COUNCIL of GODHEADS
Membership: Ahura Mazda, Altjira,
Amaterasu,
Ammon Ra, Anansi,
Anu, Atar, Athena,
Ba'al,
Baiame, Balder, Brahma,
Buddha, Buluku
(also as Ndriananahary & Nyame), Cronus,
Dagda, Dagon/Enlil,
Hera,
Hercules, Hodiak, Horus,
Hunab-Ku,
Hwanin, Inti,
Itzamna, Izanagi, Manitou,
Marduk,
Mitra, Nuadhu,
Odin, Osiris,
Ouranos, Quetzacoatl,
Seth, Shiva,
Shou-Hsing,
Svarog, Tame,
Tezcatlipoca,
Thor, Ukko,
Ulgen,
Valka, Viracocha,
Vishnu,
Yahweh, Yu Huang,
Zeus;
See image legend
Godheads by Pantheon
Purpose: To unite the power of the various pantheons of gods for major threats or concerns
Affiliations: People of Earth (primarily the
descendants of their worshipers);
Okonorote,
Tomazooma
(non-member guests)
Enemies: Celestials, Chaos King (Amatsu-Mikaboshi), Kly'bn, Sl'gur't, Thanos
Base of Operations: The Celestial Axis
Aliases: Council Elite
First Appearance: Thor I#300 (October, 1980)
History:
(Thor I#300 (fb)) - Around 1000 AD, the Celestials’ Third Host came to
Earth, and Odin assembled the heads of the godly pantheons to discuss
this threat. A few other gods, such as the Anasazi’s Tomazooma and the
Kamekeri’s
Okonorote, also attended alongside their leaders. Zeus, Odin and Vishnu
were chosen as representatives to confront the Celestials, who
threatened to sever the dimensional passages of all of the gods’ realms
to Earth unless they promised not to interfere with the Celestials’
plans to judge humanity’s worthiness. The three gods bowed to the
Celestials’ superior power, but Odin began planning to deal with the
Fourth Host of the Celestials by creating the nigh-indestructible
Destroyer automaton and the Odinsword.
(Thor I#301 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking a more peaceful solution, Gaea allied herself with the pantheons’ goddesses and had them gather humanity’s best examples over the next 1000 years.
(Thor I#300 - BTS) - When the Celestials returned in recent years, Odin imbued the Destroyer with the spirits of himself and the rest of the Asgardians, rendering it 2000 feet tall. However, the Celestials combined their own power and melted the Destroyer into slag.
Gaea presented the Celestials with the 12 representatives she had gathered, and the Celestials ruled in humanity’s favor, taking these 12 under their tutelage as the Young Gods.
(Thor I#301 (fb) - BTS) - Thor visited each of the Godheads, convincing them each to donate a portion of their life-force, and the Asgardians were resurrected.
(Thor Annual I#10 - BTS) - When several of the gods of the dead lost their worshipers, they decided to merge their realms in order to acquire new souls into their realms. Their ritual actually opened a portal back to Atum and he returned to Earth as Demogorge. Sensing the evil energies generated by the seven gods of the dead, he commenced with absorbing them
(Thor Annual#10) - Odin petitioned the Godheads to each send a delegate to oppose Demogorge. Definitely - Odin, and (from left to right) Zeus (Olympian), Vishnu (Daevas), Buluku (Vodu), Osiris (Heliopolitan), Tezcatlipoca (Teteoh), Izanagi (Amatsu-Kami), Manitou (Manidoog), and Ukko (Jumala).
(Thor Annual#10 - BTS) - The Godheads sent representatives -- Apollo, Horus, Indra, Quetzacoatl, Shango, Tawa -- to join Thor in opposing the Demogorge. Ultimately, Thor's vigorous opposition to being consumed by Demogorge caused the god-eater to realize that perhaps it was not time to end this generation of gods, and he restored those he had consumed.
