Mongo (planet)
Encyclopedia
Mongo is a fictional planet where the comic strip
(and later movie serials) of Flash Gordon
take place. It is ruled by a usurper
named Ming the Merciless
, who governs with an iron hand.
Mongo is inhabited by different culture
s. Some are technologically advanced, but they are falling under the domination of the tyrant Ming. Flash Gordon succeeds in unifying them against Ming, eventually removing him from power.
. Its atmosphere is compatible with Terran
life, and the dominant species
on Mongo is the Homo sapiens. Other intelligent species exist, either Homo sapiens variants or others of a humanoid pattern, such as the Lion Men. Mongo's gravity is slightly weaker than the Earth's, which allows Flash Gordon to put his gymnastics skills to good use.
Mongo has a variety of climate
s. Part of the planet is covered by the forest kingdom of Arboria, ruled by Prince Barin
. An area of mountains and caverns makes up the frozen kingdom of Frigia, ruled by Barin's cousin, Queen Fria. Beneath the Sea of Mystery is the underwater kingdom of Coralia, ruled by Queen Undina. Bordering the sea is the Land of the Lion Men, ruled by King Thun
.
East of the Lion Men's kingdom are the Magnetic Mountains, where Ming the Merciless
established a new base of operations after he was defeated and removed from Mongo's throne. North of this is the Sky City of the Hawk Men, led by Vultan
. There is also the jungle continent of Tropica, ruled by Queen Desira, and the Fire Lands, home of Gundar the Desert Hawk. Mongo also has extensive underground domains.
These kingdoms and their rulers feature prominently in The New Adventures of Flash Gordon
.
Thun informs Flash Gordon that Barin should be the emperor, but he adds that in his view this would be no improvement. Ming's authority appears to be based as much on his vast military power as on his legal position. A reference is made to legend
s that Ming once was the high priest
of an ancient Mongovian king
, and that he Ming launched invasion
s 'long and long ago'. Ming claims to be immortal
, and these tales may be meant to support this.
When Flash Gordon arrives on Mongo, he finds Prince Barin is leading a guerrilla war
against Ming from Arboria. Thun the Lion-man is also Ming's active enemy. However, Prince Barin is at odds with the Lion-men, and almost everyone else. Gordon learns that "every race on Mongo is an enemy to every other race" and "each man stands alone on Mongo". Much Gordon's efforts are directed toward overcoming this mutual antipathy.
The social structure of Mongo is oppressive. Ming uses slave labor to mine radioactive elements for power and industry
. Thun tells Gordon that one week in the mines can damage your health, and 100 days is the life span of the workers. Ming's beautiful daughter Aura hunts people for excitement.
The lesser rulers of Mongo also practice slavery
. The Hawk-men of King Vultan use slave labor from rival states in high-radiation work, and even Prince Barin hunts political enemies for sport
. King Vultan of the flying Hawk-men has ambitions of becoming Ming's son-in-law by a forced marriage to Ming's daughter Aura. The various nations view all outsiders as enemies to be slain or exploited. Of all the rulers Flash meets, Thun consistently is the most honorable, loyal, and decent.
In the 2007 Sci Fi Channel
series
, Mongo's government
is called the "United Peoples of Mongo" ruled by Emperor Ming.
rns and chambers, and in some of them is found a realm that according to legend is the remnant of a kingdom that once ruled all Mongo. The monarch
of that ancient kingdom was Ghor-Dhan, pronounced as "Gordon". His appearance was also identical to the earthman Flash Gordon.
Syk is a kingdom supposedly founded on magic
, in contrast to the high technology
of the rest of Mongo. However, it becomes clear that Syk's "magic" is actually an advanced technology, though they use the imagery of magic. Dr. Zarkov masters some of it.
Syk is ruled by the witch-queen Azura, who is feared by everyone on Mongo. Ming the Merciless is said to have attempted to conquer Syk "long and long ago" with an army
of one million, who completely vanished. Thun says that legend refers to Ming having acted as King Ghor-Dhan's "high priest". Ghor-Dhan left Mongo seeking new worlds to conquer, leaving his lover Azura to rule as his regent. He never returned, and Azura has ruled ever since, apparently being immortal.
Queen Azura is convinced that Flash Gordon is her long-lost lover and is even able to bring back apparent memories of that time in him. Gordon marvels at the similarity of the statue
, the name, and other indications of a connection, and Dr. Zarkov admits there are things that science cannot account for.
, Mongo is a planet, "in another dimension" (i.e. parallel universe
). It is explained that "the dimensional shift" is "quite small" and that there is an inherent connection between Earth and Mongo, where the quantum mechanics
of Bell's theorem
and EPR Paradox
are working on a planetary scale. That is why there are so many similarities between both worlds, including language
and Homo Sapiens evolving
on both planets. Its is theorized that at some point in time
and space
, the two planets were much closer.
