ERESHKIGAL

Real Name: Ereshkigal

Identity/Class: Deviant, utilized extra-dimensional energy source

Occupation: Would-be world/universe/multiverse conqueror; former explorer of dimensions, former employee of Vaughn Security Systems

Group Membership: Delta Network, Deviants of Earth

Affiliations: Former agent of brother Tode, former ally of Lord Chaos and the Congress of Realities; posed as friend to Kayla Ballantine; used Quasar as a pawn; encountered the Dance

Enemies: Ajak, Celestials, Chief Examiner, Living Tribunal, Man-Thing, Master Order, Quagmire, Quasar, Silver Surfer, Starblasters/Black Fleet, Thor

Known Relatives: Dragona (deviant, sister)

Aliases: Hecate, Queen of Darkness, Lisa, Holly Debra "H. D." Steckley, Explorer of Dimensions, Seeker of Truth, Master of the Multiverse

Place of Birth: Deviant Lemuria

Base of Operations: Formerly the Interzone of the Nexus of Realities; Four Freedoms Plaza; City of the Space Gods, Andes Mountains; Deviant Lemuria

First Appearance: Thor I#283 (BTS; May, 1979), Thor I#284 (June, 1979)

Powers: Ereshkigal could alter her shape to assume a number of human forms. In her natural form, she possessed bat-like wings which enabled her to fly. She may have had some degree of superhuman strength and/or durability, and likely had an extended lifespan. She had access to the advanced technology of the Deviants, and used a number of energy weapons. One of her guns could encase its target in ice. She used a Dimensional Harness to navigate among the dimensions.
After obtaining the Star Brand, she had virtually limitless power on a cosmic scale. This power was so great that she could challenge the Living Tribunal, one of the most (if not actually THE most) powerful beings known in existence. She may not have been able to defeat him, but the energy released would have devastated the Multiverse.

Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 157 lbs.
Eyes: Red
Hair: Black

History: (OHotMU 2006#4 - BTS) - Ereshkigal is a Deviant, part of an offshoot of humanity created by the Celestials. She claimed to be many milennia old, and to have much experience manipulating others. She assumed many forms over the centuries, usually appearing as the Mesopotamian death goddess Ereshkigel. She also posed as the goddess Hecate.

(Quasar#50(fb) - BTS) - Ereshkigal became an explorer of dimensions like her parents. These journeys made her aware of the existence of the Living Tribunal. She realized that she and everyone else was a slave to the system: the Multiverse as it is. She felt that the rules governing everything inhibited herself and others from reaching their true potential.

(Thor#283-284) - After the Celestials destroyed the undersea city of the Deviants, their leader, Brother Tode sent Ereshkigal to the City of the Space Gods to find out what the Celestials were up to. To this end, she took the form of a human woman she called "Lisa," and was part of a flight chartered to fly over the Andes Mountains. The plane was snatched from the air by the Celestial Gammenon the Gatherer and brought into the otherwise hidden city.
Also aboard that plane was Don Blake, who was called upon by Ajak to help Dr. David Damian, who had feigned illness to gain an outsider's ear to pass word on to his daughter that he was alright (too much Eternals history to explain here). "Lisa", along with another passenger, pretended to be indignant at being left behind and followed Ajak and Blake into the depths of the city. The other passenger revealed himself to be a SHIELD I (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division) agent, and Lisa revealed herself as Ereshkigal. She tried to stop Thor from leaving by covering him in ice, but he broke free, and she was knocked out in the ensuing shrapnel. Thor left her in the city for Ajak to deal with.

(Quasar#30, [32], 35-48) - Ereshkigal joined the Delta Network and assumed the form of H. D. Steckley, an identity previously used by Moondragon as an employee of Vaughn Security Systems. She pretended that she was actually part of the company the whole time, and that there never was another. Because the head of the company, Quasar, was always zipping away on other missions, she managed to get away with it, and became an accepted part of the company. Her initial plan was to somehow steal Quasar's Quantum Bands, but after she detected the power of the Star Brand (from the "New Universe"), she set her sites on it instead. She detected the power of the Star Brand within Kayla Ballantine, and made efforts to befriend her to steal the power for herself when opportunity arose. She convinced Kayla to become her apartment roommate.