(Infinity Gauntlet#2)- The Godheads met in Asgard to discuss
the disappearance of half of the beings in the universe. Those present
were Itzamna (Mayan), Manitou (Native American), Nuada/Nuadhu
(Celtic), Odin (Asgardian;
see
comments), Osiris (Egyptian), Svarog
(Russian), Tezcatlipoca (Mexican), and Zeus
(Olympian).
(Marvel Universe: The End#2) - A group of Godheads met to discuss the actions of Akhenaten against humanity: Atar (Vedic/Persian), Horus (Egyptian), Hunab Ku (Mayan), Izanagi (Japanese), Ndriananahary (African, an alias of Buluku), Shou-Hsing (Chinese), Thor (Asgardian), Vishnu (Hindu), Zeus (Olympian). They also discussed summoning Those of the Forgotten Realm. Horus, who was most familiar with Akhenaten, used the Eye of Ra to spy on the powerful being, but Akhenaten detected them and attacked, destroying all present, except Thor and Zeus, who managed to flee.
(Marvel Universe: The End#4 (BTS)) - Thanos gained the virtually unlimited power of the Heart of the Infinite and altered time so that Akhenaten never gained his power, effectively undoing his actions and restoring those he had destroyed. However, to those who could understand or even remember what had happened, these actions were seen as the replacement of one threat with another, perhaps even worse.
(Marvel Universe: The End#5-6) - The Godheads joined together with a multitude of heroes and villains from Earth and the rest of the universe to oppose Thanos, who had gained supreme power from the Heart of the Infinite. Thanos easily wiped out every single being in the universe, but later was convinced by Adam Warlock to sacrifice himself to restore the universe to its previous state.
(Thor II#61)- Thor was called before the Council Elite to be tested for worthiness to join them, as a replacement for Odin. Thor passed the tests of awareness and insight, but failed when he supplied food to a starving population, rather than teaching them to grow their own food. In addition, the Council decided that Thor had violated the oath of non-interference on Earth. Those present were Osiris (Egyptian), Yu-Hang (Chinese), Zeus (Olympian), and the Hindu Trinity (Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu).
(Thor II#65)- The Council Elite met once again (the same group) and discussed Thor's continued problems, including his most recent effort to resurrect a young girl. They discussed whether steps needed to be taken against Thor, but decided that mankind's current plans were sufficient for the moment.
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(Incredible Hercules#116-117) - The Council of Godheads gathered by Athena to prepare a force with which to combat the Skrullian gods. Gods attending: Altjira (Aboriginal), Anansi (Vodu), Ammon Ra (Ennead; later also present as Demogorge), Anu (Annunaki), Buddha, Hodiak (Inua), Horus (Ennead), Hunab Ku (Ahau), Inti (Inca), Itzamna (Ahau), Izanagi (Amatsu-Kami; present in two forms), Manitou (Manidoog), Ndriananahary (Vodu), Osiris (Egyptian), Shou-Hsing (Chinese), Tame (Akua), Tezcatlipoca, Ukko (Jumala), Ulgen (Tenger), Viracocha (Apu), Vishnu (Devas), and Yu Huang (Chinese). Also present were Okonorote & Tomazooma. (Secret Warriors#10 (fb)) - The Council met to formally usher in Alexander Aaron as the new Phobos, Olympian god of fear. Balder, Hera, & Quetzacoatl presided over the ceremony, though there were lots of other gods present, including godheads such as Brahma, Demogorge, and Inti, and possibly Atar, Buddha, Gaea, Itzamna, and Osiris. And some Eternals, including their leader, Zuras. |
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(Heroic Age: Prince of
Power#1) - The Council met to discuss who would be the
greatest hero of the heroic age. Captain America, Iron Man,
and Thor were proposed by some, and Athena told them with
certainty that it was Amadeus Cho. The other figures are
shadowed, but can be identified as Anansi, Balder, Hodiak,
Horus, Inti, and Izanagi on the one page.
