Gods of Earth

Gods of Earth
Name	Gods of Earth
Aliases	Deities, Gods, Earth-Gods, Earth-based pantheons
Affiliation and Identity
Identity	Secret
Affiliation	Council of Godheads, Parliament of Pantheons, various pantheons
Physical Characteristics
Body Type	Variable
Eyes	Variable
Hair	Variable
Skin	Variable
Number of Limbs	Variable
Number of Fingers	Variable
Number of Toes	Variable
Special Adaptations	The bone, skin, and tissue of the Gods of Earth are 2-3 times denser than comparable human bone, skin, and tissue, contributing to their superhuman strength and weight.
Unusual Features	Some of the Gods of Earth (notably the Daevas) have uniquely colored skin and multiple arms while others (notably the Ennead) have a mix of human and animal characteristics.
Origin and Status
Origin	Gods of Earth spawned from Gaea after the culling of the Elder Gods of Earth by the Demogorge
Reality	Multiverse
Galaxy	Milky Way
Star System	Sol
Home	Earth
Base of Operations	Omnipotence City, Infinite Embassy, Widespread
Place of Birth	Earth
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Stan Lee, Lin Streeter
First	Venus #1 (May, 1948)
First	Venus #1 (May, 1948)

 I heard your prayer little one. And what kind of God would I be if I did not answer prayers? 

—Thor

History

Origins

The Gods of Earth are extra-dimensional races of beings who once existed on Earth in its distant past and are now or were once worshiped as Gods or deities by the different cultures on Earth. It is known they are descended from the primeval Earth-Goddess Gaea and over the years have separated into tribes or pantheons, each pantheon connected to worshipers separated on Earth by either geological, cultural, or environmental boundaries.

The exact origins of the Gods of Earth are lost in antiquity, but it is known that every culture has its own, often contradictory, myths on the creation of the universe. What is known is that soon after the creation of the Earth, the Demiurge, the embodiment of the planet's potential biosphere, seeded it with its own life essence, producing the Elder Gods known as Set, Chthon, and Gaea among others. Most of these deities degenerated into demons, forcing Gaea to have to sire a son, Atum, to destroy most of them, while the few that survived were driven away to nether realms. Atum and Gaea may have fathered the later pantheons of Gods, but this is unrevealed.

Pre-Cataclysmic Age

Man later evolved and began worshiping these Gods. Those Gods who existed before the sinking of Atlantis (not all confirmed to be Earth-Gods proper) included Honen/Honan, Hotath, Anu, Zukala, the Woman in the Moon, the Great Scorpion, the White Wolf, Ja-Quari the Tiger God, Baal, Dagon, Crom, Erlik, and many others. Many of these Gods were tutelary, worshiped by isolated cities or regions, avoiding all contact with other Elder Gods except those to which they were immediately related.

Valka achieved prominence circa 30,000 B.C, which lasted at least 12,000 years.

Circa 19,500 BC or earlier, Crom banished the demon Shuma-Gorath. Circa 18,530 BC, Erlik made the Valusian soldier Vonndhar a servant of his.

Around 18,500 BC, the deities who will later become known as the Elder Gods of the Hyborian Age intended to make King Kull of Valusia the vessel of their power, but chose instead to make the immortal cat Sedrick (felinized by the sorcerer Thulsa Doom) the container of their power.

Hyborian Age

After the sinking of Atlantis, the Hyborian Age began as gods such as Mitra, Asura, Derkerto, Derketa, Ishtar, Ashtoreth, Astorte, Bel, and even Set from his dimension sought worshippers in the aftermath of the disasters.

However, at some point before the start of the Hyborian Age, the Primal Gods (possibly the same beings as those called the Elder Gods of the Hyborian Age) created the Four Cornerstones of Creation.

