el DORADO
el DORADO
Classification: Hidden Land (City)
Creator: ancient Incas
User/Possessors: The people of el Dorado (Doradians?); Keeper of the Flame, Prince Rey, They who Wield Power, Tulak
Aliases: Forbidden Land
First Appearance: Avengers I#30 (July, 1966)
Location: deep within the Andes Mountains
Powers/Abilities/Functions: Much of the city is allegedly made of gold. Its primary weapon was the Sacred Flame of Life, although the soldiers possessed various advanced weaponry, including energy weapons.
History: (Incredible Hulk II#240 (fb) ) - In centuries past, a large group of Incas fled deep into the Andes Mountains, where they discovered a series of mammoth caverns. These caverns, designed by the Deviants who lived there in millennia past, led the Incas to an isolated valley where they would find the peace and freedom to build a new life and city. At the mouth of the cavern, they found the cobalt fire that would become known as the Sacred Flame of Life. This flame provided warmth and energy for the city, and power beyond reckoning.
(Avengers#31 (fb) ) - Lann, the Keeper of the Flame in the modern era, led his followers to continue to feed more and more cobalt into the Sacred Flame, causing it to continuously grow in power. Prince Rey, the ruler of el Dorado, attempted to rally the people against the Keeper to stop him. However, the Keeper struck preemptively, driving him from his throne and forcing Rey and his loyal followers to flee for their lives in the middle of the night.
(Avengers#30-31) - The soldiers of el Dorado captured the scientist Dr. Anton, who had been investigating nearby in his research in "body cells," and brought him to el Dorado. The Keeper of the Flame judged Anton to be an invading spy and sentenced him to death in the Sacred Flames. The hero Goliath (Henry Pym) was at the time trapped at increased height and sought the aid of Anton. He encountered soldiers of el Dorado at Anton's home, and forced them to bring him to the City.
Upon reaching el Dorado, Goliath was attacked by the soldiers of the Keeper, but escaped with the aid of Prince Rey. The two fled the soldiers, arriving at Rey's secret base, and met with his loyal followers. Rey explained the events that led to his own downfall, but when he described his plans to retake the throne and claim the Sacred Flame for himself, Goliath realized that Rey was no better than the current Keeper.
Goliath decided to destroy the Flame so neither could use it against the rest of humanity. The ensuing conflict caught up the Avengers, who followed Goliath's trail to el Dorado. During the three-way struggle between the Avengers and the forces of Prince Rey and the Keeper, the machines which regulated the Flame were destroyed. This resulted in a series of explosions which ultimately snuffed out the Sacred Flame.
(Hulk#240(fb) ) - The aged Des came to el Dorado, and convinced Rey and the Keeper to put aside their differences and join him in an effort to restore the Sacred Flame. Des' wisdom and knowledge of science enabled them to rekindle the Sacred Flame, and stoke it towards its full, burning radiance. The three formed a group that came to be known as They Who Wield Power.
(Hulk240-243) - Ultimately the plans of They brought the Hulk to el Dorado, where They attempted to drain his power to make the Sacred Flame invincible. However, Des suddenly betrayed his allies, Rey and the Keeper, and sacrificed them to the Flame as well. Des revealed himself as Tyrannus and claimed the power of the Flame for himself. However, the efforts of the Hulk and Goldbug, caused Tyrannus to push the power further and further, until he literally became one with the Sacred Flame. The Hulk destroyed the machinery that regulated the Flame, and it and Tyrannus were cast off into space. The people of el Dorado fled into the surrounding hills as their city was destroyed in the battle
(Namor Annual#1/2) - The people of el Dorado took a turn for the worse. They (or at least some of them...the really nasty ones) took up residence in a subterranean cavern known as Eurasia. A new Keeper of the Flame took over. During the events of the Subterranean War, this Keeper used the opportunity to capture mass quantities of Moloid subterraneans, and nearly committed genocide on them. The docile, subservient Moloids marched mindlessly into extermination chambers. Namor the Sub-Mariner learned of these events and, with the aid of Stingray, put a halt on them. They destroyed the underwater columns supporting Eurasia, causing it to collapse into the water. The remaining Moloids (only 100 or so) were caged on upper levels and were spared during the collapse. Many (if not all) of these "Doradians" were likely killed in the collapse.