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Anansi, Balder, Buluku, Inti, Horus, Izanagi, Ukko, Yu Huang Also, in #2 (see godhed115.jpg), we see a bunch out of the shadows gathered around the pained Athena, and they seem to be: Left to right: Inti, Buluku? or Tezcatlipoca (seated with white hair/headdress), Izanagi (standing over Athena), Yu Huang (standing almost over them, coloring is off and he looks young, but the patterns match) , Ukko (the only one I see who wears a helmet like that), Horus (bird-beak) …so you’d think all of them would have been in #1…
Balder and Anansi are clearly seen in a lower
panel, and then pretty
clearly Shou Hsing, Ukko (or whoever has that helmet), and
someone in a triangular headdress (presumably Osiris) in.
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(Chaos War#1) - The Council of Godheads summoned Hercules and Amadeus Cho before them to judge them on Hercules' recent empowerment and actions in preparation for the arrival of the Chaos King (Amatsu-Mikaboshi). Overwhelmed by his new power and outraged that the Godheads didn't use their power to do anything, Hercules attacked them, battering them about until Thor arrived and convinced Hercules to get himself under control. Those seen include Ammon Ra, Balder, Buddha, Inti, Ndriananahary, Osiris, Ukko, Tezcatlipoca, Yu Huang, and many others, harder to identify.
(Chaos War#3) - Chaos King duped
Hercules into identifying the location of the Council's throne room,
allowing the Chaos King to lead his hordes there to attack. The
Godheads swiftly fell before the assault.
Those clearly seen include Amaterasu,
Balder, Inti, and Osiris; possibly also Izanagi, Ahura-Mazda (or
Odin), Ndriananahary, and others...
(Chaos War#4) - BTS. Those destroyed by the Chaos King were revived.
(Journey into Mystery#627) - The Council gathered at the Infinite Embassy to discuss the threat of Odin's brother the Serpent (Cul), Asagardian god of fear, and Odin's plan to destroy Earth to eliminate the Serpent. Those seen included Brahma, Manitou, Inti, Itzamna, Odin, Vishnu, Yu Huang, and Zeus.
COMMENTS: Created by Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio, and Keith Pollard.
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PICTURED: (1) Zeus, (2) Odin, (3) Tezcatlipoca, (4) Vishnu, (5) Yu Huang, (6) Itzamna, (7) Buluku, (8) Ulgen, (9) Ukko, (10) Manitou, (11) Nuadhu, (12) Tame, (13) Viracocha, (14) Izanagi, (15) Okonorote (non-member guest) (16) Tomazooma (non-member guest), (17) Anu, (18) Ammon Ra, (19) Buddha, (20) Svarog, (21) Osiris, (22) Atar, (23) Horus,(24) Ndriananahary, (25) Thor, (26) Shou-Hsing, (27) Hunab Ku . |
Don Campbell adds: From the
time that "Odin" awoke from his Odin-sleep and ordered Heimdall to
punish Thor (Thor I#432) until Odin was released from Mephisto's
soul-shroud and reclaimed his body (Thor I#455), every appearance by
"Odin" was actually Loki in Odin's body. I can only assume that the
Infinity Gauntlet#2 appearance MUST also be an example of Loki
pretending to be Odin, presumably with the secret help of his ally,
the Norn Queen Karnilla.
Unless Loki was one of the 50% of the population
removed by Thanos...50/50 chance!
-Snood
In addition to the observed pantheons, in Marvel Universe: The End#2, Those of the Forgotten Zone were referenced. That would presumably cover all pantheons no longer remotely active on Earth.
I will work on profiles on all of the characters in the sub-profiles for this entry.
In a few alternate realities:
(What If? I#32) - A number of
godheads and demonlords are seen as Korvac erected a mystic barrier
preventing any other dimensions from accessing Earth.
--According to a former
intern from Marvel - in What If I#32 - the character seen
in the bottom right panel of the gods and demons blocked
from accessing Earth by Korvac was supposed to be Yahweh - though
it looks more like Jesus.