In the episode Sorrow, it is revealed that Mongo was once a prosperous blue and green planet; it relied on a glowing red
ore
called zerilium that was mined
on the moon
. Mongo's inhabitants even built two small artificial moons named Arkaylia and Surd to process zerilium and shelter the miner
s. An accident on Mongo released poison
ous zerilium gas
into the air, which caused acid rain
, killed wildlife
, and contaminated Mongo's water
. The planet became uninhabitable. A small portion of Mongo's people emigrated to Arkaylia. After three generations on the artificial moon, Mongo's environment
partially repaired itself. As a result, the people returned to the planet. Clean water, known as "source water", still remained scarce and came from underground. Centuries later, Ming seized power and began his rule.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
(and later movie serials) of Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
take place. It is ruled by a usurper
Usurper
Usurper is a derogatory term used to describe either an illegitimate or controversial claimant to the power; often, but not always in a monarchy, or a person who succeeds in establishing himself as a monarch without inheriting the throne, or any other person exercising authority unconstitutionally...
named Ming the Merciless
Ming the Merciless
Ming the Merciless is a fictional character who first appeared in the Flash Gordon comic strip in 1934. He has since been the main villain of the strip and its related movie serials, TV shows and film adaptation.- First appearance :...
, who governs with an iron hand.
Mongo is inhabited by different culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
s. Some are technologically advanced, but they are falling under the domination of the tyrant Ming. Flash Gordon succeeds in unifying them against Ming, eventually removing him from power.
Planetary description
Mongo is much like the EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. Its atmosphere is compatible with Terran
Terran
- Fiction :Terran is a demonym, a term commonly associated in science fiction with humans.- Literature :* Terran Federation, a government in the 1959 science fiction novel Starship Troopers...
life, and the dominant species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
on Mongo is the Homo sapiens. Other intelligent species exist, either Homo sapiens variants or others of a humanoid pattern, such as the Lion Men. Mongo's gravity is slightly weaker than the Earth's, which allows Flash Gordon to put his gymnastics skills to good use.
Mongo has a variety of climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
s. Part of the planet is covered by the forest kingdom of Arboria, ruled by Prince Barin
Prince Barin
Prince Barin is a character in the Flash Gordon stories. He is king of a region of Mongo called Arboria. Barin becomes one of Flash's best friends, and is deeply in love with Princess Aura....
. An area of mountains and caverns makes up the frozen kingdom of Frigia, ruled by Barin's cousin, Queen Fria. Beneath the Sea of Mystery is the underwater kingdom of Coralia, ruled by Queen Undina. Bordering the sea is the Land of the Lion Men, ruled by King Thun
Prince Thun
Prince Thun is a fictional character who appeared in various forms of the Flash Gordon comic strip and film productions. He is a Lion Man of Mongo and one of Flash's most trusted friends....
.
East of the Lion Men's kingdom are the Magnetic Mountains, where Ming the Merciless
Ming the Merciless
Ming the Merciless is a fictional character who first appeared in the Flash Gordon comic strip in 1934. He has since been the main villain of the strip and its related movie serials, TV shows and film adaptation.- First appearance :...
established a new base of operations after he was defeated and removed from Mongo's throne. North of this is the Sky City of the Hawk Men, led by Vultan
Prince Vultan
Prince Vultan is the prince of the bird-like Hawkmen in the Flash Gordon comic strip and its adaptations. Prince Vultan starts his career as a half-villain with a lecherous side , but soon reforms into one of Flash Gordon's greatest allies...
. There is also the jungle continent of Tropica, ruled by Queen Desira, and the Fire Lands, home of Gundar the Desert Hawk. Mongo also has extensive underground domains.
These kingdoms and their rulers feature prominently in The New Adventures of Flash Gordon
The New Adventures of Flash Gordon
The New Adventures of Flash Gordon, also known as The Adventures of Flash Gordon, is an animated television series. The series is actually called Flash Gordon, but the expanded title is used in official records to distinguish it from previous versions.Filmation produced the series in 1979, partly...
.
Politics
Mongo is ruled from Mingo City, site of the palace of Ming the Merciless, who appears to be the Emperor of all Mongo. Mongo political structure is exclusively monarchical. Each realm Flash Gordon and visits has its own king or queen. Most seem to give at some deference to Ming the Merciless, the exceptions being Prince Barin and Thun, ruler of the Lion-men.Thun informs Flash Gordon that Barin should be the emperor, but he adds that in his view this would be no improvement. Ming's authority appears to be based as much on his vast military power as on his legal position. A reference is made to legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
s that Ming once was the high priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
of an ancient Mongovian king
King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
, and that he Ming launched invasion
Invasion
An invasion is a military offensive consisting of all, or large parts of the armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of either conquering, liberating or re-establishing control or authority over a...
s 'long and long ago'. Ming claims to be immortal
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
, and these tales may be meant to support this.