Comments: Created/Adapted by Stan Lee and Don Heck
I'd say the Keeper of the Flame was an in-joke for Marvel, as it was one of their honorary titles given to loyal readers who recruited new readers into Marvel's books. Fans would write letters and include their honorary titles. K.O.F. was a Keeper of the Flame.
Rey spoke of how he, himself, would lead the conquest of Earth, Lann would serve as spiritual leader to the conquered people, and Des would be the supreme vizier of all technology. Obviously Des had other plans, and I'd suspect any of one of the others would have slain the other two and taken power for himself, given the chance.
I'd like it if some more benevolent "Doradians" were found, and the nasties could be differentiated as the Eurasian Doradians. Scott Lobdell wrote their story as a reminder of the atrocities of the Nazis and the Holocaust. It was an ok story, but man, what a change for the Doradians. I guess having the object of your worship stolen and then ejected into space, your leaders slain, and your city destroyed could do it. Still, I'd like to find a peace loving group somewhere else (guys like Tulak).
Continuity--Ret-Con conflict, identified by
John McDonagh: a mistake involving They Who Wield Power
occurred in an issue of Classic X-Men: Classic X-Men would reprint
X-Men stories after Giant-Size X-Men#1, sometimes with new
artwork interspersed with the reprints, or new back-up
stories Well, a reprint of an X-Men story (see below)
involving Moses Magnum took place. In the story, Magnum is
revived by a mysterious benefactor and given power over
earth-quakes. The original X-Men story left this benefactor in
the shadows.......
However, the reprint put in extra artwork that
strongly implied that it was Apocalypse! This makes no sense, as
this was years before anyone had ever heard of Apocalypse, and
Hulk#240, showing Magnum as a chess piece, revealed that They Who
Wield Power was behind it all!
Perhaps They manipulated Apocalypse, or even
vice-versa--Snood.
Background info courtesy of
Kyle Smith:
el Dorado (chief) (Spanish, "The Gilded One"), term
applied in the Americas by the 16th-century Spanish explorers to
the legendary chief of a Native American tribe said to inhabit a
region in the northern part of South America. In Native American
mythology, the chief was enormously wealthy. At yearly festivals
he would cover his entire body with gold dust. The term came to
be applied also to his kingdom, supposedly abounding in gold and
precious stones. His fabled golden city was sometimes referred to
in the legend as Manoa or Omoa. The stories inspired the Spanish
to expend vast sums in sending out exploring parties, most of
which returned decimated by privation and disease. The most
celebrated expedition was that of the Spanish explorer Francisco
de Orellana, who went down the Amazon River to its mouth in 1540
and 1541 in an unsuccessful attempt to find the city. The German
adventurer Philip von Hutten in 1541 led an exploring party from
Coro, a German settlement on the Venezuelan coast, and searched
as far as the Omagua region, near the Amazon River. In 1595 the
English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh took up the search and, upon
his return to England, published a romantic account of his
voyage, in which he described Manoa as being on an island in
Parimá Lake, in Guiana. For more than two centuries, until the
existence of the lake was disproved, it was marked on maps. The
name El Dorado has come to be applied to any place of fabulous
wealth or of opportunities for acquiring sudden wealth. In
literature, and especially in poetry, frequent references have
been made to the legend.
Rumors of such chiefs w/ gold in large amounts
spread throughout the Spanish Empire and were inflated so that
more exploration could take place in the Americas, leading to
legends of places "paved w/gold."
"El Dorado (chief)," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 97
Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights
reserved.
Could the Sacred Flame of Life perhaps have some connection to the Flames of Faltine?
--John Kaminski
El Dorado has as Forbidden Land an entry in Marvel Legacy: The 1960s Handbook.
Clarifications:
el Dorado, the City of Gold should be distinguished from:
The Keeper
of the Flame is the title for the one chosen to guard
the Sacred Flame of Life. The first Keeper was one of the
original Incas who traveled to el Dorado, and who discovered the
Sacred Flame. Since then, the title was handed down from father
to son, and it served as the highest honor in all of el Dorado.
The Keeper and the Flame developed a quasi-religious cult-like
following. Only the Keeper could manipulate the Flame, directing
its energies as needed by the City.
Lann was the Keeper of the Flame in the modern
era. Unlike previous Keeper's, however, he sought to use the
power of the Sacred Flame for himself. He led the servants to
build the Flame to previously unseen power, planning to use it
against the outside world. After the Flame was virtualy
destroyed, he was convinced to join forces with Rey, alongside
Des,to rebuild it. Once Des achieved what he wanted, he slew
Lann, feeding his life energies to the Flame.