New and additional images by Ron Fredricks.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Council of the Godheads should not be confused with:
Godheads by Pantheon
Aboriginal Gods (worshipped by Australian aborigines): Altjira,
Baiame
Ahau (worshipped by Mayans): Hunab-Ku
and Itzamna
Akua (worshipped by the Oceanic, Hawaiian,
Polynesians, etc.): Tame
Amatsu-Kami (worshipped by the Japanese): Izanagi
Annunaki (worshipped by the Mesopotamians) -
Anu;
replaced by Dagon/Enlil {Sumerian}; replaced by Marduk {Babylonian}; replaced by
Ba'al-Hadad
(Assyrian and Phoenician}
Apu (worshipped by the Incans): Inti, Viracocha;
Okonorote
was a non-member guest
Asgardian (worshipped by the
Norsemen, Vikings, etc.): Balder, Odin, Thor
Buddhist: Buddha
Daevas (worshipped by the Hindu) - Vishnu
(in trinity with
Brahma and Shiva)
Dievas (worshipped by the Russian people) -
Svarog
Diwati (worshipped by the Filipinos) - Bathala
Heliopolitan (Ennead;
worshipped by the Egyptians) - Ammon
Ra, Horus, Osiris,
Seth
Innua (worshipped by
the Inuit/Eskimo): Hodiak
Judeo-Christian-Islam: God/Yahweh/Allah - Jesus Christ - Holy
Spirit
Jumala (worshipped by the Finnish) - Ukko
Manidoog (worshipped by the Native
Americans) - Manitou;
Tomazooma
was present as a non-member guest
Olympian (worshipped by the
Graeco-Romans): Athena, Cronus, Hera, Hercules, Ouranos, Zeus
Shin (worshipped
by Koreans): Hwanin
Tenger (worshipped by the Mongolians, Siberians, etc.): Ulgen
Teteoh (worshipped by the Aztecs): Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca
Tuatha da Danaan (worshipped by the Celtic
people) - Dagda, Nuadhu
Vodu (Orishas/Loa;
worshipped by the African people and descendants
in Haita, etc.) - Anansi,
Buluku (also
in his aspect as Ndriananahary and Nyame)
Xian (worshipped by the Chinese):
Shou-Hsing,
Yu
Huang
Yazatas (worshipped in Zoroastrianism): Ahura
Mazda, Atar,
Mithra
Ulgen of the Mongolian gods
Ukko the Finnish sky-god
Nuadhu
Tame of the Akua
Okonorote of the Incan/Kamekeri gods
Mesopotamian Anu.
images:
Thor I#300, p12-13, bridging panel 1 (main image - Council of Godheads)
Thor Annual I#10, p21, pan2 (Odin petitioning other Godheads)
Infinity Gauntlet I#2, p16, pan1 (seated panel)
Marvel Universe: The End#2, p6, pan2 (standing)
All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#2: Council of Godheads entry - numbered and legend
Incredible Hercules#116, p22-23, pan2-3 (summoned by Athena, Secret Invasion)
Heroic Age: Prince of Power#1, p1, pan1 (led by Balder)
Heroic Age: Prince of Power#1, p2, pan2 (meeting with Athena)
Heroic Age: Prince of Power#2, p9, pan2
Heroic Age: Prince of Power#2, p9, pan3
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z softcover#2 Update Appendix: Council of Godheads (previously unpictured headshots)
Thor I#300, p12, pan1 (Ulgen)
Thor I#300, p12, pan1 (Ukko)
Thor I#300, p12, pan1 (Nuadhu)
Infinity Gauntlet I#2, p16, pan1 (Nuadhu)
Thor I#300, p12, pan1 (Tame)
Thor I#300. p13, pan1 (Okonorote)
Thor I#300, p12, pan3 (Okonorote)
Thor I#300, p13, pan1 (Anu)
Appearances:
Thor I#300 (October, 1980) - Mark Gruenwald & Ralph Macchio (writers), Keith Pollard (pencils), Gene Day (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Thor I#301 (November, 1980) - Mark Gruenwald & Ralph Macchio (writers), Keith Pollard (pencils), Chic Stone (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Thor Annual I#10 (1982), Mark Gruenwald & Alan Zelenetz (writers), Bob Hall (pencils), Rick Bryant, Joe Rubinstein, Andy Myshynsky, Al Gordon & Kevin Dzuban (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Infinity Gauntlet I#2 (August, 1991), Jim Starlin (writer), George Perez (pencils), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Craig Anderson (editor)
