Naga (comics)
Encyclopedia
Naga is a fictional character
and Marvel Comics
supervillain
. Created by writer
Roy Thomas
and artist
Marie Severin
, he first appeared in Sub-Mariner
#9 (January, 1969).
race Homo mermanus
which settled in Lemuria
centuries after that continent was submerged during the Great Cataclysm.
Approximately 600 years ago Naga was ruler of these "Lemurian" Homo mermanus when the Serpent Crown
was discovered among the ruins of the old human built cities of Lemuria.
Donning the helmet Naga came under the influence of Set
, a malevolent serpent
god
who was exiled in another dimension, but can use the Crown as a means to exert its malign influence on Earth
.
Naga's physical appearance was changed from exposure to the crown, his facial features coming to resemble those of a snake
and his skin becoming scale-like and green (from the common blue of other Homo mermanus). As the Emperor, he converted the Lemurian people to the worship of Set and Naga's alchemists treated the Crown so that it gave him immortality
, allowing him to rule over his people for centuries. Through his prolonged use of the crown the skin color and complexion of Lemuria's population also became green and scale-like. Naga's use of the crown eventually came to an end hundreds of years later when the rebel Pyscatos stole it from him as he slept. Naga still however remained immortal (or at least aged extremely slowly) and continued to rule Lemuria for centuries. He also had an affair with Lemuria's High Priestess of Set.
In more recent times, a half Lemurian mutant
called Llyra
came to prominence in Lemuria, eventually becoming the high priestess of Set. Attempting to attain even more power for herself, Llyra manipulated the by now senile and possibly insane Naga into arranging her marriage to his oldest surviving son, Merro.
Shortly after those events the Serpent Crown re-emerged in another underwater city — Atlantis
. Upon donning the Serpent Crown, Namor had a vision of Naga. Lemurian agents led by Karthon the Quester
stole the Crown from Namor the Sub-Mariner
and returned it to Naga in Lemuria, who immediately donned it and once again accessed its vast powers. Naga battled the captive Namor. Naga battled Namor in a Lemurian arena. During the resulting conflict that was caused by Namor's attempts to reclaim the Serpent Crown, Karthon assassinated Naga by a sword wound in the back. The Crown and Naga were cast into an undersea chasm and thought destroyed and dead.
A manifestation of Naga later briefly appeared when Hugh Jones
, a human who wore the crown and fell under the influence of Set, conjured up "spirits" of the Crown's past wearers to do battle with the Scarlet Witch
and the Thing
.
Later in the 1989 Atlantis Attacks
crossover
, when the Deviant
Set worshiper Ghaur
created a massive new Serpent Crown, Naga's spirit returned again. Ghaur then attempted to take control of the power of the new Crown, but came into conflict with Naga's spirit, a conflict which caused Llyra and Ghaur to vanish.
For a time, Naga wore the Serpent Crown of Set, endowing him with mystical abilities, great longevity and vitality, the ability to project energy blasts, fly, teleport himself, create illusions, and control the minds of others.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
. Created by writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
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 artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Marie Severin
Marie Severin
Marie Severin is an American comic book artist and colorist best known for her work for Marvel Comics and the 1950s' EC Comics....
, he first appeared in Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner is a fictional comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe, and one of the first superheroes, debuting in Spring 1939. The character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for Funnies Inc., one of the first "packagers" in the early days of comic books that supplied...
#9 (January, 1969).
Fictional character biography
Naga is a member of the water breathing humanoidHumanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
race Homo mermanus
Homo mermanus
Homo mermanus is a fictional race of gilled aquatic humanoids that has appeared in numerous comic book series published by Marvel Comics. This race is best known as the people who live in the Atlantis of Marvel's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe...
which settled in Lemuria
Lemuria (comics)
Lemuria is the name of two fictional locations in the Marvel Universe.Lemuria had been a small continent and group of islands in the Pacific Ocean 21,000 years ago, which was ruled by the Deviants. Lemuria became the center of the Deviant empire, and the only remaining free land was Atlantis, the...
centuries after that continent was submerged during the Great Cataclysm.
Approximately 600 years ago Naga was ruler of these "Lemurian" Homo mermanus when the Serpent Crown
Serpent Crown
The Serpent Crown is a fictional mystical power object which has appeared in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It exists within Marvel's main shared universe...
was discovered among the ruins of the old human built cities of Lemuria.
Donning the helmet Naga came under the influence of Set
Set (Serpent God)
Set is the name of a fictional demon-god within the continuities of Conan the Barbarian and Marvel Universe.He is apparently an amalgam of the name of the Egyptian god Set and the appearance and characteristics of the Egyptian monster Apep and the Greek mythological figure the Lernaean Hydra. This...