The Chief Examiner sought the Star Brand power to defend the planet Scadam from the Black Fleet which was decimating it. He sent his agent, Quagmire, to abduct Kayla, and "HD" managed to go as well. This brought them to the planet Scadam, where they were nearly killed until Kayla tapped into the Star Brand power to destroy the fleet. HD pushed Kayla to use the power to fly them back to Earth, and with some assistance from the enigmatic group known as the Dance, they made it back.

(Quasar#49-50) - The power within Kayla drew the attention of Kismet/Her, who wished to examine it. Kayla was fed-up with being examined and fought Kismet, badly injuring her. Kayla was distraught and wished she didn't have the power. HD said she'd take it, so Kayla passed it on to her. HD then revealed herself as Ereshkigal.

She traveled to Earth's Nexus of Realities in Citrusville, Florida to begin her plans to takeover the Multiverse. She was assaulted by the Nexus's protector, tha Man-Thing, but she easily blew him to pieces. She used the Nexus to access the Nexus Interzone, the crossroads of all realities, and sent a pulse of energy into the infinite number of portals, as a proclamation that she had come and wished an audience. This drew the attention of the Congress of Realities, who wished to know her purpose, since her power was from an outside multiverse. She challenged the status quo that the Congress endured, and offered them the chance for real power. By joining with her, they could destroy the central authority of the "overseers of the multiverse" and gain the freedom to make their realities in their own, independent fashion. Several joined her, and the others she destroyed with a single burst of energy.
Ereshkigal brought her allies in the Congress to the Cosmic Axis, where they aligned themselves and began to release their nexus energies. This drew the attention of the Living Tribunal, the final overseer of the Multiverse, as well as of Lord Chaos and Master Order. She challenged them to surrender their rule to her, or risk destruction of the Multiverse in the ensuing battle. She used her power to magnify the substance of Lord Chaos, simultaneously shrinking Master Order. Realizing the threat she posed, and the problems a struggle could cause, the Living Tribunal agreed to a tournament where they each chose a champion to represent them. If Ereshkigal's champion would win, the Living Tribunal would see her unopposed in her plan of Multiversal modification. If the Tribunal's champion would win, Ereshkigal would surrender her power to the Tribunal.

Kayla Ballantine told Quasar what had happened, and he followed Ereshkigal's trail to the Interzone. The Silver Surfer, meanwhile, sensed the shifting of the Cosmic Access, and made his way to the Interzone as well. These two were chosen as the champions of Ereshkigal and the Living Tribunal, and told that they fought for the Multiverse, but not told who represented whom. The two heroes fought, each believing himself to be fighting for the Multiverse, and the other to be the champion of Ereshkigal. However, Quasar observed that each time he gained ground, Lord Chaos would swell in power, and Master Order would shrink, and the opposite would occur when the Silver Surfer had him on the ropes. Realizing that he himself was Ereshkigal's champion, Quasar threw the fight, and allowed the Silver Surfer to defeat him. Understanding her defeat, Ereshkigal chose to annihilate herself rather than surrender the Star Brand to the Tribunal. The Tribunal removed the Star Brand from her remains.

Comments: Created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema.

Surely Ereshkigal would come back to snag another power source sometime. (and don't call me Shirley)

When you re-read the stories, you definitely get the feeling that HD Steckly was always scheming, and you feel like she was almost forced to reveal herself in a few situations.

You should read the Quasar series to learn the lingo. The Earth dimension is a Universe. The divergent Earths and other associated dimensions make up a Multiverse. Other dimensions, such as the one known as the New Universe, which are far different than just divergent timelines, are from separate multiverses. The multiverses together are part of the greater Omniverse.

...As always, no one stays dead in the Marvel Universe...unless, of course, no one cares about them. Too bad, she's one of my favorites.

