Goddess

Ereshkigel, a Babylonian goddess, first appeared in Thor

Thor (Marvel Comics)

Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....

Annual #10, in 1981. She was part of a group of Death gods trying to increase their power, but she was absorbed along with the others by Demogorge

Atum (comics)

Atum is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics, based loosely on the Ra of Egyptian mythology. The character first appears in Thor Annual #10 and was created by Alan Zelenetz and Bob Hall....

, the God-Eater. Ereshkigal and the other gods were freed by Thor, and have not made any similar attempts. She was portrayed as a pale-skinned woman with batlike wings. She is the fictional counterpart to the Mesopotamian goddess Ereshkigal

Ereshkigal

In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal was the goddess of Irkalla, the land of the dead or underworld. Sometimes her name is given as Irkalla, similar to the way the name Hades was used in Greek mythology for both the underworld and its ruler.Ereshkigal was the only one who could pass judgment and...

.

Publication history

The second Ereshkigal is a member of the Marvel Universe

Marvel Universe

The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...

's Deviant

Deviant (comics)

The Deviants are a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics' universe. They are an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth instigated by the alien Celestials, and wage war against their counterparts, the Eternals...

 race, first appearing in Thor #284 (June 1979), and was created by Roy Thomas

Roy Thomas

Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...

 and John Buscema

John Buscema

John Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...

. The character subsequently appears in Quasar #30 (January 1992), and #35-50 (June 1992-September 1993).

Ereshkigal received an entry in All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #4 (2006).

Fictional character biography

She is a shapeshifter

ShapeShifter

ShapeShifter is an Application Enhancer plugin for Mac OS X developed by Unsanity that allows the user to make system-wide modifications to the appearance of the operating system's graphical interface by applying GUI skins through “injection” into running code and without modifying system files,...

, able to take human form, or a winged form that resembles Marvel's version of the Goddess that she is named for. She claims to be millennia old, and like many Deviants has greater strength, stamina and durability than a human. She seems to have impersonated the Goddess Ereshkigel throughout history. Her sister Dragona is a member of the Delta Network

Delta Network

The Delta Network, also referred to as the Delta Force was the name of a group of Deviants, a fictional race of beings from Marvel Comics. The Delta Network was a group of Deviant warriors who were organized by Warlord Kro...

 of Warlord Kro.

Ereshkigel was assigned by to investigate the City of the Space Gods, home of the Celestials, by Brother Tode, leader of the Deviants. She assumed a human appearance and boarded an airplane headed for the Andes mountains. The plane was captured by the Celestials, and brought into their hidden city for examination. However, another passenger on that plane was Don Blake, the secret identity of the Mighty Thor, as well as Ajak

Ajak

Ajak is a fictional character, a member of the Eternals, a race in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:Ajak first appeared in Eternals vol. 1 #2 , and was created by Jack Kirby...

 of the Eternals

Eternals (comics)

The Eternals are a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics universe. They are described as an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth. The original instigators of this process, the alien Celestials, intended the Eternals to be the defenders of Earth which...

. Thor was able to easily overcome Ereshkigal. Thor turned her over to the custody of Ajak.

Later, she again took a human identity as H. D. Steckley (an alias formerly used by Moondragon

Moondragon

Moondragon is a fictional character in Marvel Comics Universe. A vastly powerful telepath, master martial artist, minor telekinetic, and highly skilled geneticist, Moondragon's most notable characteristics are her shaved head, superiority complex, and gruelling elite excellence in virtually every...

), and schemed to get Quasar's power-bands. When she discovered the existence of an even more powerful artifact, the Star Brand

Star Brand

The Star Brand is the name of a number of similar fictional comic book objects of power all of which exist in the multiverse created by the shared universes of Marvel Comics...

, she attempted to acquire its might. Toward this end, she befriended Quasar's secretary Kayla Ballantine, who possessed the Brand, even becoming her roommate. When Kayla was recruited by an alien world to defend them from the Starblasters, "HD" went with her, and observed firsthand the power of the Star Brand, as Kayla easily destroyed a fleet of warships. They then returned to Earth.

The power of the Star Brand attracted the attention of Kismet

Kismet (Marvel Comics)

Kismet, also known as Paragon and Her is a fictional superheroine that has appeared in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics...

, whom Kayla fought and seriously injured. Kayla, distraught, wished she didn't have the power anymore, and "HD" offered to take it. After the power was transferred, she then revealed her true self to a dismayed Kayla.

Ereshkigel flew to the pandimensional portal called the Nexus of Realities, easily defeating its guardian, the Man-Thing

Man-Thing

The Man-Thing is a fictional character, a monster in publications from Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in Savage Tales #1 , and went on to be featured in various titles and in his own series, including...

. She summoned the pantheon of powerful beings known as the Congress of Realities, and offered to overthrow the current guardians of the Multiverse

Multiverse

The multiverse is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that together comprise all of reality.Multiverse may also refer to:-In fiction:* Multiverse , the fictional multiverse used by DC Comics...

 and give free rein to the Congress. A few chose to follow her, and she destroyed the rest with her near-infinite power.

The cosmic guardian known as the Living Tribunal

Living Tribunal

The Living Tribunal is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Strange Tales #157 June 1967 and was created by Stan Lee, Marie Severin and Herb Trimpe.-Publication history:The Living Tribunal debuted in a storyline called "The...

 challenged Ereshkigel to a contest of champions, winner take all. Quasar and the Silver Surfer

Silver Surfer

The Silver Surfer is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue arc that fans call "The Galactus Trilogy"....

 were chosen as champions; both were told the stakes involved, but not which side they represented. However, by observing the effects of their fight on the cosmic beings known as Master Order

Master Order

Master Order is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2 , and was created by Jim Starlin.- Publication history :...

 and Lord Chaos, Quasar was able to determine that he represented the side of Chaos, and allowed himself to lose. Defeated, Ereshkigal committed suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

, and the Living Tribunal took possession of the Star Brand.