, a malevolent serpent
Serpent (symbolism)
Serpent in Latin means: Rory Collins :&, in turn, from the Biblical Hebrew word of: "saraf" with root letters of: which refers to something burning-as, the pain of poisonous snake's bite was likened to internal burning.This word is commonly used in a specifically mythic or religious context,...
god
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
who was exiled in another dimension, but can use the Crown as a means to exert its malign influence on Earth
Earth
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...
.
Naga's physical appearance was changed from exposure to the crown, his facial features coming to resemble those of a snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
and his skin becoming scale-like and green (from the common blue of other Homo mermanus). As the Emperor, he converted the Lemurian people to the worship of Set and Naga's alchemists treated the Crown so that it gave him immortality
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...
, allowing him to rule over his people for centuries. Through his prolonged use of the crown the skin color and complexion of Lemuria's population also became green and scale-like. Naga's use of the crown eventually came to an end hundreds of years later when the rebel Pyscatos stole it from him as he slept. Naga still however remained immortal (or at least aged extremely slowly) and continued to rule Lemuria for centuries. He also had an affair with Lemuria's High Priestess of Set.
In more recent times, a half Lemurian mutant
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
called Llyra
Llyra
Llyra is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics super-villainess. She was created by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema and first appeared in Sub-Mariner #32 .-Fictional character biography:...
came to prominence in Lemuria, eventually becoming the high priestess of Set. Attempting to attain even more power for herself, Llyra manipulated the by now senile and possibly insane Naga into arranging her marriage to his oldest surviving son, Merro.
Shortly after those events the Serpent Crown re-emerged in another underwater city — Atlantis
Atlantis (Marvel Comics)
Atlantis is a fictional location in the Marvel Universe. It is based on the mythical island of Atlantis first mentioned in Plato's initial dialogue the Timaeus, written circa 360 BC. In the Marvel Universe, Atlantis was a small continent with many human settlements...
. Upon donning the Serpent Crown, Namor had a vision of Naga. Lemurian agents led by Karthon the Quester
Karthon the Quester
Karthon the Quester is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:Karthon first appeared in Sub-Mariner #9 , and was created by Roy Thomas and Marie Severin....
stole the Crown from Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner is a fictional comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe, and one of the first superheroes, debuting in Spring 1939. The character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for Funnies Inc., one of the first "packagers" in the early days of comic books that supplied...
and returned it to Naga in Lemuria, who immediately donned it and once again accessed its vast powers. Naga battled the captive Namor. Naga battled Namor in a Lemurian arena. During the resulting conflict that was caused by Namor's attempts to reclaim the Serpent Crown, Karthon assassinated Naga by a sword wound in the back. The Crown and Naga were cast into an undersea chasm and thought destroyed and dead.
A manifestation of Naga later briefly appeared when Hugh Jones
Hugh Jones (comics)
Hugh Jones is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe who first appeared in Captain America #180 and was created by Steve Englehart and Sal Buscema.-Fictional character biography:...
, a human who wore the crown and fell under the influence of Set, conjured up "spirits" of the Crown's past wearers to do battle with the Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch
The Scarlet Witch is a fictional comic book character that appears in books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in X-Men #4 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...
and the Thing
Thing (comics)
The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
.
Later in the 1989 Atlantis Attacks
Atlantis Attacks
Atlantis Attacks was a comic book super-hero crossover storyline which ran through most of the summer annuals published by Marvel Comics in 1989....
crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
, when the 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...
Set worshiper Ghaur
Ghaur
Ghaur is a Marvel Comics supervillain. Created by Peter B. Gillis and Sal Buscema, he first appeared in Eternals vol. 2, #2 .In the Marvel Universe, he is the head of the Deviant race's priesthood.-Fictional character biography:...
created a massive new Serpent Crown, Naga's spirit returned again. Ghaur then attempted to take control of the power of the new Crown, but came into conflict with Naga's spirit, a conflict which caused Llyra and Ghaur to vanish.
Powers and abilities
Naga is a member of the evolutionary offshoot of the human race called Homo Mermanus. As such, he has enhanced strength, gills enabling him to extract oxygen from water, durability against water pressure, and the ability to see acutely in the dimly lit ocean depths.For a time, Naga wore the Serpent Crown of Set, endowing him with mystical abilities, great longevity and vitality, the ability to project energy blasts, fly, teleport himself, create illusions, and control the minds of others.