Circa 10,500 BC, the Priestess of the Cult of Creation, Princess Noyo of Khitai, fled from Pau Styss the Demon Lord. Battling him, her lords turned her into a mystic wind that drifted away. Circa 10,100 BC a man named Kaleb forcibly left his priestly brotherhood due to his siring a child named Solaise. Working with the Council of Seven, he stole the Child of the Elder Gods. Later regretting his actions, Kaleb's daughter became the host of the Child of the Elder Gods, henceforth unaging. Elsewhere the Primal Gods created a mate for Noyo (who at some point inhabited a Cimmerian village), a man named Laynnen. Later Laynnen and Noyo would face Pau Styss. Even later, the demon known as the Devourer of Souls would gain the power of the Elder Gods of the Hyborian Age from Sedrick and Solaise. Fortunately, his plans saw defeat. Later, Solaise would visit a prince named Conn to bestow on him the Sword of the Elder Gods.

Later, cataclysms ended the Hyborian Age, giving rise to pantheons of interrelated Gods who sought worshipers within their spheres of influence. Some of these Gods, like the Titans, later conceived generations of gods by whom they were supplanted and replaced.

Among the earliest gods still active in the post-Hyborian world are the Sumerian and Egyptian Pantheons. Circa 2950 BC the deity Khonshu opposed Rama-Tut, while Set and Isis appeared to En Sabah Nur, the future Apocalypse. The Asgardians came to be worshiped by the Norsemen, and the Olympians, the successors of the Titans, were worshiped in Greece. Other Gods appeared before each of the great civilizations, looking for followers. In a few places, like Greece, the Eternals were mistaken for the Olympian gods, a situation that the Olympians tolerated most of the time, knowing that the Celestials were watching from afar.

The Gods of Earth have met a few times since 1000 AD, requiring the creation of the Council of Godheads, a group comprised of the godheads of each pantheon on Earth, although this was not always preclusive. Athena has recently appeared to the group in the absence of Zeus. Odin was also impersonated by Loki during another gathering.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Immortality - Many of the Gods of Earth have enchanted life-spans, while others have extended longevity without being truly immortal.

Abilities

• Allspeak: The Gods of Earth have Allspeak, enabling them to communicate in all of the languages of the Nine Realms, Earth's dialects, and various alien languages.

Average Strength Level

The Earth-Gods have varying level of strength from one race to another, with often a difference between male and female, in favor of the male:

• average male Gods of Earth can lift (press) from 20 to around 40 tons.
• average female Gods (Goddesses) can lift (press) from 10 to around 35 tons.

Furthermore, it is not uncommon that individuals within each races exceed the average strength of their kind, such as the Shinto God Izanagi who can press about 90 tons instead of 20 for an average male of his pantheon, or Balder and Heimdall who both can lift about 50 tons instead of the average male Asgardian's 30 tons.

Weaknesses

The Gods were closely tied to the tales and stories associated with them. By changing and manipulating these stories, the gods would be affected by these changes. The Enchantress was able to use the fire magic of Ullr and Bragi to rewrite the comic books written by Marvel Comics about Thor, making the real God of Thunder dumber than he actually was.

Habitat

Habitat

Various

Gravity

Earth-like

Atmosphere

Earth-like

Miscellaneous

Type of Government

Tribal (Pantheons)

Level of Technology

Magic

Cultural Traits

The Gods of Earth usually take on the cultural traits of the culture of their worshipers.