Lann had access to the weapons and power of the Sacred Flame,
which he could control to some extent.
--Avengers I#30 (31(fb), 30, 31, Hulk240(fb3), <appearances of
They> 240, 241
The next Keeper of the Flame was a genocidal maniac.
The Flame he kept was apparently the extermination chambers,
presumably powered by subterranean magma. His warriors captured
Namor, and the Keeper greatly enjoyed torturing him with
bio-electric chains. During the collapse of Eurasia, he was
apparently buried under a mountain of collapsing rocks.
His servants were sadistic and brutal as well. One of them forced
a youthful Moloid to lick his boots clean before preparing to
incinerate him with a blaster stick. They had access to advanced
weaponry, including a number of energy weapons, which they likely
designed based on ancient Deviant weaponry they discovered in
Eurasia
Prince Rey was the ruler of el Dorado until ousted by Lann, the Keeper of the Flames. After the near destruction of the Sacred Flame, he was convinced to join forces with Lann, alongside Des, to rebuild it. Once Des achieved what he wanted, he slew Rey, feeding his life energies to the Flame. Rey had some training in combat, and among his weapons was a Black Light Activator, which could blanket a large room in darkness.
--Avengers I#30 (31(fb), 30, 31, Hulk240(fb3), <appearances of They> 240, 241
Sacred Flame
of Life was created in millennia past by the Deviants as
a potential weapon against the Celestials. The Deviants were
eventually forced out of their subterranean empire, leaving
behind their equipment, and weaponry, including what would become
the Sacred Flame of Life. It was cast out into space along with
the essence of Tyrannus. Tyrannus later mingled with the atoms of
the disintegrated Abomination and returned to Earth. The Flame,
however, appeared to be snuffed out as it reached the limits of
Earth's atmosphere.
The
Sacred Flame is actually powered by radioactive energy, generated
by the burning of Cobalt. It was protected by a number of weapons of
Deviant design, including a power draining ray, a Brain Mine
projector, and metal tentacles. The power could be harnessed to
create large, powerful, animated metallic limbs, cause powerful
seismic tremors, and release bursts of radioactive flame and/or
force. It is also known as the Cobalt Flame, and the Flame of
Life
--Avengers I#30 (Hulk#240(fb1), Av31(fb), 30, 31, Hulk240(fb3), 240-243
Tulak was the Elder of the High Acolytes to the Sacred Flame.
He served
They who Wield Power, but likely had no concept of their true
plans. He was a peace-loving and spiritual man, and led Goldbug
and the Hulk into the City. When Tyrannus usurped the power of
the Sacred Flame, Tulak opposed him, telling him it was not his.
Tyrannus killed him, siphoning his life force into the Sacred
Flame as well.
--Avengers I#31 (Hulk#239-242
Dr. Franz Anton was a
scientist researching treatment for "body cells." He
got too close to el Dorado and was abducted as an invading spy.
Goliath sought his aid in his size-changing problem, and followed
the trail to el Dorado to save him.
--Avengers I#30 (31
images: (withoud ads)
??, p?, pan? (El Dorado)
??, p?, pan? (Keeper of the Flame (Lann) body shot)
??, p?, pan? (Keeper of the Flame (Lann) head shot)
??, p?, pan? (Keeper of the Flame head shot)
??, p?, pan? (Keeper of the Flame body shot)
??, p?, pan? (Eurasian warriors)
??, p?, pan? (Prince Rey head shot)
??, p?, pan? (Sacred Flame of Life execution)
??, p?, pan? (Sacred Flame of Life)
??, p?, pan? (Tulak body shot)
??, p?, pan? (Tulak head shot)
Avengers I#31, p9, pan4 (Dr. Franz Anton)
Other appearances:
Avengers I#31 (August, 1966) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Don Heck (pencils), Frank Giacoia (inks)
Incredible Hulk II#239 (September, 1979) - Sal Buscema & Roger Stern (writers), Sal Buscema (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#240-242 (October-December, 1979) - Roger Stern (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Joe Sinnott (#240) & Sal Buscema (#241-242) (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#243 (January, 1980) - Steven Grant & Roy Thomas (writers), Sal Buscema (artist), Al Milgrom (editor)
Namor Annual#1 (1991)
Last updated: 04/18/04
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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