When Flash Gordon arrives on Mongo, he finds Prince Barin is leading a guerrilla war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
against Ming from Arboria. Thun the Lion-man is also Ming's active enemy. However, Prince Barin is at odds with the Lion-men, and almost everyone else. Gordon learns that "every race on Mongo is an enemy to every other race" and "each man stands alone on Mongo". Much Gordon's efforts are directed toward overcoming this mutual antipathy.
The social structure of Mongo is oppressive. Ming uses slave labor to mine radioactive elements for power and industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
. Thun tells Gordon that one week in the mines can damage your health, and 100 days is the life span of the workers. Ming's beautiful daughter Aura hunts people for excitement.
The lesser rulers of Mongo also practice slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. The Hawk-men of King Vultan use slave labor from rival states in high-radiation work, and even Prince Barin hunts political enemies for sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
. King Vultan of the flying Hawk-men has ambitions of becoming Ming's son-in-law by a forced marriage to Ming's daughter Aura. The various nations view all outsiders as enemies to be slain or exploited. Of all the rulers Flash meets, Thun consistently is the most honorable, loyal, and decent.
In the 2007 Sci Fi Channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
series
Flash Gordon (2007 TV series)
Flash Gordon is an American science fiction television series that debuted on Sci Fi in the United States on August 10, 2007 and continued airing new episodes through February 8, 2008. It has also appeared on the United Kingdom Sci Fi Channel and SPACE in Canada...
, Mongo's government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
is called the "United Peoples of Mongo" ruled by Emperor Ming.
The Witch Kingdom of Syk
Mongos crusts is riddled with caveCave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
rns and chambers, and in some of them is found a realm that according to legend is the remnant of a kingdom that once ruled all Mongo. The monarch
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
of that ancient kingdom was Ghor-Dhan, pronounced as "Gordon". His appearance was also identical to the earthman Flash Gordon.
Syk is a kingdom supposedly founded on magic
Magic (fantasy)
Magic in fiction is the endowing of fictional characters or objects with magical powers.Such magic often serves as a plot device, the source of magical artifacts and their quests...
, in contrast to the high technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
of the rest of Mongo. However, it becomes clear that Syk's "magic" is actually an advanced technology, though they use the imagery of magic. Dr. Zarkov masters some of it.
Syk is ruled by the witch-queen Azura, who is feared by everyone on Mongo. Ming the Merciless is said to have attempted to conquer Syk "long and long ago" with an army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
of one million, who completely vanished. Thun says that legend refers to Ming having acted as King Ghor-Dhan's "high priest". Ghor-Dhan left Mongo seeking new worlds to conquer, leaving his lover Azura to rule as his regent. He never returned, and Azura has ruled ever since, apparently being immortal.
Queen Azura is convinced that Flash Gordon is her long-lost lover and is even able to bring back apparent memories of that time in him. Gordon marvels at the similarity of the statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
, the name, and other indications of a connection, and Dr. Zarkov admits there are things that science cannot account for.
Flash Gordon revival
In the Scifi Channel series Flash GordonFlash Gordon (2007 TV series)
Flash Gordon is an American science fiction television series that debuted on Sci Fi in the United States on August 10, 2007 and continued airing new episodes through February 8, 2008. It has also appeared on the United Kingdom Sci Fi Channel and SPACE in Canada...
, Mongo is a planet, "in another dimension" (i.e. parallel universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
). It is explained that "the dimensional shift" is "quite small" and that there is an inherent connection between Earth and Mongo, where the quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
of Bell's theorem
Bell's theorem
In theoretical physics, Bell's theorem is a no-go theorem, loosely stating that:The theorem has great importance for physics and the philosophy of science, as it implies that quantum physics must necessarily violate either the principle of locality or counterfactual definiteness...
and EPR Paradox
EPR paradox
The EPR paradox is a topic in quantum physics and the philosophy of science concerning the measurement and description of microscopic systems by the methods of quantum physics...
are working on a planetary scale. That is why there are so many similarities between both worlds, including language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
and Homo Sapiens evolving
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
on both planets. Its is theorized that at some point in time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
and space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
, the two planets were much closer.
In the episode Sorrow, it is revealed that Mongo was once a prosperous blue and green planet; it relied on a glowing red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
called zerilium that was mined
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
on the moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. Mongo's inhabitants even built two small artificial moons named Arkaylia and Surd to process zerilium and shelter the miner
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
s. An accident on Mongo released poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
ous zerilium gas
Gas
Gas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
into the air, which caused acid rain
Acid rain
Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions . It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen...
, killed wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
, and contaminated Mongo's water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
. The planet became uninhabitable. A small portion of Mongo's people emigrated to Arkaylia. After three generations on the artificial moon, Mongo's environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
partially repaired itself. As a result, the people returned to the planet. Clean water, known as "source water", still remained scarce and came from underground. Centuries later, Ming seized power and began his rule.