Representatives

Ares, Hercules, Loki, Odin, Thor, Venus, Zeus, etc. see here

Known Pantheons of Earth-Gods

Earth Pantheons

Pantheon	God Realm	Tissue Density	Average Strength (Male)	Average Strength (Female)	Longevity	Notes
Aboriginal Gods	Alchera	2.0× denser than humans	20 tons	10 tons	True immortals	* Weaker in strength but can navigate Dreamtime with ease
Ahau (Mayan Gods)	Upperworld	2.5× denser than humans	25 tons	20 tons	True immortals
Akua (Oceanic Gods)	Celestial Hawaiki	2.0× denser than humans	20 tons	10 tons	True immortals	* Weaker in strength but have faster reflexes
Amatsu-Kami (Japanese Gods)	Ama	2.0× denser than humans	20 tons	10 tons	Virtual immortals (slow aging)	* Weaker in strength but have faster reflexes
Annunaki (Mesopotamian Gods)	Dilmun	3.0× denser than humans	30 tons	25 tons	True immortals
Apu (Incan Gods)	Hanan Pacha	2.5× denser than humans	25 tons	20 tons	True immortals
Asgardians (Norse Gods)	Asgard	3.0× denser than humans	30 tons	25 tons	Virtual immortals (slow aging)
Daevas (Hindu Gods)	Nirvana	3.0× denser than humans	40 tons	35 tons	True immortals
Dievas (Russian Gods)	Svarga	3.0× denser than humans	40 tons	35 tons	True immortals
Diwatas (Philippine Gods)	Kaluwalhatian	2.5× denser than humans	25 tons	20 tons	True immortals
Ennead (Egyptian Gods)	Celestial Heliopolis	2.5× denser than humans	25 tons	20 tons	True immortals
Inua (Northern Gods)	Quidlivun	3.0× denser than humans	30 tons	25 tons	True immortals
Jumala (Finnish Gods)	Taivas	3.0× denser than humans	30 tons	25 tons	True immortals
Manidoog (Native American Gods)	Giizhigong	2.5× denser than humans	25 tons	20 tons	True immortals
Olympians (Greek Gods)	Olympus	3.0× denser than humans	30 tons	25 tons	True immortals
Shin (Korean Gods)	Shinshi	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Tenger (Mongolian / Turkic Gods)	Ergenekon	3.0× denser than humans	30 tons	25 tons	True immortals
Tēteoh (Aztec Gods)	Topán	3.0× denser than humans	25 tons	20 tons	True immortals
Tuatha de Danaans (Celtic Gods)	Otherworld (Tír na nÓg)	3.0× denser than humans	35 tons	25 tons	True immortals	* Larger but have slightly slower reflexes
Fomorians (Celtic Gods)	Otherworld (Dark Realm)	3.0× denser than humans	35 tons	25 tons	True immortals
Vodū (West African Gods)	Orun	2.5× denser than humans	25 tons	20 tons	True immortals
Xian (Chinese Gods)	Ta-Lo	2.0× denser than humans	20 tons	10 tons	True immortals	* Weaker in strength but have faster reflexes
Yazatas (Persian Gods)	Elysium	2.0× denser than humans	25 tons	20 tons	True immortals

Gods of the Modern Age

In the Modern Age, new pantheons spawned from the technological and societal changes of Earth. It is unknown what relation, if any, those gods have with Gaea, and consequently if they can be considered "Earth-Gods".

Manchester Gods

Uprising Storm

Stained Glass Scarlet

Other

Triune

Young Gods

New Gods

Trivia

• Some deities, such as Valkyrie, Hadari-Yao,, Yu Huang, and Stained Glass Scarlet were mortals who apotheosized either as a result of being elevated to divine status by another deity, through being worshiped, or some other means of attaining godhood.
  • This applies to alien gods too. For example, the Skrull Gods include an Eternal Skrull and a Deviant Skrull who both ascended into godhood through the truth and the belief of their words.
• Loki suggests that gods are stories that are so good that the universe believes them; thus, they become reality. In other words, it is the mortals who created the gods. The origins of the Tiger God and Dog God support this theory.
  • Doctor Nemesis and Mother Righteous have similar theories. Gods are "ideas" and they get power from "belief" and worshippers. Doctor Nemesis wonders if a god like Thor would cease to exist if the idea of "Thor" is wiped from everyone's minds.
  • Stained Glass Scarlet described herself as a living story after her transformation into a goddess, and said the change happened because people told her story and prayed to her. Khonshu, a much older god, described himself as a story as well.
• Although they are not actually gods, the Eternals and Deviants are included in Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica #1.

See Also

• 138 appearance(s) of Gods of Earth
• 1 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Gods of Earth
• 38 minor appearance(s) of Gods of Earth
• 967 mention(s) of Gods of Earth
• 2 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Gods of Earth
• 257 invocation(s) of Gods of Earth
• 5 image(s) of Gods of Earth

Links and References

• Gods in the Marvel Universe at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
• Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (Vol. 2) #5
• Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica #1
• Official Guide To The Mythological Universe
• Gods (Marvel Comics) at Wikipedia