For further descriptions of ANYTHING Eternal, check out Encyclopaedia Olympianna. It's got it all.

Clarifications: Ereshkigal, the Deviant, aka Hecate and H. D. Steckley, should be distinguished from:

• Ereshkigel, the Babylonian Goddess of Death, @ Thor Annual#10
  --(The two are almost certainly connected. I'd bet the Deviant took her name from the Goddess of Death, but no comment has been made on this.)

• Hecate, the Olympian Goddess of the Moon, and Patron of Witches, not seen in the Marvel Universe
  

  • (Note: In some versions of Greek mythology, this Hecate is the mother of Circe. In Marvel Comics, Circe is the Eternal Sersi, whose mother has been listed as Perse. Explanations? not by me)
    Further information from our Master of Mythology, William Uchtman:
    "Most myths agree that Circe was the daughter of Helios and Eidyia, a priestess of Hecate. Hecate herself was the daughter of Perses and Asteria, and a cousin of Apollo and Artemis."

  • --Alright, there's a breakdown somewhere. The OHotMU lists Sersi's father as Helios, and Mother as Perse. Mark Gruenwald and Peter Sanderson put that profile together. Since Circe's an Eternal, we could assume that "real world" mythology tying her to the Olympian Gods is not true in the Marvel Universe (making her parents the Eternals Helios and Perse). However, since we've not seen any of the above characters, nor had a distinct clarification, it's quite possible that Sersi is the daughter of Helios (who may have been an Eternal and not the son of Apollo (I think)) and Eidyia, who was an Eternal, and also went by the name Perse. Or Sersi's half Eternal-half Olympian. Or make up your own explanation,
    ...such as William's:

  • In the Marvel Universe, the Eternals masqueraded as the gods. Sersi is an Eternal and daughter of Helios and Perseis; the goddess Circe is also daughter of gods by those names. Helios is the son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. My debate on this is that Marvel wanted a Circe different from DC's Circe and gave her an Eternal background and a differently spelled name.

  • Carycomix adds a theory: Sersi is probably half-Titaness in the sense that Helios, her father, is a Saturnian Eternal. If her mother is Olympian, it's probably in the sense that she's an Eternal of the Olympic Mountain range in Greece (same as Makkari).

Anyhoo, Ereshkigal doesn't have any connections to these Hecates either:

• Hecate, one of the three demon steeds used by Hellstorm/Son of Satan, @ Marvel Spotlight I#12

• Hecate, the extra-dimensional scientist, who claims to have been mistaken for a goddess in the past, (claimed to be the Olympian Goddess), who aided the Elementals and fought Ms. Marvel, @ Ms. Marvel#11

• Hecate, of Bishop's future, a founder and leader of the XSE, @ XSE#1

The name H. D. Steckley was taken from an identity previously used by Moondragon (Heather Douglas).

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Other appearances:
Thor I#284 (June, 1979) - Roy Thomas (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Chic Stone (inks), Jim Shooter (editor)
Quasar#30 (January, 1992) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Joel Zulueta, Pat Broderick & Co. (pencils), Fred Fredricks (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Quasar#35-38 (June-September, 1992) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Greg Capullo (pencils), Harry Candelario (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Quasar#39 (October, 1992) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Steve Lightle (pencils), Harry Candelario & Mark McKenna (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Quasar#40-50 (November, 1992) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Steve Lightle & Andy Smith (pencils), Mark McKenna & Ralph Cabrera (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Quasar#41-44 (December, 1992 - March, 1993) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Andy Smith (pencils), Ralph Cabrera (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Quasar#45 (April, 1993) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Grant Miehm (pencils), David & Dan Day (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Quasar#46-48 (May-July, 1993) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Andy Smith (pencils), Ralph Cabrera (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Quasar#49 (August, 1993) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Grant Miehm (pencils), Ralph Cabrera (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Quasar#50 (September, 1993) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Andy Smith (pencils), Ralph Cabrera (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)

Last updated: 05/03/04

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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