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 worshippers);
    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 life force, and the Asgardians were resurrected. 

Thor Annual#10 - Godheads

(Thor Annual I#10 - BTS) - When several of the gods of the dead lost their worshippers, 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 Godhead 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. 


 

 

 

 

 

godhed-marvunte5godhed-infgaunt2-numbered(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 current plans were sufficient for the moment.

.




 

(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.


.

(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.
The larger group on the next page, I'm not so sure...but (per the script) meant to be based on those in Incredible Hercules#116
Top to bottom
Anu? (or Okonorote), Ukko?
?, Brahma, Horus, Hodiak?
Izanagi? (alternate hair down appearance circa <Marvel Universe: The End), Izanagi? (classic hair up in bun appearance)
Yu Huang, Anansi, Inti
Ulgen?, Balder

 

.

(Heroic Age: Prince of Power#2) - When Agamemnon of the Pantheon extinguished the Promethian Flame that granted Olympians their immortality, Athena screamed in pain. She was comforted by Izanagi

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.
Scripts reference the Godheads from Incredible Hercules#116

 

(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 throneroom, 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.

godhed-thor300-numbered

    Image Legend

for this and five of the numbered images:

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

.

godhed-ohotmuazsc2-more headshots

    Courtesy of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z softcover#2 Update Appendix to the Council of Godheads, here are many of the previously unpictured Godheads.

    According to Per Degaton, The inestimable Don Campbell points out that it was actually Loki possessing Odin's body who took attended that meeting of the council of godheads in Infinity Gauntlet#2, as he impersonated Odin for nearly all of Eric Masterson's tenure as Thor.

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.

(What If? II#38) - In the alternate reality of where Seth conquered the Asgardians (diverging from Thor I#400), Earth-Thor-Thrall of Set, a council of Godheads met to make plans to rescue Asgard should it prove unable to overcome this defeat. This union included Buluku (African), Izanagi (Japanese), Osiris (Egyptian), Quetzacoatl (Mexican), Vishnu (Hindu), Yu-Huang (Chinese), and Zeus (Olympian)...and Mephisto was present as well, speaking for the Death Gods.

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): IntiViracocha; 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-HsingYu 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, pg. 12-13, bridging panel 1 (main image)
Thor Annual#10 
Infinity Gauntlet#2, pg. 16, panel 1 (seated panel)
Marvel Universe: The End#2
Marvel Universe: The End#4-6
Thor II#61
Thor II#65
All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#2: Council of Godheads entry - numbered and legend
Incredible Hercules#116-117
Heroic Age: Prince of Power#1
Heroic Age: Prince of Power#2
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z softcover#2 Update Appendix: Council of Godheads (previously unpictured headshots)


Appearances:
Thor I#300-301 (October-November, 1980), Mark Gruenwald & Ralph Macchio (writers), Keith Pollard (pencils), Gene Day (#300) & Chic Stone (#301) (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Thor Annual#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#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#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#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:

  1. Zeus (Olympian) is the big guy at center stage.
  2. Odin (Asgardian)is in the chariot.
  3. the big guy in the foreground with the staff is obviously Tezcatlipoca (Aztec/Mexican).
  4. The blue-skinned four-armed guy is obviously Vishnu (Hindu).
  5. Oriental guy in green is probably the Chinese Yu Huang in attire other than his Thor I#301 appearance.
  6. To Zeus's right with the staff is the Mayan/Mexican Itzamna.
  7. Directly behind Vishnu with the headdress is the African god Buluku.(as confirmed by J. M. Lofficier)
  8. Far distant to Buluku's right and above Vishnu's head is a figure with a feathered West African helmet, Ulgen of the Mongolian gods (close-up)
  9. The red and gold figure in the helmet  Ukko the Finnish sky-god. (close-up)
  10. The Native American figure in the feathered headdress may be Manitou in a garb other than his Infinity Gauntlet#2 appearance.
  11. Far behind him in the orange head-dress Nuadhu of the Celtic Gods (close-up)
  12. In front of him and in the red headdress Tame of the Akua. (close-up)
  13. Over his left and in the feathered headdress is Viracocha.
  14. The Oriental figure wearing blue armor just over Itzamna's staff is Izanagi
  15. To his left and under Zeus's face with the Native American face and Central American head-dress is Okonorote of the Incan/Kamekeri gods. (close-up)
  16. Tomazooma-This is confirmed in the Fantastic Four Index#80--Snood.
  17. The white bearded, long-haired "jack of hearts" is the Mesopotamian Anu. (close-up)
    The spiky head-dress resembles the crowns I've seen in Phoenician hieroglyphics.
  18. The African figure with the elaborate head dress is the Egyptian Ammon Ra. (close-up)
    Osiris around this time may still have been imprisoned by Seth.
  19. Bottom right, to Odin's right. Believe it or not, I am by a reliable source at Marvel that this is Buddha.

Here's a dissenting opinion, per Ronald Byrd:


First Posted: 01/21/2003
Last updated: 08/26/2022

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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