Marvel Universe: The End#2 (May, 2003), Jim Starlin (writer/pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Marvel Universe: The End#4-6 (June-August, 2003), Jim Starlin (writer/pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thor II#61 (May, 2003), Dan Jurgens (writer), Ben Lai (pencils), Ray Lai (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thor II#65 (August, 2003), Dan Jurgens (writer), Ben Lai (pencils), Ray Lai (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#2 (2006) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Sean McQuaid, Mark O'English, Ronald Byrd, Michael Hoskin, Eric J. Moreels, Stuart Vandal, Bill Lentz, Richard Green, Anthony Flamini, Barry Reese, Mike Fichera, & Chris Biggs (writers), Michael Short (assistant editor), Jeff Youngquist & Jen Grunwald (editors)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#2 (May, 2008) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Sean McQuad, Madison Carter, Mike Fichera & Stuart Vandal (coordination assistants), Sean McQuaid, Stuart Vandal, Ronald Byrd, Michael Hoskin, Mark O'English, Eric J. Moreels, Madison Carter, Mike Fichera, Al Sjoerdsma, Chad Anderson, David Wiltfong, Chris Biggs, Jacob Rougemont, Rich Green, Kyle Sims, Anthony Flamini, David Sexton, Bill Lentz, Barry Reese, & Jonathan Couper-Smartt (writers), Brian Overton (copy editor), John Denning & Cory Levine (assistant editors), Mark D. Beazley (editor, special projects), Jeff Youngquist & Jen Grunwald (editors)
Incredible Hercules#116-117 (June-July, 2008), Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente (writers), Rafa Sandoval (penciler), Roger Bonet (inker), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica (2009), Anthony Flamini (head writer, coordinator), Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, Paul Cornell (consulting writers), Kevin Sharpe (The Apu entry art), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
Heroic Age: Prince of Power#1 (July, 2010) - Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente (writers), Reilly Brown (penciler), Terry Pallot (inker), Nathan Cosby (associate editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Heroic Age: Prince of Power#2 (August, 2010) - Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente (writers), Reilly Brown (penciler), Terry Pallot (inker), Nathan Cosby (associate editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Secret Warriors I#10 (January, 2010) - Jonathan Hickman (writer), Alessandro Vitti (penciler & inker), Lauren Sankovitch (associate editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Chaos War#1 (December, 2010) - Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Khoi Pham (penciler), Tom Palmer (inker), Jordan D. White (assistant editor), Mark Paniccia (senior editor)
Chaos War#3 (January, 2011) - Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Khoi Pham (penciler), Tom Palmer (inker), Jordan D. White (assistant editor), Mark Paniccia (senior editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z softcover#2 (2011) - Mike O'Sullivan (softcover/update appendix head writer/coordinator), Markus Raymond, Stuart Vandal, & Mike Fichera (softcover/update appendix coordination assistants)
Journey into Mystery I#627 (November, 2011) - Kieron Gillen (writer), Richard Elson (penciler & inker), John Denning (assistant editor), Ralph Macchio (senior editor)
For the record, before this was resolved in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, here is some speculation from the comments section:
In Thor I#300, William
did a very nice job of identifying the above, unnamed Godheads:
Here's a dissenting opinion, per Ronald Byrd:
First Posted: 01/21/2003
Last Updated: 04/22/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
© 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you
like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
(Heroic
Age: Prince of Power#2) - When Agamemnon of the Pantheon
extinguished the Promethean Flame that granted Olympians their
immortality, Athena screamed in pain. She was comforted by
Izanagi
