Since there were no other beings on Earth, the Elder Gods eventually degenerated into demons; in other words, they became parasitic beings by feeding on the life energies of other beings to survive. Since humankind had not yet been born, these Elder gods began preying upon their own kind in order to exist. Fearing their battles would destroy newly evolving life on Earth, Gaea called upon the Demiurge and mated with it, siring Atum, the first of a genetically perfect breed of immortals. Atum slew the majority of the Elder Gods who had degenerated into demons, but Gaea was allowed to exist because she had passively and non-violently linked her godly life essence into all living things on earth. Atum later sired with Gaea the Ogdoad, the ancestors of the later Ennead or collective deities of Egypt, considered among the oldest gods of Earth.
According to later Greek and Roman myths, Uranus was sired by Gaea and she later accepted him as a mate, but whether Uranus and Atum are one and the same being is unrevealed. Atum and Uranus have tenuous connections as progeny of Gaea, but it is not known if they are one and the same, especially considering that Atum has been active well into recent times, unlike Ouranus. It is known that the Demiurge later split into a variety of beings, and that Uranus could be one of these beings. Several beings have identified themselves as the undisputed paternal ancestor of the earth's gods, but whether or not they are all one being or a variety of equal beings is unrevealed.
Many of these primal figures share common facts and histories with Ouranus, either willingly stepping down to a position of power to retire his earthly power, such as when Ammon-Ra succeeded Atum-Re, or were ousted from power by figures like Cronus who deposed Ouranus. Several millennia ago, Ouranus and Gaea sired the Titans, the first generation of the Olympian gods. Ouranus was greatly pleased by the Titans for their genetic purity, endowing them with appearance, power and prestige, but he was displeased by his other progeny for being less than perfect. He exiled the Hecatocheiroi and the Cyclopes to the other-dimensional realm of Tartarus to conceal them from view from mortal man, and Gaea petitioned from among the Titans someone to depose Ouranus. The majority of the Titans refrained from the pact except for Cronus who took a scythe and slew Ouranus from power, later taking over leadership of the Titans. The dying Ouranus had prophesized that Cronus would be overthrown by one of his own children, and Gaea helped his wife, Rhea, conceal the birth of his son, Zeus, for him. When Cronus failed to live up to his promise to release his exiled brethren, Gaea raised Zeus in secret and he freed his captive relatives to storm the heavens and oust Cronus from power.
According to Polynesian myth, Tame, the son of Papa and Gaea in her role as Rangi, the Polynesian earth-goddess, also drove his father from power through the use of an axe. Whether or not the Polynesians and other cultures are telling alternate versions of the same incident described the the Greek and Roman people is unrevealed. Several of the primal sky-fathers have not been seen on earth since being removed from earth, but whether or not they are all the same being as Ouranus or of the same progeny is unrevealed.
It is known that Gaea might have mated with a number of other beings to give birth to the respective pantheons of earth. As Tiamat, the great ocean-goddess, she mated with Apsu, the freshwater god to sire the Igigi, ancestors of the later Anunnaki or Mesopotamian gods. (The Greeks, however, named this deity Pontus, father of the sea-gods, Nereus, Proteus, Phorcys and Ceto.) She also mated with Tartarus, the being that shares his name with the underworld, to sire Typhon, to be the eternal nemesis of the Olympian gods. It is uncertain whether Ouranus could possibly be the figure named Nuadhu who fathered the Fomore, the ancestral spirits of Eire (modern Ireland). Later mythology confuses this figure with another Nuadhu, the half-mortal son of the Dagda, who became leader of the Celtic gods. This later Nuadhu later resurfaced in modern years seeking a number of objects to grant him power, but he was defeated by the Young Gods.
Around 1000 BC, a mysterious being known as Buri migrated north into the region of Niffleheim and sired the Asgardian race from an unknown daughter of Ymir, the frost-giant. Buri turned up years later living an isolated existence in the out-skirts of Asgard. Whether this being was actually Ouranus having returned to life is unknown.
In recent years, a figure claiming to be Hunab-Ku, the ancestor of the Aztec and Mayan gods attended the Council of Godheads to address the threat of Akhenaton to the cosmos. Whether this was Ouranus in one of his roles or the true Hunab-Ku is unrevealed.
Height: 10' 0"
Weight: Undetermined
Eyes: Blue
Hair: White
Strength Level: Ouranus possibly possesses Class 100 level strength, enabling him to lift (press) well over a hundred tons under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Ouranus possesses the conventional physical attributes of the Immortals, the collective race of beings known as the Gods of Earth. Like all Immortals, he is immortal: 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 several gods of significant power, such as Zeus, Odin, Anu or Vishnu working together to revive him. Ouranus also possesses superhuman strength and his Immortal metabolism provides him with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities. (Immortal flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to their superhuman strength and weight.)
Ouranus has incredible mystical prowess above that of any known god or goddess on earth. His mastery of the mystical arts is far above the levels of deities such as Odin and Zeus. He can bestow power on mortal sorcerers and mystic who know how to call upon him. Ouranus is possibly on par with such cosmic beings such as Eternity, Galactus and the Elders of the Universe.
Comments: In Polynesian myth, Papa is the maternal goddess and Rangi the paternal god; however, in Marvel Comics, the roles are reversed.
Clarifications: Ouranus is not to be confused with:
- Atum the God-Slayer, primeval deity of earth, @ Thor Annual 12
- Nuadhu, Celtic Chieftain, son of the Dagda, @ Marvel Comics Presents #105
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